Last June we presented you a thorough interview with Hans Rutten, guitarist and founder of the Dutch alternative rock band The Gathering, here on Rock Overdose, where he also revealed many details in advance of their upcoming 10th studio album (click here). Two months later and after the release of "Disclosure", we revisit it with a second twist, this time by contacting both the Rutten brothers and their Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland, who not only gave birth to her first baby girl just recently, but also participated in a new duet with Katatonia's vocalist Jonas Renkse.
Rockoverdose.gr: “Disclosure” is finally released! What is your feedback from the fans? Press seems excited!
Hans: The feedback we get is overwhelming! Better than The West Pole. It is great to read all the positive reactions on 'Disclosure'.
Rockoverdose.gr: Frank singing in “Meltdown” is very interesting. His idea?
Hans: Silje encouraged Frank to sing. During the pre production of Disclosure, Frank and Silje recorded some covers of Pink Floyd and Bat for Lashes as well as some acoustic TG songs. Frank sang some parts, and he did this very well. During writing vocal lines of "Meltdown" Frank had an idea for Silje, and recorded it. Silje liked it so much that we kept the vocals of Frank. We worked a lot with choirs as well. In fact, on a song like ‘Paper Waves’ and the chorus of ‘Meltdown’ we all sing! We do not have the ambition to become the new Beach Boys but it is a new aspect and it adds a lot of colour. I think our voices sound great together.
Rockoverdose.gr: Sure do. How come you decided to make it full available for streaming online?
Hans: We just did it. Everybody can illegally download the album anyway, so it is good to stream the album in a good quality.
Rockoverdose.gr: What did it feel like producing yet a second of your own albums René?
René: This time it went better than The West Pole because we had a bit more time and of course more experience. We learned a lot and we are still learning. It gives us a lot of freedom to experiment and try things as we had time to work on it.
Rockoverdose.gr: Apart from the music, that you have told us is more personal this time, I get also the same feeling with the handmade cover of the new album. It is like it gives even bigger value to it, treating your music with respect...
Hans: Thanks! We knew the artist Carlos Vergara Rivera from Chile for a while. At some point we just got into his artwork more and more that we asked him to create something for the new album. I think he did a fantastic job. The girl, surrounded by her own mystical nature, lives in a mechanical and material world. She has to cope with all the shitty things from the outer world, but she can do it by being creative and listening to her inner self. Well euhm... something like that. I think it represents our feelings for this album perfectly, so we are very very glad with the artwork.
Rockoverdose.gr: That is a reason you decided to run your own record label? Do you regret not making a living out of music?
Hans: No, we don't regret it at all, as we have all the freedom! We are happy with our label, and have control, but maybe in the future we will work with a bigger record company as it costs us a lot of time and effort.
Rockoverdose.gr: Silje was pregnant while recording the album right? How was it? Little Marie and her father's picture is beautiful.
Silje: Thank you 🙂 Yes, I was pregnant during the recordings, and it was just like recording not being pregnant. I think Marie knows the vocals of Disclosure better than most after all the rehearsals and recording the album while being in my tummy 😉
Rockoverdose.gr: Silje, what about your duet with Jonas from KATATONIA?
Silje: We've met the guys of Katatonia a couple of times on the road, really nice guys! I love their previous work, so when they asked me and I heard the song, I was very honored and knew immediately I wanted to do it. I love the way the voices melt together and into the song. I am very happy with the result!
Rockoverdose.gr: What's up with The Gathering 1992? Missed the old days?
Hans: It was a great experience. We had a lot of fun seeing each other and rehearsing those old tunes. It felt very natural and we talked a lot about the ‘old days’. The gigs we did went very well, but after September -we will do a short Dutch club tour- me, René and Frank will concentrate fully on our new Gathering album ‘Disclosure’. I think that’s why we have so much fun: There’s no pressure with the old line-up to write new songs and record new albums. There’s a clear ending. We just play ‘Always’ in its entire and that’s what people get. Yes, we enjoy it very much being together again for a while!
Rockoverdose.gr: Considering releasing another DVD now that you have a new front woman?
Hans: Not in the close future. Maybe in a couple of years?
Rockoverdose.gr: Thanx a lot for your time!
Thanks!!
For Rockoverdose.gr: Stella Tsolakou
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