Chris
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Topic: Chris
Posted By: toroddfuglesteg
Subject: Chris
Date Posted: January 05 2011 at 15:13
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Chris is the project of Dutch multi-instrumentalist Christiaan Bruin. His debut album, "A Glimpse Inside", was recorded between 2007 and 2008, and finally released by Musea Records in 2009. Bruin played all instruments on the album, sang all the vocal parts, and also handled the artwork and the mastering. After the album's release, Bruin managed to put a live band together (formed by him and three other members), and started rehearsals with a view to getting some gigs in the second half of 2009. I caught up with Christiaan for this interview. =============================================
Let's
start with the beginning. Where were you born, which instrument did
you first pick up, were you involved in any other bands before you
started out on your own and which bands/artists were you influenced
by ?
I'm
from Boskoop, a small village in The Netherlands. The first
instrument I played was the snare drum at a local brass band. Pretty
soon after that I took drum lessons (I was approx. 11 years old
then).. But I didn't write my own music back then. When I was 14 I
started teaching myself to play electric guitar.
I founded my first band and started writing songs. It's funny, we actually played a kind of death metal!
I
also had a few excercises in other genres, like hiphop and symphonic
metal. We listened to bands like In Flames, Blind Guardian, Metallica
etc.
After
a little while I also got interested in keyboards and symphonic rock.
A friend of mine was in the band Knight Area (who had just released
their first album) and he got me into progressive and symphonic
music. I started listening to prog bands like Genesis, Camel, IQ..
since I could not really find other musicians intested in this kind
of music I decided to start out on my own.
Why
did you choose your type of music instead of any other genres ?
Most of the musicians of
my age (I started recording 'A Glimpse Inside' when I was 19) who
play this kind of music are influenced by the musical taste of their
parents. This wasn't the case with me, I was actually just exploring
on my own. The genre is not decided, the music comes naturally.
Prog rock has a lot of
musical elements that I like, such as dynamics, space for
development, rich harmonics, depth. I like the philosophy of
exploring the boundaries within sophisticated songwriting. 
Let's
go straight to your debut album. Please tell us more about A Glimpse
Inside from 2009.
As I said, I was 19 when
I started recording this album. I played every instrument and
recorded everything in my bedroom, I spent every unoccupied minute
upstairs to get the songs done. It was my first serious attempt to
create a proper album, something worth releasing.
When it was finished I
just sent it to some record companies, and luckily enough I was able
to get it released. I also did the mastering and the artwork.. it's
not that it's all about me, it's just that I enjoy being creative in
a lot of different ways. 
Please
tell us more about your second album Making Sense from 2010
I
actually had written some of the songs even before 'A Glimpse Inside'
was released. I had really a lot musical ideas, and since there was
still no band to play gigs with, I started recording straight away. I
studied Music Production at the conservatoire of Rotterdam, and I had
the chance to use the departement's sound studio to record some
stuff. But, similar to the debut album, I recorded pretty much
everything in my tiny home studio.
I
had the idea of making a concept album. It was quite an ambitious
project, with a lot of music, different arrangements and I had a lot
of pieces of paper filled with lyrics, schematics, storyboards etc..
Again, I recorded every single instrument myself, but this time I
managed to get a more organic and natural sound, much more like a
real band playing.
The
album titles sound like the lyrics are very personal and almost a
therapy. Please tell us more about the lyrical concepts on both
albums.
'A
Glimpse Inside' containts quite a few songs with a kind of
philosophical twist to it. Songs about fate, dealing with a
predetermined world where events are just a piece of a jigsaw puzzle
in a greater scheme of things. There’s a kind of fatality or
tragedy in that, but at the same time a sense of purpose and
therefore significance for the things we do. There are also songs
about love and the way people project their inner selves to the outer
world.
'Making
Sense' is about one's quest for truth, meaning and purpose. It's a
story about an individual, a soul, living one of his many lives on
earth. Through conversations with his creator he learns a lot about
life, his self, and the meaning of his existence. Knowledge doesn't
bring happiness, however. It brings tragedy, responsibility and most
of all longing for ignorance.
But
the lyrics do not have a really strong connection to my personal
life. They deal with topics I'm interested in, but I would not call
it therapy.
For
those of us unknown with your music; how would you describe you music
and which bands would you compare yourself with ?
It's symphonic rock, with
a lot of interesting arrangements, vocal layers and melodic guitars.
There are also some influences of bands from the 60's such as The
Beatles and The Beach Boys.
I've been told my music
also reminds of IQ, Genesis and Klaatu.
You
are also member of Sky Architect. How do you fit these two
bands/projects around each others and a normal life with bills to pay
and other commitments ?
I don't have a band yet,
so no rehearsals on a regular basis. I write and record my music in
the evening (also at night) and work on some other projects as well.
With Sky Architect we
spent the summer holidays recording our second album. At this point
we don't have a lot of gigs yet, so it's doable.
What
are the plans for Chris for 2011 and where do you want to take your
solo career ?
At this moment I'm
recording my third album, which I'm planning to release in 2011.
Hopefully there will be quite a few gigs after the release, I have
found some musicians to play my music live.
Musically I'm expanding
my horizon a bit, moving a bit from the traditional progressive rock
sound of the '70s. It will definitely be a surprising album, and the
song material is really solid.
Then there is the release
of the second Sky Architect album, also some live shows and new
recordings in the summer of '11.
To
wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this
interview ?
Thanks
for reading! Be sure to check out my album 'Making Sense' on
http://www.chrismusic.nl/" rel="nofollow - .
Thank you to Chris for this interview His PA profile is http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4868" rel="nofollow - and his homepage http://www.chrismusic.nl" rel="nofollow -
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Replies:
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: January 05 2011 at 16:44
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Thanks torodd........always looking for new stuff.....I am downloading A Glimpse Inside now. -------------   
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