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Het mooiste van festivals is dat je bandjes ziet en hoort die je niet kent. Bandjes die onverwacht indruk maken. De revelatie van de laatste editie van Roadburn was voor mij niet een band uit de USA, Engeland of Scandinavië. Nee, de vier mannen komen uit een stad die vijftien kilometer van mijn woonplaats gelegen is. Zoveel talent zo dicht bij huis? Ja. Mother-Unit heet de band, ze komen uit Eindhoven en vormen een ongelooflijk getalenteerde band met lef. Niet kiezen voor de makkelijke weg, maar muziek maken die mensen de ruimte laat om zelf emoties te vormen. Dat valt te waarderen. Onlangs verscheen hun debuutalbum ‘Brain Massage’ (zie review in dit nummer) en evenals hun live optreden was ook die plaat een ware trip. Voor mij reden genoeg om contact op te nemen met Bertus Fridael, de grote man achter de band. We namen even de tijd om eens goed en diepgaand over muziek te praten.
Text: Wim
Hello Bertus, how are you? First of all, is Mother-Unit the continuation of 35007 (LOOSE) or are we dealing with an entirely new band, with new ideas, new plans, etc.?
Mother-Unit started as a project. A project that gave me the opportunity to make a CD with my own compositions and to play them live of course. And now that we have started to play live, the project becomes a band more and more. As far as there is a comparison with 35007: both bands play instrumental music. But the approach of Mother-Unit differs. We are much more straight forward, less spacy.
Once again you opted for instrumental music. What is the reason for that; can’t you sing or is there another reason you focus on purely instrumental music?
First of all: I cannot sing, hehehe. But that is not the main reason for playing instrumental music. I think singing often diverts the attention from the music. I hate it when I am enjoying a great piece of music and then someone starts singing. These vocals make it much more difficult to enjoy the purity of the composition, of music in general. I enjoy listening to instrumental music but also playing it! It makes me happy and gives me (and the rest of band) satisfaction. Instrumental music ensures that I travel in my head. A wonderful feeling, a pleasant experience.
Do you believe that with instrumental music you can say or tell as much as with music with lyrics? And if so, how does it work?
Sure! Absolutely. As I said, singing changes your focus. You cannot focus on the music anymore. And when you go and listen to the lyrics and interpret them, it limits you in your emotion, your own experience. It is a lovely experience to listen to instrumental music and start seeing images in your head. Images or even a complete story. That is an exclusive moment for every listener: everyone has his own unique trip.
I guess you are aware of the fact that there is no "big market" for your kind of music. Does that bother you or do you secretly hope that there will be a large audience? I think it is also quite ‘difficult’ music. It’s music that will appeal to musicians. Musicians do not need guidance in structure or lyrics, etc. They know what’s going on while listening to your music. The music of Mother-Unit does not give guidance to the untrained listener. Is that something you care about at all or do you really play for yourself?
Well, to be honest, I do not think that our music is so complex. I think we mostly play straight forward (post)rock. And of course, we like to play repetitive riffs which give our music a sort of trance-like atmosphere, a little bit hallucinating. So no vocals and repetitive riffs: that sometimes ‘scares’ people. It is something people must get used to. As band members we really enjoy playing this music. When you hear us play you probably think that it is primarily a guitar thing, but do not be fooled by that first experience because you must not underestimate the contributions of drummer Hans Van Der Perre and bass player Niek Bosch: they really go beserk as well.
Although you don’t have lyrics, the songs of course have titles. How do you choose a title for a song? Are they just words that come to mind or is it much more an idea? For ‘Birth-Death-Fate’; can we hear the title of that song in the music?
I wrote the songs for the album and therefore I also chose the titles. A title of a song is based on the images I get inside my head or the emotion I feel while listening to our music or while playing the music. All four songs on the album have one thing in common: they are all related to the body and to the mind. That’s the theme of this CD. We will see what the emotion is on the next album, I cannot predict that yet.
This is an interview for a metal e-zine. But metal does not seem to be the category of music people will put you in after experiencing your music. As references I would mention bands like Monster Magnet, Hawkwind but also Porcupine Tree. Do you agree? In what category would you put the band?
Well, I really like metal! In 35007 (LOOSE) I was the only one who could appreciate metal, but Mother-Unit is more into metal I guess. As a musician I really like to play metal riffs. And I really love double bass, although Mother-Unit does not often use them. But maybe that will change in the future, you never know. Personally I like bands like Tool (except for the vocals), Wolfmother, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The other day me and the band were discussing about what it is that we do. Is is spacerock? Postrock? We agreed on ‘film music’; music that evokes images, makes you see pictures. But that should not be limited by images that are projected onto a screen when we play live. That distracts. As a musician I do not want to hide behind projections. I want people so see and hear our music, they really have to experience it.
I saw you by accident at the Roadburn festival. That was the first time I ever heard of the band. Have I been asleep too long or did the band not profile itself very much yet?
Our first gig was the day before the Roadburn gig! On Friday we played in The Baroeg in Rotterdam and on Saturday in Tilburg. We have been playing in the current line up for one year now. Our album was released on March 26, 2010 and that is when things started happening for us. The sales of the album are satisfying, Unfortunately it is difficult to get opportunities to play live. We do not focus on Holland but also on Germany. Germans more often visit concerts than the Dutch for example. They do not mind driving one or two hours to go and see a band perform live. In Holland it is different. Only the hardcore music lovers still visit concerts.
It was also by chance that you got to play at the Roadburn festival I understand. Mother-Unit played there because another band (Gates Of Slumber) was not able to come due to the vulcanic ashes?
That is a funny story. There is a DJ from a stoner radio station from the San Francisco area who is a huge LOOSE fan. She heard that I started a new band and she asked me to send our CD. Then it stayed quiet. So I tried to contact her but she happened to be in Holland for the Roadburn festival, She asked me to come but I did not have a ticket. She then arranged a ticket for me for Thursday. So we met in Tilburg and I gave her our CD. Walter – one of the two big men behind the Roadburn festival- saw me there and asked me if we could play on Saturday. I was fortunate to be at the right time at the right place. Of course I said yes! The rest is history.
To conclude this interview; you are a band from Eindhoven. Eindhoven Rock City. Is that whole Rock City thing a bunch of crap, or is it actually something you subscribe? Is Mother-Unit an exponent of that ‘trend’?
O, yes, it really means something. In my humble opinion Eindhoven IS Rockcity. There is no city in our country where there are so many good rock bands, it is absolutely loaded with talent. Peter Pan Speedrock, LOOSE, Alabama Kids, Candybar Planet, 7Zuma7, Suimasen, you name it. Eindhoven rocks and so do we.
http://www.myspace.com/505204340
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