Интервю с Mick Moss, Antimatter

In just a month Antimatter, experimental project generated and maintained only by just one person – Mick Moss, will visit Sofia Live & Loud club. The development of Antimatter over the years has gone through different periods, alternating acoustic, electronic sound, classic rock rhythm and dark, melancholic sound, invariably accompanied by the deep, expressive baritone of Antimatter’s creator Mick Moss and his honest and touching lyrics. The latest record of the band, The Judas Table, has a great success among fans and music critics. Over the years many musicians have participated in studio recordings of Antimatter, as well as live concerts, but a one person is a constant – the creator of the music and lyrics Mick Moss, with whom we had the opportunity to talk to before his concert with his accompanying group of musicians in Sofia.

I am very glad to talk to you before your concert with Antimatter in Sofia. You will play on 23rd of September in Sofia’s Live & Loud club. You played in Sofia before, in 2009, during your acoustic tour with Duncan Peterson. Now you are coming with your live band.

Mick Moss: Yes, I realized that the acoustic performance limits the way to express Antimatter music and decided to add electric guitar and percussion. I am playing since three years with same musicians. Yes, I was in Sofia, but it was very long time ago. Was it in a theater? I remember it was a hall.

Yesterday you announced the release of two singles on the same date when you have your concert in Sofia with Antimatter. Will you tell us more about them?

Mick Moss: One is Pink Floyd‘s Welcome “To The Machine”. I like how it sounds in the way we performed it live and we also added Killer and Redemption – live versions. We also release “Too late” with our version of INXS “By my side’ and accoustic version of Landlocked, all of it mastered by Daniel Cardoso.

Retrospectively, you are running other projects beside Antimatter and you are part of many other projects as a guest musician. How this influences your work with Antimatter musically and just in general? What is keeping Antimatter live and strong?

Mick Moss: Yes, I am running also my other project Sleeping pulse with Luis Fazendeiro, a guitar player from Portugal. I heard some of his recordings with his guitar and I told him that I can make his music I into songs, I can shape them and add lyrics. Yes, I am often invited as a guest vocal, but I do not think that the bands influence Antimatter. Antimatter music is inside of me. Usually the bands first hear my music and afterwards I have been asked to sing after they hear my performance. I do not think the other projects or bands influence me other the other way around – they are not influenced by my music.

In fact, I had and I always will have music inside of me. I was only child, without any brothers and sisters an as an only child I was always playing some records. The music was my very best friend.

Antimatter’s most recent release The Judas Table was very well anticipated by the audience. Do you think the people feel your music and lyrics close to their own life experience?

Mick Moss: If their experience match it to what I write, probably they are affected by it. It is a fact that many people do get in touch and they say they recognized their own experience in my lyrics. It is a fact that in their late life everyone has moments when you feel uncomfortable in your own skin and they may feel close to what I have written.

Would you call The Judas Table conceptual album? Can we call this work your study of the mechanism and consequences of the betrayal?

Mick Moss: The whole album is kind of grouped together under the concept of all people that treated me without a respect and damaged me for a long time in psychological aspect. This is something I did not realized until late. In the beginning I thought it was my fault. I have read a lot of psychology and I realized it. It helped me to understand that some people just treat other badly and without respect and it was not my fault.

As you have examined and analyzed the betrayal in very deep details, what would you say is the worst consequence of the betrayal?

Mick Moss: Worst think the people do not ever trust other person ever again and this will prevent them experience the joy from communication freely, trustfully with other human beings which is the worst thing that can happen to you.

In this album we can see many different types of emotions like disappointment, anger, depression, lack of trust and hope. Can you forgive after feeling all of this? Will it be the same person that forgives as the one who was hurt?

Mick Moss: Yes, I think you are the same person who just have gone through some processes. I think that it is not easy to forgive, it is easier to forget and do not have this influencing your life. If you can forgive, that is fine, but I do not agree that you must always forgive in other to continue your life. You just must be able to live without this memory affecting your life anymore. I am not follower of the idea of forgiveness. You may try and forgive people you love or you are still in a relationship with, but you do not need to forgive people that are not in your live any longer.

Can you tell us more about the impressive cover of The Judas Table? You also have beautiful photo session for the release of the album. Who is the author and whose ideas stand behind the visualization of your new work?

