ANDREAS NERGARD
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 11th May 2011.
Norwegian musician and composer Andreas Nergård has has a metal musical entitled "Memorial For A Wish" on the way out on two discs over the next two years. The musical is being recorded in Trondheim Studio right now with producer Conor Patrick. With well-known names like Ralf Scheepers, Tony Mills, Mike Vescera, Åge Sten Nilsen, Göran Edman and Helge Engelke already having having completed their pieces. American singer David Reece has already been announced for the next round of sessions, with more to come.
We caught up with Andreas to find out more...
Photo Credit © Ina H. Stenvig
Hi Andreas, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
I’m fine, thanks Jon.
What’s your musical history? How and when did you get into playing, and when did you realise you had a real talent for it?
I’ve always had a great passion for music. The drums in particularly caught my attention as a kid. I first started taking drum lessons at the age of nine and I already knew back then that I wanted to become a musician and compose my own music.
What instrument(s) do you play?
I mainly play the drums, which I’ve been doing for the last thirteen years. However, I also play both piano and bass, which gives me an advantage when it comes to songwriting. On this release I play drums and keyboards. I do also play bass on a couple of songs.
When did you start writing and composing music?
I think I composed my first serious piece of music when I was seventeen. I was very into 80s oriented rock/metal at that moment, such as Cinderella, Shy, Whitesnake, TNT, Mötley Crüe and so on, and of course I tried to write music that were quite similar to my heroes.
Do you come from a musical family?
Yes I certainly do. My father is a classical trained singer who exposed me (and my brothers) to classical music and jazz from an early age. My two older brothers play guitar and bass, both of them contributes on this release. I grew up listening to a lot of various types of music. I would listen to anything from Guns N’ Roses and Eric Clapton to mainstream pop-songs.
Who were your early influences? Who do you really rate these days?
My early influences were U2, Manic Street Preachers, Saxon, TNT and Mötley Crüe. Nowadays I rate bands and artists such as Mezzoforte, Nightwish, Earth Wind and Fire, James Horner, Kamelot and Toto, to mention a few. As you see I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, which I think is very important for a musician. I don’t want to get locked into just one genre, it would drive me crazy.
You have a new metal musical “Memorial For A Wish” coming out spread over a couple of albums over the next couple of years. Where did the idea for this come from?
Well, I’ve always fantasized about doing an album with the artists that inspired me to become a musician, like Göran Edman, Helge Engelke, Tony Mills and all the others that contribute on this production. I’ve always had a big passion for concept albums and musicals, especially Phantom Of The Opera and Les Miserables, so I knew that if I ever were to realize this fantasy it would have to be through a musical.
When you write music for something like that you’ll have to put music to a story, something I find rather exciting. It’s much like writing a novel. You can’t keep introducing the listener to something new all the way through, you’ll have to re-use and keep developing certain pieces. For this musical, which in the theaters is known as a tragedy, I’ve created different kinds of musical themes that represents hate, love, despair, hope and so on. And throughout the musical I keep re-using these pieces and try to develop them in different ways so the listeners can relate to the music in the same way they relate to the different characters in the story.
You started the project in May 2010... Is this something you’ve wanted to do for a lot longer?
Well, I’ve always wanted to record an album with my favourite musicians but I did not think seriously about doing this until May of 2010. I’m a creative person when it comes to music and I keep doing a lot of different things at the same time. I had just spent a year writing and recording the debut album ”Lots Of Fun And Some Serious Stuff” for my fusion/progressive rock band Acid Pilgrims. When I had finished that release I felt like doing something completely different, something that was much bigger and would feature some of my favourite artists on the rock/metal scene. I started immediately thinking of a project like this one and began working on it right away.
Did you write the story before putting the music to it, or did the story and songs go hand in hand?
The story was not entirely written when I began writing the music. I knew that I wanted the story to be a tragedy from the beginning. From there the music and story developed side by side into what it has become.
Did you write the whole thing, or have other performers added the odd lyric or melody?
I have written all the music for the album. However, some of the singers have contributed with lyrics and vocal melodies. If we take a look at the songs that appears on the upcoming EP “The Beginning”; Tony Mills wrote the lyrics for “All I Ever Wanted,” Mike Vescera and I collaborated on the lyrics for “Hell On Earth,” while the lyrics for The Haunted were mainly written by me, though Ralf Scheepers added some words here and there.
I normally just record guidelines for the vocal demos so every singer can add a piece of himself in the melodies and lyrics. It makes the music even more special to me and it turns out great.
You have a lot of great people involved in the project. Ralf Scheepers, Tony Mills, Åge Sten Nilsen, Göran Edman and more feature just on the promo EP. How did you get them onboard?
I sent some emails and asked them if this was a project they would be interested in doing. Everyone was quite positive and I started sending out the material, lyrics and vocal demos. Everything went great and all of them delivered top notch performances.
You’ve now announced David Reece as the first of many more guests to feature on the albums. Any chance of throwing a few more names past us?
I’m afraid I can’t give you any information at this moment, but check out the project’s sites on Facebook and Myspace. I will reveal the next artists in May and June. I can promise some very great singers and instrumentalists indeed!
Is there anyone else you’d love to work with but possibly won’t get the chance?
Hehe, well there would be plenty of great musicians to mention. Where should I begin? I would absolutely love to work with Glenn Hughes. He is a fantastic musician and possesses one of the greatest voices in rock history. Geddy Lee from Rush would also be a blast to work with. What an artist! And there are plenty of others as well. Who knows, maybe I’ll get the chance to work with some of them in the future? After all, some years back I would never imagine that I would work together with the artists I have brought along on this project.
How would you describe the style of the album, and what should potential fans expect from it? Are we talking hard rock, metal, symphonic etc...?
The style of the album varies a lot, all from hard-hitting symphonic metal/progressive metal to gentle pop/melodic rock-songs and string-dominated ballads. I’ve tried to create something for everyone but with the same overall sound. I would just describe it as an overall melodic rock/metal album.
Are there any particular tracks you’re especially proud of so far, or is it all brilliant?
Regarding the songs that appear on the EP, “The Beginning,” I like them all, but I think that ”The Haunted” with Ralf Scheepers on vocals is my favourite at the moment. It features all I love about melodic metal; some progressive rhythms, heavy guitars, a simple sing-along chorus and last but not least; vocals with a lot of attitude.
However, the songs I’m recording right now, for the first of the two albums, are in my opinion even better than the songs on the EP. The songs are more complex, longer and have an overall sound that I’m very satisfied with. So if you like the songs on the EP you’ve got a lot of good stuff coming your way.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Ha ha no I don’t know what that would be.
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
I will do a couple of more interviews before I start recording bass and keyboards for the first album. There’s indeed a lot happening now in May for this project.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Remember to check out the project on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/memorialforawish) and MySpace (www.myspace.com/memorialforawishmusical) for more updates. I’ll also set up a profile on Twitter so be sure to check it out. Hope everyone checks out the music as soon as it’s out there.
Thanks again to Andreas for his time.
Photo Credit © Ina H. Stenvig
http://www.facebook.com/memorialforawish
http://www.myspace.com/memorialforawishmusical
