Meisel, Hubi (October 2006)

Hubi Meisel released his second full-length CD, Kailash, a concept album, in February 2006, receiving rave reviews from Sweden Rock Magazine, Aardschok Magazine, the Sea Of Tranquility and Prognaut websites, among many others. Many might also recognize the name from his time with Dreamscape, or, even earlier, Triple X. Meisel released his first solo recording in 2002, the covers ep Cut, where he presented rearranged versions of his favorite tracks from the 80s. Sun Caged guitar Marcel Coenen guested, and guested again on Meisel's full-length debut, 2004's EmOCean, which also featured keyboardist Vivien Lalu (Lalu), Daniel Flores (Mind's Eye), Jean B. Affonço (Absolute), and Joop Wolters (and for a Japanese edition bonus track, Johan Niemann (Therion, Mind's Eye). Larry "LarryD" Dalieri recently spoke with Meisel.

LarryD: So Hubi, what do you think of the reaction so far to Kailash?

Hubi Meisel: The response to Kailash has been amazing and has even exceeded the success of EmOcean? I was really happy to see that the album received so many enthusiastic reviews and high score ratings!

LD:On EmOcean, you went to the sea for inspiration. What gave you the initial idea to head for the mountains this time?

HM: Like with EmOcean, the inspiration for the Kailash concept came in fact overnight. Before I started planning the follow-up to Kailash, I was hoping to get "a little hint," and that's exactly what happened after a couple of nights, shortly before I woke up in the morning, the "key" to the concept suddenly appeared in my mind: There was this vast fiery sky in shades of gold and red, and in front I could see an endless mountain chain covered by ice and snow. On this very morning it was crystal clear to me that the new album would be about the Himalayas & Tibet, and after some research, it became more and more obvious that the Holy Mount Kailash had to take center stage in the concept. I didn't know much about the Himalayan regions before, but I felt a growing fascination about this wonderful piece of earth. In the following months and weeks, I started reading tons of books, as well as ancient Tibetan writings and speeches of the 14th Dalai Lama, etc., and fully dived into this fascinating culture!

LD:How much research do you do for your projects, and how long does it usually take you to complete the project?

HM: The base of each concept story usually comes intuitively, as it is also with the basic theme of the album. It takes just only a couple of days until the first rough outline of the story is written but then I definitely invest quite a few weeks in doing research and reading books in order to gather detailed background information. All in all, the whole production process of Kailash took more than 2 years, and with EmOcean about 1 and a half years, if I remember correctly. In general I can never foretell exactly how long a production will take, but when I decide to produce an album, I always want to do it right and not just half-heartedly?

LD:Once again, you have gone to the previous musicians you used on EmOcean. Can you tell us a little about them, and why you chose to work with them on Kailash?

HM: Yes, I mostly kept the EmOcean line-up, however, there have been some slight changes for Kailash. Like last time, I closely co-operated with Vivien Lalu (Shadrane) again, who was responsible for composing the instrumental music according to my concept and directions. Viv did an awesome job again, and I simply LOVE his contribution to this album! Dutch guitar wizard Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged), who had already played real fantastic guitars on my previous CDs CUT and EmOcean, so it was quite clear that I would ask him again. This time, however, I decided to split the guitars between Marcel and my dear Spanish friend, young guitar hero Jorge Salśn (Mago de Oz), as we wanted to collaborate for a long time already; he has a very distinctive style and an incredible tone! The "rhythm dream team" consisting of my Swedish buddies Daniel Flores on drums and his band mate Johan Niemann on bass is simply breathtaking; these two guys are a perfect match! Last but not least, Joop Wolters - another great Dutch guitar virtuoso - can be heard on the 2 Bonus Tracks "The Gentleman Of Great Magic" and "Tigers Of Everest." ALL of the guys did an incredible job, and each of them added a beautiful dimension to Kailash. I feel truly blessed to have been joined by such great guys.

LD: What do you feel are some of the major differences between your two discs? In other words, was it more difficult to come with the concept of Kailash than it was with EmOcean, and what are some of the problems you encountered, if any?

