Hovinga, Eduard (Mother Of Sin) (November 2005)

Interview With Eduard Hovinga of Mother Of Sin

Unforgettable, with such interpretations like the one inside Elegy's masterpiece Lost, Eduard Hovinga finally returns to action with his new band, Mother Of Sin, where he can express himself as a guitarist, too. Or was he a brilliant guitarist trapped in a vocalist spot? Just read on?

Igor Italiani: Hello Eduard, how are you doin'? It's a pleasure to see you back on the music stage with a new up and coming act ... so let's start the interview. First of all I would like to focus on the Cacophony reminiscence that spins out after listening to Apathy. I thought that, after almost 20 years since their inception, no one would dare to venture and write some technical music in the vein of this great eighties band. What's up with that?

Eduard Hovinga: First of all, I'm a big fan of this type of guitar music! Always have been ? it started off with Yngwie Malmsteen and Vandenberg. But when I first heard Cacophony I was totally blown away! I never ever heard anyone play the stuff Marty Friedman and Jason Becker came up with. Yet also Leatherwolf, Racer-X and Apocrypha drove me insane! I wanted a band like that, playing real heavy metal with loads of energy and strong melodies. Yet I wanted it to sound different and unique.

II: In fact we are not speaking about a simple replica of the afore-mentioned band, as there are hints of Elegy and some really heavy stuff in there, as well as melodic choruses. I have to admit it's an actual tour-de-force of different styles for the typical heavy metal listener, isn't it?

EH: Hmm I guess it is. I think that it is a good thing. You have to keep in mind that to us this is the logical music to play. There is not a sense of switching styles, it's just what we are when creating music, while making use of the broad array of musical styles we really love.

II: The title of the album in a certain way refers to the worldwide state of apathy that we feel nowadays or is it just a coincidence?

EH: You nailed it straight away! The cover of the album really nails the feeling also. The lyrics of the song "Apathy" tells the whole story. It's a fucking outrage that we all moan and cry over our pity Western problems while in a lot of parts of the world children are abused by soldiers, or getting forced into prostitution or simply die of hunger, thirst or illness. The world is watching it real time by use of satellite! World leaders look away and just do nothing. We are all in a state of apathy and the worst thing of it is that we just don't give a damn! There are lots of people getting richer just by exploiting this situation. There must be a penalty for that somewhere, somehow.

II: Eduard, I was surprised to check that the majority of the guitar solos are up to you. I didn't know that you were such a gifted guitarist. Can you tell me how you developed your skills, aside from the great vocal abilities that you possess?

EH: Like I told you earlier, I always have been a guitar freak. I always and still see myself as a guitarist first and singer secondly! I worked my way up the musical ladder in Elegy as a singer because that's what they were looking for in that band at that time. Elegy already had two guitarists so that didn't leave me a lot of room for guitar parts. Also the music was too complex to sing and play at the same time. I did play some guitar solos on the Supremacy and Lost albums though! I always kept on practising on my technique knowing that one day I would start up a band of my own, letting me do the stuff I love the most ... playing guitar and singing. I worked hard on a style of my own using a lot a different guitar techniques. It is all about the attitude of the solo and not the speed or used techniques though.

II: Speaking about tracks' characteristics, can you tell me what's behind "Mother Of Sin," which possesses a great rhythm structure in my opinion?

EH: "Mother Of Sin" is the first song I wrote for this band. It's a 5/8 beat and that gives it the Celtic feel you can spot. We really love the song. It's great to play live as well ... it functions a bit as a ballad. Even if it really isn't one. The acoustic part in the middle has a classical/folk feel to it and really makes the song structure complete. It's the only song on the albums with an anti-solo. It sort of does not have one ... it's more like a passage. Lyric-wise it handles with the ongoing dispute in Ireland. The fact that religion can blind you so much that one does the opposite of what is asked from him or her. This killing in the name of religion is also an outrage!

II: Eduard, before embarking on this new project you were the lead singer of two other great acts, Elegy and Prime Time. Can you tell us why the latter ended abruptly (after such a beautiful album like Free The Dream)?

EH: First of all we never ever played live! I love to hit the stage so that's not a good thing. Also musically we drifted further and further from the music that I had in mind. I love all three Prime Time albums. Free The Dream gave me the chance to venture into a new direction as a singer. I had a lot of fun making the album. I had a great time playing with this talented Danish dudes but it was time to go my own way.

II: If I remember well you were also the main songwriter of the first Elegy records. Do you feel the desire to sing some tunes of the past for the next live shows?

EH: I get this question all the time when we are playing gigs somewhere! I always give the same answer: Elegy is a thing of the past. I don't want to dwell on the past. I have got a new band, with new songs which I want to share with the audience. I am in the writing process for the follow-up album as we speak. Great new songs which will blow the first album right out of the water. I rather play those songs live. Also Henk van der Laars (guitarist in Elegy) wrote a lot of the music on the Elegy albums. I don't have the desire to play those tunes anymore.

II: Looking back at the past, what's the best Elegy album in which you sang and why?

EH: I like Supremacy the most when it comes to the feel of the album. There are some really good songs on there. I also like the Lost album. It's a bit more dark, which I like. Perhaps the twin vocals should have been a bit more in the lower octaves instead of the bloody high ones I used.

II: Are you already thinking about a number of places and dates to promote the album live?

EH: There are no real touring plans right now. We try to play as many gigs as we can. We recently played on a progressive metal festival in Holland with the swedish band Andromeda.

II: Eduard, what do you think about the role of internet in the music universe? Has it worsened the musicians' position somewhat or not?

EH: This beast has two faces. It is a great independent medium for all bands to use freely! You can spread the word, music or whatever you have to say across the entire world! No one is going to tell you what to do and how to do it. That is a fantastic, almost anarchistic principal which I really dig. The downside of course is that it is an anarchistic environment run by human beings! That's where it all goes astray. We are all taking good care of number one. Downloading the music you like from the internet. You can get any album you like. This is killing the creative bands first! Record companies don't like to gamble with their money and try to play it save. This results in lots of "wanna be, hop on the bandwagon, could you tell me what's hot or not" type of bands landing a deal! I'm telling you ... that's a bad situation! All musicians which are taking their music seriously and try to come up with creative music are having a difficult time getting signed. It's hard getting the message across while everyone is occupied obtaining as much of everything as one possibly can. For free of course.

II: Last question ? you're once again under an Italian label, so I guess that you like to work with people from our country. What are the other things that you recall when Italy comes up in your mind?

EH: I could say pasta, pizza and good wine but I am not going to! Although I do like those three things a lot. But what I really like about Italy is its rich history. What a great culture! Look at the musical history. Great composers came from Italy ... It's still there ... I can hear it in your music of today. It tends to build more and moves in creative ways. Take good care of your culture, for it is what you are but can change into what we foolishly long for!

II: Thank you very much Eduard. I think that's all. You can say whatever you want to say hello to the readers of ProgressiveWorld.net.

EH: Thanks a lot for the interview. It's always a pleasure to answer good questions! To the readers I would like to say: check out Apathy. Hopefully we will have the chance to come over and play some gigs. Until then, keep the metal spirit alive!

Discography:
Apathy (2005)
Absolution (2010)