Winds interview

Metalfan: Hello and welcome to the Metalfan webpages.  How are things going at the Winds headquarters?
Andy:They are really busy right now, at least for me. Doing lots of promotion for the album and tons of other things, as usual. But I guess you could say things are great, the response on the new album has been very good, and we’re very excited about it.

Metalfan: In your previous interview for Metalfan (2004) we discussed a little bit about the beginning of your history as a band.  Tell me please, what have you done in last three years?
Andy: Well, it’s been a lot of work with the new album, and a lot more detail work than in the past. Like we used to just record something and not think twice about it, but this time we worked a lot on perfecting the record. So that has pretty much been the past three years right there. But three years is a long time, so I did a few other records in that time as well, the Age of Silence album and EP, and also a recording with Sculptured right after we completed the Winds. The other guys did lots of things too, but that’s at least what I’ve been doing.

Metalfan: All the Winds members are involved in other projects and bands. How do you find the required time to write and record a new Winds album?
Andy:It’s pretty much a matter of setting aside the time, and at least speaking for myself. I know my other projects have certainly suffered from the past three years. But that is as it should be. Winds is my #1 priority, and it always will be. I think it’s definitely a priority for the other guys as well, but of course, we will always do other things.

Metalfan: Is it hard to get all together and record a new album?
Andy:Not really, since we usually just do one thing at a time. When we do drums, HH and I get together, and Carl goes a lot of the guitars by himself. We get together for the vocals and strings. This time I did the mixing by myself. So we didn’t actually have to be all four members in the same place for anything except the photo shoot, ironically enough!

Metalfan: You’ve just released a new studio album, called Prominence and Demise.  Let me congratulate you for this opus, it is one of the most interesting and original albums I’ve listened in the past months.  How were the reactions concerning Prominence and Demise so far?
Andy:Thank you very much for that. I think the response so far has been great. There have been some of the expected reactions to our slight change in sound, but then again we always changed a little from each record, so it’s nothing totally unexpected. People who already know us seem to like the new direction too, and we’re also getting some new fans this way I think. At any rate, it’s nice for us as a band to stay fresh, not repeat ourselves too much, as that would just be boring.

Metalfan:. Could Prominence and Demise be considered the most ambitious and complex album in your career so far?
Andy:Yes, it most definitely is, on all levels. It’s the one we spent the most time recording, and the one that we worked the hardest on. It’s also the one with the most complex material, strictly from a musical and playing point of view. So it was very ambitious, but I think we managed to come out of it with everything as it should be, despite being a bit mentally exhausted afterwards.

Metalfan: How hard is to work with classical musicians? After all, it is the second time you worked with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Andy: This is actually the third time we worked with them, so it has become a habit almost. But one thing was different this time. We did the string recordings on location, in a church. That we had never done before. So that created some challenges since we had to work outside a normal studio environment. The process itself is fairly simple, we give them sheet music, in other words papers with the notes, which we have prepared ahead of time, for each instrument. So it is a lot of work. Lars is in charge of finalizing this aspect, but we all contribute with ideas. Then the challenge is to get them to play everything within the time we can afford to have them on salary.

Metalfan:  For the first time you were helped of some well known musicians as guests. Give us a few details about their involvement in the development of Prominence and Demise album.
Performing with us on the new album is Dan Swanö, Agnete M. Kirkevaag and Lars Nedland. All doing different vocal parts and voices. We also have Øystein Moe doing bass for us this time. These people are all excellent musicians who we had the pleasure of working with for this record. I think it made the end result all the more special.

Metalfan: Which is the story behind Prominence and Demise? Is there a concept that links all the songs?Andy: Yes, of course. As with all Winds albums. But it is not a concept that is meant to be explained by me. It’s just part of the Winds concept in and of itself. It’s a concept that links not only all the songs, but all the albums, and in fact, that is the whole band in itself. Winds is a concept.

Metalfan: I absolutely love the artwork of this new album. Did Travis Smith come with the idea of this concept or the band suggested the theme? Because I find it very suggestive and appropriate with the music included on Prominence and Demise.
Andy: The concept is mine, basically. Travis helps put some of my thoughts into visual images, and for that he is a genius. I am not a graphic artist, so I have to rely on him to manifest my thoughts into something specific that can be on an album cover. But as you mentioned, the artwork ties in with the concept and lyrics, and the theme. So this is very much one total package. Music, lyrics and art.

