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Interview with Hubi Meisel
February 2006 By: Joe Florez
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It was in 1999 when I first heard this unique vocalist named Hubi Meisel who was in a band called Dreamscape that I loved. When their third album came out and I didn’t see or hear that he was on there, I didn’t think much about it. Then in 2003, I was sent a debut solo album from Lion Music. Right off the bat, I was hooked not only on his voice, but also the music that was coming out of the speakers. He and his musicians just took the progressive/rock/metal movement to a whole new dimension. Now, in 2006 he has released his latest offering “Kailash,” which is just as smooth as his debut, but this time around the sound has been injected with more aggression. Hubi has been busy promoting this album and if you call yourself a music fan, then this should be in your CD shelf right after you read this interview.
“Kailash” is your second solo full length album and just like “EmOcean” it’s another concept album, except this time you deal with the Himalayas, Tibet and such. You said that the story came to you in your dreams and then you did some research on it before writing about it. Were/are you into the eastern culture outside of having it come to you in your dreams? What’s the intrigue about this that made you want to sing about it?
I already believed in reincarnation and was a bit into the culture of India, but I didn’t know much about Tibet and the Himalayan regions before. After these dreams, I simply knew that the next album would be all about Tibet and the Himalayas. After this night, I felt a strong fascination about this region and immediately started reading books, old writings and speeches of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and fully dived into this fascinating culture.
The topic alone seems to be about spirituality. Are you a spiritual person?
Yes, I love spiritual topics and this all has become a huge part of my life during the past years. When I was younger I wasn’t into these things at all, maybe also because I come from a rather academic and scientifically oriented family… but then some things happened in my life that convinced me that there is MUCH more than we can grasp with our human intellect.
“Potala Palace” is the first track off the new album and it seems like the music is slightly beefed up than the other record. By that I mean that what I hear and get out of it is that Marcel Coenen’s guitar work is not only sophisticated, but the riffs are stronger
and heavier. Am I off course here?
That’s the impression most listeners have had so far! It has to do with the powerful riffing of Marcel, and in addition I mixed the guitars of the more edgy this time; they are more in front than on EmOcean. EmOcean was connected with the element of water, and had a more of a floating and spherical sound, whereas Kailash is related to the elements of
earth and air, so I wanted to have a more “earthy” and grounded sound this time.
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What makes your music so unique is that you take the term progressive to new dimensions. You prove that the musicianship doesn’t have to be all about being flashy and overtly complicated. This is smooth, intelligent and very memorable. Was this hard to come up with before handing it to Vivien Lalu to compose?
The intention behind these kind of albums is not to be as complex and difficult as possible and it should also not become a progressive “show-off” album. Viv was the perfect man to translate my vision musically. He is a very tricky composer. I can tell you that this material is not easy to play, yet a melodic approach was very important to me. It should be sophisticated AND catchy at the same time. I do my vocal melodies after the instrumental music is done so I can also “boost” the melodic factor when doing the vocal lines and harmonies over the existing instrumental base.
I have to say that when you listen to a Hubi record it’s like being on a journey. You just close your eyes and go with the flow because the music is so entrancing and hypnotic. Not too many people are capable of that.
Thanks, that’s exactly the intention behind my discs! I’m glad that I was joined by a real dream team of musicians, who helped me to put this vision into reality and also added colourful facets to this musical journey. |
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Besides surrounding yourself with gifted artists that will leave a mark in your brain for a long time, your voice is a unique trade mark. Just how many octave ranges are you capable of singing? It’s wild that you can sing very high, but at the same time bring it down when you feel like it. Unlike some singers who attempt to sing at the top of their lungs and go out of control, your voice is relaxed and smooth. You don’t get out of control like some of the contestants on American Idol. What is the secret?
To be honest I don’t know my exact vocal range… I don’t really care about numbers when it comes to vocal expression. I always sing like I feel. Sometimes I love hitting high notes, but I also enjoy singing in a more relaxed medium pitch.
Have you always sung like that? The only other person who can hit notes like that is King Diamond, but that’s a whole different category.
The main characteristics and high pitch “trademark” are something that has always been there. However, my voice has changed a lot throughout the years and it still changes with every year, as my vocals are very much connected to my own personality. King Diamond?! That’s an interesting comparison indeed [laughs]. But I agree, his falsetto style is really innovative!
You surround yourself with great musicians. While not famous here in North America, they are well known in Europe. First off let’s talk about keyboardist Lalu. I loved what he did on the first disc and now here. He really knows how to capture the magic that you have crafted in your head. How long does it take for him to present your audio vision? I was way impressed with his solo record. It was simply mind blowing.
