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Interview with: Sol
Conducted by: T.V.
The Eternal Fall from Spain must be one of the strongest European representatives for gothic/dark wave sounds of today with their large discography of nine studio albums and one new in the making. Actually the story began in the year 2000 when the mastermind Sol founded the band. Now, he's doing everything by himself and the band looks stronger than ever. The Eternal Fall shared the stage with many great names like Faith And The Muse, ASP, Diary Of Dreams, Elusive, Garden Of Delight, And One, The Invincible Spirit, Lahka Muza, Narsilion, Naughty Zombies, Nosferatu, Screaming Banshee Aircrew, Sieben, Unheilig, Vendemmian, Voices Of Masada, Straftanz, The Cemetary Girlz , Pretentious moi?,..., given their best on many important festivals around Europe and received great response from fans of dark music worldwide. Now it's time for their tenth studio album As The Time Goes which is going to be something very special. Check out more about this upcoming album and much more of other interesting things that Sol revealed to us in this interview.
T.R.: What can you tell me about your last release MM-MMXII, what is it's purpose and how were you satisfied with media and fans feedback?
Sol: The main idea was to have some of the most danceable songs in the compilation. In this way the people can have some of the most representative songs of the band in the same CD. I am very glad with all the people who are supporting the band, the media response can't be better, in the same way, the feedback from the people is great and it keep me doing what I do.
T.R.: Why there was no song from your first S/T album and from The Ninth Sphere featured on this compilation?
Sol: Well, in fact there is a song from the first album, "The Sounds Of The Night" appear in The Eternal Fall and in the Alone album, the thing is I've used the new version cause it sounds much better, but is exactly the same. About The Ninth Sphere it was just a question of preferences, as I said above, I've tried to put the most danceable songs in the comp and the number of tracks was reduced to 15 so... some tracks from this The Ninth Sphere album are missed.
T.R.: I can sense that this compilation is predicting something new coming from The Eternal Fall, or am I wrong?
Sol: Hehe, you should have a sixth sense... In fact I am preparing what will be the 10th album of The Eternal Fall and it will be quite a strange album... The reason is that this album will be released with a DVD...a kind of "film" of the album. I will put images to the music and there is a story inside, so, you can watch the clips as a separate videos, but if you see all together there is a story... The look and the music of this new upcoming album will be "darker" (speaking about the feeling) than the romantic Emptiness vol.1&2 (the last The Eternal Fall album until today)...
T.R.: Interesting concept! In which phase is the making of this new album and when it'll be released?
Sol: Well, the album is almost done, just a few voices and mastering work, I think it will be ready in January 2013. About the visual stuff all is in process...it is a bit of chaotic to manage all the people who are involved in the project, but it will work for sure.
T.R.: Will it be released again by af-music and how are you satisfied with them?
Sol: I will release it with them, it will be my pleasure. I am very happy with this guys, they are doing a great job and they always support us in lot of ways.
T.R.: Do you have any contacts with other bands from af-music company?
Sol: Yes, I have good friends like Golden Apes or Cristine Plays Viola, is very nice to be sharing label with this great bands.
T.R.: Is The Eternal Fall still an one man band or have you already hired some new members?
Sol: It was, is and will be a one man project (speaking about the composing and recording) I always compose to myself, is a personal therapy, and in this way, composing all alone, The Eternal Fall essence always will be there. For the live concerts I always play with a bass player and sometimes I bring a third member for the guitar line.
T.R.: Can you tell me something more about your live members... From where do they come and it's difficult to arrange all what it matters for live sets with no steady line up?
Sol: They are my fellow citizens and normaly they just need one rehearse (they are very professional) Francisco Porcel is the current bass player and he plays very well and understands the concept of the The Eternal Fall music. Is hard to play in this way cause I feel myself quite alone, but I think it can be even good cause someway it gives me the inspiration I need to compose.
T.R.: You shared the stage with some really impressive names... Which was the most memorable gig for you?
Sol: Faith And The Muse (it was great to share stage with a band I am influenced by), then ASP, Garden Of Delight, Diary Of Dreams... Yes, nice memories from all this amazing gigs.
T.R.: The Eternal Fall as far as I know mostly plays in Germany... Is your fanbase strongest there? Sol: I've never though about that, I just go to play where the organizers want. I think the thing could be between England and Germany, maybe those are the places where the band play often. For now The Eternal Fall have played in nine European countries.
T.R.: Where do you get inspirations for your songs?
Sol: As I said above, sometimes from my loneliness, sometimes it just came, or from a dream...it's easy to see me at five in the mourning going to the studio to record something I've dreamed... But apart of this the most important inspiration is my need to play to put my feelings out (it doesn't matter if they have something to do with me in real life or not) just I need to play everyday and I will keep doing this even when I will stop to play in a public way...
T.R.: You did quite a lot of videos... Who's responsible for screenplays and directing? Anything new in preparation?
Sol: Like the The Eternal Fall music I do it by myself too, from the storyboard till the postproduction and edition, just one of the clips ("Always It's The Same") was directed by a third person (it won't happen anymore), but the storyboard was made by me.
T.R.: The last video you did was actually for the song you mentioned "Always It's The Same". Who are the dancers and who did all the choreography?
