Explore the journey behind 'Seasons of the Wind' with Erik Hansen as he shares insights into his solo project's inspiration, creative process, and future plans.
1.
Congratulations on your debut EP "Seasons of the Wind! What inspired you
to embark on this solo project?
Thanks so much! This whole solo project came about initially from me writing
acoustic versions of some of the songs thinking that maybe I would try to make
an acoustic rock album. As the songs progressed I started to realize that the
songs needed to be made into more of full band rock sound. With that I knew I
could do some different layering and in the end wanted to just make a bunch of rock
songs like I want to be hearing from other artists.
2. Can you walk us through the creative process behind the lead single “Send
Me a Sign”? What themes or experiences influenced its creation?
I don’t always come in with an intention for writing music in a certain way but
with this track I wanted to write a faster uptempo punk-rockish song. I don’t
think it took too long for the music to come together. I know the lead guitar
lines were done in a way to pay homage to one of my favorite guitar players
Michael Schenker. The lyrics came about as I was thinking about some of the
people you deal with on a daily basis that are very aggravating. Trying to
capture that moment where you just want to throw your hands in the air and ask
a rhetorical question of why am I having to put up with this.
3. How does “Seasons of the Wind” reflect your musical journey and
influences, both past and present?
When I started my first band Fallen Angels we were doing metal in the style of
Megadeth and Metallica. The style morphed into Slayer and Sepultura over time
then into bay area thrash bands like Forbidden. I was always trying to add
melody to the music but as you go you start to figure patterns or tempos that
you like for various things. When Fallen Angels disbanded, I started playing
with some of the members from that band in a project called Sygnal which was my
attempt at playing more 70’s hard rock/80’s heavy metal. During this project is
when I started writing music on the side for my solo project, at first it was
mainly acoustic oriented but changed into a hard rock side different from what
I was going before. The challenge of learning to write vocal melodies for my
own vocal range against the music steered it towards what writing style I’m in
today.
4. You mentioned being influenced by bands like Nirvana, The Offspring,
AC/DC, Deep Purple, and Metallica. How do these diverse influences come together
in your solo work?
At my core I just love 60s/70s/80s/90s rock/metal, I like music that’s guitar
oriented. Through my youth I went through different periods listening and
discovering music from different eras. I got exposed to 60’s groups from my
parents at a young age, then got into the 90s era stuff for a while then I
started listening to a lot of 70’s rock and that morphed into listening to the
80’s stuff. So it was evolution of myself putting myself through rock school
haha, I found stuff I liked and would just try and find other artists that were
associated with them.
5. The EP covers themes such as space exploration, mortality, and perseverance.
Could you delve into how these themes are explored throughout the tracks?
I like to philosophize on lots of subjects, ideas or why we do things. The Road
is basically about doing your own thing in life and being ok with not following
the crowd. It was inspired by the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken. I see
so many people unhappy with the choices they’ve or are making, too many are
letting other people live life for them but I view that as such a personal
journey that we are all on. Horizon was written while I was on a vacation, I
was sitting on deck looking at the sunset while playing my acoustic guitar and
was thinking about the endless possibilities our futures can be if we choose to
step outside our comfort zones. Traveler came about as more of an escapism
song. I have friends and family constantly talking about all the problems in
the world and everyone is so caught up with things outside of their control.
Sometimes I just want to get away from it all for a while, plus it also taps
into my mindset of an expansive future. Forever Dream was about mortality, a
family member of mine had been diagnosed with cancer and in their actions and
words were blindsided with facing their mortality. They made it through fine
but I know other people haven’t and it’s never easy to say goodbye to someone.
There’s all kinds of feelings wrapped up in it.
6. What was it like collaborating with Pamela Moore and Chris Gohde on the
production of “Seasons of the Wind”?
Pam is a great person, we get along very well. She has good ideas so most of
the songs I would bring in completed and she would make suggestions to the
vocal melodies or the cadence of the words. She wasn’t able to be in the studio
as we recorded so I would bring her what we did get done and she might make
suggestions on where to tighten up the vocal doubling in spots. Overall it was
very easy and I really enjoy collaborating with her. Chris I’ve known for a
while from previous one off cover band shows where we played Scorpions covers
and other things. He’s always been a solid, hard hitting drummer with a good
pocket for the drum beat. He hits the drums like I imagine Cozy Powell did. We
jammed in his basement about 6 times over a period of 3 months to work on the
parts, we could’ve probably worked the songs over more but we both have busy
schedules and I was trying to have some deadlines in play so that we wouldn’t
aimlessly work on things here and there.
7. Your father, John Hansen, contributed pedal steel guitar on certain
tracks. How did that familial connection enhance the music-making experience
for you?
Well to be honest, my dad wasn’t too happy with his performances that day. His
thumb was acting up so he didn’t have the control he wanted on his picking
hand. Robbie and I just tried to keep the mood fun and light so that we
wouldn’t get too much frustration boiling. The coolest part for me was the solo
we did for Forever Dream, we put some cheap overdrive pedal in the loop and had
him play the guitar solo. It ended up sounding very Blackmoreish and I couldn’t
be happier with how that turned out.
8. How do you balance the rock elements with folk and poetic influences on
this EP?
As a listener of albums, I like to hear a changing of moods, sounds and tempos.
So I wanted to take the listener on a journey of musical expressions. At this
point in my guitar playing and songwriting I just want to continue to explore
all the elements of sounds that I find myself gravitating towards.
9. “Send Me a Sign”t; has been described as a rage anthem. What message or emotion do you hope listeners take away from this Track?
To not get sucked down to someone else's negative emotions and thought process. Just keep moving forward and let it flow past you like water on a duck's back.
10. As a solo artist now, how does your approach to songwriting and performing differ from your experiences with Fallen Angels?
Currently I just approach playing the guitar differently. My style has evolved over time, unconsciously to me, just by playing and listening to different types of music. I still want to keep that fire and intensity of my early days but also let whatever maturity flow at this current time. I still write the same as I always have, I never come into a session with the intent to write something in a certain way. I just let the music flow off the fretboard and see if something starts to grab me.
11. Can you share any memorable moments or challenges you faced while working on “Seasons of the Wind”?
I had a great time being in the studio with Chris recording the drums, we recorded at an awesome place called Temple of the Trees. It’s a fantastic sounding room and we got a great drum tone out of it. We played the songs live with no click track, I sang and played a guide guitar and Chris pounded on the drums. The most challenging part of the recording process was doubling any of the vocal parts, I had never practiced that or done it before so it took a little bit to figure out what I needed to hear in my headphones and physically remember how I sung that part so that I could match it up.
12. What are your thoughts on the current rock music scene, and how do you see your music fitting into It?
I try and pay attention to what’s going on but I just don’t see tons of rock music in the vein that I think rock music is. The term rock is so broad that things that I believe are more pop oriented are being thrown into the label. Everyone gets inspiration from someone else so I feel like there’s a gap in the type of rock that I want to play and promote. Hopefully there’s other bands out there that I’m not aware of that I could meet up with and play shows. In the end I’ll just keep doing what resonates with me and let the music do the talking.
13. Are there any specific tracks on the EP that hold special meaning to you, and if so, why?
Forever Dream is the one that holds that special meaning to me, I never have recorded with my dad in a context like that so it was fun to be able to collaborate on something like that. Not many musicians get to do stuff with their family members, so I’m grateful for the opportunity.
14. Looking ahead, what can fans expect from Erik Hansen in terms of future projects or live Performances?
I’m currently working on trying to get a show setup here in the Seattle area and to start playing live on a semi regular basis. I’m also working on new material and have tentative plans to start recording this next winter.
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