Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / The Tongue Is Mightier Than The Sword With JONAS HANSEN From FIXATION
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: It's right weeksssom my souside is.
- 0:13Speaker 2: So terrible. Hey, this is Jonas from Vexation. We're a
- 0:21Speaker 2: Norwegian metalcore band and on Friday we are releasing our
- 0:27Speaker 2: new mini album Speaking Tongues, Beautiful Jinas. Thanks for joining
- 0:32Speaker 2: us today. Thank you so much.
- 0:34Speaker 3: Well as decide you say, Fixation release so many albums
- 0:37Speaker 3: Speaking Tongues on October the eleventh.
- 0:39Speaker 2: So how you feel about it? Very good. I'm really
- 0:43Speaker 2: excited for people to hear it. It's you know, as
- 0:47Speaker 2: any band says, it's our best work yet, it's but
- 0:52Speaker 2: truly it's been the most fun you know, writing and
- 0:55Speaker 2: recording process we've had so far, and it feels really
- 0:59Speaker 2: really like a step in the right direction for us.
- 1:01Speaker 2: So really excited for people to experience it. And you
- 1:05Speaker 2: tell us a bit.
- 1:06Speaker 3: More about from a musical point of view and what
- 1:08Speaker 3: you've done forward it.
- 1:10Speaker 2: So for this this record, we wanted to go in
- 1:12Speaker 2: a more heavy direction. It's we tried out a bit
- 1:18Speaker 2: of stuff that we hadn't done before. You know, last
- 1:21Speaker 2: year we were on a bunch of tours and play
- 1:23Speaker 2: it all over Europe and we saw so many great
- 1:28Speaker 2: heavy bands live and the energy that they produced live
- 1:32Speaker 2: and the energy that the audience gives back really inspired,
- 1:36Speaker 2: I think the the sonical part of this record, and
- 1:43Speaker 2: we wanted to make something that really hits in the
- 1:46Speaker 2: face in the live, live part of it, and that's
- 1:52Speaker 2: what we did. Throughout the process of this record. We
- 1:56Speaker 2: also but we were certain we wanted to have more
- 2:00Speaker 2: screaming than we've done before, and I couldn't really I
- 2:04Speaker 2: didn't really know how to do it properly in the
- 2:07Speaker 2: beginning of the recording process of the CP or this record,
- 2:11Speaker 2: and at the end I or throughout the process, I
- 2:16Speaker 2: figured out how to do, you know, without hurting my
- 2:20Speaker 2: voice or without its sounding weird or a weak. So
- 2:27Speaker 2: a lot of the screaming vocals were actually re recorded
- 2:31Speaker 2: at the end process of recording. That's what I was screaming.
- 2:36Speaker 3: I was like, why did you decide that now was
- 2:39Speaker 3: the right time for that to be introduced into Fixations music.
- 2:43Speaker 2: I think it's always been something that we wanted to do.
- 2:48Speaker 2: I've tried learning it for a couple of years, but
- 2:54Speaker 2: I didn't really figure it out. And I think for
- 2:59Speaker 2: this this recording, it had to happen. So I really
- 3:05Speaker 2: had to put the gears in and just you know,
- 3:09Speaker 2: figure it out in some way because we wrote parts
- 3:12Speaker 2: that had to have this energy and this raw feeling,
- 3:19Speaker 2: this frustration. So I think we didn't really have a
- 3:24Speaker 2: plan B for it. We knew that it had to
- 3:26Speaker 2: sound like that. So total process for me because we're
- 3:31Speaker 2: adapting for live for the live shows, and it works,
- 3:36Speaker 2: but it's you know, it's still something you have to
- 3:39Speaker 2: figure out along the way. How much can you do
- 3:41Speaker 2: it at a time and where does it fit and
- 3:46Speaker 2: you know, But we've always listened to heavier music than
- 3:50Speaker 2: when than what we've made, and I think the debut
- 3:53Speaker 2: album we wrote, we thought it was heavier because we
- 3:55Speaker 2: had some demos that were heavier, but they didn't really
- 3:59Speaker 2: make the cut. So I felt like the right time
- 4:02Speaker 2: to do it.
- 4:05Speaker 3: And it's also a conceptual collection of music, right, so
- 4:08Speaker 3: what's what's the premise bond it?
- 4:11Speaker 2: So I've always been fascinated by cults, and that's sort
- 4:15Speaker 2: of the general concept of the of the record. And
- 4:21Speaker 2: I also did a bachelor's and I wrote my my
- 4:26Speaker 2: final assignment about concept albums, so I knew I wanted
- 4:32Speaker 2: to do something more conceptual because it's always been a
- 4:34Speaker 2: part of the music that I love. My favorite albums
- 4:39Speaker 2: have always been concept albums where there's a plot, a storyline, characters, everything,
- 4:46Speaker 2: and it really ties into you know, the whole visual
- 4:49Speaker 2: part of a band as well, which I've always found
- 4:52Speaker 2: really interesting. So this felt like the right time to
- 4:58Speaker 2: write about this because it's been a in our minds
- 5:00Speaker 2: for for such a long time. And what really fascinates
- 5:04Speaker 2: me about cults is the the psychological aspect of it.
