Interview with Plained

Tell us about your latest release: the main concept; what fans should expect; what were/are your goals with it:

We just released the first single Odio Fati from our upcoming 5-song EP: Epidemic of Mass Hysteria together with a music video. Odio Fati translates to “hate your destiny”, and is about people, who get so fanatic and narrow minded at the own courses, that they won’t even consider what the other part has to say.

Like the other songs on the EP, we tried to make Odio Fati very dynamic. To make progressive rock/metal songs with odd time signatures and structures, but are still catchy and enjoyable for not just prog-fans to listen to, can be hard, but that’s what we tried to do.

When we wrote the songs for Epidemic of Mass Hysteria, we made sure to not have any limitations for ourselves thinking what could be possible live. So things like violin playing, a guest appearance on piano and making music on glass, was some of the things we implemented.

The lyrical themes became kind of an outlet for me. They include my comments on some of the politcal things going on in the world right now, and how I see people behave. I definitely had a lot on my mind, I wanted to say. I hope that people will feel a connection to some of the themes and comments, and maybe get a new perspective.

Did you have a specific sound in mind when you formed the band, or did that grow and evolve as you played together?

We knew that we would take our love for progressive rock and metal, and mix it up with groove and riffs. We had an idea about the riffs should be in odd time signatures, but it shouldn’t be too obvious. Instead of making people say “wow, that’s an odd time signature” we would rather make people say “wow, that’s a cool riff”, because that’s what we personally like to hear.

As the project took form, we had to make some choices like who should do vocals. It wasn’t a part of the original plan, that I should do the vocals, and this is actually my debut doing clean vocals on a record. Before this I’ve done a lot of harsh vocals, but I felt like this needed both clean and harsh vocals to match the dynamics and feelings of the songs.

How does your writing process normally work out?

The songwriting for “Epidemic of Mass Hysteria” started about 3 years ago, when we first met. I had a background in producing and recording music, so we quickly began recording and playing around with drums and riffs. Then we came up with more and more Ideas and suddenly we had 5 songs. Things weren’t too forced, and it all came pretty natural, as we both love songwriting.

Visuals have been a big part of the project. Jonas has an education in visuals and graphics, so he has been in charge of the whole CGI and editing part on the musicvideo for Odio Fati. Then I’ve done the whole mix & master part of the EP and the editing for one of our upcoming music videos. It has been a lot work, having to do everything ourselves, but we are both very passionate about creating so it hasn’t been a chore at all.    

What are your ambitions and how far do you want to push your band?

Right now we do not intend to do any live performances. We see these songs as a thing that should be enjoyed with one of the music videos, we directed and edited for each of the songs. Give yourself an opportunity to sit down, listen to the songs, read the lyrics and watch the music videos.You might enjoy it.  

What are your influences/musical references and the impact those same influences had in your sound?

Tool is a big influence and is kind of the reason we started writing music with each other to begin with. We were both fascinated by the songwriting and lyrical themes, and we both wanted to make something that was kind of new for both of us. I’ve done a lot death and groove metal in the past, so this was an opportunity to challenge myself.

What’s next for you?

Right now, our plan is to release this EP and see how people react. We both have separate projects going on right now aside from Plained, but who knows. If creativity suddenly strikes again, we might do another release. Or maybe live concerts!

Answers by: Frederik