HM: Apart from the completely different themes of each story, the main difference is the elemental connection: EmOcean was all about the elements of water & air, whereas Kailash deals with the elements of earth & air, so you can maybe guess what will come next? Haha! I would not say that it was "more" difficult to come up with the concept for Kailash as the process was more or less the same. However, as I tend to identify myself completely with the narrator of the story when doing the vocals, I sometimes had a real hard time during the recordings. For example, in the song "Kailash - Jewel Of Ice," there is this long part at the end where I am singing about the 13 pilgrim rounds around the holy Mount Kailash, which have to be done before you are considered "pure" enough to be allowed to enter the inner region of this sacred mountain. Believe it or not, but when I was recording this special passage, I felt like [I was] jinxed, it was like walking and walking and never reaching the goal... haha!

LD: Hubi, when you write, do you specifically target a concept, or does it come to you naturally? Do you initially decide to write a concept?

HM: Yes, I knew from the very beginning that it would become a concept CD again, as I simply felt that this would be the next step in my "journey of life," but I was really not "planning" to do an album about Tibet and the 14th Dalai Lama, this all evolved only after I had seen the scenery with the red sky & the mountain in this dream I told you about before. you could say this dream was the "initial ignition," and everything else then developed from that starting base. With EmOcean it was very similar, also there everything started with a dream sequence I had one night.

LD: So both of these discs have some philosophical background to them. Where does that come from? Are you schooled in that area?

HM: During school and studies at university I was quite a bit into philosophy, but this was more of a purely mental thing... that's not what I want to express with my CDs. I definitely dive very deeply into the themes of my CDs, but my aim is not to "educate," but to motivate the listener to start dreaming again, and to listen to the voice of their heart instead of viewing and analyzing everything mentally. The real ancient Greek meaning of the word "philosophy" is "friend of wisdom", but philosophy is not like that anymore today; in my opinion philosophy has been mentalized way too much. Wisdom is not just something mental; it also has a lot to do with spirituality and intuition. I feel one's REAL truth and wisdom can only be drawn from the journey within us, and not just from books or teachings.

LD: You do your own producing and have your own studio, is that correct? How do you get that great sound of yours?

HM: Yes, I have my own recording studio. It's not big, but very well equipped. I spent a lot of time on finding & combining the right technical components. I prefer analogue tube gear and top-notch converters, which are important to achieve a "warm" and fat sound. To me this studio is really important, as it enables me to work in peace and as long as I want each day, independently from any time pressure... to me, a production is like wine, if you want to have a good one, it simply requires a big deal of time and devotion.

LD: Sorry to put you on the spot, but do you think there will come a time when you want to work with another producer?

HM: Of course there are a some real cool producers out there, however, I'm currently not planning to hire someone for that job. the possibility of total artistic freedom is very important to me, and being influenced by someone else would not feel right to me. My concept CDs are something very personal, and I'm quite sure someone else could never feel it exactly in the same way as I do. When you listen closely, you'll hear many little hidden details and effects on these albums, it's like a big puzzle, all pieces of this puzzle have a certain meaning to me, and I doubt that another producer would be ready to engage that deeply in the journey that is represented by each of these albums. Apart from that, I simply LOVE producing & engineering, so I definitely prefer keep on doing it on my own.

LD: Which disc was more difficult to write and produce?

HM: I would say Kailash was more complex & difficult.

LD: Speaking of writing and producing, how is the process of creating your disc determined since the musicians don't live around you?

HM: The process was the same like for EmOcean: First I sent the concept to Vivien, along with rough directions on the moods & song structures, etc, whereupon he sent me his first ideas via MP3. We then were discussing and arranging the material together, until it matched the vision I had in my mind for each song. Viv is really very patient with me and has no problem to change a passage over and over again if needed. After the instrumental base of the songs was done, I started writing the vocal melodies & lyrics. The other musicians involved then received a pre-production, but each of them still had the freedom to use their own ideas and creativity. The other guys all have their own recording possibilities or know a good studio in their vicinity, so the recording of the instrumental parts could be realized without much stress and traveling. We stayed in contact via phone or e-mail during the recordings, and when the recordings of the instruments were finished, I received the separate instrumental tracks on CD-R or DVD and I could finally start the mix-down in my studio.

LD: Some people (including myself) refer to your music as a sort of, Progressive Metal meets New Age. How do you feel about that term? In fact, it's a rare combination. Do you think that this combination has a lot to do with the success of the disc?

