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Talented
guitarist Torben Enevoldsen, main man behind Section A has written
another great progressive metal album, we have put a few questions
together for him.
Kenn
- Torben, “Parallel Lives” is your second Section A album –
first album was the highly acclaimed debut “The Seventh Sign”
(2003 on
Lion Music
), and before that you released some albums under your own name.
But I am sure there is a lot more to be told about your background,
so please fill us in...
Torben:
Well, I started playing guitar back in the late eighties. I
played on and off for a few years, until’ I finally decided to
get serious about my playing. I started practising regularly and
quickly got involved with various artists and bands here in
Denmark
, doing live gigs and whatnot. I soon realized however, that I had
to write my own music. I experimented at home with a 4-track tape
recorder and a drum machine, and the songs I wrote, were all hard
rock instrumentals. A friend of mine, who also happened to be a
studio engineer, really liked the demos I made and offered me some
free time at the studio where he was working. I recorded 3 songs
which I released on a demo CD called “Just In Case”. This was
back in 1995. I didn’t succeed in getting a deal, but that
didn’t stop me. In 1997, I went back into the studio to record
another 9 songs. This effort eventually paid off and I got signed
by a small Dutch label called Roxon Records. They released my
debut album in December of 1998 called “Guitarisma”. And the
rest, I guess, is history…
Kenn
– “Parallel Lives” will be released shortly, what kind of
expectations do you have for it?
Torben:
I just hope that people will like the album!
Kenn
– What do you think set “Parallel Lives” apart from “The
Seventh Sign”, I think the new songs are more complex and
diverse – do you agree?
Torben:
I think that “Parallel Lives” is a big step forward for us.
Musically, this new album has a much better flow to it and I
personally think it defines the Section A sound. Also the fact
that “Parallel Lives” is a concept album makes it lyrically a
lot more interesting.
Kenn
- If you should suggest one single song to understand the full Section
A musical potential, which title would you choose and why?
Torben:
Wow, that’s a tough question. If I am only allowed to pick one
song however, then I think I will have to go with “Dark
Alliance”. To me, this song sums it all up. In this song you
have the progressive side, the melodic side, the heavy side as
well as the more self indulgent side :-).
Kenn
– You have recorded the album in 3 different studios, with 3
different people at the helm – was that decision made from a
financial standpoint, and how do you feel about the result looking
back?
Torben:
This was simply the most practical way for us to do the recordings.
The financial side of things also plays a part of course, but I
never felt that to be much of an issue. We are all very busy and
in
Andy
’s case for instance, it’s a lot easier for him to record a
few hours one day when he is able to do so.
This
was actually the problem we ran in to with our former drummer. It
was impossible for us to find a few weeks combined time to do the
drum recordings. It may be a bit more time consuming in the long
run, but I think that this way of doing the recordings are
necessary for us.
Kenn
- If
your music was an emotion, which one would it be?
Torben:
Sheer pleasure! :-)
Kenn
– I know you write all of the music for Section A, but how is a
song completed? Do you have specific lyrically ideas as well you
pass on?
Torben:
When I do a demo, I always do two versions of each song. One
without vocals and one with vocals.
I simply sing my vocal ideas on a separate track, so that
Andy
is able to hear the melody line I have in mind. I am mostly
singing complete gibberish, except for a few words in the chorus.
I normally use these words as
working titles. I pass these on to
Andy
and Conny and sometimes, my working titles become the actual
titles, but that is fairly
rare. They write the lyrics and decide the names of the songs.
Kenn
- Is there any plans for you to go out on the road to support
“Parallel Lives” or is this strictly a studio project?
Torben:
There are unfortunately no immediate plans of touring. I would
love to play the songs live, but this will depend on a lot of
things. I am keeping my fingers crossed however!
Kenn
- I was wondering – is there a deeper idea behind the artwork?
Torben:
Definitely. The artwork is build upon the concept of this album.
William’s
face
is visible in the back (to the right) and in front of his face are
two spheres. One big and one small. They suggest the two worlds in
which he lives his parallel lives. Big empty spaces in the back -
darkness and light - is to suggest that one part of his life is
filled with hope and the other with a dark mission.
To
the upper left, you will find William’s wife Gloria and to the
lower left, the characters from the song "Dark
Alliance". They seem to appear from out of the building in
the back, which is half-ruined, in order to suggest that something
of big importance is crumbling (a society, the president…?). And
because William is on the run a lot in the story, there’s also a
city with streets that look like a maze or a labyrinth.
Kenn
- If someone told you tomorrow that you can't be involved in music
anymore, what do you see yourself doing in 5 years from now?
Torben:
I have absolutely no idea!
Kenn
– Name a person, event or maybe an album, that have had a big
influence on you life, and why?
Torben:
Well, I think I am able to combine a person and an album actually.
When I heard the first Steeler album, I was completely blown away!
Not by the songs, but by their guitarist. This was the first time
that I heard Yngwie Malmsteen play and I was amazed to say the
least! I knew right then and there, that I had to start taking my
guitar playing a lot more seriously!
What are you doing besides Section
A, job wise as well as hobbies?
Torben:
I am teaching and I am also involved in several other musical
projects. Music is my life, so it pretty much takes up all of my
time!
Kenn
– When you sit back to relax at home, what kind of things do you
do? Listen to music, read, watch TV or…
Torben:
I listen to a lot of music and I watch way too much TV. Or so
I’m told :-)
Section
A isn’t the only thing Torben has going on
at
the moment, he released a solo album a little over ½-year ago
called "Flying
Solo", and Peter has put together a few questions one
guitarist to another…
Peter
- How old were you when you first picked up a guitar for the first
time?
Torben:
I think I was around 13 or 14 years old. I put it right down again
however, because I thought that playing the guitar was easy :-)
Peter
- Who are you influenced by?
Torben:
My main influences are Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Lukather and Allan
Holdsworth.
Peter
- Do you practice every single day?
Torben:
More or less.
What’s
the main difference between your first solo album "Guitarisma" and the third one “Flying Solo”?
Torben:
On “Guitarisma” I had a lot of help from various people, but
on “Flying Solo” I did everything by myself.
Peter
- You are currently very busy working on material for a new
project… can you give us some details or is it too early?
Torben:
If you are referring to the brand new project I am doing right now,
then yes, it’s too soon. Sorry, but I will be able to reveal
some info on this project on my web site in about a month or two.
Maybe
you don’t know this, but I have just finished another project I
was working on together with the Swedish singer
Mats Levén
(At Vance, Ex-Malmsteen). The name of this project is Fatal Force
and the debut album will be released in
Japan
on April 26th and in Europe
a few weeks later. The album was mixed and mastered by
Tommy Hansen
at Jailhouse Studios here in Denmark and the style is very melodic hard rock / metal. There is of
course more info on this project on my web site…
Peter
- Could you tell us, in very few words, what you think of these
guitarists?
Yngwie
Malmsteen
Torben:
He is just amazing! He will always be one of my all time
favourites!
Steve Vai
Torben:
He is very gifted obviously, but a bit too smooth for me…
Satriani
Torben:
I love his early stuff. Great bluesy guitarist!
Richie
Blackmore
Torben:
An outstanding song writer and definitely a true legend!
Tony MacAlpine
Torben:
A true virtuoso!! Doesn’t get the respect I think he deserves!
Allan Holdsworth
Torben:
Awesome!! My favourite fusion guitarist of all time! I especially
love his early solo albums…
We
thank you very much for participating in this interview and
sharing this information and your thoughts with us - these last
lines are entirely for you. Any final words you would like to
round off with?
Torben:
I just want to thank you guys for the support and for doing this
interview with me!
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