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Interview with Urban Breed - Tad Morose
Coming off the heals of their sixth album Modus Vivendi (see review), I was able to dig deep into the realms of Tad Morose to find out what inspired the making of this record, how all the writing and production came together, as well as what has evolved over the years within this band that has them making more and more intriguing metal that gets better with every album.... So Here We Go..........
With Modus Vivendi being your sixth album, tell me about the evolution of Tad Morose, and what musical endeavors you have gone through in the past several years in regards to moving from one album to the next.
I can only tell the tale staring from 'A Mended Rhyme' but here we go. The situation is as follows, the unsuspecting band gets yet another member for yet another album and with it comes yet another bunch of ideas. Unfortunately the constant line-up changes have sort of clouded the issues in acute need of attention. So instead of focusing on the strong parts of the compositions too many ideas get sown into each song. Then along comes a very frustrating three years of writing music we don't want released on the Black Mark label so we persistently seek to get off the hook and surprisingly we do. However, with three years of songwriting we have made a move that to us didn't seem so drastic but when you play 'A Mended Rhyme' and 'Undead' back to back it's hard to believe they are consecutive albums of the same band. Also toward the end of those three years Fredrik felt enough is enough and left to study. We didn't replace him but asked Daniel to join instead. Having two guitars made quite a difference too. For 'Matters of the Dark' Daniel and I developed the way we write songs today. It suits us just perfectly but some of us, Anders being the one most open about it definitely prefers to write in the rehearsal room. However for 'Modus Vivendi' we work almost exclusively this way and there's only one song on the album that's written in the rehearsal room.
How did the songwriting process come together for making this record?
Most songs were written by file-swapping. Either Daniel or I put together the core of the song, and then we swapped. So if Daniel came up with the initial idea I only needed to write the melodies, add some vocal harmonies and adopt the arrangement to the lyrical content. Conversely if I wrote the bulk of the song all Daniel needed to do was make sure the guitar parts were playable. Then we'd bring the piece to the rehearsals for inspection. Not all songs were written this way but most were.
How has the whole evolution of new equipment/gear (i.e. Pro-Tools, The Pod, etc.) changed the way you guys have made records?
It hasn't changed the recording process so much as the writing and pre-production. One huge advantage is that I had all the harmony vocals recorded at home. This meant I didn't have to use up studio time and it freed a lot of time for the lead vocals.
When it comes to making your records what is some of your favorite equipment you use? How was it working with Fredrik Nordstrom?
We don't rely heavily on any particular piece of equipment. Daniel and Christer obviously want to play on the guitars they're accustomed to but no, we don't have any particular favorites. Fredrik wasn't exactly what I'd expected. He would stand up in the middle of a song posing as if on stage. I'd say he's a madman. .In a positive sense.
What was your favorite album and least favorite album to make? Which one were you the most satisfied with? Tell me why.
My favorite album was definitely 'Modus Vivendi'. Why? Hard to tell really, might be that I find the songs better than on any other album we've made. My least favorite album to make. hmmm, tough one this. I'd have to say it was 'Matters of the Dark' since I developed acute langyritis and had to stay absolutely silent for ten days, this in the middle of the vocal takes. It was not a pleasant experience.
One of the things I noticed with Modus Vivendi is that the vocal harmonies are executed so precise, how did you guys do that?
It's not too hard to do if you're doing almost everything by yourself. It might have been even easier if I had more of the mindset of a choir-member. Ah, the discipline. The fact that I recorded them at home made things even more relaxed. And the only voice apart from my own was that of Stefan Zell and he didn't appear on too many tracks so it was an easily controlled environment.
How has your relationship with Century Media Been, where do you see them taking this record. What was the main reason you sighed with these guys, and how do these guys differ from Black Mark Records?
They're better looking? No, seriously, the main difference is that we can reach them when we need to. Why we chose to sign with Century Media? Well, it was a wild guess as to what might be better and we found it a bit hard to sort things like distribution if we were to just do everything ourselves.
What are some of your favorite places to play/tour? Where do you see your most energetic audience? Who do you enjoy touring with, and where would you like to tour where you have not played before?
This must be one of the world's toughest questions to answer. It would be much easier to name the few places that we do NOT want to go. Anyway, Sweden Rock is a great festival. Z7 in Switzerland is another place really worth mentioning. We enjoy touring with anyone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. The most energetic audience is the one standing in the front rows. Here's to you!!! How about Australia and Japan? We'd love to go there. Hopefully we will. Seems like we've been everywhere but there.
Any funny stories about tours?
I can only say, beware of British bus drivers and bananas. They're an, if not lethal combination, still a combination you'd want to avoid.
When Modus Vivendi is released in the U.S. in early February, do you see yourselves possibly touring in the U.S., and how has your audience been received over on the states.
I haven't heard anything about touring the states. I can always hope but I doubt it. We'll be playing a festival or two though, so if you want to see us you'd better attend those festivals. When we have all the information about dates and such it will be available at www.tadmorose.com and at Century Media's website.
In your opinion, as we are approaching the halfway mark of the first decade of the new millennium, where do you see metal going, what are some of the hot spots around the world for metal in your opinion?
You're clearly asking the wrong person. I am in no way positioned so as to see the whole picture and I doubt any predictions I make will be even remotely accurate. Still, I hope the metal movement will enter the line of scrimmage and kick some serious media ass!!! As for hot spots I doubt there are any, and if there are then I it can't be healthy. :-)
Who are some of your influences and what are some of the albums that are in your playlist right now?
If we dig through my playlists we won't find much of anything that even resembles what we play. Here's a quick rundown on the most played albums the last couple of months. Since I've listened an awful lot to 'Yes' I'll list those albums first. 'Open Your Eyes', 'Talk' and the song 'Walls' in particular, 'The Ladder', 'magnification' and 'Drama'. I just wish they would release another album some time soon. Then there's a whole bunch of 'Jethro Tull' albums: 'A', 'Stormwatch', 'Broadsword and the Beast', 'Thick as a Brick', 'Crest of a Knave', 'Songs from the Wood' and selected tracks from the 'Chateau D'Isaster Tapes'. Now I guess those must be my source of inspiration but I fail to see the connection. As far as inspirational vocalists go I have two. Bob Catley and Ronnie James Dio and I'm not sure if there's a resemblance there either.
What's in store for the future for you guys, any side projects, etc.?
Several it seems. I'm putting together a solo-album and anything not directly aimed at that album will be promptly displayed at urbanbreed.net. I'm also looking into collaborating with Stefan Zell for a very promising and unusual project. Christer is playing with Sepher. and what the rest of us are up to, well I don't know but there are things going on all the time.
Any Last Words?
Sure, "HERE, TAKE THIS. Thanks. DON'T MENTION IT. Oh, no---. BUT YES."
Thank you very much for your time and I really enjoyed your latest album, looking forward to hearing more from you guys in the future.
No problem. Later.
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Written by Hashman - 1/24/2004 |
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