- 5:07Speaker 2: You know, how one person can believe, you know, a
- 5:12Speaker 2: false prophet blindly and and do everything that they say.
- 5:17Speaker 2: And then also how how a false prophet can claim
- 5:20Speaker 2: that they know better or that they've been sent by
- 5:25Speaker 2: someone to to to be this messiah that they have
- 5:28Speaker 2: to follow, and usually it's for you know, personal gain.
- 5:35Speaker 2: And then whilst writing, We've I sort of drew connections
- 5:39Speaker 2: to two other aspects of the society that we live
- 5:42Speaker 2: in today. That's sort of where the concept grew. Uh hm,
- 5:48Speaker 2: It's not just in the cults, you know, this happens,
- 5:52Speaker 2: and that's sort of the main idea that that I'm
- 5:56Speaker 2: taken from from the record.
- 6:00Speaker 3: What what what was easy to write? The assignment on
- 6:03Speaker 3: conceptual albums or the conceptual album.
- 6:06Speaker 2: Yea, yeah, oh, that's a good question. Probably the album,
- 6:13Speaker 2: because you know, it's there's more passion there than doing
- 6:18Speaker 2: a school assignment. But sorry, what did you say? Yeah,
- 6:26Speaker 2: you know, and the school assignment you have to do
- 6:31Speaker 2: all these sorts of writing and stuff like that, and
- 6:37Speaker 2: here you have the freedom to do whatever you want
- 6:39Speaker 2: because it's our music, so it was easier.
- 6:45Speaker 3: And I noticed there's no song on the mini album
- 6:47Speaker 3: called Speaking Tongues, so the title must have a bit
- 6:50Speaker 3: of extra significance.
- 6:52Speaker 2: Yeah, it was. Actually we had a demo from the
- 6:56Speaker 2: last album that that was called Speaking Tongues, and I
- 7:00Speaker 2: thought it was so cool, you know, it sounded great.
- 7:02Speaker 2: I think the act of speaking in tongues really weirds
- 7:08Speaker 2: me out and it kind of tickles my curiosity in
- 7:14Speaker 2: a good way. So we felt like it sounds like
- 7:18Speaker 2: a much cooler album title than just the song. And
- 7:24Speaker 2: you know, if you listen to the record, you can
- 7:26Speaker 2: hear it in there. It's being said in the lyrics,
- 7:29Speaker 2: but we didn't really want it to be that obvious.
- 7:37Speaker 2: You know, there's a lot of Easter eggs hidden around
- 7:40Speaker 2: the whole record, and a lot of whispers and stuff
- 7:45Speaker 2: and samples and small things that you might have to
- 7:48Speaker 2: listen a couple of times before you hear it all.
- 7:51Speaker 2: But that's one of the more obvious ones.
- 7:54Speaker 4: I guess this comes like it comes a year after
- 7:59Speaker 4: the release of your tabut album, Subtle then Death, so
- 8:03Speaker 4: it's a pretty quick hurte around.
- 8:04Speaker 1: Mate.
- 8:06Speaker 2: Yeah, we we got you know, we spoke with the
- 8:09Speaker 2: record label and they thought it would be a good
- 8:11Speaker 2: time to release a new EP. And you know, being us,
- 8:15Speaker 2: we didn't really want to do a four song ec EP.
- 8:22Speaker 2: We had to have a bit more than that, and
- 8:24Speaker 2: that's where these four interludes came in. Uh So it's
- 8:31Speaker 2: you know, it's eight tracks, but it's four songs, so
- 8:32Speaker 2: it's sort of a mini album rather than a full
- 8:36Speaker 2: length one. And I think the small interludes in between
- 8:42Speaker 2: there really make up this conceptual part of it. It
- 8:47Speaker 2: makes it more of a cohesive storyline and sort of
- 8:50Speaker 2: a movie soundtrack in some ways. And yeah, we I
- 8:57Speaker 2: think learning from writing the debut album, we we learned
- 9:02Speaker 2: a lot about what not to do, how not to
- 9:07Speaker 2: spend too much time writing, and also a lot about
- 9:11Speaker 2: how what our weaknesses and our strengths are within the
- 9:16Speaker 2: band and play specifically on that. So it came we
- 9:23Speaker 2: thought we were able to, you know, we got it
- 9:25Speaker 2: out now rather than later.
- 9:29Speaker 3: A Fixation appeared just four short years ago, in twenty twenty. Mates,
- 9:33Speaker 3: So what was your early vision for the band and
- 9:36Speaker 3: how has it changed since.
