Aeon Zen

Interview date

15 Janvier 2011

Interviewer

Didier

I N T E R V I E W

Interview Rich Hinks (by mailer)


Hello Rich and thanks for answering these questions for the French webzine http://auxportedumetal.com. This interview will be posted in English and French

It’s my pleasure, great to talk to you.

Rich, we don’t know you very much, please introduce yourself and your band Aeon Zen ?

Well my name is Rich Hinks, a multi-instrumentalist from Cambridge, UK. Aeon Zen is my progressive metal project on which I perform all the instruments with the help of several guest vocalists on albums. I have released two albums under the Aeon Zen name so far, "A Mind’s Portrait" in 2009 and then "The Face of the Unknown" in 2010.

You are a young multi instrumentalist musician. How did you learn to play them all? And which one is your favourite at the end of the day?

Well I had a lot of formal musical education when I was younger which really helped me build my current musical style. I started first playing the piano when I was about five years old, followed by alto saxophone a couple of years later, believe it or not, and receiving music lessons on both, as well as plenty of music theory lessons and that sort of thing. It was around the age of fourteen that I started to teach myself to play the bass guitar, practicing as much as I could. Then a couple of years after that, I taught myself to play the guitar as well.

What would you consider musical influences?

When I first started playing the guitar I was into thrash bands very much, such as Megadeth and Testament and of course I still love them to this day. I then started listening to wider styles of metal, with death metal bands like Death, before discovering progressive metal and rock bands such as Dream Theater, Genesis and others like Cynic. But of course the list could be endless!

Isn’t it frustrating to be a one man band? Don’t you feel alone?

Well, I have been in “band” situations before, and I deliberately wanted a different structure to that which would allow me to express my ideas fully. I often find it easier to work on music by myself, when I can really dig into it and get my thoughts together, so it is definitely not frustrating in that sense. It’s not too bad, because I also have an Aeon Zen live band and we meet up fairly regularly to rehearse my music, so I’m not just stuck in the studio 24 hours a day on my own (laughs).

What’s the main advantage to work this way? Independence?

Yes, I find it helps me concentrate on the task at hand and to really focus my efforts of creating the best possible songs and recordings without a million different ideas being thrown around by other people when I already know what I want to do! (laughs) I think it’s worked well so far anyway!

Do you plan to assemble a tour band to play Aeon Zen music on the road?

There is already a touring band for Aeon Zen that has played a few gigs to date, and I have actually just announced a European tour in March 2011, so that is very exciting! Aeon Zen is the support band to The Devin Townsend Project for twenty-three shows in twelve countries, starting on 3rd March. We will be performing a varied set of tracks from the first two albums, "A Mind’s Portrait" and "The Face of the Unknown". You can find all the tour dates at www.aeonzen.com, including a show in Paris on 25th March! Mark your calendars everyone!

How did you pick this band’s name?

I wanted a band name that is memorable, as well as perfectly describing what the music I produce sounds like, and I think this band name does that. As I like to try and incorporate many different musical styles in my music, the name Aeon Zen also covers A to Z of music. Another interpretation is that the music helps create an eternal state of bliss and enlightenment... I hope my music is able to achieve to some extent at least! (laughs)

How do you convince singers to come and sing for you? It must have been a challenge for the first album.

Well, once I have all the music written and recorded, with vocal melodies and lyrics, I then can approach singers to guest on my songs. This means that I can have something for them to hear when they agree to be a part of the project. For example, for the first album, several singers said that they would love to be a part of the album as long as they like the music, and evidently they did, so it all worked out well without too much difficulty.

Do you like other projects like this Avantasia, Ayreon which have a similar approach?

I can’t speak too much about Avantasia, but I have been a fan of Ayreon for a while now and Arjen Lucassen is a fantastic musician, as well as a lovely guy. But yeah, although our music definitely doesn’t sound alike, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one doing this sort of thing, except, unlike Ayreon, I do play live with Aeon Zen!

You have just released your second album, how was the reaction?

It’s been really positive. I’ve been really pleased with the reaction so far from both press and fans, so that’s great. It will be great to get out touring and playing the music, from both albums, to increase the exposure and get some more reactions!

Tell us how you worked to record this album?

I wrote most of the music from around the time the first album "A Mind’s Portrait" was released and recorded all the parts myself, simultaneously while writing. A few of the songs date back to old bands of mine (such as the song "Crystal Skies") when I was sixteen or so, so it was really fun to rework those onto this album. Then once the instrumental tracks are written and recorded I start to write lyrics and vocal melodies before contacting singers and getting the vocals recorded. That’s the short story anyway! (laughs)

Did you write the music and lyrics yourself?

Aside from a couple of older songs which were written in part with old bands of mine, yes I wrote all the music and lyrics.

To what extent do the singers get involved?

Well, when I’m writing the lyrics and melodies I know what I want to hear on the song, so I basically write out the notes for the singers to sing and I like them to stick to my melodies as best they can, really. Of course they will put some of their approach to it, as it is their voices and they know what they can sing best, but they are essentially singing the melodies I’ve written.

What is Time Divide Records? Rich's own producing company? Are you producing other artists there?

Time Divide Records was set up for the sole purpose of releasing my own music, so there are no other artists; it’s just for my stuff.

What’s next for Aeon Zen? And for you?

Well Aeon Zen will be on tour throughout March, and I have also written and recorded the majority of a new album, so I hope to get that out at some point in 2011! And on top of that I still have university work, so I’m sure it will be a great and busy year ahead!

Thanks a lot. I’ll leave you the last word for your French fans (to be).

Thanks for this interview; it was great to talk to you. I hope everyone reading found it interesting and I hope you enjoy Aeon Zen! I look forward to seeing you all out there soon! Thanks!


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