Interview - God is an Astronaut April/08

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   ProgArchives:Greetings. How are you doing? Are you occupied with something special lately?
GIAA: We are all doing fine, we are currently rehearsing for our appearance at the Avant Festival in Moscow and making Digi Betas for MTV for our new video of the live version of our track "Radau" from the new album.
We are also writing some new songs for the next album which will be a double disc release for early 2009.

PA:Are you satisfied enough with God is an Astronaut new album and would you change anything if you could?
GIAA: Yes we are all still very happy with it. No album is ever perfect but we wouldn't change anything on it, we believe an album should reflect our experiences and emotions at the time it was written and recorded, its like a photograph of who we were at that point in time.
We always prefer to look forward, anything we do now is for the next record.

PA:Tell us something about the process of making a new album, then how did the recording go? How long did you stay in studio and who was involved in recording and stuff?
GIAA: We wrote a lot of it together in our studio. It was much more of a team effort this time round with both Lloyd and Niels contributing more to the writing process.
We wrote and recorded the album between September 2006 and March 2007.
Again we produced and recorded our own record, as a producer/engineer its something
I love to do.

PA:How would you describe and present “Far From Refuge” to someone who didn’t heard it yet?
GIAA: I would say it is emotive instrumental Rocktronica.
If you like melancholic melodic music you should like this.

PA:Japanese version of new album, with 2 previously unreleased tracks, will be out soon. Who will release this version of album? Also, tell few words about that two bonus tracks and why you didn’t put them on original version of album?
GIAA: It will be released on a new label called Happy Prince on July 18th in Japan.
The bonus tracks are "Sunny Banks of Sweet Deliverance" and "Empyrean Glow".
We kind of regret not including the "Sunny Banks ..." on our version of the album, we got too close to it at the time of recording but it sounds refreshing to hear now.
The other track is an ambient piece, we felt the original album had enough of these already, although the song itself sounds very good.

PA:You made a recording of Tripod show and putted a video for “Radau” on Yutube. Are there any chance to put out a complete concert, like a DVD, and stuff?
GIAA: Initially we were planning a DVD but we decided to have a number of live videos on our next release instead as an enhanced CD. We want to spend more time on writing new songs rather than spending a lots of time on making a DVD.

PA:Dates for some concerts are already confirmed. Tell more about it.
GIAA: We will be playing a number of dates in Europe in October and a festival in Moscow in July.
We would love to tour a lot more but it is very expensive especially when we want to maintain a high standard for all our live shows.

PA:What instrumental of yours is your personal favorite and why? What instrumental seems to be the fan favorite in a live gig?
GIAA: Its hard to pick one on record but "Fragile", "Tempus Horizon" and "Ascend to Oblivion"
would be mine. Fan favorites live would be "Suicide by Star", Point Pleasant" and "Sunrise in Aries" at the moment.

PA:What drives you to write the things you do? What inspires you? Did you have a special inspiration this time, for “Far From Refuge”?
GIAA: Our music reflects who we are and what we experience.
"Far From Refuge" was a real team effort and we had a lot of fun doing it.
The album was inspired by what we were experiencing at the time, I think the album successfully captures that spirit.

PA:Who was your biggest musical influences? What primarily made you want to be in a band?
GIAA: That would be a hard one to answer but my father is our biggest musical influence as he was a musician in the late 60's/70's. He taught myself and Niels how to play the guitar.
Lloyd's father was also a big musical influence for him, Chris actually played some of the guitars on our new record.
I got interested in music after hearing Metallica, AC/DC and the Police when I was a kid
in the mid 80's.

PA:What is your opinion about post-rock scene nowadays?
GIAA: I don't really listen to much post-rock music these days. I am not sure what Post Rock even means, there seems to be a lot of bands tagged with that label. 
I think there is a danger that instrumental music could become cliche and uninspiring. A lot of bands have borrowed our live visual show concept which is frustrating because we will probably be accused of copying them even though we had the idea before them.
But like in any musical style there is some great music being released.

PA:You wrote in one interview that you, from time to time, get an irate e-mails from religious nuts, cause of a band name. Did you ever had a some (big) problem with that/them?
GIAA: Nothing apart from a few looney emails and comments.
Live the visuals for our song "Route 666" is dedicated to them, definitely a must see.

PA:If given the chance to eliminate one band from this earth for whatever reason, what band would you choose to destroy and why?
GIAA: There is quite a lot of utter sh*te that was made that has had no value other than commercial gain off idiot music fans. "Right Said Fred" would be an example of this,
pathetic and shameful, I see they are doing a washing powder advert, the catch-phrase
should be "getting your clothes bright and shiny as their bald heads".
Other bands that should be erased from existence are "Boyzone", Westlife", East 17", Bananarama" you get the picture.

PA: Well, that would be all for know. Thank you very much for this intie. Wish you to gain much more and bigger success with this and future releases.
GIAA: Thanks for the interview.
All the best

