SOURCE – Describe the songwriting and recording process for your single The
Hunter and The Prey.
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – Our first ‘draft’ of the song, came together rather quickly, the riffs and overall arrangement. But Mark (guitar) came in and had ideas for a more intricate approach between the bass and drums in the verse, and it became much more interesting and dynamic. Morten (singer) went along with that idea – a really dynamic vocal performance. Its a song with a lot of contrast, light and shade – both in the music and lyrics.
The drums were recorded at CB studios in Holsted, Denmark. Mark Vistoft (guitarist) produced the rest – we were then lucky to have Ben Grosse (Marylin Manson, Alter Bridge, Breaking Benjamin) mix it and Joe Laporta (David Bowie, Foo Fighters) taking care of the mastering. Everyone did an amazing job, it sounds great!
SOURCE – The single is generating a lot of buzz. After hearing that and a lot of early positive reviews, how does that affect your expectation for an album?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – It’s been great to see the overall response to our single The Hunter and the Prey – We have an EP, that will be available march 27 – and we feel strongly about our material, so we hope it will resonate with people. As for a feature length album, we can’t wait to get in the studio – I think we put a lot of pressure upon ourselves and try not to get distracted by what might be expected of outside influences. But we got some great material, just waiting to take shape in a studio!
SOURCE – How did the The Hunter and The Prey music video come together and who did you work with on that?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – William Findinge, our director, did a wonderful job – we wanted it to be honest and very ‘to the bone’ kind of approach, so a performance video was ideal for what we were trying to convey – ‘here we are and this is what we do.
SOURCE – Let me ask you something different. World financial crisis is hurting people during the last years. How does it affect the music industry and is there a reason for the rise of illegal downloading in your opinion?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – Well its an uphill battle for record labels, obviously with the financial crisis as a factor, but maybe even more so, the increasing decline of record sales due to online piracy. As for musicians, the Internet has made it easier for artist to get exposure – and with the current technology enableling us to make our own small studios, we can now record with less expenses without the help from some of these major labels. But to have an Income, musicians now rely, heavily on concert tickets and mechandizing, so touring has become more essential than ever. We just have to adapt really. So how you get exposure, the technology, along with an easy acessibility combined with the consumer mentality of today, is probably some of the reasons why we keep seeing an increase in illegal downloading, changing the landscape of the industry – there is pros and cons to it.
SOURCE – How is the metal/rock scene in Aarhus these days?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – Its not part of the mainstream, like in most places nowadays. But if you look for it, it’s still there lurking in the dark. People that love rock or metal, are usually very passionate about it and will seek it down. We just have to work hard and make people aware of it.
SOURCE – What kind of music do you listen to except for metal? Would you like to name us a few bands?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – We all have very different musical backgrounds in We the Moon. We listen to anything really – jazz, blues, classical music, hiphop, indie… the list is endless. The great thing is that we are able to bring something different to the table, and draw our inspirations into our own music.
SOURCE – What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of music?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – Music is very time consuming to say the least! Its no complaint, but there is little time to nuture other hobbies – and we have friends and families to take care of as well. That said, we like to stay in the creative realm – writing, painting, watching movies, anything to feed our imagination.
SOURCE – Any closing words at all?
Brian Stilling Nielsen (Bass) – We want to thank everyone for supporting our music! It means the world to us! We have an upcoming EP that is going to be released on march 27, called “rhea” – and we are gearing up for some liveshows as well! See you out in the road!
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