Hello everybody, we’re here today with Tesseract at the Motocultor Festival ! How’s it going ?
James - Very well !

Dan - Yeah, not bad. We’re doing a lot !

You’re playing in just a few hours, how do you feel ? Excited ? Nervous ?
James - Excited, right ?

Dan - Yeah, I've got to get ready soon. I'm getting a bit stressy.
James - Oh, wow, that's good.

Dan - Now I'm looking forward to it. The last time we played here, there was a massive sandstorm in the mosh and there was so much dust we couldn't breathe on stage. It was so crazy. So hopefully we don't get that again tonight.

It seems to be ok here, haha !

Live, your reputation is really good. In your opinion, what makes a concert truly memorable ?

Dan - Atmosphere and energy, but it has to be a two way thing. You have to have that symbiosis between the band and the fans. If both are connected, you can get a really special energy. I feel that's really important for us.

Has there been a recent live moment that particularly moved you ?

James - At our last show, actually. Resurrection Festival was great. It was in Spain, and the crowd was great. We had our new production – which we’ve got something similar today, I think. I actually don’t know… It was the first time we tried it at a festival. Yeah, the crowd response was great. It was really fun to have a different layout on stage, and yeah, that’s good.

Dan - I think for me it was in Italy actually, on our last European tour. We played in a big arena, that kind of big concert hall, and I remember halfway through the set that everybody got their phone lights out and it was just a room full of flashing lights. We’ve never, ever had that before there. But they were just feeling it. So yeah, France needs to live up to it.

That seems amazing !

What would you like the audience to feel when leaving a Tesseract show ?

Dan - Me personally, I just like them to get lost in it, you know, just enjoy and connect with it in any way they can. We have lots of people that do that in different ways. Some people like to go crazy and mosh. Some people like to stand there and just close their eyes and hug their partners. You know, it’s a very emotional set, but as long as people go away enjoying it and having a good time and thinking, “that was a really cool thing today, I want to see them again”, that’s a win-win for us.

James - Yeah, and tell their mates "hey, that was great, you should come next time too".

Dan - "And also bring three friends", yeah !

[laugh]

Your songs are both complex and accessible. How do you find the balance between technicality and melody ?

Dan - Sometimes it happens easier than others. I tend to be the glue. The music can be quite complex and I try and make sense of that for the listener, to create a melody on top of what is quite complex music. So I think the combination of both is just a nice, nice combination really. It is difficult to write. It is very technical music and it does become very hard to convey that real sense of, you know, nodding your head kind of feel, because we don’t really have that, you know. So again, that’s where I step in sometimes and just try and be the cheerleader, try and show people how to enjoy the music in a similar way to more easy-to-understand stuff.

You were saying that you’re the glue. Do you compose all together ? What’s your creative process ?

Dan - Yes, we do. We talk a lot more. It has changed quite a lot. From the point of birthing an idea, we just have more discussion on the direction we want to take it and be a little bit more understanding of what the music needs rather than trying to force everything into a song. We’re now looking at it and saying “what can we take away, simplify it?”, because we are guilty of doing more than what we need to at times and layering things when we don’t need to. I think we’re just becoming better songwriters, understanding that less is more sometimes.

What role do atmospheres and sonic textures play in your creative process ?

James - I mean, I guess quite often, especially when Acle comes up with ideas – like with him, the riff and how that works with various other layers – it’s always quite important. Because a riff is a riff, but I think a big part of Tesseract’s sound isn’t just that riff. It is about the juxtaposition of ambience and something more delicate against something hard. So yeah, I think quite early on mixing those two kinds of elements is very key.

Is there a song that, for you, best represents the soul of Tesseract ?

James - I kind of feel like War of Being is the most representative of where we are now, like the title track, because it’s got an element of everything in it and it’s really long probably.

Do you agree ?

Dan - Yeah, I do. We’ve found a new energy on this record. I’m quite happy. It’s very motivating. And we’re excited to write more. Actually, after these next couple of weeks, we’ll go away to write more music.

That sounds great ! I can’t wait to hear that !

Dan - Same !

James - Hopefully it will come out sooner rather than later. We don't want to wait another five years.

[laugh]

Which artists or unexpected styles inspire you outside of metal ?

James - I think it’s a wide range of stuff. A lot of electronic music is a big inspiration. Like Acle is very obsessed with Lone at the moment.

Dan - Same for me as well.

James - Yeah, lots of synth-wavey stuff. The Midnight. That might be a bit cheesy?

Dan - For you maybe. [laugh] I listen to a lot of contemporary pop music as well because I find that vocalists in that world tend to do new and interesting things all the time. So I always have a little listen and look at what people are doing, just to get inspired really and try new things with my voice as well. I always want to do new things and experiment more. It’s a good world to do that, actually.

James - I think lots of things that can inspire tones and atmospheres and textures are a key thing that we all pay attention to. I mean, obviously I love metal, a lot of metal, but I don’t know if modern metal plays a big role in where Tesseract’s going. It’s other things outside the genre.

I'm going to end this interview with the question we always ask at the end, which is do you have a message for your fans ?

Dan - Yeah, for sure. Keep supporting Tesseract because without you we can’t do this. We can’t keep growing and doing amazing things. So yeah, we’ve had a fan base that’s been with us for a long time and we won’t let you down.

James - Yeah, we're really grateful for your support. Thank you !