Rockezine.com interview with 7th Circle on Nov 21, 2003

with Sam Oerlemans on Nov 21, 2003


		7th Circle is a band most of our readers probably will not have heard of. Can you briefly tell us who 7th Circle is? 7th Circle started off in 1999 with the four remaining members of a former progressive band: Jasper van Tilburgh (bass), Tony Lemmens (keyboards), Peter Leppens (vocals) and myself, Sam Oerlemans (guitar), A cd was recorded in 2000. My cousin, Dirk Verbeuren, plays the drums on this album. He never became a fixed member because he lives in France and has his own band, Scarve. The cd was released in 2001, but soon after, singer Peter Leppens left the band. At this point we started the search for a fixed drummer and a new singer. The most difficult task was finding a drummer. Eventually, Martial Bonnetain was introduced to us through a mutual friend in March 2001. Winnie Versmissen, who has a background as a cover band singer, joined the band a few months later. She has a very powerful voice and a wonderful stage presence. With a female singer, the vocal melodies of the old songs needed to be adapted. After writing new songs, we played some gigs. The most significant one was the support act for Evergrey at the Biebob in Belgium, which got a nice review in Aardschok magazine. The time was ripe to make a demo with the new line-up.
		A couple of weeks ago, you released a demo called Unsummon. Are you pleased with the way the band sounds on the cd? I must say I’m rather proud about the sound quality we achieved. Everything is recorded in our home studio. I always put a lot of time and effort in the process of recording and mixing to get the best results. In my opinion, the person behind the equipment is highly responsible for the result, rather than the equipment itself. With this, I mean that recording in a home studio can result in a much higher quality than when done in a professional studio, with much fancier equipment. In studios, there are always time and money restrictions and also, the person at the mixing desk often doesn’t know what the band wants.
		What are your expectations for this demo? We would like to spread our name and music, so that people will know us and that record labels may become interested in signing us. We would also like to perform live more regularly. The demo is a good way to promote ourselves because it gives a clear view on the kind of music we want to continue writing and playing.
		Can you give some insight into 7th Circle’s writing process? Most songs are written at rehearsals, based on ideas that usually originate from me, Tony or Jasper. We use as little music theory as possible, because we think writing music is an art and not mathematics. Another one of our rules is: don’t put all the ideas in one song. Try to work around one idea in order to give clarity to the song.
		How do you give direction to your music? Is there a certain direction the band is aiming for or is there a musical mastermind within the band who decides where to go? A lot of effort is put into structuring the songs. Unlike some other progressive bands, we always try to put a verse/chorus structure in our songs. Something that the hard core prog fan might not appreciate…. Anyway, like this, we try to expand our target group a bit. It enables us to play for a wider range of people. We’re all musical masterminds! Just kidding, I don’t think there’s one specific person in the band who ‘leads’ the music writing process. Everyone gets the same opportunities to give his/her input.
		Which of the three tracks took most time writing and recording? That would definitely be ‘Transience’. The song has the most complex structure and has two different tempos. It is the most progressive song on the demo. We wrote the song about one and a half years ago when the band went on a retreat for 5 days. We rented a house in the middle of nowhere to let the inspiration flow. It was Winnie’s first experience with non-conventional rhythm structures. She struggled a bit with the placement of the vocal melodies, but later, she got the hang of it. We needed those 5 days and several rehearsals to get the song up and running.
		With this demo you’re trying to get a record deal. What kind of a label are you aiming for? Most small labels don’t give any recording budgets these days. That’s ok for me because I like to record everything myself. What’s most important to us is that they make a big effort in spreading our music. Of course, we would like to sign a contract with a bigger label and get a huge budget, but let’s face it, not many bands start at the top. To answer the question: we’re aiming for a label that wants to publish a full cd and takes care of the printing, promotion and sales.
		Can you tell us something about the prog scene in Belgium? There is a small group of people who are very dedicated to this kind of music. But I don’t think Belgium is the greatest prog country. It seems like there’s a much bigger scene in all surrounding countries. The good news is that we are living close to the border of Holland, so that the southern part of this country is easily within our reach regarding gigs and promotion.
		Is there enough opportunity to play and get the attention you deserve? No, not at all. It is very hard to find gigs, especially in Belgium. And whenever we are playing, not a lot of people show up. It’s kind of sad, knowing that a lot of energy is put into making the music and playing it live. We do get the attention from some prog-rock organizations. Prog-nose.org was the first one to make a big effort in promoting us.
		What is 7th Circle’s main goal? The main goal is to keep making high quality music and, most important, to get it outside the rehearsal room!
		Why should our readers check out your demo? Because it’s the kind of music that, I think, will be appreciated by listeners in the rock/metal world. Our music is a mixture of different styles. Some people say it’s gothic, others say it’s progressive metal, and some name it symphonic rock. We just call it: the ‘whatever comes out of our instruments’ style…. Our influences are mainly from the progressive world. Bands like Pain of Salvation, Opeth, Tool, Devin Townsend and many more, have shaped our musical minds.
		Is there anything I forgot to ask? I don’t think so. I just want to thank you for the interview and the effort you make to help promote 7th Circle!
(Geert Oldenmenger)