Metalfan:  Your music has so many layers and influences that it is a nightmare for a journalist to describe it in terms of genres, styles and categories. How can you classify your music, what style is Winds playing?
Andy: Yes, that is in fact our goal. We try to come up with a music style that nobody can put a name to. And if we have accomplished that, we have succeded in our task! Of course I’m kidding. But yes, our music is very difficult to describe in a few words because it includes so many different elements, both from metal, classical, progressive, jazz, fusion and even other styles. We are not so concerned with labels. It’s about the music, for what it is. What you call it matters less.

Metalfan:  Is Winds still strictly a studio band? Is there a chance that you will perform live in the near future?
Andy: I am getting almost tired of answering this question, because every time for every album, it is always the same question. I guess we should take that as a nice compliment, that people really want to see us live. But it’s not in the plans right now. I’m not going to try to predict the future, but there will be no touring for this album, at least.

Metalfan:  Do you think that the fact you don’t play live at all could affect the band in terms of promotion and sells?
Andy: Yes, there is no question about the fact that it does. Most definitely. If we went on the road and did shows, we could probably sell ten times as many records as we do. But it’s kind of the same problem. We need to get bigger before we can tour, and we need to tour before we can get bigger. So in the end, it’s kind of a big evil circle. But of course, if we toured, no doubt we’d sell more records. Unfortunately things are not so easy for studio bands these days. But we try our best to do what we can promotion wise and sales wise, as a studio band.

Metalfan:  What are your goals as a musician? What do you mostly want to achieve with Winds?
Andy: We want to keep creating original and unique music. We want to grow and evolve as musicians, and to keep making music that comes from our creative minds.

Metalfan:  Andy Winter said in your previous interview for  Metalfan: “we are not interested in compromising artistic integrity for the purpose of gaining record sales”. Is this statement still true for Winds?
Andy: Yes, I said it then, and it is still true. We have not compromised anything with the new record, we basically did exactly what we set out to do. We wanted to create a Winds album that was a bit more edgy and heavy than the previous ones, but that was still uniquely Winds. We will not always create really heavy albums or even soft ones, but we have a lot of diversity. So we will always push our limits and do different things. I stand by my statement then as much as I do now.

Metalfan:  From where do you extract your inspiration? Which are the muses for Winds?
Andy: This is a question I can never answer too well. I really don’t know. I guess it’s mostly from within, since I hardly expose myself to outside influences like other music or literature, things that could have an impact on my creativeness. Of course, there is lots of other great music and literature out there, but I am so consumed by what I do that it takes up all my time and energy. So the focus is mainly on just my own work. Where I draw the influences from with my own work, I really don’t know.

Metalfan: . Are you satisfied with the collaboration with The End Records?
Andy: Yes, absolutely. I have been good friends with the owner of The End Records for almost ten years, and lately we have also started to work a lot more closely with the rest of the staff now that the staff there has expanded. So it’s a nice teamwork.

Metalfan:  What do you think about the Norway’s metal scene? It seems that lately more and more old black metal bands are trying to break the format and expand their musical boundaries towards classical and progressive territories. Is this a sign of evolution or some kind of fashion?
Andy: As mentioned before I am very little concerned with what other people do, so I am not sure how to answer this. What I do think is that a lot of bands have become very redundant, and bands that used to be interesting have now become just boring. This is not the case for all bands of course, but it seems that the ones I have a liking to are further and fewer in between for each year that passes.

Metalfan:  Which was the last album you bought? What other interesting metal albums did you listen lately?
Andy: This goes back to what I said before. I’m so busy working on my own material that I have no time to listen to other music. Also most albums I get are free promos from people, so I don’t remember what I bought last time. It was probably not a metal album.

Metalfan: It’s time to ask you about your future plans. What are you going to do next with Winds?
Andy: At this point we don’t know yet. It’s too early to tell. I do know for the moment we will all focus on promotion of Winds, but apart from that, we will also focus on working with other projects. There will be another Winds album, but I don’t know when, and I don’t know what it will be like. There are no plans.

Metalfan: Thank you very much for this interview. In the end please send a message to all your Romanian fans.
Andy: We would like to thank everyone who already bought the album for doing so. And those that haven’t already, we hope you will check it out! Also thanks to you for doing this interview, we appreciate the support.

Metalfan: In the end I propose you a short quick quiz
Describe in a word the following:

Andy Winter
Tired

Carl August Tidemann
Busy

Lars Eric Si 
Thirsty

Jan Axel Von Blomberg
Hungry

Travis Smith
Funny