Here is the firts part of Felipe Andreoli's interview, published on Power of Metal Russian Community in May 2009.
A very special thanks to Irina Ivanova from Angra Russia for the interview ;)
"Evry: Do you intend to be the main author of lyrics for the next Almah album, like it was with Fragile Equality, will the next album be also conceptual and will there be something in common between the new one and FE concerning conception?
Felipe: I like to write lyrics, so this is something that I’ll probably keep on doing in Almah, but not necessarily I’ll be the main writer. it’s all a matter of inspiration. We started writing new material, but that’s more on the instrumental side, so we didn’t talk about any concepts yet. We have some ideas to share, and we’ll do that in the near future.
Evry: Tell me about the atmosphere in the band (Angra), about relationships among the band members now after “parada”, don’t you have any problems after these two years pause working together, changing creative ideas or on the contrary everything is very easy?
Felipe: The atmosphere is great. We are all sensing this feeling of being back, and we feel very motivated. Of course we have to do some more shows to really get back in shape after 2 years, but we’re pretty happy with the way things are going right now.
The Sinner: What’s the difference between the atmosphere in Angra and in Almah from personal point of view? What’s the difference concerning creative work, rehearsing and like this?
Felipe: The main difference is that the members of Almah live in different cities, very distant from one another, so it’s always great when we meet after a while. I’m friends with all the members of both bands, which it’s great. Concerning the work with each band, of course we have a more demanding routine with Angra, which makes everything a bit more serious.
Iron_Fox: Tell me, please, as a professional musician: is it obligatory to have some musical education for making music or is it better to get to know everything on one’s own? Is it necessary to use all musical order and laws or is it better to create music spontaneously, connecting own thoughts and ideas?
Felipe: Writing music for Angra or Almah is not easy, and it definitely demands knowledge of music. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a formal education, as long as you know what you’re doing. In making music there are no rules to be followed, but of course it helps if you know what you’re doing. Spontaneity is always welcome, though.
The Scarecrow: Barak Obama or Dmitry Medvedev? Who would be better on the throne of Brazil?
Felipe: None of them. Only a Brazilian citizen could understand our needs and problems!
The Scarecrow: Harry Potter or The Lord Of the Rings? Or nothing, but Star Wars? (I mean movies).
Felipe: They’re all great movies, but Star Wars would be my favorite.
The Tapdancer: What exactly pushed you to learn bass?
Felipe: My friends at school were forming a band. I played a little acoustic guitar, and they needed a bass player. Do the math!
Grisha: Do you have another instrument you play on the same level as the bass?
Felipe: Not at the same level, but I play guitar and drums.
The Sinner: It is in the booklet to FE that you and Daga recorded percussion for FE (it means Invisible Cage?). What kind of instruments did you use for the recording? Which brasilian percussion instrument do you like the most (I saw in youtube you played caixa in Angra’s batucada)? What kind of traditional rhythms do you prefer besides samba?
Felipe: I used a Djembe and a Derbak. Adriano helped with the percussion loops, and we used various instruments, including Zabumba, Alfaia, and Pandeiro, all sampled. My favourite Brazilian rhythm is Maracatu.
The Tapdancer: You’re currently in tour with Sepultura. For their latest conceptual albums like A-lex and its predecessor they used the classical world literature masterpieces. Have you ever had the same idea and if yes, what kind of book could it be? Why?
Felipe: We used the book Aurora Consurgens in our last record. I wouldn’t say we base an entire work on a single book, but we’re very influenced by the many books we all read. I try to read at least one book per week, so it’s obviously sub-conscientious to use ideas from them when I write. If I had to base an entire record on a book, it’d surely be one from author Carl Sagan.
The Tapdancer: What styles of music you like more as a listener? Only metal or something else?
Felipe: Fusion, Progressive, Pop Music, Jazz, New Age, Thrash Metal, and Brazilian Music.
AnderSon: I’m a bass guitarist myself and I really admire your technics of playing. Do you have any video classes or any plans to release something like that?
Felipe: I have one that’s been released only in Brazil called “Angra Bass” (you can find it at www.aprendamusica.com.br, in Portuguese). I plan to release a new one as soon as I have the time.
AnderSon: I saw your pictures with Steve-the-Great at your website. Do you know him personally?
Felipe: I met him twice, but we never talked.
AnderSon: Have you even had any idea to visit Russia with some workshop?
Felipe: I’d absolutely love to! Please, someone hire me! lol
AnderSon: When you entered Angra, was it very difficult to become familiar in the new team for you, to work with new people, to get accustomed to the old song stuff?
Felipe: It was a very easy adaptation for me, both musically and personally. We had a very good rapport since the beginning.
AnderSon: Do you know any Russian metal acts?
Felipe: I know Victor Smolski, but I think that’s it! I’d like to know more about Russian metal."
