NINa: You have an impressive discography and it's clear to me you've been improving since the very first release. Is there any particular concept behind f.e.v.e.r.?Fernando: Yes. The concept is not sticking to concepts. Although our work frequently appear to be strongly conceptual, eventual structured ideas only come up after everything is done. The idea is to get influence from as many sources as possible and then trying to build a somehow chaotic puzzle from it.
Brian Backlash: After so many years, has being in a band become like a normal job where there's pressure and deadlines, or is it a fun and liberating way to spend your time?
Luís: We do not depend on our music. We impose ourselves deadlines just to reach the goals we should achieve, but music to us is more than just fun. We have daytime jobs but our main activity is almost always the band... it’s the way we spend our time, whether we have fun or not.
Brian Backlash: Your upcoming record is called 4st_Fourst, and is due to be released this month on RagingPlanet Records. The longer the band is together, and the more material you write, do you find the process of creating music changes considerably, or does each member fall into a comfortable role?
Joao: Each record is a particular piece influenced by a particular set of circumstances. We had some line-up changes, we are constantly rebuilding a better studio and the roles in the band are always mutating. We all get involved in some way, but sometimes differently. We are growing everyday musically and searching for different influence in the most various paths, so all things turn out to have its influence on the final result. We’re always uncomfortable.
NINa: Why have you chosen Tom Baker to master your album? Did he hear of you thru the NFTRU#6 compilation released by Invisible Records?
Fernando: I don’t think Tom ever heard about that record. We think that compilation was never released... It was continually postponed and we’ve been in permanent contact with Invisible Records to think about something to come up with. Tom Baker mastered some of our favourite albums and was the obvious choice for the mastering duties. We’ve sent him our work and he accepted to do the job.
NINa: As a graphics designer I'm full of respect for Filipe von Geier’s artwork and Flash presentations standing for visual aspect of the band's albums. Filipe, are you self taught or did you attend an art school?Filipe: First of all, thank you for your compliment. Knowing one's work is apreciated is very fulfilling. As for your question, I have a college degree in grafic design, after that I got specialized in webdesign and have been working in both areas ever since.
Brian Backlash: A number of the bands we interview have low-grade quality recordings, haphazard artwork and very sloppy websites and or Myspace pages. Every step of the way, your artwork, band photos, recordings and overall presentation are highly professional. Do you think that kind of professionalism and conceptual continuity important in garnering attention and acclaim? Or ultimately, is it just about the music?
Joao: It’s always, ultimately, about the music. But we like to see our work well presented in every way. It’s not only about being professional, we like to have the best we can reach.
NINa: Will there be any multimedia content on your newest album, as you've done on your previously released albums?
Luís: No... not this time. This one is just about the music ... and a delightfully manufactured digipack.
Brian Backlash: Very few heavy / hard bands receive airplay for their music videos in the United States, and even fewer seem to make them anymore. Do you find the music video to still be a viable marketing and creative mechanism? Does the joy of making videos outweigh their possible commercial impact, or lack thereof?
Fernando: We now have YouTube and MySpace. They are more important now than any tv channel ever was. The rules of the music industry have changed completely in the past handful of years. Now it’s up to the musician to make things happen and up to the music fan to look for the stuff he wants. Just think of the following: Friday night, you don’t feel like going to the local pub, you just want to relax and watch a cool rock show on tv. YouTube may help you. Now think of that... ten years ago!
NINa: You decided to create a video in a comic book drawing style. How long did you work on the animations and what software and computers did you use?
Joao: The “Bipolar [-]” music video was responsibility of a cool director, António Campelo, he’s teaches movie animation in an art school here in Lisbon and he was mad about the idea when we first talked to him about it. Neither of us know much about animation and we totally ignore the techniques involved, the only thing we know is that the drawings were totally hand-made, before computer synchronization. We were only involved in co-writing the screenplay. The final result was awesome and we even won a couple of prizes in an independent film festival with it!
NINa: The video for Heaven Dividing Heaven received air-play on the Sol Música TV channel. What does the situation look like for underground music in Portugal? Are there many TV channels, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, webzines etc. to support the scene of heavier music?Luís: Just for you to have an idea, Sol Musica unfortunately ended. For the lack of (not audience but) commercial support. It’s very difficult to promote heavier or other independent music styles decently unless you’re in an influent major label. The supporters are not that many and the fields are covered with commercial crap. Same thing everywhere...
NINa: You decided to make a cover of a Motorhead song. I do like 'Hellraiser', sounds very industrial rock in your interpretation! Has Lemmy ever heard your version?
Joao: Unfortunately, I don’t think so... It was an invitation from a friend, for a Motorhead Tribute, but it never got released. We decided to include that song in the re-issue of our first EP, “Of Human Bondage”, together with another version, The Misfits’ “London Dungeon”, as bonus tracks. We can also thank Mr. Ozzy Osbourne for that song too ; ). Clive Barker’s “Hellraiser” kicks ass! Pinhead lives!
Brian Backlash: You participated in a multimedia project with the David Lynch Foundation, titled "Brilliance", and the foundation is considering pressing copies of that project. Are you a strong supporter of the DLF and it's charitable activities?
Luís: Sincerely, we’re essentially just big fans of his work. Concerning the David Lynch Foundation, I’m aware of their work through one of the persons responsible for its activities. I´m personally curious about his vision on learning and it’s methods but I really need to get more into it to have a better opinion. They have good goals and they’re working hard to reach them.
Brian Backlash: What are some of your favorite countries and cities to perform in?Fernando: Can we answer that question in one and a half years? ...we only played Portugal so far. :D We already had a few proposals and we just can’t wait to re-answer this question in the near future! Until then, we can only say that Oporto is a hell of a rocking city!
Brian Backlash: You recently did a remix for Sci Fi Industries, for their fourth release. Do you have a long standing relationship with that act? What do you appreciate most about SFI's music?
Joao: Luís van Seixas is a long term friend, he’s basically half of the brains and heart of Thisco, a portuguese alternative electronic music label. We’ve been collaborating with Thisco for a few years now, “Electronics” was released by them and SciFi remixed one of our songs for that record – probably our personal favorite, actually! We’re all big fans of each other’s work and this is, for sure, a relationship to maintain in the future. They’re really cool guys bringing up really cool stuff – you should check them out at: www.thisco.net
[f.e.v.e.r.] at Myspace
Pictures come from [f.e.v.e.r.] archive, all copyrights reserved by © [f.e.v.e.r.].