We conducted this short interview with polish post-rock/ambient/instrumental band TIDES FROM NEBULA on December 30, 2011.
It’s a great pleasure to have you guys. Finally, I must say. We’ve been watching you since day one, even got your very first set list. Believe it or not, but we still have it, with serious plans to sell it on eBay for a decent price [laughs]. Please, introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about the band, make it smooth for anyone that had never heard of you before.
Hi, Maciej here, guitars and keyboard player for TIDES FROM NEBULA. We are an instrumental band from Warsaw, Poland, touring and releasing albums all over Europe since 2008.
You are hailing from Warsaw, Poland. It’s still quite an exotic place to many people. Tell us more about the country, and its music scene, regarding styles and genres you specialize in.
I think, it is still a bit of a cliche, Warsaw is already a typical European city. We have a lot of bands on our scene, not many instrumental ones if I’m honest, mostly metal and punk ones.
“The post rock genre wasn’t that popular in Poland before you came out.” – it’s the sentence taken from our interview with O’BROTHER. You can’t deny it [laughs]. After 3 years after your forming many great post rock artists speak really highly of you. How’s that? Tell us about your friends from the worldwide post-rock scene.
Really? I didn’t know that! The fact is we are in some quite good relations with some bands like CASPIAN or GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT. They are really fine chaps and it’s always a real pleasure to share a stage with them. I have no idea how that happened, we just toured heavily, did our best and here we are in 2012.
How has your last European tour been? How did it differ from the first 2011 European run?
It went very well. Better venues, bigger crowds, better food, haha. It seems that some people already know our band out there.
Who has been your favourite band on the tour?
Definetely MOTHER’S CAKE, they are from Austria, they play a kind of funky-rock music, they are really awesome, you should check them out!
How many shows did you played last year? Is it, more or less, a steady number of shows you want to play year by year? How important is touring for you?
I think we played almost 80 in 2011, mostly outside Poland. Touring is an essence of our band, we love being on tour, playing our music to people. Of course other aspects of being in the band are also great (recording/rehearsing), but playing live was always the most important part.
How do you experience your own music? Are you satisfied with “Earthshine”? What direction will you be taking with any future album?
We are very happy with what we did till this moment. We never thought that we gonna experience so much in 4 years. Year 2012 is a year of writing the third album for us, we will see what the future will bring, maybe some techno?
You have probably heard this question hundreds of times, but I am going to try once again. Do you ever think of adding vocals to your music?
Vocals as an instrument, without lyrics, of course, who knows what we are gonna do on the third album, maybe some gospel?
Do you have an artist you would like to play with? I mean one stage, 2 bands, ideal evening you’ve been dreaming of.
What’s your relationship with your record label? Do you receive any inquiries from bigger labels? Are you planning to sign a deal with one?
We are really happy with our label Mystic Productions, it seems that we gonna stay here for a while, totally happy with that.
Tell us about your adventure called “Mr. Zbigniew Preisner meets TIDES FROM NEBULA”. Tell our readers about the composer and your relationship with him.
It was a really huge suprise for us, you know, working with such a huge composer. We had a specific idea about the sound we should create in the studio, it was a really inspiring experience, but also very stressful. Mr Preisner isn’t a really easy going person, believe me, but still, it was worth it, and we are gratefull.
How did he affect your sound?
He made it deeper, more mature, and there are a lot of layers on “Earthshine“, so listen to this album loud and carefully.
Do you plan to work with him on the next album?
We will see, I can’t confirm nor deny.
Name your top ten 2011 releases.
I can’t type that many 2011 releases, I can type some. New OPETH album is awesome, new AMPLIFIER, AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR, MASTODON and of course new RADIOHEAD!
What do you guys do in your private lives? Do you live off music? [laughs] Tell us why is it so hard to make it happen in a country like Poland.
It’s hard, but it is possible. That’s all I can say about that.
If you could change one or two things in your music career, what would it be?
Nothing, we are happy and satisfied with what we have done.
Thank you! Feel free to tell people anything you want. Many thanks for your time.
Cheers to the viewers of Idioteq!
