by Vpower<\/p>\n
Technically PALMER has nothing to envy any other band, they are so skilled as any one can be, and more than most of bands around. In terms of composition they can thrash you in a moment and the next one they are just silk and millpond, dark atmosphers or fantastic melodies all around. Probably, the best band out from Switzerland since the times of Swiss legend Coroner, a must listen, in a word. We talk to Jan Walchli, founding member and axeman.<\/p>\n
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Hello Jan and congratulations for your excellent new album \u2018Surrounding The Void\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.<\/p>\n Palmer is a Swiss band with four members and more than 15 years of path in this complicated world of Metal and music in general. How do you summarize all those years? What is the balance?<\/strong><\/p>\n We never thought too much about that. When I decided to found Palmer, around about 2000, all I wanted is to find some guys who shared my passion in music. And so we came together. I more or less knew all the guys already, as we were all active in the local scene. And so we started doing our own thing, we just let it happen. We never had a masterplan or something. When we felt ready to go to studio, we did. We\u2019ve had a lot of good moments, gigs and experiences so far. And at the same time we managed to keep our musical independence.<\/p>\n What can you tell us about the current line-up, Jan?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ueli, Remo, Steve and me, it\u2018s still the original line-up. I think this is fact that speaks for itself. This also gave us the opportunity to find and create our own way of making music.<\/p>\n \u2018Surrounding The Void\u2019 is your third full-length album. The bands usually say that the last release is the best, it\u2019s almost like a mantra. But I think in this ocassion it\u2019s totally true<\/strong><\/p>\n I totally agree with you. I\u2018m very critical concerning my own ideas. The most ideas\u00a0disappear directly into the trashcan. And of course we try to improve ourselves in every aspect of making music i.e. arrangements, tightness, production, cover and so on. And I\u2018m pretty convinced that\u2019s exactly the case with our new record.<\/p>\n In fact, there are so much work on this \u2018Surrounding The Void\u2019, so many views and angles in you music that you need some time and many listenings to digest all you offer<\/strong><\/p>\n Lot\u2019s of the people say so, so I think that\u2018s correct, too. But we don\u2019t think about such things. The music just happens. It\u2018s our music.<\/p>\n Jan, do you consider yourself a perfecionist in terms of music and composition?<\/strong><\/p>\n No, not really. To be a perfectionist must be very exhausting. We do the best we can, but we are also aware of the fact that it\u2018s not Palmer that feeds our families. So at a certain point we have to go further instead of arguing over and over about certain details.<\/p>\n How long have you worked in this \u2018Surrounding The Void\u2019 and how was the composition process?<\/strong><\/p>\n About two years. I bring riffs or ideas that I figured out at home and we build on them as a band. We were kind of collecting all the riffs and ideas over the few last years and then we picked out the premium ones, arranged everything and put the songs together.<\/p>\n Compared to previous releases, what new elements are we going to find?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2018t know if there are genuinely new elements, but in general I\u2019d say that the new album is more intense, more elaborated and more professional; simply put: a little bit more of everything that defines the Palmer sound. Furthermore there is no uptempo song on \u201eSurrounding The Void\u201c.<\/p>\n I was totally surprised by the great amount of musical approaches you are able to play in the same song, even jazz elements in some moments. You name it progressive metal or what?<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2018s call it Palmernoise\u00a0 . Indeed all members listen to a lot of different styles. Yeah, I love Jazz a lot, but also Rock, Prog, Pop\u2026 Our bassplayer Ueli for example plays double bass in a jazz combo and a Mambo band too. We are not only metal dudes. Metal is great, but there is so much fantastic music out there, you just have to be open minded and you get free acces to a huge universe of amazing bands or musicians.<\/p>\n Palmernoise\u2026 it really sounds good. Some pleople may think your music is not ready for comsumption by any kind of metalhead, I mean, maybe if you are too focused in a unique style or you listen to a few bands then Palmer\u2019s complexity would be too much for some guys, what do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n As artists or musicians we just do what we have to do without thinking about the consequences or whether people may like our music or not. What we do just feels natural for us. I think it\u2018s the only way to keep your own integrity. Of course we feel lucky if people share our music with us. And luckily there are some\u00a0 .<\/p>\n One of the strong points in \u2018Surrounding The Void\u2019 is that you blend all those influences and subgenres with absolute fluency, that makes the listening very easy and enjoyable for any trained ear<\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely, for us it\u2018s the most natural thing in the world. It\u2018s how we build our music and hopefully keep it exciting and interesting for people who want to dig a little bit deeper into music. The more you listen to our songs the more you can explore and discover.<\/p>\n I would like to remark the great execution of the rhythm section, it really opens the path for all your developments<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, they did a great job. The drumsound is absolutely fat and massive and together with the mighty bass, these two guys create the framework on which Steve and I can unleash our musical fury.<\/p>\n You, Jan Walchli, have done a titanic effort on guitars. I really appreciate your skills to pass from brutality to melancholy or melody. What is your background? What guitarists have influenced your style?<\/strong><\/p>\n I started listening to metal when I was twelve years old \u2013 Helloween, Testament\u2026 Then I had my progressive period, the more complicated the better i.e. Watchtower, Dream Theater, Cynic. At the same time I started to listen to Jazz Rock\/Fusion like Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson and of course the outstanding Allan Holdsworth. I like Kurt Rosenwinkel, Snarky Puppy, Rush, Meshuggah of course and many more. Meshuggah in my opinion is definitely THE shit in metal. Since decades they\u2019ve been blowing my mind away.<\/p>\n The instrumental work is awesome and Steve Diener (vocals) fits perfectly on it, with a very dramatic performance<\/strong><\/p>\n The fact that we\u2019ve been sharing the music together since we started in 2000 helps us appear as an entity. And Steve, with his personality on and off stage and his unique voice, is an important part of it.<\/p>\n Being a band from Switzerland, how do you see the Metal scene in your country and how has it affected your life as a band?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a lot of great and interesting bands out there and we try to help each other as much as we can.<\/p>\n How can any guy get your cd?<\/strong><\/p>\n Hereby some links:<\/p>\n Czar Shop: CeDe.ch: PHD itunes:
\nhttp:\/\/czarshop.com\/palmer\/124-palmer-surrounding-the-void.html<\/u><\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.cede.ch\/de\/music\/?view=detail&branch_sub=0&id=1383698&branch=1<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n
\nCD: http:\/\/www.plastichead.com\/item.asp?ex=fitem&target=CZAR043<\/a> LP:\u00a0http:\/\/www.plastichead.com\/item.asp?ex=fitem&target=CZAR049<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/de\/album\/surrounding-the-void\/id1187252795<\/u><\/p>\n