Transmission0
Do you like modern metal?
Do you want to hear a band that combines influences from Iron Maiden to
Emperor and from Cure to Sonic Youth? Then read this interview to discover
the world of Transmission0.
1. First of all thanks for your time in
order to answers the questions! Please inform us on the history of Transmission0.
Mischa (guitar/vocals/producer) and me (bass/design)
played in another band before, called Reveal. When that band ended we decided
to start a new band. We had the idea of making dark, heavy and atmospheric
music. We wrote some stuff, but after a while Mischa decided to focus on
his other band, the Void. I went travelling in Latin America for some time,
and when I got back Mischa found the energy to restart transmission0 again.
He wrote some more stuff and when there was enough to start rehearsing,
we asked Michiel (keys/vocals/sampler) to join the band. With the 3 of
us we recorded the album, Mischa played all the drum parts. After the recordings
we started searching for a drummer and when we found Bart, we were ready
to take the band seriously. We started playing shows, made a website, and
that’s how Go-kart found us. Then when the Void quit, we asked Leon, he
used to play bass in the Void, to come and play guitar with us.
2. You have already got your debut album in
the music stores, so can you tell us some details from the recording sessions?
Like I said, we recorded the record with the
3 of us. First Mischa recorded all the drum tracks, since he's not a drummer
it took him some time to do that. He wanted to be alone when he did it,
so he had to record everything on his own. There was nobody playing the
songs with him, so he had to play the songs in his head and then drum with
that, I still think it's incredible that he did it that way. At first we
recorded those drums so we could rehearse, because we didn't have a drummer
and this way we could play a cd with the drums and practice with that.
Then, when the drums were recorded we decided to make an album. And I must
say that I never really thought about releasing that when we started recording,
I just thought it would be good to find a drummer so we could start playing
shows. Along the way we discovered that Michiel had a good voice for our
music. When we started the recordings we thought he would only do the keys,
but luckily he's got a really good scream.
3. Your label is Go Kart records. Are you satisfied
with the help and support they give you?
Yes, we are very happy with Go-kart records.
They did a lot of promotion and help us out in any way possible. They're
a great bunch of people!
4. Which were your feelings when you saw your
album in the music stores?
Proud that we got that far so quickly. I mean
we just recorded our debut and then a legendary label like Go-kart already
wanted to release it. It felt even better to get all these great reviews
from all over the world. It seems like a lot of people like what we're
doing. Which is weird, if you consider that we didn't even think about
releasing this album in the beginning really.
5. Can you describe your music?
No, not really. We get this question quite
a lot and it's pretty difficult to answer. This because we combine different
influences, from Iron maiden to Sonic youth and from Emperor to the Cure.
I guess we make metal with a lot of atmosphere in it. Maybe you should
ask somebody who's not in the band to answer this one.
6. Have you already written any new material
for your next release?
Yes, as a matter of fact we already made some
demo-recordings for the new album and some weeks ago we recorded all the
drums for the actual album. This week we'll start recording the guitars
and bass. We want to take some time to record the new album, because we're
all really happy with the new songs, this because we have grown more into
our style. When we recorded '0' we were just experimenting with what we
could do and didn't really have an idea of where we were going, musically
wise. We were also not a complete band then, just the 3 of us. Now we are
a real band and therefore the music has grown. If people liked our first
album, they're going to be amazed by the second, that's how I see it at
least... I'm really, really happy with our new stuff, it's all a bit heavier
then '0'. We have also written all the songs for our third album already,
so we want to wait not too long with releasing our second album.
7. What should we expect from a live show of
Transmission0?
We try to take the audience on a journey when
we play live. We try to play a balanced set, in which there is room for
dark and heavy parts, but also for melancholic and quiet parts. We want
to take the listener somewhere with our music, to take them to a different
place in their heads.
8. Can you tell me some details for the cover
of your debut album?
I shot that picture on the rooftop of a hostel
in Puebla, Mexico. Before I left to central America we stopped with transmission0
for a while, but I knew that eventually Mischa and me would start the band
again. We already had the name transmission0 in mind, so on my trips I
made different pictures of things that had to do with 'transmission'. When
I started designing the booklet I wanted to use the pictures that I shot
while travelling, because I thought it had been an important time for me,
but also for the band. Even though we were not a real band around that
time, it was the time when I wrote most of the lyrics and when Mischa started
writing the songs.
9. Thanks a lot for your time Dave and close
the interview as you want…
Thank you for your interest in the band, it
really means a lot to us. To all the people out there who want to check
out transmission0: remember that most of the songs on our debut album aren't
there to understand immediately. Most people need a couple of listens to
enjoy the songs. So if you hear something that you like the first time,
give the album a couple of spins, I'm sure that you discover something
new every time you put it on.... thanks, Dave.
Antonis Maglaras
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