Today, Fuzz Club will be full of the melodies and the "Fragile
Dreams" of Anathema. Danny Cavanagh spoke to us about their tour, the album "We are here because we're
here", the violin in "Alternative 4", economic crisis, Greek music and their new album, which is going to be released in April or Fall of 2012!
1. How have your shows been so far on the tour?
They’ve been great, what can I say… The shows have been going well these past two years and they’re getting better since we released the album (σ.σ. εννοεί το “We’re Here Because We’re Here”). Summer Breeze festival in Germany was amazing! It was a really good audience and I was surprised at how well it all went. We also had a big one in London which was a truly great show.
2. Do you believe that the album "We're here because we're here" is the most mature album, you've ever released since "Alternative 4"? Well, this is our opinion...
Yeah, it’s definitely the best one so far. But the one coming next is even better especially in terms of songs and production.
3. Even though I love “Thin Air” and “Dreaming light”, I believe that the best song in this album is the song “A simple mistake”. Epic song! Is there any story behind it?
Everybody has a different one, mine is “Dreaming Light”, “Thin air” is also good as is “Everything” and “Universal” especially the second half. I think those are my Top 4 from the album.
With “A Simple mistake” I had the melody in my head for a long time and the lyrics are in the same vein as the rest of the album. It’s all about enlightenment. I recently went through a phase where I found answers to a lot of my questions and discovered many inner truths about my life and about life in general and that made its way into the lyrics. A lot of our songs are about enlightenment, I write a lot about that.
4. How do you write your songs? You have an idea and the band works for it or you all work for it?
I write in my head a lot, just walking down the street. Or sometimes on the piano or the guitar. Sometimes I’ll work with a song until it’s 100% completed before I take it to the band and sometimes there are significant changes in the arrangement from the others.
I’d say 80-95% of the song production tends to be mine, but sometimes Jamie or Vincent changes the song. For example Lee has written a lot of melody line for the new songs and John will often complete something we’ve written.
5. "Fragile Dreams" is one of the best songs, I've ever heard. The violin is unbelievable in this song. I think that only in "Alternative 4" you used violin. Why did you leave it afterwards?
I actually prefer violin sections to a solo violin. It’s not my favorite sound, a solo violin. I really like solo cello and we used a lot of that on “Hindsight”. But in general we have many violins in our music and there will be more to come but there will be violin sections rather than just one instrument.
6. Are you preparing any new material? New songs or album?
Yes we are. It will be released in Aprill or the Fall of 2012, depending on some things we have to sort out. It’s going to be a very good record, powerfull and darker. A bit different from our last album, more orchestral. But the basic elements of Anathema’s sound (piano, guitar drums) are still going to be there.
We’re going to have 6 or 7 songs with big orchestral arrangements on this one.
And I’m interested in the internal landscapes of people minds and hearts. Especially compairing those to the weather systems, you know the charts you get for the weather. So there is going to be material about the parallels between the hearts of people and the world. There is going to be a song called “Untouchable” which is a follow-up to”Dreaming Light”.
7. You have heard about the economic crisis we confront in Greece and of course in many other countries. How will the artists and the music industry be affected from this situation? Have you seen any changes during all these months?
I don’t know enough about politics to answer this. Many people don’t pay for music anymore but some do. I think that if you really like an album it will be a priority for you to buy it, but I don’t think we’ll be affected by it that much. Though I do think that ticket prices should be cheaper generally.
8. Have you heard any Greek music in the past?
Quite a lot. Especially since I spent a month in Greece in 2004. Can’t name any artists though.
9. You have been in Greece many times. Could you remember a specific moment in these appearances?
Yeah, Aprill 2004 at Rodon club. That night the band took a swift turn into a new era, especially regarding how we play live. I think we turned a corner then and the audience responded well.
10. And now is the time when you can tell to all Greek Anathemaniacs what to expect from your show in Greece. Typical, but interesting question, as always...
