What About Your Fans…
I had a very interesting conversation with Mikko following the first listen of the album when he asked me: “How do you think your fans will receive your new album? You are often referring to them in the writing process?!?”
My answer was something in the likes of:
I firmly believe that my relationship with our people goes way beyond music and art in general… It’s way more personal and intimate than any “commercial” or “brand” connections someone could have. I’m a person, not a fantasy, so it changes the whole dynamic for me as a creator. As long as I’m honest, as our people know, I can share the extension of what I have in my heart and soul without having to worry about the elusive notion of good, bad, right, wrong, trendy, cliché, or whatever. It’s the most priceless gift to receive. So in terms of how they will react to the record, it’s a question I cannot answer without keeping those songs mine to admire, when in fact, it’s not for me to guess, hope, or stress about.
That’s why as much as I knew, understood, and accepted the fact that a lot of Your Favorite Enemies’ community members were quite confused when I released “Windows in the Sky” under my name, before being deeply disappointed (to say it politely) following my decision to take an undefinitive hiatus from the band, I was as broken as them to distance myself from songs that were so precious to me… And even though our numerous hit singles, prestigious awards nominations, and recognitions were pointing towards YFE becoming an international staple name in the business, it was the perspective of becoming more and more creatively standardized that eventually became the last nail in the coffin of 10 years of self-misery. Releasing “Windows in the Sky” gave me a freedom I never allowed myself before… I didn’t know at the time, but I was facilitating the blooming sound of my existence’s emancipation. And if I miss playing some of those post-punk-driven songs once in a while, my actual mental and emotional states make me feel closer to what I envision as being a real personal harmony…
Therefore, I believe our people will welcome that freedom, regardless of how it will be embodied.
Mikko: “What we did is totally different from “Windows in the Sky” though.”
Me: “Ain’t that wonderful news!?! Repeating yourself creatively makes you completely obsolete and sterile spiritually. No one needs another “Windows in the Sky”. That all goes back to my relationship with the people. We know each other and I don’t believe for 1 second that anyone is expecting me to come up with a new alternate variation of something I’ve already done before. That’s why it is so exciting. I mean, I will pre-release a project sung entirely in Japanese in 2 weeks, followed by a meditative one 2 months later, before concluding 2024 with a movie and an improvisation recording by the end of the year. I think it’s fair for me to say that I’m the complete opposite of what a product of mass consumption might be. For me, you either evolve or you atrophy. That’s why my answer regarding the type of music I do is always the same. It’s the sound of a neutron becoming freer and freer… here comes life!!!”
Mikko: “Absolutely. It just gave me an idea. Let’s call the others, we will do vocal harmonizer tape loops. Let’s gather in the middle of the Upper Room…“
Me: “Vocal harmonizer tape loops???”
Mikko (smiling): “Ain’t that about evolving Alex?”
Me: “Of course, of course…” (oh God…)
Note: We did that one-person-holding-a-single-note type of half-circle delayed choir loop ensemble… An easy concept, right!?! For a short while…. It was so funny how Jeff bailed out of it saying: “You don’t want me to even try singing”. And Sef, insisting on being there, reminded us all why his solo projects are instrumental, as his “holding one note” sounded like a plane taking off before being trapped in a chaos of off-pitch “turbulence” at 100 feet in the air and shortly after seeing his voice lamentably crashing 5 feet from his departure point, leaving no survivors in the process. Once we cleaned the remains of the sonic catastrophe Sef offered to the fold, it was amazingly interesting to hear what was actually created as a multi-layer loop tape effect… I love those experimental bits!!!
My answer was something in the likes of:
I firmly believe that my relationship with our people goes way beyond music and art in general… It’s way more personal and intimate than any “commercial” or “brand” connections someone could have. I’m a person, not a fantasy, so it changes the whole dynamic for me as a creator. As long as I’m honest, as our people know, I can share the extension of what I have in my heart and soul without having to worry about the elusive notion of good, bad, right, wrong, trendy, cliché, or whatever. It’s the most priceless gift to receive. So in terms of how they will react to the record, it’s a question I cannot answer without keeping those songs mine to admire, when in fact, it’s not for me to guess, hope, or stress about.
That’s why as much as I knew, understood, and accepted the fact that a lot of Your Favorite Enemies’ community members were quite confused when I released “Windows in the Sky” under my name, before being deeply disappointed (to say it politely) following my decision to take an undefinitive hiatus from the band, I was as broken as them to distance myself from songs that were so precious to me… And even though our numerous hit singles, prestigious awards nominations, and recognitions were pointing towards YFE becoming an international staple name in the business, it was the perspective of becoming more and more creatively standardized that eventually became the last nail in the coffin of 10 years of self-misery. Releasing “Windows in the Sky” gave me a freedom I never allowed myself before… I didn’t know at the time, but I was facilitating the blooming sound of my existence’s emancipation. And if I miss playing some of those post-punk-driven songs once in a while, my actual mental and emotional states make me feel closer to what I envision as being a real personal harmony…
Therefore, I believe our people will welcome that freedom, regardless of how it will be embodied.
Mikko: “What we did is totally different from “Windows in the Sky” though.”
Me: “Ain’t that wonderful news!?! Repeating yourself creatively makes you completely obsolete and sterile spiritually. No one needs another “Windows in the Sky”. That all goes back to my relationship with the people. We know each other and I don’t believe for 1 second that anyone is expecting me to come up with a new alternate variation of something I’ve already done before. That’s why it is so exciting. I mean, I will pre-release a project sung entirely in Japanese in 2 weeks, followed by a meditative one 2 months later, before concluding 2024 with a movie and an improvisation recording by the end of the year. I think it’s fair for me to say that I’m the complete opposite of what a product of mass consumption might be. For me, you either evolve or you atrophy. That’s why my answer regarding the type of music I do is always the same. It’s the sound of a neutron becoming freer and freer… here comes life!!!”
Mikko: “Absolutely. It just gave me an idea. Let’s call the others, we will do vocal harmonizer tape loops. Let’s gather in the middle of the Upper Room…“
Me: “Vocal harmonizer tape loops???”
Mikko (smiling): “Ain’t that about evolving Alex?”
Me: “Of course, of course…” (oh God…)
Note: We did that one-person-holding-a-single-note type of half-circle delayed choir loop ensemble… An easy concept, right!?! For a short while…. It was so funny how Jeff bailed out of it saying: “You don’t want me to even try singing”. And Sef, insisting on being there, reminded us all why his solo projects are instrumental, as his “holding one note” sounded like a plane taking off before being trapped in a chaos of off-pitch “turbulence” at 100 feet in the air and shortly after seeing his voice lamentably crashing 5 feet from his departure point, leaving no survivors in the process. Once we cleaned the remains of the sonic catastrophe Sef offered to the fold, it was amazingly interesting to hear what was actually created as a multi-layer loop tape effect… I love those experimental bits!!!
