SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian has been talking exclusively to Kerrang! about his forthcoming solo album, 'Elect The Dead', due out late October via Serjical Strike. With System on an extended hiatus for the foreseeable future, Tankian has been hard at work writing, recording and producing the record at his home studio in Los Angeles.
"It's definitely a rock record," explains Tankian in between putting the final touches to the album mix. "It's a moving album with lots of up's and down, starts and stops and tempo changes. It's depressing but it's uplifting, it's jazzy but it rocks. Making it felt similar to making the first System record – I felt the exact same energy, that sense of open experimentation, the idea that 'Wow, I'm actually doing this…' I was living, eating and shitting this music every day. I'd wake up in the morning and the thought of working on a song was so powerful I couldn't focus on anything else."
WHAT CAN LISTENERS EXPECT FROM THE ALBUM?
"Well, it doesn't sound like anything I've heard before, even System. Maybe there are the odd similarities on the heavier moments, which are inevitable because of my voice, or maybe within the politics of the lyrics of a song such as 'The Unthinking Majority'. But even then, the music is more trippy. I originally wanted to call the album 'The Flying Cunts Of Chaos' but strangely everyone discouraged me…"
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A SOLO RECORD?
"Yes. But it's funny though because I came to music late, so I never expected to have a career in music. My parents tried to convince to take up an instrument as a kid and my Dad is a beautiful, beautiful singer – my voice is shit compared to his. They bought me a guitar that I never played because I was always more into my studies. Then in college something switched inside of me, I took up the keyboard and I went at it like someone who has never eaten before who has suddenly been presented with unlimited food. I went nuts for music. And now here I am making a solo record…"
HAVE YOU FOUND WORKING ALONE TO BE A LIBERATING EXPERIENCE?
"Absolutely. With System you're working towards a common shared goal and you're utilizing four different energies that you wouldn't by yourself. For example, Daron (Malakian, guitarist) would want to bring in his own songs and have a certain amount of control and all of that stuff. So there are always varying opinions, tastes and decision-making capabilities to consider and we have done that with five albums over ten years, but now I'm able to do something that I don't have to compromise on at all. Not that System Of A Down have ever been a compromising band of course, it's just that there are four opinions to consider, whereas I feel now that the sky is the limit. I feel this album has no barriers between the listener and me. It's more direct."
ISN'T THERE A DANGER YOU WILL OVER-INDULGE WHEN YOU SELF-PRODUCE?
"At first I was skeptical because you have to adopt different roles simultaneously. You have to learn to self-edit and fortunately I was able to be very critical. An example would be a song called 'Lie Lie Lie', which is a funny a song but I had some very serious lyrics to it. Man, I went in there five fucking times trying to make that song great, but it just wasn't working. Then I realized the lyrics were way too serious for such a silly song. So I ripped them up, threw them on the floor and went in and did it all on the fly, just having fun and creating it all again from scratch. In the end the song became this really crazy, humorous drama. And you have to do that. You have to be critical and keep changing things until it sounds right."
DO YOU PLAN TO TOUR 'ELECT THE DEAD'?
"I'm actually in the process of putting together a band right now and we're arranging a promotional schedule for the rest of the year. Then in 2008 we want to tour and play festivals. System was a band's band, but this is more like having a backing band with some friends who play great instruments. It'll be a fun adventure and I hope to try things I have never tried before – whether that's in terms of doing publicity or the places I will play. I want to venture further out there than I have in the past."
YOU TURN 40 AROUND ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ALBUM'S RELEASE. DO YOU STILL APPROACH TOURING THE WORLD WITH THE SAME ENTHUSIASM?
"Any time that you're home for a while working on a record or whatever, you tend to nest. Then when the record is done you have to break out of that, and touring becomes fun…for a while, at least. David Bowie once said that things become redundant for him after the first two weeks of touring, which was interesting. The thing that stops me from getting too nervous about it all is: it's my fucking choice. It's my record, my label, my production, my decisions. I can only blame myself if I don't like it. And if things aren't working or ideas seem redundant, I'll change them."
ARE YOU IN TOUCH WITH THE REST OF SYSTEM MUCH AT THE MOMENT?
"Sure. I talk with John (Dolmayan, drums) once in a while. He played some drums on the heaviest song on the record – he's instantly recognizable because even when he plays mellow he's heavier than everyone else. He's a monster. Brain (aka Bryan Mantia) from Primus also played some drums on the record. I caught up with Shavo (Odadjian, bass) recently and heard from Daron a couple of weeks ago. I think we're all focused on our own projects right now, all working like mad."
IS IT ALSO TRUE YOU HAVE RECENTLY LEGALLY BECOME A CITIZEN OF NEW ZEALAND?
"Yes, after recording the album I withdrew and took off there for three months, which I had to do to gain citizenship. I'm such a crazy workaholic that it was hard stepping away from my work in LA, but it was great because it allowed me to reflect. It made me think 'Wow man, I have this amazing life'. To be able to have made a lot of my dreams come true is amazing and from here on in it's all gravy. I get to do what I want to do my way without compromise or negotiation. It's a greater position of strength than I've ever had and listening to the record now it feels like a fun trip!"
published on Kerrang! magazine. word by Ben Myers
Комментариев: 7
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