- 9:38Speaker 2: So the thing is, we actually started the band when
- 9:40Speaker 2: we were like fifteen, back in high school, and we
- 9:48Speaker 2: back then, we I think we started out doing some
- 9:50Speaker 2: covers of like Radiohead and Muse and Coldplay and stuff
- 9:54Speaker 2: like that, and the sound of the songs we made
- 9:58Speaker 2: ourselves were a lot more pop rock or alternative rock
- 10:04Speaker 2: sort of style, which you probably can hear a bit
- 10:06Speaker 2: on the debut album, but it was a lot softer
- 10:09Speaker 2: than that. Again, and we spent like nine years doing
- 10:14Speaker 2: a lot of local stuff from the town we come
- 10:18Speaker 2: from and a bit and also as well, but it
- 10:21Speaker 2: didn't really progress further than that, and in twenty twenty
- 10:26Speaker 2: we decided to you know, sort of reinvent what Fixation
- 10:30Speaker 2: was and and start fresh. That's when we when we
- 10:36Speaker 2: made the first EP, Global Suicide. That's also when we
- 10:42Speaker 2: signed with Indie Recordings our label, and since then, you know,
- 10:46Speaker 2: things have sort of evolved a lot more and a
- 10:51Speaker 2: lot quicker.
- 10:55Speaker 3: How would you say that we touched on this a
- 10:57Speaker 3: little bit before. But how would you say that Bend
- 10:59Speaker 3: sound is shy from the debute global suicide through the
- 11:03Speaker 3: speaking tongues.
- 11:05Speaker 2: I think we're a lot more mature. Back then, we
- 11:08Speaker 2: didn't really have a vision for what we wanted to make.
- 11:16Speaker 2: I think we we sort of made music that we
- 11:19Speaker 2: thought sounded cool. You know, it's always been this warm
- 11:23Speaker 2: thing to have this conceptual thing. But I think the
- 11:29Speaker 2: sound is much more refined now we've learned what we
- 11:34Speaker 2: do that sounds good and what doesn't work. And it's
- 11:40Speaker 2: also you know, never trying to repeat yourself, trying to
- 11:46Speaker 2: straight a bit away from from what you made in
- 11:50Speaker 2: the past in the right direction and take it to
- 11:53Speaker 2: a new level sort of. And with this release, I
- 12:00Speaker 2: think we're going in the right direction for what we
- 12:06Speaker 2: wanted that to sound like. And I think it's just
- 12:08Speaker 2: gonna keep building on that. You know, we're never going
- 12:10Speaker 2: to try to to to fall back on what we've
- 12:16Speaker 2: done before. I don't think any band you know should. Uh,
- 12:20Speaker 2: That's what's great about music is this, you know, the
- 12:24Speaker 2: music that you made in the first years of your career,
- 12:28Speaker 2: there's it's still there, but it's cool to see how
- 12:31Speaker 2: you progress and how how you change and how you
- 12:33Speaker 2: evolved as a musician.
- 12:36Speaker 3: Speaking Times is out this broaday might but what's next
- 12:38Speaker 3: for Fixation after that?
- 12:39Speaker 2: You got any plans, not any specific live plans as
- 12:47Speaker 2: of yet, but you know, we're we're We've started writing
- 12:51Speaker 2: new music and the plan is to be in the
- 12:55Speaker 2: studio throughout the year and see see what comes of it.
- 13:01Speaker 2: And yeah, you know, hopefully something something pops up next
- 13:06Speaker 2: year on the live front, but right now it's it's
- 13:10Speaker 2: nice to just hibernate a bit in the studio and
- 13:14Speaker 2: create some new music. Hopefully it takes us in a
- 13:18Speaker 2: new direction again, you know. All right, grandness, well, thanks
- 13:22Speaker 2: very much for your time, bro.
- 13:23Speaker 3: Speaking Tongues is out this Friday, October the eleventh, So
- 13:27Speaker 3: best of black with the Mate and we'll talk to
- 13:28Speaker 3: you sir.
- 13:33Speaker 5: Right.
- 13:38Speaker 1: Random my souside, things seem chalable, Random.
- 13:52Speaker 5: Soulside so gots out the don like trash it down,
- 14:09Speaker 5: Jos down your side by side staunch, got.
- 14:12Speaker 6: Okay, Shine, tropic spy, got down, cur Rettie free.
- 14:24Speaker 7: Regis you get yourself.
- 14:31Speaker 5: Shot so I don't please get my soap? So this
- 14:51Speaker 5: might be souls up he shot.
- 15:02Speaker 6: Shut out out the body roup the shoe with the
- 15:06Speaker 6: bad rush, got the Bader young.
- 15:09Speaker 5: And johns up Si got make it gum r.
- 15:20Speaker 8: No right your glads like shoot Jay sap su Tim no.
- 15:29Speaker 7: Moment show anger. So I gonna play a game last
- 15:44Speaker 7: my soap so of this my best.
- 15:53Speaker 5: Show see fit not to show. You don't know I know.
- 16:03Speaker 6: It, force me secon to my you know I'm not
- 16:10Speaker 6: singing this one side.
- 16:16Speaker 8: That's a prom night junction self will be seized as
- 16:22Speaker 8: he made it a ride precatch frassle Rassle.
- 16:27Speaker 1: Let's start crossing Frantom Malicius. It's being makeing suder tempable
- 16:34Speaker 1: as you made me not precatch frassle Rassle. Let's start
- 16:40Speaker 1: classic random Maxo.
- 16:43Speaker 5: Fires Wick.
- 16:51Speaker 6: So let's start Plassanato spread to take a s down about.
- 17:01Speaker 5: You got start, don't do so stop, don't sound so sad,