Yes! He is not only an awesome keyboardist, but also great composer! I think we have found the perfect way of cooperating, and he really understood how to translate my visions of EmOcean and Kailash into music. The whole composing process usually takes a couple of months. After Vivien received the concept along with rough instructions about moods and song structures etc, he started sending me his ideas via MP3, and then we were discussing and arranging the material together until it matched the vision I had in my mind for these albums. Sometimes the musical “translating process” went rather smooth and quickly, sometimes it took a bit longer; it’s not possible to put this process into a certain scheme. After the instrumental pre-production was done, I started working out my vocal melodies and lyrics before the other musicians got the pre-production with rough guide lines.
Daniel Flores [no relation to me] is a wonderful progressive drummer. He has been with you for a while now. What I like about his is that he doesn’t have to show off his talents. He performs flawlessly and even makes some of his difficult time changes seem like
nothing.
I agree he’s a great drummer and also a real multi-talent and definitely my favourite drummer! His main group is Mind’s Eye and they released an amazing album some weeks ago! |
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Another mainstay is Marcel Coenen. Once again, a fabulous performer. He can whip out his axe and play with the greatest of ease and make a shredding solo sound awesome. You can’t lose him ever!
Marcel (Ex-Lemur Voice, Sun Caged) is a real Axe-Star. He comes up with those powerful riffs that really blow you away and one moment later he impresses your ears with some very emotional solo tones whereas in the next moment another monster shred attack attracts your attention! I’m glad that he joined me on three albums already.
Unlike the first time out, you have added a second guitarist Jorge Salan from Mago De Oz. Did you hire another guitar player to add some extra oomph to your sound?
I’ve known Jorge for a couple of years already and we wanted to do something together for quite some time already. So I thought it would be perfect to have him on some Kailash songs. Jorge has a breathtaking tone and feeling. I really adore his playing and love his contribution to this album very much! By the way, on the two bonus tracks you can also hear Dutch guitar wizard Joop Wolters again. He adds another beautiful sound facet to these two tracks in my opinion. |
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Bass player Johan Niemann is from Therion and he is a session musician that gets a lot of work in performing in many Euro bands. Another fine addition to the
lineup.
Yeah! Johan rules! I especially love it when he plays the fretless bass! What a feeling… You see I’m in love with the work of all of the musicians involved and I feel very blessed tat I was joined by them for EmOcean and Kailash!
What happened to Bamby? I loved the way he handled his bass. He was so rhythmic.
Bamby really GROOVES and it was of course nothing against him that I invited Johan Niemann to play the bass on Kailash. I had the feeling that Johan would be the perfect match for the bass but I’m sure Bamby would have been great too! I had invited him to play on the two bonus tracks, but unfortunately it didn’t work out because he was too busy recording with his French group “Absolute” for their new album.
You have been around for almost 15 years now and it seems like you are just getting started. You are constantly busy. For instance, you will appear on the second Book Of Reflections disc. How many songs did you contribute on? Are the same musicians on there as the first time out? I really dug that debut.
[Laughs] No, I’m not part of that second Book of Reflections album! It was not a steady line-up and I just did guest vocals on three songs of the debut. It was really fun and it seems that many people liked this debut.
The first time that I heard of you was with Dreamscape. While I didn’t know who you were, you had a voice that was unforgettable. The one track that really caught my attraction was
a cover of Ultravox’s “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes.” That song is just
so cool. Do you know that I never heard the original until about a year or two ago while I was on vacation and heard it from a boom box from the neighbors down the hall and I was like “Wow” it sounds like the original except for the fact that it was beefed
up sound wise. Who chose that song?
I was singing this song in the rehearsal room and the others said: “Hey that’s a cool song” so we thought it could be amazing to do a progressive cover version of it.
After doing the band thing, you decided to go out on your own. “Cut” was your first foray into the solo world. Although it was an E.P., it contained covers. Seven to be exact. Why start out like that?
I had this idea in my mind since my childhood already to re-arrange my favourite 80s Pop songs in Rock/Metal style. In 2001 I thought it would be the perfect time to finally release this idea and it was really fun to interpret these songs in a new way… Of course Cut doesn’t have the depth of EmOcean and Kailash, as it was simply something totally different and made for fun and entertainment…
I see that on your website that you have your own studio. Have you worked on any other artists discs?
No. In the past I simply needed all of my time for the realization of my concept CDs. It’s also not possible to record drums here. It specializes in vocal recordings and mixing.
What would you like to say to your fans out there?
Thanks for your time and interest and I invite you to check out the Free Online Single “Potala Palace” on my official site: Best wishes from Munich!
www.hubimeisel.com
www.lionmusic.com
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