Entrevista a Paul Masvidal de Cynic

Me pareció interesante asi que la dejo
Sacada de Ultimate-guitar

-UG: Were you confident reforming the band? What does it feel like, even with such a huge break in the life of Cynic, there are still avid fans around the world?
-Paul: I was terrified but I trusted that it would work. Some larger energetic intention was putting this back together. There are more fans than ever. The appreciation of Cynic's music has grown tremendously over the years.

-Do you feel like you’ve earned the respect?
-I'm not sure if I was ever seeking respect, but I guess there is some kind of respect out there. Our intentions have always been about the music and forfeiting the results, regardless of respect or no respect...like or dislike, etc.

-When writing for Traced in Air, was there a lot of pressure to make a record better than your huge debut Focus? Do you feel like you delivered?
-I'm not interested in making records under pressure. That's what the TV world is for. Writing Traced In Air was a liberated, free process and all about the present moment. The past was irrelevant. I feel like we not only delivered, we went into a whole new place.

-Was there any hesitation writing something so different [from Focus]?
-I wasn't concerned with Focus when writing this record or should I say when it wrote us, so I guess there was no hesitation.

-Is Traced in Air conceptual at all?
-Yes, for me it is. I don't like to break down the specifics too much since I'd rather each listener get their own journey out of it. It's kind of a mini-life time experience told through the eyes of a visitor on planet earth.

-Could you please explain your songwriting process? Has it changed from Focus-era to the Traced in Air-era?
-Each song is quite unique, but here's a 'loose' look at how it works for me. Almost every day, I sit down with an acoustic guitar or at the piano and flush out melodies and harmonic ideas and record them. Over time (days, weeks) the ideas that stick and have some sort of density to them, get developed further. I won't move onto an electric instrument until I feel like there's a solid foundation that works without any of the ornamentation. I usually get into lyrics when the arrangement is nearly finished. Once the basic idea is solid, I'll record a raw live demo of the core song. From that point forward Sean would get involved and learn the arrangement and start exploring rhythmic concepts. If there's other musicians involved, they start exploring other layers and ideas to complement the arrangement.
During the Focus era, many of the songs had a similar process, although I was probably playing an electric guitar most of the time and not singing as much to dictate harmonic and melodic movement. Some Focus songs were hashed out in the rehearsal room between four musicians debating over what the next section should be. It was a bit more chaotic and random during those days.

-What are your main influences [metal and in general], and in particular, were there any recent additions that influenced the sound of Traced In Air?
-I listen to everything. From classics like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Miles Davis to Nine Inch Nails, Brian Eno, Radiohead and unique female voices like Juanna Molina who I worked with years ago and Amy Correia. I love the melodic genius of a composer like Bach or the otherworldy sounds of guitarist Ben Monder. The list goes on and on. Ultimately I'm influenced by the human experience, nature, art, and the cosmos, life itself.

-What differences are there when writing and recording as a session musician versus your metal projects? Has your session work influenced Cynic at all?
-Session work is a job with creative aspects, Cynic is more of a passion driven by pure creativity. Session work usually involves deadlines and writing for a specific visual context or another artist. It's almost like a different brain, but the muscles and tissues are connected to the same source. I think we've become a bit more skillful at composition and writing in general due to all the different hats Sean and I have worn over the years. Probably the most benefit from the session world has been in film work and learning how to articulate moods and emotional environments better. That language has come into play with Cynic's music in some subtle way. Although, Traced In Air feels like the music already existed and we just needed to translate it. It was very familiar to me when it was coming through us.

-Will being a session musician for TV shows hinder Cynic and your other projects at all in terms of touring, writing, and recording?
-At the moment we're able to manage the two worlds and have essentially slowed down the session work because Cynic and Aeon Spoke are taking most of our energy these days. I think we can always find a way and perhaps sleep even less if needed.

