Soul Enema

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Soul Enema from Israel is a new band to
most of you. Their debut album has created some waves in ProgArchives
(see the best albums of 2010 poll) and stirred some curiosity. Hence;
an email was sent and Constantin Glantz answered the questions on
the behalf of the band. 

#############################################

Let's start with the beginning: Has any
of you been involved in any other bands before you joined up in Soul
Enema, which bands were you influenced by and why did you
choose that name ?

Each one had some musical background
before Soul Enema, but nothing really serious up to that point. Well,
except Irina, maybe. She was and still is a professional singer, so
no one even dares to count all the choirs and ensembles she
participated in during her career. My case is sort of typical, i was
making some of my own music since the high school, and was quite
happy about it back than. I probably wouldn't be extremely proud of
it right now, but that's the part of the learning process. Maybe a
nostalgic fun, too. 

Influences are many and they differ. We
used to have people of various backgrounds and musical tastes in the
band, everything from metal, to jazz-fusion, to some sorts of
folk-oriented stuff, you name it. Speaking of my own influences -
classical music and Soviet cartoons tunes in early childhood, then
listening mostly to some rock and metal stuff while in my teens
(progressive or not), and nowadays i'm somehow influenced by anything
that i consider interesting enough, no matter what style it is. It
may be something noisy, orchestral, metal, electronic, acoustic, pop,
avant-garde, whatever, or mixing all of this in one. Anyway, i don't
think the tags matter that much overall, since i believe in the
priority of substance over style in most cases. Personally it's a bit
hard for me to throw in some artists or band names, cause i can't
really pick up just a couple of ultimate heroes and "blame"
them for my musical destiny. Ok, let's say i'm fine with anything
from Prokofiev and Zappa, to Eminem and ABBA. 

Band's name...Well, for me "Soul
Enema" means exposing the emotions through creativity. Soul
cleansing. It might not sound that much serious for some of the
deadly serious guys out there, but we never intended to be taken that
much serious in the first place, so that's ok. I guess, it's way more
interesting, than something of a predictable set, like "Divine
Dreamscape Of Steel Warriors And Thy Mighty Hell Hammer of Death",
or whatever Spinal Tap were making fun of...    

You are from and lives in Israel. How
is the music scene in Israel these days ?

Well, the mainstream FM/TV music format
is probably as rotten as anywhere else, no real news here, but I
think for relatively small country it's enough of what to be proud
of, anyway. I'm mostly talking about some of underground bands here,
of cause. It has it's nice share of talents in different musical
fields, from electronic music, to metal, to avant-garde, to ethnic
stuff. Sometimes there are interesting and unique things to be found
here, probably because it's some sort of a melting pot between
different cultures and influences. 

Let's go straight to your debut album
Thin Ice Crawling from earlier this year (2010) who is riding high
near the top of our best albums of 2010 list. Please tell us more
about this album.

It may sound a bit immodest, but i do
think, that it may serve a decent picture of everything worthy, that
we have done under "Soul Enema" moniker in the last decade.
I want to use this opportunity to thank once again each and every
human being that was helpful and contributing at any stage of
creation process. It was a bit hard and problematic recording
experience overall (thin ice crawling, 

indeed, haha), while most of it was a
home studio work, so it demanded a lot of self-learning, and a lot of
"walking in the dark" moments. But, what doesn't kill us
makes us stronger, they say, so it's ok. 

The reception was very positive at
most. It was recently nominated for Prog Awards best debut album of
2010. I think, a lot of people were able to find something new with
each next listen, and that's what actually very important for me in
such type of music. 

How did you get a deal with Mals ?

I've sent some demos to MALS a couple
of years ago, and it clicked. That makes me think, those demos were
probably not awful enough to hate them. I even have a courage to
suggest, that some of the potential and promise had been exposed on
that little recordings. 

How is the creative processes in your
band from coming up with an idea to it's being recorded ?

Well, i remember that sometimes we used
to dispute over the ideas or the way of sounding, until no one
remembered what was the idea in first place. Creative processes, you
know. I think, when idea was really ok enough, it was surviving long
enough to be performed, and then recorded. So, if you happen to be
that precious idea, you may have a pretty hard time until you come
through all that stages to the end. More like going through hell or
high water sometimes. 

For those of us unknown with your
music; how would you describe you music and which bands would you
compare yourself with ?

An obscure tragic-comic movies or Black
light theaters in Prague, anybody ? I'm quite miserable at starting
with lovely "Hey, we sound like X meets Y meets Z, while being
drunk & on steroids" formulas. Soo...if you're reading this,
please, just go and give some spins to our little record. It's easy
these days !  

What is your plans for 2011 and beyond
?

Would be great to play some gig on Mars
in the future, but i'm not sure about any chance to have anyone alive
in the audience. Except Ziggy Stardust and some of his Spiders,
probably. So, no groundbreaking highlights to deliver at this point,
i'm afraid. Oh, well, I'd sure like to make something musically
interesting in the long run. If it's possible. I hope it is. 

To wrap up this interview, is there
anything you want to add to this interview ? 

Happy New Yeeeaaarrr and lots of good
new music for your precious ears, everybody ! 

