wanted to talk about. It was an inclusive
exercise in which we drew people in to
participate with their own unique stories.
And also, I guess there is an underlying
message of trying to highlight the way
we live these days – with an element of
tunnel vision focused on our screens. In
that light, I think it’s good to have a more
expansive outlook on life, and this album
tries, maybe, to instill a bit of perspective
into people’s lives. Just take a step back,
and look at how someone else is living.
Coming from my generation, I still remember
telephones, the ones on a wire. There was no
internet. Now I have kids myself, and seeing
them grow up in such a technologically-
oriented world – it’s quite scary in a way.
I’ve seen how relationships develop around
technology and how damaging it can be.
For example, if you have a face-to-face
conversation with somebody, you get to read
body language and get to know their reaction
in the context. When it’s done through social
media or technology, you miss out on a whole
spectrum of emotions, and relationships
resulting from that can be quite lacking.
A lot of this thought went into composition,
and Sonder just tried to pin the whole
cosmology of thought into one idea.
Are there any stereotypes attached
to Tesseract’s music that you
find irksome or incorrect?
Dan: Not really. We’re quite relaxed as
individuals, even reclusive at times. We don’t
try to dip into the world of musical politics.
But when it comes to stereotypes, I think
one that still endures that is the one that
describes the general metalhead as a male
in their early to mid-20s. But that no longer
exists for us. Our metal fans represent a
huge demographic. Old, young, male, female,
different sexual orientations – there’s a
whole spectrum of people who love Tesseract.
Interestingly enough, we’ve discovered
that the audience varies by album. So,
you can quickly identify people who listen
to songs from One, or want to hear songs
from Concealing Fate or from Sonder.
I think every one of our albums has a
different fan base, and I think that is
born from the fact that we tend to be very
creative, and always try to do something
different with each one. We don’t try to
recreate the sound of a previous album.
Is there a tedious aspect to
composition and putting out music?
Acle Kahney: Composition is the fun
bit. Its touring that can get a bit tedious
because you have to keep doing the same
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Score Magazine
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thing every day. Composition is the fun
bit even though it can be a long process.
So, the concept of Sonder – that
other people live lives as vivid and
as dynamic and your own- how did
that become a topic of discussion
for an album in the first place?
Dan: This was one of the first times that we
came together as a band and confidently
decided that this was the direction to go
in terms of concept. Sonder is one of those
ineffable emotions, one of those things
that is especially hard to articulate or
describe. I think this might be the first
time when I remembered a word that
really resonated with me. I brought it to
the table, and everybody else related to
it so strongly that we decided, as a band,
that this was the way to go artistically.
Since good art is often interdisciplinary,
if you had to pick a certain book or film
to match the ethos of this album or your
music in general, what would it be?
Acle: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Dan: We actually have been listening
to a lot of film scores lately, both
before and during the creation of
Sonder, so that would make sense.
Since you have been to India
a few times, does anything
really stand out anymore?
Dan: At this point, the one thing that
does stand out is the traffic and the heat
(laughs). It is completely bonkers. But
needless to say, the diversity is always
noticeable here. The energy of the people
– its completely unique. You don’t see
this anywhere else in the world.
What was the back story to
the artwork for Sonder?
Amos Williams: So, imagine that you
are walking down the street in Mumbai.
Now, you can imagine that straight away.
In your head, it’s a level of familiarity
that is subconscious. The artwork was
an attempt to replicate that – something
that would represent humanity in such
a subconscious and immediate way.
Everything that we have been, everything
that we are and everything that we will
be in the future - it was an attempt to
create an icon that could represent all of
that, perhaps even represent a concept
of humanity. Hopefully, you look at it
and it leads you down a path that takes
you to a memory of who you are.