Lord

The interview with the Chris Harms - the musician known of such bands as The Pleasures, UnterArt, Philiae, Big Boy...  The interview originally conducted for my other Magazine  yesternight.pl

We're talking about his new project LORD, the new album "Not From This World" and what music actually is..

www.myspace.com/thisisnotfromthis

• You seem to be a busy man:-)
  You have been taking part in numerous projects - The Pleasures, Unterart, Philiae, not to mention live acts at Big Boy's side. Is playing in so many bands enriching or rather confusing?
  Lord: Busy, yes, but it's not as heavy as it seems. My time as a singer in Philiae ended 4 years ago and the work with Big Boy was just for a short period of time although I am sure that sooner or later you can see moe on stage with him again... Then there's still The Pleasures and UnterART, and now: LORD!
• The mentioned projects vary stylistically - from glam rock in TP, smoking guitar tunes at Big Boy's to cold, electro sounds of Unterart - which of these styles is closer to you?
  Lord: All of them but each one in a different kind of way. It's the best way to live out the different facets i am made of.
• Now you've decided to start your own project - why is that so and in what way will it different from the other bands you're playing with?
  Lord: It wasn't really a decision. One and a half year ago, I began writing this huge bunch of songs that didn't really wanna fit in to all those bands I played with. So I started to work on these songs, just for myself, I didn't even plan to show them to anyone but as I started to show them some friends, everybody told me not to keep them for myself. I didn't wanna do it all alone so I decided to put together a live band. It took a couple of months and now these boys and girls are not just my live band anymore, LORD is a complete band now and I am just one of five.
• In 2009 you're releasing your new album "Not From This World" - what should we expect most generally speaking?
  Lord: Expect deep, dark and brutal emotions from hell's heaven. Songs about love, death and the demons I had to fight with all my life and still have to.
• From what I could hear at your myspace profile - the music is a kinda combination of smoking guitars and gothic tint - could we speak of any inspirations here?
  Lord: What's on our MySpace profile is only the peak of the iceberg, the poppy and easy sounding peak. There's a lot more metal and rock stompers and the album, but I didn't wanna show everything we've got in advance. So to say the "Not From This World"-world lives in a triangle between the borders of Nick Cave, Depeche Mode and Rammstein.
• What about the lyrics - what are they mostly about?
  Lord: I must confess, I always have to laugh when it comes to that question. All my live I have asked myself how Ville Valo could fill albums and albums only with love songs. Now I did the same. This wasn't planned, the lyrics just splattered out of me like blood out of a fresh cut in the wrist under warm water. Actually this album describes nearly every kind of basic feeling when it comes to being in love and from a distant point of view there's also a whole story and suspense in those 13 songs.
• You've already published the tracklist of the upcoming album... is there any song special to you?
  Lord: It's definately the title song "Not From This World". I never managed to convert my emotions into words and music that exact. It's a about love at first sight. When I listen to this song it's always like a time trip to this situation.
• The Lord (started as a solo project) now has extended the line-up (also features a member of TP-Sensai as I could see...). Why did you decide to increase the number of members?
  Lord: Because I have only two hands. And for our sound we need 3 guitars, bass, drums, all the piano and keyboard stuff and my vocals...
• Talking about the other members - although you are the �mastermind'' of the project, to what extend will the music of the album be the effect of co-operation with other band members?
  Lord: Everything becomes more versatile and more powerful. And I have people to criticize me, which is necessary and I have people to criticize which is fun ;-)
• Do you think of making music more as an a craft or art? And individual or rather a complex process running under the influence of other people?
  Lord: My secret is: I don't know! I don't think about it and I never did. It's just music and it comes from the heart. This is all I can say...
• Aside from being a guitarist you are also a vocalist. Which of the two roles suits you better?
  Lord: The funny thing is, although I have always sung in the bands I've played with, apart from Big Boy, I have never seen myself as a singer. I have always seen myself more as a songwriting guitarists that is also singing, do you know what I mean? I don't know why, but if one would ask me about my occupation I'd never say "I am a singer".
• Looking at your artistic growth I wonder: what is in music that attracts you so much?
  Lord: It's the fascination about those 12 tones that turn to something magic when you combine them. And it's even more magic when you see what happens to people that listen to it an fall in love with your combination of those 12 tones.
• How about live shows - what are they and the contact with the audience for you?
  Lord: So far, that's the second best thing in the world. And I am looking forward to see how it's gonna be with "Lord" when we begin playing live in 2009.
• I've seen several videos of the tours you participated in (Italy, UK, Germany) and at some gigs the audience seemed to be running really wild...:-)
  Lord: Maybe we can also break this record of wildness, I am up to it! Maybe we can also break this record of wildness, I am up to it!
• And a word about the future plans ... when can we expect any live shows?
  Lord: Hopefully in march. And we will be also playing one or two beautiful cover songs from the nineties.
• At the end I wanted to ask: If you were to say what 'rock music' is - what would you say?:-)
  Lord: It's sex for the ears.
• Thank you for the interview and now we're waiting for the release!
  Lord: Thank YOU!