Parry, Ian (Elegy, Consortium Project) (May 2002)

The Principals Of Parry

Slated to travel to Aruba to manage the video for the title-track of their new album, we were able to catch Elegy's Ian Parry on the fly and ask something about Principles Of Pain. As usual we found a professional and caring musician who gently answered all kind of questions we wanted to pose. So enjoy the talk and keep your eyes on your TV, Ian Parry is certainly coming your way!

Igor Italiani: Hi Ian ... how are you doin'?

Ian Parry: Hi Igor! Well, I'm doing real fine, even if I'm a bit busy rehearsing with Elegy now for the upcoming Rock Machina [it's a Spanish festival -II] and other shows we have planned for July.

II: OK, I would like to immediately ask you how this new relationship with Locomotive Music is going?

IP: As you can certainly imagine Elegy came into contact with Locomotive Music because I licensed my Consortium Project II album with them, so I explained to the band that we should do the same. So now we finance our own recordings and then license them to Locomotive Music worldwide (excluding Japan and Asia, where we are licensed to Marquee Inc.). We hope that in the future we can record & license even more Elegy albums for Locomotive and Frontiers, who are handling the release and distribution in Italy.

II: I've read that you are already talking about a September tour ... do you know how many dates will you include?

IP: Well, we have been negotiating a tour for Brazil and, as I told you before, we are scheduled to play at the Rock Machina festival in Spain, in July. But you have to consider that Elegy, along with the help of Fabio and Irene, who head our Italian fan club, hope to organize at least a couple of shows also in Italy around the same period. So please check out the webpage www.elegyworld.com for more info.

II: Talking about the new album ... the aspect that surprised me the most was the exceptional wall of sound offered mainly by the guitars. So the recording studio you choose proved to be very effective in the end...

IP: Locomotive sent us examples of recordings made in Madrid, and we felt that Sonora studios would give us the authentic drum & guitar sound which we wanted. And I must say that, as the producer of the Principles Of Pain album, I (obviously) feel the production is stronger and the songwriting/arrangements are less complicated, but still progressive and more modern. So I'm proud of the performances of my colleagues and proud of my production, too. Mmh, I hope it doesn't sound too arrogant this way ... ha-ha ... however if you want a full report on the recording sessions just surf to my website (www.ianparry.com) and you'll find everything's there.

II: Who wrote the lyrics and music for the new album?

IP: Normally I write all the lyrics, simply because it's the fastest and easiest way for me to record and bring across the vocal lines. Concerning the music, a lot of tracks were written by Patrick Rondat, among them "The Inner Room" and "No Code, No Honour." Martin Helmantel wrote "Under My Skin," "Pilgrims Parade" (this one with the help of Dirk Bruinenberg), "Silence In The Wind" and "Missing Persons," while I composed "Hypothesis," "Principles Of Pain" and "A Child's Breath" (along with Martin)...

II: I've seen in the liner notes that everyone managed to do some keyboard programming in the album. But do you plan to include a keyboard player on the upcoming tour and maybe further?

IP: Basically, as I prepared all the backing tracks using the Protools 24 track hard disk recording system, I needed the keyboard parts and vocals to be finished before leaving for Madrid, so we ended up using programmed parts from Dirk, Patrick & myself, but the majority of keyboard tracks were re-recorded and performed by newcomer and very talented Joshua Dutrieux in the end. You know, I found Joshua (who is a 25 year old wizard), after receiving a demo tape from his former band.

II: Do you think that the next step for the band will be a live album or not?

IP: Yes, it would be cool, and it's something we are seriously considering. Mmh ... I guess that if the right venue or festival and opportunity comes along, we'll do it.

II: Concerning the songs, this time you decided to abandon the idea of a concept to focus more on simple topics. It's a choice you really wanted to do or it just happened this way?

IP: Usually we try to re-invent ourselves with each album we record. We wanted something different and love, relationships and matters of the heart were subjects we'd never written about before, so we gave it a try. But please remember that I always try to write with a twist or using a different angle, and not the obvious.

II: The track that I love the most is "Missing Persons," can you tell me if the lyrics of this song were inspired by some real fact or not? And what about the guest performance of Eduard Hovinga in the track?

IP: "Missing Persons" is a crime story about a couple in a small sleepy village who mysteriously disappear after their home burned down. The locals believe that a jealous ex-girlfriend is involved, but nothing can be proven. Talking about Eduard, I thought it would be great to have his guest appearance for the fans, to have both him (the original Elegy lead singer) and myself do a song together. And you know what? Eduard was so enthusiastic, that he recorded backing vocals on another 4 songs.

II: These talks about love and relationships are pretty much centred on the darker side, as evidenced also by the title you choose: Principles Of Pain. Why did you leave off love's happiness? Maybe to include it on a sequel?

IP: No not at all, maybe you are misinterpreting the title. "Principles Of (emotional) Pain" refers to emotional pain, that's all. The pain felt by a man or woman who has been emotionally hurt. I've never known anything dark about problems within a relationship and people suffering from a broken heart. There are no references in the lyrics to anything sinister. I just like to write lyrics using a different angle, and not stating the obvious (as did old 80's bands).

II: Ian, can you do a personal evaluation of these seven years spent with Elegy?

IP: Yes. I think that Elegy have managed to stay true to their roots and style over the past 10 years, since Martin Helmantel and Henk van der Laars first formed the band. I'd like to believe that our fans agree with us, that Elegy have never tried to copy other bands, and has a style of their own. What Elegy have tried to do over the years is be original and do things differently and not follow trends or make music just so we can make money. Obviously it's my wish that we tour Japan (again), Europe, the USA and South America, doing a live album and maybe even writing a hit song, something with which we'll be remembered by.

II: Ian, looking in retrospect, is there an album you would completely change, or are you satisfied with every one you've realized?

IP: I wish we could have remixed State Of Mind, using a little less effects (reverbs) and a more dryer production and make the mastering levels higher in volume and thus heavier. I think Manifestation Of Fear was a fantastic concept CD, but if we would have dropped a few tracks like "Victim Of Circumstance," replacing it with an uptempo song, this album would have done far better.

II: I have no more questions, Ian. There's something else you would like to add?

IP: The only thing I would like to add is that that Elegy are doing their best to tour Italy soon. We'd like to ask our loyal Italian fans to write to Frontiers (our distributors) and to promoters in Italy, asking them to help Elegy play live in Italy ... and thanks for supporting us all these years.

II: So thank you Ian. Bye and see you soon here in Italy!

IP: I surely hope so. Bye and all the best to you, too.

Discography:
Elegy - Lost (1995)
Elegy - Primal Instinct (EP) (1996)
Elegy - State Of Mind (1997)
Elegy - Manifestation Of Fear (1998)
Ian Parry's Consortium Project (1999)
Elegy - Forbidden Fruit (2000)
Consortium Project II: Continuum In Extremeis (2001)
Elegy - Principles Of Pain (2002) Consortium III - Terra Incognita (the Undiscovered World (2003)
Consortium IV - Children Of Tomorrow (2007)
Consortium V - Species (2011)