Gretchen Men released his second solo album, give up all hope, In December 2016, she has a follow-up in the works.This concept her album is Dante’s InfernoThe original libretto text for the music is by Michael Molenda, and the haunting imagery is by Max Crace.
give up all hope It’s like a movie score or an opera. It was very dynamic and inspiring. I drew a picture in my head and filled my heart.
oh thank you so much! It means the world to me. Thank you for open ears and an open heart!
Please tell us about the concept of the album based on Dante’s songs. InfernoAudio experiences are the perfect vehicle for interpretation, facilitating a personal and emotional experience…
The concept was brought to us by Michael Molenda, who was the editor-in-chief of guitar player magazine at the time. He and my father never crossed paths, but Michael and I met through Jude Gold. guitar player And absolutely great musicians.
Michael heard my first album, Hale Souls, And I felt that I had a deep interest in composing. He pitched an idea for his album based on a concept. inferno, And I was on board immediately. I come from a family where not only my father but also my grandparents were both writers. So my love of literature was practically inherited and definitely nurtured.Working on such an iconic and important epic was a challenge, but a very exciting one.o Many are in the process.
The writing and artwork are great. How long have you been working on this project?
It took me about a year of studying, reading, researching and working to master some of the compositional chops I felt the project needed. Then, under the guidance of her wonderful teacher, Elizabeth Eriksson, she continued composing for about a year. She plays piano, violin, viola and cello, so she was a very helpful resource when I worked to create playable and idiomatically instrument-appropriate parts. So it took me some time to make it. It was a balancing act for her to make enough money in her other gigs to fund the project while ensuring enough time to relegate to it.Recorded in Italy and USA String quartet and piano recorded in Italy, guitar, bass and drums recorded in USA
All artwork by Max Crace and story by Michael Molenda. One of the reasons he doesn’t have the album on Spotify is that this album is meant to be experienced as all three parts of him. His Bandcamp download on my website includes a PDF of the album artwork for those who don’t like physical copies.
How did tempo, pace and time signature influence the creation of different songs?
I had a document where I sketched the whole album track by track and then wrote down one note. Each section includes basic tempo, instrumentation, key, meter, dynamics, and various adjectives to help you understand how each piece sounds, which instruments feature or solo, and how Dante’s It explains which aspects of Kant are the emotional focus. I wanted the album to be a journey with a lot of variety while still maintaining an organic sense of unity. So all the aspects you mentioned were carefully chosen not only for the individual tracks, but also for how each track fits into the album as a whole.
Explore some standout songs
“Tombs” is very moving with great bass intro and violin.
“Tombs” is one of the most difficult songs on the guitar. The mix of sweeping and tapping, the relentless alternate pick section, and the unfolding section of constant fluttering of fragments are both technically and rotely challenging.
“Beast” is very metal.
It had to be as sinister and terrifying as possible. Trying to evoke Lucifer with sound can be daunting, so I spent some time analyzing the references that drew out the darkness I wanted to convey.
“The Hound of Hades”…I love it. Tell us a little bit about the evolution of that song. Are there any impacts?
thank you! It is a gluttonous circle guarded by Cerberus, a three-headed beast that devours everything in sight—dirt and filth. It had to sound nasty, enthusiastic, and exaggerated. It evoked chaos, aggression and even nausea with its very “guitaristic” riffs and intertwined lines in E minor. The effect on it is just a bit of reverb and delay. The gain is from the amp, using slides in various places.
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