Marble Sounds have been quite busy with recording a new album and we can’t wait to hear what that sounds like, but for the time being read the interview with Pieter Van Dessel below to get an idea of what you can expect from them in the near future.
Melisa Baykent: Hello! Thank you so much for taking some time out of your day to answer a couple of questions. First of all do you think you could introduce yourselves and tell us an interesting fact about each one of you?
Pieter Van Dessel: We’re a five piece band. I’m Pieter, the singer/guitarist who started this band, and I also deliver most of the songs. Then there’s Gianni, he plays the electric guitar, slide guitar and banjo. He’s also the guitarist of Isbells, a band worth checking out. Frederik’s the bass player, and recently he bought a little keyboard to play some synth bass. Johan drums and when not drumming he’s an architect. Brecht joined the band half a year ago. He plays keyboards and triggers samples… interesting fact? Brecht forgot to bring his piano at the first show he did with us.
MB: I hear that you guys are in the process of putting out your second album, what can we expect from it? What was the recording process like?
PVD: I think the new album picks up where we left off with the first one. We cover a wider range of styles and emotions than on the first one, with some more surprising moments.
The recording process wasn’t much different from the first album. I made the demos myself and then we rehearsed those songs with the band. It’s important that the others find their way in the songs and make the songs ‘their own’ before recording. It’s interesting if the songs evolve after the recordings, but we try to develop them as much as we can before putting them on tape.
On the first album I recorded everything myself, it was very DIY. On the new album I did a lot of it on my own again, but I also had some help from different people. We even recorded brass and drums in professional studios, quite a change for us! The mixing was done by Peter Crosbie, just like the first one.
MB: You have a couple of upcoming shows, which one are you looking forward to the most?
PVD: It’s so difficult to pick one… The release show will be special since we’ll have special guests and a brass trio on stage. I’m also curious to play at Motel Mozaïque in the Netherlands. I’ve never been to that festival and I’ve heard so many great things about it.
MB: You’re also part of Plastic Operator, so how did you come up with the idea of forming a new band? Also how do you balance both?
PVD: It’s not hard when the two bands make different kinds of music. Plastic Operator is electronic music while Marble Sounds is guitar based. So when I find a little waltz on my acoustic guitar, it’s very likely this will end up in the Marble Sounds repertoire. A four on the floor beat will probably become a Plastic Operator song.
MB: Do you guys have any influences as a band?
PVD: Sure, like any band I guess. There are some American bands we’ve listened to for years, like Wheat, Pinback, Wilco, and Death Cab For Cutie. Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse inspires me a lot as well. He’s an amazing producer, very different than anything else. People compare us with Notwist and Sigur Ros, two bands we know and love, so I’m sure these are an influence as well.
MB: Is there a specific message you try to convey through the music you make?
PVD: Not really. The message is not that important in Marble Sounds. Of course, we hope we can touch people with the songs and connect with them on that level.
MB: If you could collaborate with anyone dead or alive who would it be?
PVD: Okay, so no boundaries here? If I really had the choice I’d go for Daniel Lanois. He is so talented as a producer, as a guitarist, songwriter… He also seems like a really nice guy, so that’s equally important if you have to pick someone you want to work with.
MB: Lastly, thank you so much for doing this interview and is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
PVD: Thanks for listening, everybody. We’re really looking forward to releasing the second album.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
softconcretemag 