Sol: They are friends and they did the choreo, I think, although being not proffesionals it looks nice, hehe... T.R.: Yeah, it looks nice... So, you must be behind all of the image of The Eternal Fall, like album covers, photos,
live appearance,...
Sol: The artwork (the drawnings) of the cover of The Sadness, The Path, To Darkness are made by David Tenza, the original bass player, he also composed almost all the bass lines from the first album The Eternal Fall until the Alone album. Apart from this I am behind of all that complains to the The Eternal Fall project.
T.R.: Do you intend to do everything by yourself in the future too?
Sol: Hehe, I do manage everything as I always did, as I said the only difference in the past was the bass line compositions by D.Tenza and the drawings for the covers of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th album, so, in my way nothing changed too much, just I have one more instrumental line to compose and record, I enjoy it a lot!!!
T.R.: Your discography is quite large,... which is the album that you are most proud of?
Sol: Emptiness Vol.1 & 2, I think there is a big part of me, I really needed to compose it and I think the quality of the sound and the composition is quite higher than the older albums, but the album Alone is quite important to me too...it was the end of a season in my life, I've composed it before I went to live in Germany in 2009 and between this album and Emptiness is my longer period without music in my life, more than a year between each album.
T.R.: The Cure must be the band that had the biggest influence on your music, am I right?
Sol: I like The Cure and maybe the first album is influenced by them (in a dark way), I think my stronger influences can be David Bowie, Peter Murphy, Faith And The Muse, Fields Of The Nephilim, Sopor Aeternus...
T.R.: You mentioned Sopor Aeternus as one of your influences... have you ever meet Anna-Varney? Sol: I've never meet him/her, but the important thing for me about Sopor Aeternus is the music ,I like the visual art he makes, but music is something that makes me feel something special.
T.R.: You already revealed the title of your new album As The Time Goes... Is there any deeper meaning behind it?
Sol: Yes, there is a meaning, some personal stuff (that can be revealed hearing the lyrics of some songs) and a deep meaning of the protagonist of the movie who is walking from the past to future to see how the hell he arrived to this miserable way of life...he's looking for hisself and the good things and feelings he killed in his life path...at the end of this film you will see the deep meaning of this sick story...
T.R.: Almost each of your albums has around fifteen, some of them even more songs included. Do you intend to follow this path again?
Sol: The new album will include thirteen tracks and will be released in a double CD cristal case with the CD and the DVD with the movie. And maybe I will prepare something special for the preorders... Something that I've never offered before...
T.R.: When can we expect first teasers or maybe a single from new album?
Sol: Well, the teaser is almost done, maybe in a couple of weeks will be available to watch on the internet...crazy stuff...
T.R.: So, this will be a concept album...
Sol: Heheh...something like that... it will be quite experimental, but, as we talked before, it has a story at the background... Philosophy and madness are joining the same place in this project...
T.R.: Some very interesting artwork you put on the facebook, is this the art that will be seen on the upcoming album?
Sol: The artworks are done too, I think from a couple of months...but I will keep working on it and maybe I will put some of this images that I am getting from the videos (yes, the images I put on facebook are from 2 different videoclips inside the movie).
T.R.: What about female backing vocals, how much of them will be heard on new album?
Sol: Maybe there will be some maybe not...for now the new upcoming album sounds like... something too... rare... Maybe too rare for female chorus...maybe some terror screams could fit better...hehehe.
T.R.: Were you or are you involved in any other musical project beside The Eternal Fall?
Sol: Not for now, too much work with The Eternal Fall to think about other project at the moment, but who knows...maybe in the future...
T.R.: If there will be a project, what kind of music beside the "gothic rock" kind of The Eternal Fall would you like
to play?
Sol: I've never proposed to myself to play "gothic" music, I compose the music I want, but I will not put any label to my music, so, possibly, if there will be a project I have no idea about the kind, but I think it won't be too different of what I am doing now... maybe stronger or experimental extreme music... I don't know, hehe.
T.R.: Do you earn enough money with music for a normal living?
Sol: Well, for one person, as the The Eternal Fall project is hard, but is my way to live, I always say, poor like a rat but I feel myself very happy, I live my life in the way I want.
T.R.: What do you think about goth scene of today?
Sol: I am not a person who like to go out to gothic parties or concerts or whatever, but I can say from my experience at The Eternal Fall concerts that in my opinion the gothic scene is getting each time down, shame but truth...
T.R.: How would you compare it with golden 80's?
Sol: I don't know how it was, but I think it can't be never again like the "golden 80's" cause it was the begining of a great artistic "movement". I think every kind of cultural change is stronger when it's born and... like all, at the end all dies...or, like the gothic scene seems today... change... Anyway, the music from the 80,s will never die, keeping the candle light on and giving inspiration to new great bands.
T.R.: Something that you want to tell all the fans of The Eternal Fall and our readers at the end of this interview?
Sol: I want to thank all for the great support and the kind words they always have for The Eternal Fall, they are the reason to keep pulling out my music from my music studio, I have not enough words to thank them.
Thank you very much my dear Tomaz, I hope you've enjoyed the interview like me, thanks a lot for your great support.
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