Thank you to Constantin Glantz for this interview

Their PA profile is here and homepage's here

Edited by toroddfuglesteg - December 31 2010 at 13:20

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toroddfuglesteg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Retired Joined: March 04 2008 Location: Retirement Home Status: Offline Points: 3658	Topic: Soul Enema Posted: December 31 2010 at 12:05
	Soul Enema from Israel is a new band to most of you. Their debut album has created some waves in ProgArchives (see the best albums of 2010 poll) and stirred some curiosity. Hence; an email was sent and Constantin Glantz answered the questions on the behalf of the band. ############################################# Let's start with the beginning: Has any of you been involved in any other bands before you joined up in Soul Enema, which bands were you influenced by and why did you choose that name ? Each one had some musical background before Soul Enema, but nothing really serious up to that point. Well, except Irina, maybe. She was and still is a professional singer, so no one even dares to count all the choirs and ensembles she participated in during her career. My case is sort of typical, i was making some of my own music since the high school, and was quite happy about it back than. I probably wouldn't be extremely proud of it right now, but that's the part of the learning process. Maybe a nostalgic fun, too. Influences are many and they differ. We used to have people of various backgrounds and musical tastes in the band, everything from metal, to jazz-fusion, to some sorts of folk-oriented stuff, you name it. Speaking of my own influences - classical music and Soviet cartoons tunes in early childhood, then listening mostly to some rock and metal stuff while in my teens (progressive or not), and nowadays i'm somehow influenced by anything that i consider interesting enough, no matter what style it is. It may be something noisy, orchestral, metal, electronic, acoustic, pop, avant-garde, whatever, or mixing all of this in one. Anyway, i don't think the tags matter that much overall, since i believe in the priority of substance over style in most cases. Personally it's a bit hard for me to throw in some artists or band names, cause i can't really pick up just a couple of ultimate heroes and "blame" them for my musical destiny. Ok, let's say i'm fine with anything from Prokofiev and Zappa, to Eminem and ABBA. Band's name...Well, for me "Soul Enema" means exposing the emotions through creativity. Soul cleansing. It might not sound that much serious for some of the deadly serious guys out there, but we never intended to be taken that much serious in the first place, so that's ok. I guess, it's way more interesting, than something of a predictable set, like "Divine Dreamscape Of Steel Warriors And Thy Mighty Hell Hammer of Death", or whatever Spinal Tap were making fun of... You are from and lives in Israel. How is the music scene in Israel these days ? Well, the mainstream FM/TV music format is probably as rotten as anywhere else, no real news here, but I think for relatively small country it's enough of what to be proud of, anyway. I'm mostly talking about some of underground bands here, of cause. It has it's nice share of talents in different musical fields, from electronic music, to metal, to avant-garde, to ethnic stuff. Sometimes there are interesting and unique things to be found here, probably because it's some sort of a melting pot between different cultures and influences. Let's go straight to your debut album Thin Ice Crawling from earlier this year (2010) who is riding high near the top of our best albums of 2010 list. Please tell us more about this album. It may sound a bit immodest, but i do think, that it may serve a decent picture of everything worthy, that we have done under "Soul Enema" moniker in the last decade. I want to use this opportunity to thank once again each and every human being that was helpful and contributing at any stage of creation process. It was a bit hard and problematic recording experience overall (thin ice crawling, indeed, haha), while most of it was a home studio work, so it demanded a lot of self-learning, and a lot of "walking in the dark" moments. But, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, they say, so it's ok. The reception was very positive at most. It was recently nominated for Prog Awards best debut album of 2010. I think, a lot of people were able to find something new with each next listen, and that's what actually very important for me in such type of music. How did you get a deal with Mals ? I've sent some demos to MALS a couple of years ago, and it clicked. That makes me think, those demos were probably not awful enough to hate them. I even have a courage to suggest, that some of the potential and promise had been exposed on that little recordings. How is the creative processes in your band from coming up with an idea to it's being recorded ? Well, i remember that sometimes we used to dispute over the ideas or the way of sounding, until no one remembered what was the idea in first place. Creative processes, you know. I think, when idea was really ok enough, it was surviving long enough to be performed, and then recorded. So, if you happen to be that precious idea, you may have a pretty hard time until you come through all that stages to the end. More like going through hell or high water sometimes. For those of us unknown with your music; how would you describe you music and which bands would you compare yourself with ? An obscure tragic-comic movies or Black light theaters in Prague, anybody ? I'm quite miserable at starting with lovely "Hey, we sound like X meets Y meets Z, while being drunk & on steroids" formulas. Soo...if you're reading this, please, just go and give some spins to our little record. It's easy these days ! What is your plans for 2011 and beyond ? Would be great to play some gig on Mars in the future, but i'm not sure about any chance to have anyone alive in the audience. Except Ziggy Stardust and some of his Spiders, probably. So, no groundbreaking highlights to deliver at this point, i'm afraid. Oh, well, I'd sure like to make something musically interesting in the long run. If it's possible. I hope it is. To wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this interview ? Happy New Yeeeaaarrr and lots of good new music for your precious ears, everybody ! Thank you to Constantin Glantz for this interview Their PA profile is here and homepage's here Edited by toroddfuglesteg - December 31 2010 at 13:20

avestin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 18 2005 Status: Offline Points: 12625	Posted: December 31 2010 at 12:13
	Happy to read more about this group, having heard their album and knowing very little about them. I wasn't expecting much from their album but it took me by surprise. While I don't like it as much as those PA reviews put it to be, I do enjoy and recommend it. Thanks for the interview!
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lazland Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: October 28 2008 Location: Wales Status: Offline Points: 13719	Posted: December 31 2010 at 13:18
	That's another great interview Torodd. I haven't heard the album, but the responses by Konstantin have made me add it to the wish list for sure.
	Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time!