-Being a band that has such a huge legacy, how do you feel supporting a band [like Dragonforce] that has not been around as long?
-I don't really see it as 'support' in the way that maybe a fan sees it. We're just on a tour with another band that happens to play after us. We're told they have a fairly broad and different audience than what we've played to so far, so we expect a new ride in that sense. Let's not forget that Cynic was not a working band for many years, so we have a history but haven't been active as Cynic throughout that history.

-Are there any plans to tour outside North America after the Dragonforce tour? When can fans expect a headlining tour? Are there plans to play material from any of your other projects during a Cynic set?
-We're headed back to Europe in the summer and plan on a headlining US tour in the late fall. Unlikely that we'd play anything other than Cynic songs, but you never know!

-When can fans expect a new album? Will it lean towards the sound of Focus or Traced In Air?
-I can't think that far. I suspect it will be its own thing, new and different from our past.

-What are your thoughts on metal, more specifically death metal, being criticized in the mainstream for being something negative?
-I think people should be able to use art or music in general as a tool to express themselves however they like. If negativity is what works for them, then let that be their means. We're all trying to heal and wake up whether we realize it or not. Most of us have to go head to head with some ugly inner demons in order to realize who we are. The manifestations and projections of those monsters into one own's music is coming at it from an almost primitive approach to pain, but that's the beauty of the process. Death metal lives in a subculture that doesn't seem to peek outside of that world much.

-How do you feel about being compared to Atheist?
-I dig Atheist, but I don't hear much of a similarity sonically. We're both very unique bands. It seems the logistics of our backgrounds, our friendship, and the fact that we were one of the few bands playing more complex music when it wasn't cool at all is what really brings us together.

-What Steinberger are you playing these days? The GM series I believe? What makes -their guitars superior, and are you open to trying other guitars at all?
-I have a three GM's and couple of the new ZT-3's which are growing on me more and more. Tymon and I will be playing them on the upcoming tour. I just love the necks, and the way they feel. Sonically Steinberger's can be very diverse and colorful instruments which is a great asset for what we do. I currently own, have owned, and played many other guitars and am always open, but I think Steinberger are Cynic's guitar.

-What was it like working with Chuck Schuldiner whose style differed from yours? What did you learn from him, and how does it feel being apart of the classic Human?
-I had fun working with Chuck over the years. We had a pretty solid connection as guitar players and appreciated much of the same things, so it was easy. I learned a lot about the music business from him and also an appreciation of older school metal like Judas Priest. It feels natural to be a part of Human. I'm grateful that the record has become more and more appreciated over time. Chuck would be happy to know that.

-Do you have any tips for guitarists who play progressive metal?
-Explore unorthodox ideas and nurture your own individual and natural strengths as a creative musician. We all have something unique to offer and say, the trick is discovering that little seed and watering it. Be patient and kind to yourself. Listen to the world around you and absorb it all. Life is here to teach us and open our hearts even wider than we know.

Muy buena che.

Definitivamente tengo que ponerme a escuchar Focus.

Manu escribió:Muy buena che.

Definitivamente tengo que ponerme a escuchar Focus.

Si te gusto Traces in air , Focus te va a gustar mucho mas!

¿Por algo en especial?

Simplemente creo que es un mejor albúm,los temas son,a su manera, mas gancheros.

El focus es un cd de culto, una re masa para la época en la que salió quiero creer.

Como me gustó ese disco dios mio, los que no vieron el show en vivo en Noruega tienen que verlo

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QHDL5TL6

Ahi lo dejo, tocan todo Focus, mas un adelanto de Evolutionary Sleeper y un tema de una banda en la que estaba Paul que ahora no me acuerdo el nombre.

Esa banda se llamaba aeon spoke sino me equivoco,si! fue un disco de culto en esa epoca,habia muy pocas bandas que hacian ese estilo,como pestilence y atheist, calculo que no habran tenido exito y por eso se separaron...
Paul tamben escribe canciones para series de television como that´70 show y third rock from the sun y demas...
bajense el show de Noruega que es muy groso, fue grabado en un festival y suena espectacular!

BWpark te re portaste.

Definitivamente tengo que leer esto cuando tenga tiempo libre, lo dejo en Marcadores del FirefoZ.
K+