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TRIFIVE5000 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: September 27 2008 Location: Italy - Rome Status: Offline Points: 32	Topic: Interview - God is an Astronaut April/08 Posted: September 28 2008 at 18:09
	ProgArchives:Greetings. How are you doing? Are you occupied with something special lately? GIAA: We are all doing fine, we are currently rehearsing for our appearance at the Avant Festival in Moscow and making Digi Betas for MTV for our new video of the live version of our track "Radau" from the new album. We are also writing some new songs for the next album which will be a double disc release for early 2009. PA:Are you satisfied enough with God is an Astronaut new album and would you change anything if you could? GIAA: Yes we are all still very happy with it. No album is ever perfect but we wouldn't change anything on it, we believe an album should reflect our experiences and emotions at the time it was written and recorded, its like a photograph of who we were at that point in time. We always prefer to look forward, anything we do now is for the next record. PA:Tell us something about the process of making a new album, then how did the recording go? How long did you stay in studio and who was involved in recording and stuff? GIAA: We wrote a lot of it together in our studio. It was much more of a team effort this time round with both Lloyd and Niels contributing more to the writing process. We wrote and recorded the album between September 2006 and March 2007. Again we produced and recorded our own record, as a producer/engineer its something I love to do. PA:How would you describe and present “Far From Refuge” to someone who didn’t heard it yet? GIAA: I would say it is emotive instrumental Rocktronica. If you like melancholic melodic music you should like this. PA:Japanese version of new album, with 2 previously unreleased tracks, will be out soon. Who will release this version of album? Also, tell few words about that two bonus tracks and why you didn’t put them on original version of album? GIAA: It will be released on a new label called Happy Prince on July 18th in Japan. The bonus tracks are "Sunny Banks of Sweet Deliverance" and "Empyrean Glow". We kind of regret not including the "Sunny Banks ..." on our version of the album, we got too close to it at the time of recording but it sounds refreshing to hear now. The other track is an ambient piece, we felt the original album had enough of these already, although the song itself sounds very good. PA:You made a recording of Tripod show and putted a video for “Radau” on Yutube. Are there any chance to put out a complete concert, like a DVD, and stuff? GIAA: Initially we were planning a DVD but we decided to have a number of live videos on our next release instead as an enhanced CD. We want to spend more time on writing new songs rather than spending a lots of time on making a DVD. PA:Dates for some concerts are already confirmed. Tell more about it. GIAA: We will be playing a number of dates in Europe in October and a festival in Moscow in July. We would love to tour a lot more but it is very expensive especially when we want to maintain a high standard for all our live shows. PA:What instrumental of yours is your personal favorite and why? What instrumental seems to be the fan favorite in a live gig? GIAA: Its hard to pick one on record but "Fragile", "Tempus Horizon" and "Ascend to Oblivion" would be mine. Fan favorites live would be "Suicide by Star", Point Pleasant" and "Sunrise in Aries" at the moment. PA:What drives you to write the things you do? What inspires you? Did you have a special inspiration this time, for “Far From Refuge”? GIAA: Our music reflects who we are and what we experience. "Far From Refuge" was a real team effort and we had a lot of fun doing it. The album was inspired by what we were experiencing at the time, I think the album successfully captures that spirit. PA:Who was your biggest musical influences? What primarily made you want to be in a band? GIAA: That would be a hard one to answer but my father is our biggest musical influence as he was a musician in the late 60's/70's. He taught myself and Niels how to play the guitar. Lloyd's father was also a big musical influence for him, Chris actually played some of the guitars on our new record. I got interested in music after hearing Metallica, AC/DC and the Police when I was a kid in the mid 80's. PA:What is your opinion about post-rock scene nowadays? GIAA: I don't really listen to much post-rock music these days. I am not sure what Post Rock even means, there seems to be a lot of bands tagged with that label. I think there is a danger that instrumental music could become cliche and uninspiring. A lot of bands have borrowed our live visual show concept which is frustrating because we will probably be accused of copying them even though we had the idea before them. But like in any musical style there is some great music being released. PA:You wrote in one interview that you, from time to time, get an irate e-mails from religious nuts, cause of a band name. Did you ever had a some (big) problem with that/them? GIAA: Nothing apart from a few looney emails and comments. Live the visuals for our song "Route 666" is dedicated to them, definitely a must see. PA:If given the chance to eliminate one band from this earth for whatever reason, what band would you choose to destroy and why? GIAA: There is quite a lot of utter shte that was made that has had no value other than commercial gain off idiot music fans. "Right Said Fred" would be an example of this, pathetic and shameful, I see they are doing a washing powder advert, the catch-phrase should be "getting your clothes bright and shiny as their bald heads". Other bands that should be erased from existence are "Boyzone", Westlife", East 17", Bananarama" you get the picture. PA: Well, that would be all for know. Thank you very much for this intie. Wish you to gain much more and bigger success with this and future releases.* GIAA: Thanks for the interview. All the best
	Living on a lighted stage Approaches the unreal For those who think and feel In touch with some reality Beyond the gilded cage!

Mellotron Storm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: August 27 2006 Location: The Beach Status: Offline Points: 13467	Posted: October 04 2008 at 00:11
	Nice job Jose. I must say their "All Is Violent All Is Bright" album is a killer. Have to check out the new one.
	"The wind is slowly tearing her apart" "Sad Rain" ANEKDOTEN

TRIFIVE5000 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: September 27 2008 Location: Italy - Rome Status: Offline Points: 32	Posted: October 04 2008 at 09:16
	Thanks!
	Living on a lighted stage Approaches the unreal For those who think and feel In touch with some reality Beyond the gilded cage!

Dim Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: April 17 2007 Location: Austin TX Status: Offline Points: 6890	Posted: October 05 2008 at 23:24
	I dont have far from Refuge yet. Seeing that All is violent all is bright has a higher rating, and I absolutely adore that album, I'm afraid of a disapointment... BTW, keep up the excellent post rock reviews, we need more guys like you and me around here Edited by Dim - October 05 2008 at 23:26

Brew Records Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: December 28 2007 Status: Offline Points: 16	Posted: December 20 2008 at 13:48
	GIIA are returning to the UK in January. We're putting them on in Leeds at the Brudenell Social Club. Tickets available for www.seetickets.com, www.jumborecords.co.uk, www.crashrecords.co.uk