MNEMIC (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What’s currently going on into the MNEMIC’s camp?
Thanks for the interview, at the moment not much is happening. We just wrapped up our first European tour with our mates in Raunchy. That went rather well, and it was a ton of fun. At the moment we are going through the interview cycle for this album and planning the next tours, and which videos to shoot for the album.
– First off, why did you name the band “Mnemic”?
Cause it sounded cool, and no one could really pronounce it. It sounded different, and it had a cling to it. Our first singer came up with the name, everyone thought it sounded great, and from there on its history.
– You will soon release “Mnemesis”. What are your expectations with this album?
Not sure what to expect, I mean I don’t expect it to blow up and we’d start selling like theres no tomorrow. We have to be extremely lucky if we do end up selling more than the previous album. Nowaydays with saturated markets and drops in record sales, you have to be lucky. I just hope for the best, and we will do our best to promote the album as much as we can on and off the road, its as simple as that.
– You have written the album’s title in a way similar way to the band’s name, anyway I would like you to shed some light on why picking this title for your new opus, as I guess it may also have something to do with goddess Nemesis.
Yes its definitely a play of words. We thought it sounded really cool, cause again it would be something that people might not be able to pronounce correctly. It is of course connected to the Nemesis, the inescapable agent of someones downfall. It can be interpreted as our technology and the way that it changes our lives, wherein it adds more stress to nature and dependency of machines. Most don’t realize that it lives and breathes in us, and if we are not able to figure out a way to filter the abundance of information we are faced with, it might be our downfall someday. I really think that within 100-200 years, our future will be dystopian as portrayed in many 80s and 90s sci-fi movies.
– The cover artwork is also quite intriguing. Could you please tell us what did you want to reflect with it and how did you work on the artwork?
It reflects a child with a third eye blossoming out of a circuit board. It is the innocence of machines, that in time will grow into a totalitarian machine alike system in which humans will be dependent on. As said earlier it will be mankind’s downfall – if we do not learn how to filter the abundance of information, and learn how to outsmart the machines we will instead become as humans more dumb in the end, because of them. A fine example is by being addicted to Facebook, living in a status update – that creates aggressive narcissists, and distances us from one anthers true human values. We shouldn’t either be living in a hippie collective preaching about love, cause there are always two sides of the coin – i am just saying to maybe take one or two steps back, and be more skeptical before you entangle the information of your real life into the digital twittosphere.
– To start getting a bit deeper into this upcoming effort, I think “Mnemesis” is one of your most melodic records so far. Is this how you envisioned this album since the beginning?
Never had a plan on how to make the record sound. It is a natural development from the state of mind that I was in, and also because of the new workforce that we have in guitarist Victor Salomonsen. He is extremely talented and has a great ear for medley – the both of us spoke the same language at the time being. He is more calculated, and knows the right tones, compared to me, I just feel and know how some of the compositions should sound, but I cant necessarily get that out of a fretboard. We both have strengths that we lack in each others opposites, therefore combining these is what you can hear in the new album. On top of that, both singer Guillaume Bideau and bassist Simone Bertozzi have contributed with songs, and Brian Larsen has assisted with drum patterns – its a collective effort.
– Anyway is quite aggressive, full of energy. Maybe the new blood on the band and “reforming” after having some line-up changes had something to do with this feeling?
Definitely the new lineup shines through the compositions. As mentioned earlier its a collective effort, and everyone has pitched in. Not that it wasn’t like that before, but you can hear the raw energy from the new songs compared to the old ones. It is also because we wanted to go back, do some more old school Mnemic somehow, compared to the last album where we tried to go other ways.
– Its also less technical. Do you think this would help you opening to a broader audience?
I don’t really care about a broader audience, because I cant compose to people, I compose what I feel. If it would appeal to a broader audience, then lucky me! We tried to do that on the 3rd album, to write for other people, to write for the raido, and that was a failure. Never do that, write what you feel, and write what you are hungry for, that is the best way to achieve the best results as a musician. Don’t let other people, who do not have any experience composing music influence your writing process. The main reason that its less technical is basically because we just wrote what we felt – we didn’t say lets make this technical, cause we need technicality. If it felt natural to have a part like that as an extenuation to a riff structure, then so be it – what you hear is what you get.
– All this being said; how could you describe “Mnemesis” in 3 words?
Melodic, Atmospheric, Energetic.
– Talking about the line-up changes; what have the three new band members brought to MNEMIC?
Thats true. Victor Ray Salomonsen and Brian Larsen used to play in a band Vira. We kind of stole them from the band, and it pretty much imploded. Last year we toured with an Italian band called Empyrios, and we thought their bassplayer was really cool, and asked him to join. The rest is history.
– So are we in front of a new era for the band?
Definitely a new era for the band.
– You have recorded the album at Antfarm studios with seasoned Tue Madsen. Has everything ended up as you expected?
Yes, as it does every time. Its a process wherein he always brings ideas to the table when we are in the studio with him. That is one of the main reasons we work with him as well, because it feels like the 6th member of the band. He knows our sound and on top of all of this he is simply a great guy. There where also logistical reasons, and it made sense for us, since the majority of the band is situated in Denmark. He always knows what we want, and this time it was again a piece of cake – he just shares the same ideal and vision as us, and that makes us as a unit working with him.
– Something I’m curious about is that you have always been working with Nuclear Blast. How’s like for a new band (back when your debut album came out) to release the first album with one of the most important and biggest record labels in Metal?
It was a dream come true! It was and still is an honor to work with NB, since they are so passionate and great people. I remember when I was a kind when I started listening to Death Metal. I bought Mortifications «Scrolls of the Megilloth», and inside the CD there was a flyer with other death metal releases. It was magic, you saw all of these logos of Pungent Stench, Dismember etc. it was definitely a time where music had a different value, compared to today.
– And finally, what are the near-future plans for MNEMIC?
We are planning to do a video for «I’ve Been You» the new single with our long time friend and producer Patric Ullaeus (In Flames, Dimmu Borgir etc.). and also planning a Scandinavian run with Six Feet Under and later this year another EU tour and also going to Australia for the very first time. It will be a blast, and we are looking very much forward for it!
– That has been everything from my side, thanks once more for your time. If you want to add some final words, feel free to do it.
Thank you very much for the interview, I appreciate you took the time to interview Mnemic. Please check out the new album, get it wherever you can, play it to your friends, come to the shows, and buy some merch + support your local death metal (web)shop.
Cheers!
