Mar de Grises pour l'album "Draining The Waterheart"

1. Hi and thank you for according me some of your time to answer this interview. To begin with a very common and typical question, could you tell us the meaning of “Mar de Grises” and its signification for the band?

Mar de Grises means something like “Sea of Gray” in Spanish, our native language.
In one hand, the name comes from the inspiration that our gray city gives us; this gray grand magnet that we despise and love; this gray city that we would like to leave someday, a day that, at the same time, we would not like to live.
On the other hand, it comes from the perception of monotony from which we feed sometimes. Not white, not black; an emotional state that wanders around nothing necessarily, or maybe totally, consistent. I think that state is quite interesting at the time of creating because you don't really know where you are heading or how you really would like the result to be, so what emerges is irrationally honest.


2. I read that the band took shape around the beginning of the century which is quite far from now. How did you meet the others members and what was your way from the start to a contract deal with Firebox?

Yes, Mar de Grises started back in 2000 in order to fulfil the natural needs of creation and emotional sharing of five guys who were mostly college mates and accidentally were musicians with similar musical likes and had some points in common about their vision of life. Like almost every band, the first step, after making the first songs, was recording a demo. The main purpose behind its recording was to send it to every record label that we knew all over the world. After we did, some of them were interested and some were not. Firebox, being one of the labels that we were interested in, showed the interest on our work that we were looking for and offered us a deal that satisfied both parties. Maybe it is more simple that it appears to be. Since then, we are quite satisfied with their work.


3. Your new and second album “Draining The Waterheart” is already out for a few months now and it continues to harvest good reviews, so does your first full-length “The Tatterdemalion Express” released in 2004. 4 years after, what do you think about it? Is this new album, a continuation of it?

The reason to play music is still the same inside of us, and as musicians, we have evolved in some way, as well as changed and grown as persons, so, in one aspect, it is the continuation because in my opinion the new album portraits those changes, but without changing the essence, which is the same in both I would say.
But if you look from another side, being a little different from the last one, because of those same changes, certainly it is not the continuation.
What I really think, is that this album is some kind of transition between the music that we used to make in The Tatterdemalion album and what we are doing or will do in the next one, because we had an important line up change a couple of years ago, and Juan, the new member, in the Waterheart album contributed with his compositions, but not in the way that he is doing right now. Currently, along with Rodrigo M., the other main composer of the band, they are fusing their composition talents just in a perfect way, so the next album will define the sound of Mar de Grises I think.
But you never know; maybe all this is just a cheap speculation and we will be playing funk haha.


4. I didn't know Mar de Grises before this year and I was really surprised by the maturity and personality of your style. How would you define your music today and what are the bands that lead you to it to your mind?

Thanks. It is difficult to define the style or genre you are in. Our root lies definitely in Doom Metal, but just because that is the genre we all have more in common as musical taste. That's why we started with the idea of playing it, but from there on, we just play what we feel we want and need to.
As for bands, what we like is what influences us, consciously and unconsciously.
Neurosis, Ulver, Katatonia, Anathema, In the woods and The Dillinger Escape plan are bands that in this moment I remember we all like a lot, so they have been influence in our music. But those are just the bands we have more in common, because we all have very different and varied likes: from Death Metal bands like Morbid Angel or Immolation, to classical composers like Beethoven or more contemporary like Penderecki or John Cage. Chilean Folk like victor Jara; many Pop bands and singers like Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia or Belanova; Hardcore bands like Shaihulud or Snapcase, and more reciently, Post Rock bands like Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Goodspeed you Black Emperor!, etc, etc…
Personally, I love Ved Buens Ende, band that has being an inspiration in my life in every aspect, also as a drummer.


5. What can we expect of this new album? Do you have a favourite song?

You can expect just a honest musical proposal, whose roots lie in Doom Metal but with many other different and varied elements that can come from many other different and varied genres.
Although it can change in any moment, for now, I think my favourite songs are Wooden woodpecker conversion and Kilómetros de nada (it means Kilometers of nothing.) Those are songs that we don't play live very often. I hope that's not the reason why I like them haha. Another song that is very “popular” within the likes of the band, is Deep-seeded hope avant-garde.


6. Could you tell us more about the lyrics of the album and about its title? What did you mean by “Draining The Waterheart”?

We wanted an emotive and wide title in terms of interpretation.
Some say water is the perfect representation of what chaos can be. The heart is the most common representation of the place from which feelings come to life. Thus, Draining the Waterheart is an endless attempt, as useless as it may be, to clarify what we feel. Each song functions as a catalyst to drain off human negative or sometimes positive attitudes such as pride, envy, fear, etc, in order try to reach and feel the most pure essence of emotions. But the idea is not to rationalize them; it is more like an attempt to reach, as said, and purely feel the true and pristine core of human feelings, which are, just as water, infinitely moving in an infinite number of directions. Anyway, any possible interpretation is no truer than any other and what I told you before is no more than my own story behind it.


