SUN CAGED
Interview with Marcel Coenen (guitar)
Q>>
Hello! How are you guys doing?
A>> Hello ! We are doing fine, thank you !
Q>> I heard
Marcel's solo album a couple of weeks ago and I was expecting the Sun Caged
to be a killer album. Which it definitely is! What about the press reactions
so far? All good?
A>> The album will be out next month so we did not get a lot of press
reactions so far, but the people who have heard it already all tell us that
they really like it, we saw just one review until now that was very positive,
so we will keep our fingers crossed J My solo CD got very cool reactions also
and some great reviews.
Q>> Spock's
Beard, Dream Theater, Enchant... I can hear tons of great influences in your
music. Still, your global sound remains well defined and quite personal as well.
How did you come up with the new songs?
A>> Of course a band always has a certain sound, especially in Prog music,
but for us it is not Prog only which influences us. All members listen to different
kinds of music, from Jazz, Fusion, Pop to extreme Metal like Strapping Young
Lad and Meshuggah. All those influences kinda make our style; of course we also
try to write as originally as possible, but for us the main aspect is to create
music we all like ourselves. Normally one of us has an idea worked out and he
sends it to the other members of the band. In some songs you can definitely
hear the writing differences; "Unchanging" for instance is a typical
Joost song, while "Secrets Of Flight" is almost completely written
by Rob. "Sedation" is typically my style of writing. All lyrics are
written by Andre though.
Q>> Many
Prog Metal bands tend to "think technique" first. Sun Caged looks
different. Right?
A>> The song is the most important for us. Of course, there are always
people nagging about the fact that we show our skills too much, but most of
the time that's Jealousy speaking… people who cannot stand the fact that
the band is doing well; that is just too bad. We really concentrate on the song
first; some songs don't even have shredding solos, like "Secrets Of Flight".
Q>> The recording
of the album sounds really huge. I read you worked together with Arjen Anthony
Lucassen. Was it an enriching experience?
A>> Arjen mixed the album; the production was all done by our keyboard
player Joost. We are very happy with the sound of the album and Arjen did a
great job mixing it! I was always a big fan of the Ayreon CDs and then especially
the production on them, so I am very happy that Arjen decided to mix it, especially
knowing that he normally doesn't do that for other bands. The fact that Joost
helped him out on his Star One tour made him say yes to our question if he wanted
to mix the album. It was very enriching to work with Arjen, since he has a lot
of experience in the bizz and of course he got the best out of us and gave us
ideas for the future also.
Q>> The title-track
"Sun Caged" is truly excellent, with a very memorable refrain... Is
it an oldie? (Sorry, I never heard your music before...)
A>> Thank you , actually it is the first song we ever wrote. Dennis, Rob
and I wrote the song back in 1999 during our first rehearsal; it actually appeared
on our first demo CD "Scar Winter". The song was also called "Scar
Winter" at that time. When Andre joined the band he decided to change the
vocal lines and lyrics for the song.
Q>> Lyrically
speaking, are there key songs on the album? Give us some details...
A>> I will let Andre answer this question since he writes the lyrics;
here is his answer…
[Andre] All lyrics are about feelings and situations most people go through
in life. So if there were to be a "key", this would be it.
Sedation:
This song is about someone who tries to forget the pain of something that has
had an enormous impact on his life. Unwillingly to accept, he tries to numb
the feeling with anything he can find. Drugs, alcohol, etc… He's in a constant
state of dreaming. In this state he undergoes the normal things in life, which,
in his state, seem rather altered. People try to help; by choice he just can't
hear them.
Sun Caged:
This song is all about lying to yourself, even if you know the truth. Forgetting
everything you did wrong and still judge other people. Going through life, doing
nothing you dreamed of and trying to convince yourself this is the life you
want.
Home:
Is there a god? Are we alone? Is life all about pain? Where are we going? Do
we believe in god, simply because we are afraid to die? Is there a purpose to
our life? Just a few questions this song is all about. Of course there is no
quick answer.
Soil:
The most fictional song, which is about the fear of death and letting go.
Hollow:
In this song someone is struggling against that empty feeling we all know. He
feels he's just a part of the machine, unable to change anything, a victim of
fate. As his feelings start to die of, he finds some strange comfort in not
caring anymore.
Closing In:
The fear of commitment. This song is about distrust. A bad experience that has
marked you for life. You see other people around you in this situation you will
never choose to be in, you see them as tiny puppets, doing what they're told
and trying to convince you this is what they like and want. You
should be as they are. You have to make a choice. Be them or be an outcast.
The Eighth Day:
The world is a dark place, it shines only on the outside. With every passing
year, the images on TV are getting grimmer; we are used to it and pay no attention
anymore. Let them die; just don't bother us with it. In the end this will mean
the destruction of everyone. If there is a god,
speak to us and end this. God has made the world in seven days, on the eighth
day we will destroy it ...nothing will remain.
Secrets Of Flight:
Learning to live, even if no one has told you how. Many mistakes to make, some
are easily undone, others are here to stay and haunt you your entire life. Don't
try too hard, you will be disappointed.
Don't try to get it all, you will fail.
Unchanging:
This song is about someone who is unable to shake that feeling that he is not
in control. Every day is the same, nothing ever happens. He doesn't know which
way to go anymore.
Q>> Killer question: do you think downloads on the Internet help musicians or not?
A>> They have two sides to them. In a way it does help the musicians to get more popular; I used to download music too to check out a band and if I liked it I bought the album. You could compare this to going to a CD shop and listening to the CD before you buy it. It's about the same, only this way it's much better; by visiting forums and other communication platforms you always hear of bands that might be of your interest. Internet is definitely a great medium for getting to know music. Of course there are people who only download and don't buy CD's; that is just too bad and as a musician you cannot fight against it either; we can only hope that people who really like our music will buy the album. Don't forget: there is nothing like the real thing !
Q>> Will
Sun Caged play in Belgium soon? I suppose many people wanna see you live over
here...
A>> Actually we did a gig in Belgium in Biebob Vosselaar when we played
the support for Evergrey a couple of months ago. We are having gigs planned
all the time, and especially after the CD release we will make sure to play
as many gigs as possible, of course we would love to play in Belgium again also;
let's just hope some booker will call us to play there J
Q>> Future
plans, thank you's and goodbyes...
A>> When the CD is done, the first thing we will do is have a CD release
party, which will be held at the 25th of October in Weert (The Netherlands)
in De Bosuil. We will play a gig there, and the Dutch band Morgana X will play
the support. We will also sell the CD there for a reduced price (only that evening)
so make sure you visit the release party. More info you can find on our official
website http://www.suncaged.com. On the site we will always have a news section
where we will inform people about future plans and stuff going on with the band.
RNO