I’m not sure. Mostly we’ll be playing new song classics and they’ll be an acoustic section, but we’ll still play older stuff from “Judegment” and “Alternative 4” and others… we shall see…
Thank you very much Danny! Many thanks to Jason Kaldis for this interview.
1. How have your shows been so far on the tour?
They’ve been great, what can I say… The shows have been going well these past two years and they’re getting better since we released the album (σ.σ. εννοεί το “We’re Here Because We’re Here”). Summer Breeze festival in Germany was amazing! It was a really good audience and I was surprised at how well it all went. We also had a big one in London which was a truly great show.
2. Do you believe that the album "We're here because we're here" is the most mature album, you've ever released since "Alternative 4"? Well, this is our opinion... Yeah, it’s definitely the best one so far. But the one coming next is even better especially in terms of songs and production.
3. Even though I love “Thin Air” and “Dreaming light”, I believe that the best song in this album is the song “A simple mistake”. Epic song! Is there any story behind it?
Everybody has a different one, mine is “Dreaming Light”, “Thin air” is also good as is “Everything” and “Universal” especially the second half. I think those are my Top 4 from the album.
With “A Simple mistake” I had the melody in my head for a long time and the lyrics are in the same vein as the rest of the album. It’s all about enlightenment. I recently went through a phase where I found answers to a lot of my questions and discovered many inner truths about my life and about life in general and that made its way into the lyrics. A lot of our songs are about enlightenment, I write a lot about that.
4. How do you write your songs? You have an idea and the band works for it or you all work for it?
I write in my head a lot, just walking down the street. Or sometimes on the piano or the guitar. Sometimes I’ll work with a song until it’s 100% completed before I take it to the band and sometimes there are significant changes in the arrangement from the others.
I’d say 80-95% of the song production tends to be mine, but sometimes Jamie or Vincent changes the song. For example Lee has written a lot of melody line for the new songs and John will often complete something we’ve written.
5. "Fragile Dreams" is one of the best songs, I've ever heard. The violin is unbelievable in this song. I think that only in "Alternative 4" you used violin. Why did you leave it afterwards?
I actually prefer violin sections to a solo violin. It’s not my favorite sound, a solo violin. I really like solo cello and we used a lot of that on “Hindsight”. But in general we have many violins in our music and there will be more to come but there will be violin sections rather than just one instrument.
6. Are you preparing any new material? New songs or album?
Yes we are. It will be released in Aprill or the Fall of 2012, depending on some things we have to sort out. It’s going to be a very good record, powerfull and darker. A bit different from our last album, more orchestral. But the basic elements of Anathema’s sound (piano, guitar drums) are still going to be there.
We’re going to have 6 or 7 songs with big orchestral arrangements on this one.
And I’m interested in the internal landscapes of people minds and hearts. Especially compairing those to the weather systems, you know the charts you get for the weather. So there is going to be material about the parallels between the hearts of people and the world. There is going to be a song called “Untouchable” which is a follow-up to”Dreaming Light”.
7. You have heard about the economic crisis we confront in Greece and of course in many other countries. How will the artists and the music industry be affected from this situation? Have you seen any changes during all these months? I don’t know enough about politics to answer this. Many people don’t pay for music anymore but some do. I think that if you really like an album it will be a priority for you to buy it, but I don’t think we’ll be affected by it that much. Though I do think that ticket prices should be cheaper generally.
8. Have you heard any Greek music in the past?
Quite a lot. Especially since I spent a month in Greece in 2004. Can’t name any artists though.
9. You have been in Greece many times. Could you remember a specific moment in these appearances?
Yeah, Aprill 2004 at Rodon club. That night the band took a swift turn into a new era, especially regarding how we play live. I think we turned a corner then and the audience responded well.
10. And now is the time when you can tell to all Greek Anathemaniacs what to expect from your show in Greece. Typical, but interesting question, as always...
I’m not sure. Mostly we’ll be playing new song classics and they’ll be an acoustic section, but we’ll still play older stuff from “Judegment” and “Alternative 4” and others… we shall see…
Thank you very much Danny! Many thanks to Jason Kaldis for this interview.
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