10 Q's with HARRY HESS (HAREM SCAREM)
Harem Scarem have produced a string of cracking melodic rock releases and their latest album 'Human Nature' sees them back to their classic sound of big chorsues, guitars and tunes that put many otehr bands in the shade. Over to vocalist Harry Hess...
1. What are you currently up to? (E.g. touring/studio, etc.)
Currently we're coordinating the release with distributors around the world and spreading the word about the new record doing interviews and speaking with promoters about the possibilities of touring in Europe and Asia.
2. Could you take us through the tracks on the new album 'Human Nature' please (eg ideas behind the songs etc)...
In general the record is constructed on a way that would work well with big choruses and lots of multi layered parts. It's hard to just add harmonies in the chorus or throughout a song if it doesn't seem natural. Sometimes overdoing it just confuses the listener and weakens the melodies by putting in harmonies that don't belong. So our goal as a whole was to write songs that we could apply what some may call the classic Harem Scarem sound, big backing vocals and lot's of guitar playing. Lyrically the record goes between basic love songs to political songs to observations of life and the world around us.
Caught up in your world, Hanging on and Give love get love started as piano ideas while the chorus for Human Nature just popped in my head one day and we finished it from there. I would get together with Pete and we would work on parts and develop them into finished songs but I like to start with a strong chorus idea.
3. How have the 'new' members fitted into HS? Darren Smith is still invloved in the new album, will he continue to help studio wise in the future?
Well Barry has been with the band for over eleven years so I wouldn't consider him to be new and Creighton has been with us for around seven years. Darren has appeared on almost all of our records since his departure, we're still good friends and like including him on what was a big part of his life as well as ours.
4. You are not with one of the labels for this new album. How come you are not on Frontiers anymore and do you find that you actually sell more online than through retail oultes nowadays?
We will be selling the c.d online and through traditional retail outlets all over the world. We felt it was time to try a new approach to selling our material and it will be a bit of an experiment but so far it is going very well and the record is being well received.
The full 10 Q's will be online here shortly...
1. What are you currently up to? (E.g. touring/studio, etc.)
Currently we're coordinating the release with distributors around the world and spreading the word about the new record doing interviews and speaking with promoters about the possibilities of touring in Europe and Asia.
2. Could you take us through the tracks on the new album 'Human Nature' please (eg ideas behind the songs etc)...
In general the record is constructed on a way that would work well with big choruses and lots of multi layered parts. It's hard to just add harmonies in the chorus or throughout a song if it doesn't seem natural. Sometimes overdoing it just confuses the listener and weakens the melodies by putting in harmonies that don't belong. So our goal as a whole was to write songs that we could apply what some may call the classic Harem Scarem sound, big backing vocals and lot's of guitar playing. Lyrically the record goes between basic love songs to political songs to observations of life and the world around us.
Caught up in your world, Hanging on and Give love get love started as piano ideas while the chorus for Human Nature just popped in my head one day and we finished it from there. I would get together with Pete and we would work on parts and develop them into finished songs but I like to start with a strong chorus idea.
3. How have the 'new' members fitted into HS? Darren Smith is still invloved in the new album, will he continue to help studio wise in the future?
Well Barry has been with the band for over eleven years so I wouldn't consider him to be new and Creighton has been with us for around seven years. Darren has appeared on almost all of our records since his departure, we're still good friends and like including him on what was a big part of his life as well as ours.
4. You are not with one of the labels for this new album. How come you are not on Frontiers anymore and do you find that you actually sell more online than through retail oultes nowadays?
We will be selling the c.d online and through traditional retail outlets all over the world. We felt it was time to try a new approach to selling our material and it will be a bit of an experiment but so far it is going very well and the record is being well received.
The full 10 Q's will be online here shortly...
posted by JasonR @ 6:13 AM
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