Band: Esoterica Interviewer: Julie Johnson Date: 7/19/05

The new full-length album from Britain’s Esoterica ought to be quite the treat for fans of Tool ,NiN , HIM , Deftones and A Perfect Circle. Not only does lead singer Tobias have the same type of emotive, acrobatic tenor as Maynard James Keenan – capable of alternating suddenly between throaty rage and sensitive whimper – but the band’s arrangements share Tool’s melodic heaviness and A Perfect Circle’s tendency toward complex, progressive songwriting. We here at Grave Concerns E-zine feel that the Esoterica are going to be the next big thing. They should appeal to many fans across the genres. As their new CD was released on July 18th 2005, we wanted to bring you one of the first new interviews since their big release. We also have a CD review our their new CD "The Fool" in our review section.

GC: It is a pleasure to finally get to talk with you, and for those who have not heard of eSOterica can you give them an insight into what band sounds like?

Esoterica: It's like the bottom of the sea. Tidal surging and dark.

GC: When and how did your journey together as a band first begin?

Esoterica: n Africa, Tobias (Vocals) & Charlie (Bass) met on an exchange to Tanzania. They didn't know each other but were forced to share a room after being told if the didnt behave they would be sent home, so they spent ther time writing a song i guess that was the start.

GC: Can you tell me a little bit of a news update about what is going on right now with as you are getting ready to release The Fool on Somethingtolistento?

Esoterica: At the moment we are mentally busy with promotion, we've just finished two videos and you should be seeing us in your magazines and on your screens soon...

GC: How long did you write and record the new album?

Esoterica: About a year.

GC: If any, who do people compare you too the most? I would guess possibly, A Perfect Circle or Tool?

Esoterica: Yeah, and Korn, Radiohead and more industrial stuff. We feel lucky to be compared to such awesome bands. Everyone tries to put you into a box, but in time people will start listening to the music for what it is.

GC: What do you love about the music on “The Fool”?

Esoterica: Every song has it's own personality, some of the songs are very personal, some of them are written from an outsiders point of view and some are written as a story. There aren't enough stories in music any more.

GC: How do you feel “The Fool” will do overall, charts, T.V. fans, reviews etc?

Esoterica: More and more people are offering to help us all the time, the response from fans has been overwhelming, to the point where our feet haven't really touched the floor lately. Our aim is simply to get it heard by as many people as possible.

GC: Do you feel The Fool” will attract a variety a listeners, who is your target audience?

Esoterica: We never intended to have a "target audience". So far we've picked up a really diverse rangeof fans, from the Old School, NWOAHM, Emo and alternative rock fans... They seem to be mostly female...

GC: What kind of edge do you feel you have over bands like NIN or Marilyn Manson who both have the industrial rock edge?

Esoterica: It's funny 'cos everyone's asking us questios like that, comparing us to great bands. When we wrote the album, it's just what came out. We don't have crazy image, we went through that phase and ended up settling into something much more natural, much more us. Our music is very much more song based as opposed to sound based, thesounds in our music are really only there to enhance the song, not to be clever or different.

GC: I see that there are a lot of pictures of people on your CD booklet, are these fans?

Esoterica: Fans and friends.

GC: John Fryer was the producer for your new album, what was it like having John Fryer who has worked with bands like NIN and Depeche help with producing?

Esoterica: John's a cool guy, much more of a friend than a producer now. He has helped us an awful lot to grow as a band, and he's produced some of our favourite artists, that's why we wanted him to do the album originally.

GC: Can you tell us more about the video production of “Life is Lonely” that was shot in Los Angeles?

Esoterica: "Life Is Lonely" was very much a learning curve, a crash course in video production if you like. We'd never done anything like that before and we learned a lot from it, we were also blessed to meet some extremely talented people throughout the shoot. We fully intend to go back to LA, (having 3 video's under our belt now) to do something very special with Wendell (who ended up directing "Life Is Lonely") and Daniel Pearl who is legendary for such videos as GnR's Novemeber Rain.

Do you feel that being on SomthingtoListento is a good place to be right now as you release The Fool? How are they promoting the CD?

Esoterica: T.V. magazines, radio all the normal stuff, the best thing about S.T.L.T is we have control over what we do, they can suggest things, but we can say yes or no, there is no dick in a suit to tell us what to do ..

GC: Will we be seeing you on tour in the U.S in the next few months?

Esoterica: We're planning all that right now...

GC: Do you feel your music can be cutting-edge, if so what makes it cutting edge?

Esoterica: If you worry too much about being cutting-edge, you miss the point of music. It's a way ofcommunicating and expression, it's not about being clever. It's more about what you say and how you say it. Maybe we are, maybe we're not, we certainly never set out to be cutting-edge.

GC: What kind of song writing process did you have for this album?

Esoterica: All different ways, some were bits of songs that were built up, some wrote themleves. A lot of the songs were written very barely so we could focus on the core song, the chords and get the structures the way that we wanted them, then built up later.

GC: Can you give us a low-down of some of your songs? What songs are most meaningful to you and send a powerful message?

Esoterica: To me (Tobias), Miranda And The Tempest, I wrote it for a girl, she didn't like it. I guess it was too honest. Now it's how I feel about everything, I don't know who to trust in my personal life. I guess the strongest message is "Don't Rely On Anyone"! Even God... If you want it, get it yourself.

GC: Describe what is like to be at a Esoterica concert?

Esoterica: The live show is something we're working on at the moment, we've been very restrained until now. We've matured a lot live over the last couple of years. We want to make the live show an experience as well as a display of sheer energy, which it has become.

GC: Is this record a dream come true for you?

Esoterica: We're extremely proud of "The Fool", we've put a lot of work into it, but we called it "The Fool" partly because of the meaning behind the tarot card...

GC: Besides knowing you for your music, what would you like to share about yourself?

Esoterica: I'm in music because it's the only thing I enjoy, it's the only thing I'm good at. I guess that answers the first question too. I think we all hate the business side of it.

GC: Would you like to share anything else about Esoterica to our readers?

Esoterica: his is the beginning.