Winter, Andy (Winds) (August 2002)

Reflections

Beautiful classical interludes, heavy hypnotic riffing, and serene woven musical interplay help to define the sound of Winds. Yet, their sound is more than just a few adjectives or descriptions; instead, it can truly be considered an experience, more so a journey, one that blends different atmospheres, a designated intelligence, and a certain creative balance. To fully understand the fabric of Winds, coming off their 2002 release entitled Reflections Of The I, I decided to talk with piano/synth player and composer Andy Winter

Shawn Lakhani: Hello Andy, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. First things first, can you describe your musical background? Also, can you elaborate about the beginnings of Winds?

Andy Winter: I started taking piano lessons when I was 9 years old, because I come from a family with much musical background. Since then I expanded into other instruments, too. I have done some work here and there for other bands, but I've never been a typical band individual, mostly because I have liked to sail in my own sea. It wasn't until Winds came about that I was seriously dedicated to just one thing, and that happened somewhat by coincidence after myself and the other guys started talking about working together. I had some musical ideas worked out already but I wasn't sure how to utilize them until we had figured out who was going to be involved. And that process was relatively simple, because there were not really any options. I had specifically thought out who I believed would be able to make a good contribution to Winds, people I either knew from before or had gotten to know through friends. I would probably not have initiated Winds without these people, since without them the project would have been very difficult to complete. But we ended up finding the perfect lineup for the band, and the only lineup that could ever work with this band I think.

SL: Both Reflections Of The I and Of Entity And Mind have some amazing lyrics, extremely thought provoking. Can you explain the ideas behind them in your own words?

AW: The ideas come from things that fascinate me, and based on that, I have written conceptual stories for both those albums. I appreciate the comments you make, because I feel that lyrics are really what I have to put the most work into out of everything I do. Getting recognition for that is therefore very rewarding. Apart from this, I don't like to over-explain my lyrics, and I feel that people should instead experience the whole impression that we try to give on the album, including music, art and lyrics as a total package.

SL: The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra worked with you on the last CD. How did they fit with the presentation and concept of the album? And, will they be used again on the next release in the future?

AW: They fit in really well and they did a great job. I had only spoken with them over the phone before I met them the first time, which was when we went into the studio, so I must say I had expected something completely different than what was actually the case. I expected old guys in suits and ties, but they were actually much younger than I had thought, and they were very open-minded musically speaking. We will definitely use a string ensemble again on our future releases, if it will be all the same musicians is a different matter, but the strings have become such an important part of our sound that they will appear in the future as well.

SL: Talking about the future release, can you divulge any information about it? How will it compare to prior albums? Also, how do you look at new albums? Are they supposed to top the last one, or are they an extension of what you want to do?

AW: Probably both, as we always want to top what we've done before, but at the same time we will always go in whatever direction we feel like. With every Winds album there a distinct mood that will be different, but at the same time we won't stray away from what makes up our identity as a band, so in the future you can expect us to utilize our further development and growth as individual musicians and as a band, but we won't end up being something completely different than what we have already established ourselves to be.

SL: I love the combination of your classical approach with the blistering guitar work of Carl August Tidemann. How exactly do you try to balance the combination of metal and classical music in your songwriting?

AW: I think that just happens on its own, as a result of how we work with the material. Carl and I make the foundations of the compositional work, so while I start out with the basics, which are usually classically inspired ideas written for piano or strings, he adds his progressive touches to that when he works on the guitar arrangements. So it's the combination of the classical and the progressive elements, which in my opinion makes the music as unique as it is. The other two guys will then come with their ideas, Lars [Eric Si] is in charge of transcribing the string arrangements to the string ensemble, and Jan Axel [von Blomberg] works as a creative consultant and comes with ideas on how to improve the ideas by defining the accent in the music.

SL: I have to ask this. What are your main influences as both a piano player and as a composer/musician in general?

AW: My influences would primarily come from classical music, but it's difficult to name specifics because I have tried over the years to develop my own style, and disassociate myself from becoming locked into certain traits that can be heavily associated with a specific influence. If you asked Carl this question he would mention Dream Theater, Yngwie and Vai for sure, who have influenced his guitar playing a lot when he was younger, but he has also in recent years developed a very original style that stands out as his own. I am for example not a fan of too many of those other guitar-virtuouses, because I feel that a lot of them lack a good tone, and the ability to create interesting melody lines. For a lot of them it's only about technique, and that's where I feel Carl has an advantage, because even though he has good technique as well, he also has the ability to choose the right notes that suit the arrangements in a perfect manner. For us it's not about putting the most notes into a song, it's about playing the right notes at the right time.

SL: I saw in another interview that you prefer using real instruments instead of keyboards or synthesizers. I think you said, "We now know what it is and keyboards are not part of it and there won't be much use of it in the future. We're going to use acoustic instruments of different kinds tied in with our normal instrumentation." Why the preference, and how does it help to create the beauty in Winds' music?

AW: We are a very organic sounding band, so we want to use the real thing. As Carl mentioned further in that interview you refer to, there is no way you can get a synth to have as much personality and warmth as an authentic string ensemble, who have had years of training, who add their personal expression and vibrato to the music, and who plays on hundred thousand dollar instruments. Of course we create the arrangements for them ahead of time, but even so, they still add some personality and their own playing style to it. A synthesizer will never sound like the real thing. Another reason is because there are a lot of parallels to classical music and jazz in the way we perform our music. We improvise a lot, which I would think is uncommon for a lot of metal bands, who most of them have probably rehearsed exactly what to play for weeks and weeks in their rehearsal studio. We don't work that way for the most part. We plan to improvise. You also won't see a classical or jazz concert with synthesizers or keyboards on stage, to put it that way, and in the same way, they don't really have a place in our music.