HM: I think this labelling you mention really hits the mark, the concepts of EmOcean and Kailash in fact have a strong spiritual aspect, which is probably something quite new to the genre. These CDs clearly differ from the mainstream, and I do think that this was one of the reasons why EmOcean and especially Kailash have aroused quite some attention... those who take the time to dive into these albums can sense that they go way beyond the surface, and that it isn't something which was "calculated" according to commercial aspects and current trends.

LD: Your vocals this time seemed to take on more emotion than on EmOcean. It's almost as if you gear your vocal style to the concept you are writing about. Is it safe to say that?

HM: You've discovered a real subtle key here. Yes, in fact I always adapt my vocal style to the mood of the concept and its core message. In my opinion the vocals on Kailash partly sound a bit more "rooted" and present, which has also to do with the elemental connection, as Kailash represents the element of Earth. The vocals on EmOcean are definitely different, as this album has a completely different theme and therefore sounds less tangible and somewhat "aquatic".

LD: Let's face it Hubi, you've got a unique voice. How do you react to the statements that your voice isn't heavy enough? Also, on Dreamscape's Very, you used a more aggressive approach to your vocal style, like on "Thorn In My Mind." Was that because of the music itself, or something you thought would fit the music better. Do you see yourself using that aggressive style in your future music?

HM: Well, I think this whole topic is more of a subjective thing, as I noticed that everyone perceives it in a different way. To me, for example, the vocals on Kailash sound more powerful than those on Very, which was also what most people told me after the release of Kailash, and I also don't consider my vocals on "Thorn In My Mind" as "aggressive"... haha. so you see, it's mainly a matter of perception. As a rule, I never ever THINK about what style to use. I just sing it like it flows out of me; I simply follow my instincts and feelings. Some people equate "power" with aggression, but I personally don't share that point of view. To me, the true power lies in the honest expression of emotions, and when I don't feel aggression inside of me, I simply don't see the point in playing the "brute & angry" guy. You can sometimes hear me sing in a heavier style when it matches the context of a song or passage, but why should I scream and shout when I don't feel it that way and when it doesn't even match the context. Many people have told me that they like my vocals exactly because of that fact, that I don't follow the vocal clichés of the metal sector, and those who prefer more typical vocals are not forced to listen to my CDs. After all, the market is big enough to meet all different kinds of vocal tastes, so I'll simply stay true to myself and keep on doing what I FEEL . To finally answer the last part of your question: IF it matches the lyrics: Why not? But if it doesn't? NO WAY! I would never ever sing something I don't feel just to try to be everybody's darling ;-)

LD: I'm sure that playing out live is a difficult thing since you are all separated. Do you think there will be a time when you are able to play some shows live?

HM: Until a couple of years ago, I was a lot on stage, and I must say that I really enjoy playing live a lot because you then can really interact with people, I mean you can look them straight in the eye and share your emotions with them more directly. However, the Kailash line-up consists of musicians from 5 different countries, so you can maybe imagine that it wouldn't be easy to go on tour, and the costs and risk of such a venture would indeed be enormous, but my motto is to "never say never," so let's see simply see what future has in store!

LD: So now that you have covered the ocean and the mountains. Can you give us a sneak preview of where you might be headed next? Will your next disc be a concept as well?

HM: As the next album won't probably be finished before 2008, it would be way too early to already let the cat out of the bag, haha... but I can already tell you that the next disc will be a concept album again; in fact it will be the last part of a conceptual trilogy. Viv, Daniel, Johan, Marcel & Jorge will definitely be "on board" again and then there will be someone else who will join the line-up, but also that is still a little secret ;-)

LD: Can you tell us a little bit about the artist and the artwork of your discs?

HM: My friend from Switzerland, Kallias X (www.kallias.com), formerly known as Chris "Saiyan" Kallias, once again did a breathtaking job with the visualization of the concept story. He is a great guy, and he's always willing to try to match my vision and the concept story as much as possible? I'm very happy that we will cooperate also for my next disc!

LD:Hubi, thanks for your time and we certainly look forward to your next disc. All the best, my friend.

HM: Dear Larry, thanks a lot for this interview, I really appreciate your profound interest! My best wishes also go out to all readers of ProgressiveWorld! Take care & have a great time!!!

Discography:
Triple X - Dreamdancer (1996)
Dreamscape - Very (1999)
Maeve Of Connacht - Imaginary Tales (2001)
Cut (2002)
Book Of Reflections - Book Of Reflections (2004)
EmOcean (2004)
Kailash (2006)