The end, tomorrow !
A very special thanks to Irina Ivanova from Angra Russia for the interview ;)
"Evry: Do you intend to be the main author of lyrics for the next Almah album, like it was with Fragile Equality, will the next album be also conceptual and will there be something in common between the new one and FE concerning conception?
Felipe: I like to write lyrics, so this is something that I’ll probably keep on doing in Almah, but not necessarily I’ll be the main writer. it’s all a matter of inspiration. We started writing new material, but that’s more on the instrumental side, so we didn’t talk about any concepts yet. We have some ideas to share, and we’ll do that in the near future.
Evry: Tell me about the atmosphere in the band (Angra), about relationships among the band members now after “parada”, don’t you have any problems after these two years pause working together, changing creative ideas or on the contrary everything is very easy?
Felipe: The atmosphere is great. We are all sensing this feeling of being back, and we feel very motivated. Of course we have to do some more shows to really get back in shape after 2 years, but we’re pretty happy with the way things are going right now.
The Sinner: What’s the difference between the atmosphere in Angra and in Almah from personal point of view? What’s the difference concerning creative work, rehearsing and like this?
Felipe: The main difference is that the members of Almah live in different cities, very distant from one another, so it’s always great when we meet after a while. I’m friends with all the members of both bands, which it’s great. Concerning the work with each band, of course we have a more demanding routine with Angra, which makes everything a bit more serious.
Iron_Fox: Tell me, please, as a professional musician: is it obligatory to have some musical education for making music or is it better to get to know everything on one’s own? Is it necessary to use all musical order and laws or is it better to create music spontaneously, connecting own thoughts and ideas?
Felipe: Writing music for Angra or Almah is not easy, and it definitely demands knowledge of music. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a formal education, as long as you know what you’re doing. In making music there are no rules to be followed, but of course it helps if you know what you’re doing. Spontaneity is always welcome, though.
The Scarecrow: Barak Obama or Dmitry Medvedev? Who would be better on the throne of Brazil?
Felipe: None of them. Only a Brazilian citizen could understand our needs and problems!
The Scarecrow: Harry Potter or The Lord Of the Rings? Or nothing, but Star Wars? (I mean movies).
Felipe: They’re all great movies, but Star Wars would be my favorite.
The Tapdancer: What exactly pushed you to learn bass?
Felipe: My friends at school were forming a band. I played a little acoustic guitar, and they needed a bass player. Do the math!
Grisha: Do you have another instrument you play on the same level as the bass?
Felipe: Not at the same level, but I play guitar and drums.
The Sinner: It is in the booklet to FE that you and Daga recorded percussion for FE (it means Invisible Cage?). What kind of instruments did you use for the recording? Which brasilian percussion instrument do you like the most (I saw in youtube you played caixa in Angra’s batucada)? What kind of traditional rhythms do you prefer besides samba?
Felipe: I used a Djembe and a Derbak. Adriano helped with the percussion loops, and we used various instruments, including Zabumba, Alfaia, and Pandeiro, all sampled. My favourite Brazilian rhythm is Maracatu.
The Tapdancer: You’re currently in tour with Sepultura. For their latest conceptual albums like A-lex and its predecessor they used the classical world literature masterpieces. Have you ever had the same idea and if yes, what kind of book could it be? Why?
Felipe: We used the book Aurora Consurgens in our last record. I wouldn’t say we base an entire work on a single book, but we’re very influenced by the many books we all read. I try to read at least one book per week, so it’s obviously sub-conscientious to use ideas from them when I write. If I had to base an entire record on a book, it’d surely be one from author Carl Sagan.
The Tapdancer: What styles of music you like more as a listener? Only metal or something else?
Felipe: Fusion, Progressive, Pop Music, Jazz, New Age, Thrash Metal, and Brazilian Music.
AnderSon: I’m a bass guitarist myself and I really admire your technics of playing. Do you have any video classes or any plans to release something like that?
Felipe: I have one that’s been released only in Brazil called “Angra Bass” (you can find it at www.aprendamusica.com.br, in Portuguese). I plan to release a new one as soon as I have the time.
AnderSon: I saw your pictures with Steve-the-Great at your website. Do you know him personally?
Felipe: I met him twice, but we never talked.
AnderSon: Have you even had any idea to visit Russia with some workshop?
Felipe: I’d absolutely love to! Please, someone hire me! lol
AnderSon: When you entered Angra, was it very difficult to become familiar in the new team for you, to work with new people, to get accustomed to the old song stuff?
Felipe: It was a very easy adaptation for me, both musically and personally. We had a very good rapport since the beginning.
AnderSon: Do you know any Russian metal acts?
Felipe: I know Victor Smolski, but I think that’s it! I’d like to know more about Russian metal."
The end, tomorrow !
For more news : Angra Russia