7. Who is the main writer in the band? What about the writing process in the band?

Me and Juan write the lyrics. In my case, the writing process is just to be true to my emotions and vision of the world at the time of writing, and the inspiration that gives birth to that process is nothing in particular, just what I have around me and therefore inside me, or vice versa. Thus, Mar de Grises lyrics are not about specific themes or stories, they are just a translation of what we feel; they speak about our lives, feelings and daily experiences, sometimes presented in different kinds of metaphors.
In other words, at least in my case, I don't have any particular subject that I want to write about. Or maybe I do, but don't know exactly what is it. I just try, as said, to maintain honest to my emotions at the moment of writing, at least that is what I feel and want, even if maybe I don't do it after all, because I use writing not only for Mar de Grises lyrics but also as a way of channelling and releasing my emotions.


8. A little word about the artwork which really corresponds to the album and make me think about Travis Smith's work. Who designed it and did you give him/her any idea or direction to work?

It was done by Tuomo Letonen (Grave Flowers, Swallow the Sun, etc.) He did an excellent job in my opinion. Although we guided his work in many aspects like textures, colours and concepts behind, the general idea of the visual part was his. I think it shows in a very direct and simple way the title itself; you can see some kind of creatures that are “draining” off the water of some kind of heart, and they, at the same time, are part of that heart, just as feelings create themselves at the same time of being them.
Octavio Paz wisely said that the fishing-net to fish words is made out of words.
As for the Travis Smith comparison, although I like his work, and although I consider our new album's artwork to be quite original (that's one of the reasons why we chose it), it makes me think maybe about Dave Mckean or even Mike Bohatch, more than Travis Smith.


9. What are your plans for the near future? A tour? Writing for a new album?

Yes. We are currently doing some shows here in Chile, and we will soon start composing new material for a new album to be released hopefully in no more than one and a half year from now, not 4 years like the last time.And of course, we are also fighting to make a new tour on the next year. Let's hope it happens.


10. What are you listening to these days? Any good album to share?

Ved Buens Ende, Morbid Angel, Ulver and Gorguts are some bands that I have always loved and still do, so I am constantly listening to them and never get bored. I like them not only for their music, but also for their innovation, and constant innovation in the case of the ones that still play. They have been always a step ahead I think and their lyrics are also very interesting.
Lastly, I've discovered Virus, and can't quit playing their album Carheart. I'm also listening to the new Metallica album (how couldn't I?), the new Gojira album, the new Origin album, the new Enslaved album, the second Natalie Imbruglia album (White Lilies Island), Ghost Brigade and their Guided by Fire, and I recently discovered Code, with their Noveau Gloamming, where Vicotnik of Dodheimsgard and Ved Buens Ende also participates, and I loved it.


11. The Chilean metal scene is not very well-known in France (as the French one in Chile I suppose…). Except Coprofago, I didn't know any Chilean band actually. What can you tell us about the Chilean metal scene and the metalheads? What are the bands to check-out for you?

Yes, Coprofago is an excellent original technical Chilean band, I love them, but they are not too known in Chile; they are highly underrated here, so they hardly play live. Poema Arcanus is a great Doom band, with some progressive touches, very interesting and they are also an important influence to us. You should really check them out.
There are many many other bands but, in my opinion, just a few are worth to mention: Perpetuum is another very good band that plays a very original kind of Metal, something like Immolation meets Opeth, Death and Obituary. Uaral plays a folkish acoustic Doom, in the vein of last Empyrium's albums. Animus Mortis, Inanna, Target, Defectoscura, Godless, Mourners Lament and Electrozombies are other bands that I also consider of the highest quality so I seriously recommend them. I think they all have MySpace site, so you should easily ckck them out.
As for the scene, the truth is that it is quite small, so it's very difficult to get things going in terms of good gigs, good venues and good bands as well. There a few decent venues; the owners know that, so they charge a lot, therefore you have to charge a lot for the ticket of the gig, and Chile, in comparison to most European countries, is not rich, so people won't pay if you charge too much. As you can see, this scene is kind of trapped in an endless vicious circle. Also people often doesn't have the time or money to dedicate to a band in a more professional way. That is why it is very common that many bands stay in only “a good idea” and nothing else. It is a pity, because I think we have a lot of potential.
I must admit that all this is changing right now, very slowly though. Anyway, we have managed to have a portion of loyal fans.


12. …And do you know any French metal band?

Of course! I used to love the first Seth album, Les Blessures de l'homme (is that how you spell it?), but I don't like the style that they adopted after that; I don't like the Death Metal they play.
Glorior Belli is another band that I consider interesting and they used to be part of a Chilean record label (Aquilus Cruoris Records).
We have played twice with Ataraxie there in Paris, and I love the music they do.
Inborn Suffering is another interesting Doom band, and Gojira is a band that I just love; I think they have managed to get extremely popular playing a simple kind of Death Metal, but with an extremely original sound at the same time, in an era where many bands, related to this genre, are trying to be as fast or dissonant as possible.
But my favourite French band is Scarve. Starting with the fact that their former drummer, Dirk Verbeuren, in my opinion, is one of the best and complete metal drummers of the last 5 years, I simply love the Death Metal they play. I like them because they can be fast, but without loosing intensity, and they don't overuse dissonances; they use those resources in a subtle and fluid way, resulting something very naturally original.


13. Thank you again for the interview and I hope to see you in France one day. The last words are for you!

Thank you for your time and support. Thanks to everyone who feels identified in any way with our music, to anyone who got interested on reading this, and to all the French fans. Hope to see you again the next year.