Interview : Textures
Since the release of their debut album Polars, Textures has become a BIG name in Progressive Metal. Their style of composing has been often referred to as distinct and overwhelming. They released their album ‘Dualism’ on September 23rd which is their best release till date. This is what they had to say about their new record and their future plans when we at My Metal Bin talked to them.
MMB - Most of the members have been playing together for a long time. Obviously you guys must be close to each other, how does this help Textures when it comes to Song writing? Does this result in accumulation of lot of new creative ideas from each member ?
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Bart – Definitely. Besides the fact that we are band mates we are also friends. Not 24/7 every day, but some days in the week. We inspire each other with new music and new ideas. Not only musically, but also in watching movies, recommending books or documentaries, everything. In all kinds of ways we keep each other inspired in a natural way, and when we come together to write music, creative stuff comes out always!
MMB - You guys have come to India twice in two consecutive years (Deccan Rock 2009; IIT Rendezvous 2010). What drives you back to this country again and again?
Bart - The overwhelming enthusiasm to new and modern music. It’s like people hear such heavy music for the first time. The exchanging of energy between stage and audience is amazing. Besides that it’s a beautiful country to visit. Right after the gigs in Bangalore and Delhi we went to Goa and to the Himalayan Mountains. I can say that for the whole band the trips were life-changing experiences!
MMB - Drawing Circles was critically acclaimed worldwide since 2006, it has given you lot of exposure and you guys have toured with big acts like Gojira, Arch Enemy, The Ocean etc. Did this success somewhat affected your approach of Song writing and production related stuff which ultimately paved way for Silhouettes?
Bart - When it comes to songwriting, not in any case. But when it comes to playing, yes. We learned a lot about how to set up a show and how to reach a maximum level of tightness in playing without losing energy in hyping the crowd.
Song-writing-wise we are still the stubborn guys that stick to a huge open pallet of sounds and song approaches. We don’t stick to just one song formula, we just write what comes out. Sometimes that’s a heavy, blasting song, sometimes it’s a more ambient/rock kind of song like Messengers or the instrumental one on the new record; Burning the Midnight Oil
MMB - Textures is known for complex song writing. Insane riff attacks, vocal melodies and polyrhythmic layers. Which song from new album Dualism defines Textures?
Bart - The first song we have put online was Singularity: It is a big, long song, heavy as hell in the beginning, and ends very epic. It has about all that Textures has to offer right now.
MMB - Tell us something about the lyrical concept of Dualism? How different is from previous releases?
Bart - All our lyrics are always about contrasts; contrasts in Life; dark and light, good and bad. Dualism is about finding balance.
MMB - Recently you had your first ever US tour titled “Frak The Gods Tour” with the Periphery and The Human Abstract. Tell us something about it? How was the response?
Bart - It was great! It was a perfect package for all the bands; the bands were very diverse, still there was one coherency; technical progressive metal. So all the fans really liked us as well, and there were surprisingly much Textures fans that came out and screamed along the lyrics; awesome to see!
MMB - First three albums were released through Listenable Records and Dualism through Nuclear Blast. How has the label treated Textures? Was there any sort of pressure from them regarding Dualism?
Bart - Nope, we had all the freedom we wanted, we could take our time and we really wanted to take our time until it felt finished for ourselves, because Dualism is the biggest thing we have done so far.
MMB - Textures had two listening parties in New York and Mumbai. Stef was voted the best Dutch Drummer. How do you guys feel about your success as an international band?
Bart - It’s great of course! There are a lot of things happening, but the main thing we focus on is of course the music. We are glad the music spreads so far, even in India, where our albums are not even in the stores!
MMB - How do you feel Dualism compares to your other albums, such as Silhouettes? It seems like there’s a completely different feel on this album. Did working with Daniel affect the writing and the sound of the album?
Bart - We think it is a natural follow-up, not very different. We focused on sound more than ever, and also on melody. A lot of the songs were already written, and Daniel made a lot of his own vocal lines of course, i think it fits very well within the Textures sound.
By - Aasheesh Aghori Mehta, Owais Vitek Nabi, Manan Kapoor and Szakk Scorn.