SL: Being that your field of music is not popular in a worldly way, why have you decided to be persistent with what you want to do? I mean, with your ability, you could probably find more lucrative ventures, but why make Winds your musical purpose when it's not really noticed by many of the common musical audience?

AW: It is our goal that over time the quality of our music will become recognized by more people. I guess there is some truth to what Andreas at The End Records [their label] says: "We have to educate the record buying public into appreciating and recognizing quality for what it really is." But even if that doesn't happen, we're still satisfied if through our music we can reach a smaller number of people and have them really appreciate what we do, instead of being an averagely liked band to a lot of listeners. When I get fan mail from people saying that this is the best thing they've heard in years, or that they started playing guitar after hearing our songs, then that's what keeps you pushing on through the tough times. That's when you realize you have made a difference.

SL: You moved to California from Norway not long ago, is that correct? Do you see a difference between the two environments regarding peoples' musical tastes?

AW: I have really not had time to study this phenomenon closely because I've been extremely busy ever since I set foot here, but it is my general impression that things in America are more controlled by trends, and since ultimately trends are controlled by capitalism, (yes, it's true) it makes it difficult for a band such as us to get the recognition we would hope to get. America is a tougher market for us, there is no doubt about that, but there are also a lot more people here, so we're still optimistic. We're very happy with The End and the job they have done for us. In this business there is often a lot of talk but not a lot of action, so it's good to see that there are still labels out there who care about their bands, and that do everything in their power to make the bands happy. That's how it should be, because without us they are nothing.

SL: How does the name Winds reflect the purpose of the band, and how did it come to be?

AW: The name came from the original lyrical concept that was intended for our first album, but that concept was never completed. I decided to write a whole new concept after it was clear that we wouldn't be able to finish it. Driving home from the studio one night, Jan Axel and I were discussing potential names, upon when the name Winds just hit me. Originally being associated with the first concept, we both agreed that the name suited the music and the band perfectly. It was then decided.

SL: How does being producer affect the way you look at your band's own music? When you are actually playing your instrument (s), does the producer instinct get involved as well?

AW: Yes, and I'm definitely the one in the band who spends the most time on arranging my own instrument. Creating ideas for the songs goes relatively fast, but perfecting the piano parts can sometimes be a literal pain in the ass. Sometimes I feel like I'm too much of a perfectionist, but that's just how I am. I still feel like I can combine the two roles pretty easily, and the other guys also feel that it's very necessary that I take on this producer role, because I'm probably the one in the band who has the best ability to make sure everything that needs to be done actually gets done.

SL: Should we ever expect a radical change from Winds in the future? Of course, I'm talking about albums that are far off in the timetable. Or, is what we hear now the certain style that you are trying to develop to the max?

AW: It's impossible for us to predict the future, but as things are now we don't foresee any radical changes. You will probably find us improving upon what we already do, and develop it to the max like you said. After we have done that we might decide to do something different, but for right now there are no plans to change drastically. This is what works for us at the moment, and we really enjoy what we do.

SL: What aspect does originality play into your musical direction?

AW: It is of course a goal, I would hope, for any band or musician to have a certain degree of originality. For us I think this is one of our strongest aspects, too, as we are very creative individuals, and we never have problems coming up with new ideas for this band.

SL: How did Travis Smith's cover on Reflections Of The I add to the lyrical and musical concept of the album?

AW: The intention was that it would complement it to be a good representation of an imagined visual manifestation of the concept. This I think we achieved very well after working together with Travis for many many weeks.

SL: Your band members come from different bands (Arcturus, Khold, Mayhem, etc...) and styles of music. How does each member's varied approach contribute to how well the band compliments each other as a whole?

AW: I think when we go into Winds mode we leave all those other bands behind. Winds is a very unique thing, which requires its own delicate approach, but as a whole I think all the bands we do pretty much complete the whole specter of all the things we would like to be doing. We're very diverse musicians and we want to cultivate this through involvement in different projects. Doing just one thing would become too boring for us in the long run.

SL: You have to be one of my favorite musicians nowadays, Andy. Why, basically, did you decide to be one? This is more a question before the background I guess you would say.

AW: Thank you very much for the kind words once again. They are much appreciated. I can't really say what made me decide, it was more something I always wanted to do ever since I quit playing music for many years in my teens. I just have a lot of creativity that needs to be expressed somehow, and for me, music is a natural way to express myself. I really love music.

SL: Is there any chance or possibility that we would ever see Winds play live?

AW: Yes, there is a chance, although we don't know much about this yet. We have decided to put off this topic until after we've released album number three, which will be sometime in 2003.

SL: Ok, last question here, Andy. What road lies ahead for both you and the band?

AW: For me the road ahead is to grow as a musician and to master the skills of this art even further. For the band the road ahead is to continue making the music that we like, and to hopefully be able to reach even more people with it as time goes by, and to have even more people appreciate what we do. That is what we hope to accomplish.

Discography:
Of Entity And Mind (EP) (2000)
Reflections Of The I (2002/2005)
The Imaginary Direction Of Time (2004/2005)
Prominence And Demise (2007)