SOURCE – It’s been 2 years since Universal Chaos. You have been busy with many other things, what made the time right to come back to writing for the band?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – So after the release of Universal Chaos in May 2019, we were touring with VOLA in September 2019 and Anathema in March 2020 in Europe. We were actually in the midst of touring with Anathema in Europe when Covid broke out, and we had to leave home after playing our 6th gig out of 18 planned. After that we started to write individually at home, since we couldn’t meet up, and we had several sessions where we would meet up online and write together as well. We also had some ideas which we didn’t use on Universal Chaos but continued to write on for this record. The whole process for this album was essentially that, except for meeting up once and rehearsing a few of the songs, while arranging them a little as well. Eventually we felt like we had enough material for the next album, and entered the studio with Baard in November 2021.
SOURCE – The album Universal Chaos represents a fresh outlook considering your time writing and recording in the metal scene. Can you discuss the ambition and goals you wanted to achieve regarding this effort?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – We didn’t really have a certain ambition or goal other than to continue to write and do a second album after our first release. We didn’t plan ahead what kind of album we wanted to make, we just made music and that’s how it ended up. The writing process differed a little bit from Solar Storm, where we all studied together and had band rehearsals twice a week, and we would write the album collaboratively. For Universal Chaos we all moved to different places, and we would meet up two and two and write together instead of the whole band. The songs ended up a little shorter than the first album, but that was just a result of that. One thing we wanted was to make the album sound better than Solar Storm recording and mixing wise, and we felt like we achieved that, having gained studio experience from the first album.
SOURCE – How do you feel so far about the worldwide response to this record? Have there been any surprises in terms of appeal, and how do you handle any criticism if it’s given?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – The response was great. The reviews were very good and people were happy about it. The only thing we did notice was that some of the reviews talked about how the songs had become more “pop”, or that we had a more “poppy” approach to the songwriting. While that may be true, it wasn’t a conscious decision for us. We just wrote and we felt like it didn’t need to be longer just for the purpose of having long songs. We handle criticism well, and that’s to be expected. Not everyone can like us or the directions we’re going in, but we do appreciate it when fans like the new stuff. One other thing we noticed was that fans had different opinions on whether they liked Solar Storm or Universal Chaos better. Some liked the first better, others like the second. That’s also great, we also feel that with the bands we listen to. But overall we were very happy with the response for Universal Chaos.
SOURCE – How do you see the next year in terms of promotion and development of Rendezvous Point – especially considering how the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down touring on a global scale until further notice?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – I think we will not stress with having the album out as fast as we can, but rather wait for the right timing and how much time it will take to get the album finished. The ideal scenario would be to release the album followed closely up with a tour. If we can manage that then we would be happy. Several artists have put out albums during covid but haven’t been able to tour, and I personally feel that the hype might die a lot sooner because of this. We would like to get the whole package – first singles and music videos, then the album, then touring for maximum promotion for our new material. We hope of course that we will be able to do this, but time will tell!
SOURCE – In recent years, the way of consuming music is gone more from purchasing to streaming. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – It’s good that music is so widely available to people, that’s a big bonus. Social media is also a big plus, so that more people can discover our music quicker and easier. The downside however, is that the streaming services and the record companies are taking a big cut of the streaming, leaving the artist with almost no to little income. We as a band have made almost nothing out of the two albums we’ve put out and all the tours we’ve done. We’re still a long way from actually making a living out of it, if it’s a possibility at all. We all have individual jobs and family, and there’s less time to work on music which we’re all passionate about. So that’s definitely a downside about streaming.
SOURCE – Being together as a band since 2010, how has Rendezvous Point handled the changing landscape of the music industry and do you believe you are at an advantage being more of a veteran act, or do you believe it’s a tougher challenge to ascend to new heights because of the sheer number of bands fighting for consumer attention and finances?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – I think that people appreciate us in the prog metal scene, and I feel like we have something that differs us from other bands. We are all educated musicians, and I feel like we pay attention to small details all throughout our music. We have a good understanding of harmony and rhythm, which we try to put in our music. We don’t want to sound like only riffs or stale rhythms and chord progressions, but try to make something that is interesting to us and that’s a little bit more challenging to the ear at times. I do believe there are many bands who fight for the same spot, but the way our fanbase has grown has been to tour. I think that’s the most important thing. Have an album out of course, but if you want to grow your fanbase quick, do a lot of touring. Not all bands have the privilege of doing that, so we’re very lucky in that sense. We also have Baard, who has done a lot of touring with Leprous, and has a lot of international contacts. He’s the one who gets us the tours we’ve been on. So in that sense I think we have a big advantage. We don’t really see other bands as a competition, it’s more like we do it for us, and the journey is ours to embark upon. If anything it’s an inspiration to see other bands do it so well.
SOURCE – What do you see as some of the biggest challenges for Rendezvous Point in terms of establishing yourselves beyond Greece into the international landscape?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – One of the biggest challenges would be that there is a lot of hard work and time involved in succeeding with a band. From making the music, which takes hours and hours, and then to recording, and then to mixing and mastering, and go out on tour, I mean there’s just a lot of work and time that needs to be put in. We’ve already been on several European tours and Norwegian tours (we’re Norwegians if that was unclear), so I’d say that going out to play internationally hasn’t been a struggle for us, much thanks to Baard. But we haven’t played in the US yet, so that would be our next step. Persistence is key, just keep going and going. We all love doing it and want to do it more. ?
SOURCE – Anything else you’d like to mention or promote?
Petter Hallaråker (Guitar) – We are very excited to release our third album when that time comes, and we feel like the material we have is very good. We all feel excited about it, and that we have a lot of good songs, good riffs, hooks, and so forths. We are also itching to go back on tour and get a new hype train going for us as a band.
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