Hi Erik, first
of I just want to congratulate you on another fine album.
Wuthering Heights - Thanks.
We're very
happy with it. And it seems that also this time around the fans really like it,
and a few reviewers are very confused or even slightly annoyed - so that's
great...ha-ha!
What kind
of hopes and expectations do you have for 'Salt'?
Wuthering Heights - None other than actually being able to
release it and provide the music community with some strong, honest stuff in
this day of artificial culture. I guess it's long since most musicians had to
realise that the prospect of an actual "career" in music is rarely an option
anymore. So basically, we just hope people like it, that's all.
How does
the final result compare to the idea you had going into the studio?
Wuthering Heights - Well, once we get to actually go into
the real studio, everything is pretty much mapped out in detail. You cannot have
any open questions or loose ends when you're paying for the whole thing
yourself. So all the really hard work - writing and arranging - goes on before
we go into the studio. I make a complete demo of the whole album at my home
studio, and in the real studio it's basically a matter of doing it "properly".
The hard thing is, of course, to be able to deliver that extra great performance
for posterity at a specific, scheduled time. But we've done it a few times by
now, so we kind of know how to go about it.
You have
produced the album like the ones before, why did you choose to do so? Did the
thought of using a new producer ever occur?
Wuthering Heights - Actually, we didn't do it quite like before, because we've
mixed it ourselves this time. Our bass player, Teddy, has been working on
creating his own studio, which is by now wholly professional. And it would be
kind of stupid not to use the guy within the band who knows how to do this
stuff. So we recorded some of the stuff with Tommy Hansen as usual, but much of
the recording and the whole assembling of the album we did ourselves at Teddy's
place. And it worked out really great. I'm really happy with the way it turned
out. Everything just fits into place and the album has gotten the atmosphere
that I was striving for.
Can you
give us a brief introduction on the lyrical concept behind 'Salt'? The themes
seem to be
inspired by
the sea and its people.
Wuthering Heights - Well, this thing has been terribly overstressed already,
which is maybe my own fault. It's not a concept album and it's not "about" the
sea. It's a collection of songs about my concerns for the world and how to live
in it. And some of these songs take their images or metaphors from the sea,
because the sea provides great emotion and power to the poetry. I guess in many
aspects it is about the end of the world - that we are truly "lost at sea" and
that we're going down soon. Of course this works on two levels, the world as
such, but also the world of the individual. I guess we all sometimes wish that
someone would throw us a rope and pull us in. But since that's unlikely to
happen, my songs tend to deal with learning to live with that. I don't have the
solutions of course - sometimes the feelings manifest themselves as utter
sorrow, like in the song "Lost At Sea". There can be glimmers of hope -
salvation through love, like in "Weather the Storm" or defiance as in "The Mad
Sailor", who goes down singing. So, while I like an album to have a certain
overall feeling to it - in this case a slightly maritime one - it's really just
songs. But songs that hopefully may mean something to someone.
Tell us a
bit about the artwork.. an old shipwreck, any deeper meaning behind it?
Wuthering Heights - Not really, other than I feel it really captures the mood of
the album, although I'm not quite sure why. I just stumbled upon this picture
and immediately knew it was the right one. And for the first time everybody
agreed. We usually have a few fights about artwork, but not this time. Of
course, in true Spinal Tap fashion, once we had decided on the picture, the
photographer had disappeared. So there were a few practical issues that had to
be solved, but I'm very happy with it. Also because it's a rather "un-metal"
cover - I like that.
You are
releasing this album on the Italian Scarlet Records label - how did you hook up
with them and why did you choose them?
Wuthering Heights - Simply through our management, who deals with all that stuff
- and because they wanted us. Simple as that. It's not like there was a bidding
war... ha-ha" "Oh, those crazy Scandinavians, why don't they just make
four-minute songs about dragons and get on with it?"... hahaha! Anyway, I hope
they work out well; it's tough times for the record business.
2010 has
just begun, but which albums impressed you in 2009?
Wuthering Heights - Hmmm... well, actually the re-release of the Beatles albums
sort of overshadowed everything else last year, right? Besides that, I don't
think 2009 was a particularly interesting year musically - at least not for me.
Most of the bands I follow didn't release anything new, and when they did, it
wasn't that amazing. Most of the new stuff I enjoyed was in the hard rock
category - the Poodles album was good and the new Gotthard was amazing. My
favourite 2009 albums I guess must be Tyr - I mean, are these guys on top of
their game or what? - and Transatlantic, which is quite a mouthful, but a
good one. To me, it seems 2010 is better already - both the new Gamma Ray and
the new Meat Loaf are surprisingly good.
What tasks
lay immediately ahead of you - any plans taking the album our on the road,
single shows or...?
Wuthering Heights - Well, actually my only task right now is to get well. I've
had back surgery and am not really able to do much. It's been like that since
December, but I hope it will slowly get better and I'll be able to play again.
So it's hard to really plan anything. Hopefully the people won't have all
forgotten us once we get out there again. I sure would like to play some of
these new songs live.
Thank you
very much for answering my questions. Do you have any last rants for our
readers?
Wuthering
Heights - Thanks for the opportunity. I just hope you'll all check out the new
album and our website
www.wuthering-heights.dk
, and by all means join our forum and meet other "WHeads".
Cheers!
Interviewed by Kenn Jensen | 