Mick Moss: I wanted to the art work and the whole concept of it to have tie from the album. The whole idea of the album is of me having a dinner party with all of those people that treated me badly, with no respect, it is a nightmare scenario. I realized that I am living with the memory of the betrayal and I wanted to get free of this memory. I wanted to reflect of how I feel having these memories of being betrayed and been used and I don’t seem able to get rid of the memory of it, but I did not wanted the cover to look exactly like a dinner party. That is where the idea came – at first looks it is like people that embrace and kiss each other, but you feel it is not a kiss, you feel it is unholy kind of relationship. This is the result when entirely clinically sick, mentally ill person can make you mentally sick as well and never trust anyone again which is mental illness as well. So we had to tie this into the art work and we needed professional to do this, so I have contacted Mario Sánchez Nevado who has worked with us in the past. I told him my ideas and I even showed him my my sketch of two people kissing – I think I still have it somewhere here.

You write the whole musical part and lyrics and you perform most of it plus vocals for your studio albums. What is the source of energy and power to start and complete such huge work on your own?

Mick Moss: As I said this is my obsession since a child. As I grew up without brothers and sisters, music became my obsession. When I was 7 years old I got my first tape machine and I started recording things. I continued recording, filming writing when I got older as well – it keeps me sane, focused. Of course it is not an easy thing to do this all of the time at 100%.

For recording of Antimatter’s albums you have chosen to invite different guest musicians. Some of them are present in your records more than once. When you write your music do you know already who do you want to invite? Are you writing music for specific musicians and voices?

Mick Moss: I don’t think beforehand who will perform. I work on new music on my own, at home with an acoustic guitar and create all of my songs this way. Later, when I go into the studio and start the demo, I start also thinking who might be on this album, but this happens after the songs already exist. Usually I include female vocals. Female vocals bring extra dimension to the music. I like working and I will always work with female vocals. But no, I do not think in advance who will be the people on the next album.

How would you define your music and style? You involve more and more electronic elements, but your strongest preference is towards the acoustic sound. Is this some kind of inner conflict or different sides of the same musical experience?

Mick Moss: I think to play electric and acoustic is the two sides of one and the same coin. I like playing both acoustic and electronic guitar and I am proud to be able to present the both sides of the same one. Many great bands like AC/DC and Iron Maiden do the things in one and the same manner throughout the years and do not have these two elements.

Actually, we have both sides even in some of our earliest albums, Savior for example, the song from our first album Savior, I have used electric guitar. We have most of it acoustic songs, but we also have rock sound in 3-4 songs in it.

Which are your strongest influences as a composer and musician?

Mick Moss: As a composer, I have those sessions with myself and the acoustic guitar. This is not a conscious process I am go through that I am trying to channel. I quite simply channel myself and my music comes to me, through myself.

Afterwards, when I transform it from acoustic to electric guitar, then I allow it to channel through some of my musical experience.

I would say that I do not have direct influences, but I like early 80ties, Depeche mode, Gary Newman, some early progressive like Pink Floyd, Yes. Early metal from 80ties like Iron Maiden and Dio are not some obvious influences, but they inspired my love for the electric guitar. Also the late 60ties – Jefferson Airplane, Richy Havens. I would say that vocally I am influenced by Tracy Chapman. It is not like I’m directly doing these bands. This is a music genres that I had a love affair with and this music stays in my body, they are my musical mothers and fathers – I am deeply connected to them at a very low level.

Who is Mick Moss outside Antimatter and music? What is the next thing you love most after making and playing music?

Mick Moss: Antimatter is my entire life. I exist through Antimatter and it exists through me. We keep each other alive. I do not have hobbies, something like go playing tennis when I stop making music. I am making music and working most of my time.

Of course, I have my family and I love spending time with them, going out together, but if I do not work on my music I am not feeling well and I am getting depressed.

Which is your favorite song or songs to play on stage?

Mick Moss: (Laughing). This is difficult question. I love to play Conspire with its delicate guitar sound, for example, but it is like which of your kids is your favorite. I do not know.

Do you have setlist ready for Sofia? In your concerts in the beginning of the year you performed lot of songs form Fear of a Unique Identity. Can we expect more from from your newest masterpiece The Judas Table or unquestionable beauty and my personal favorite Leaving Eden?

Mick Moss: No, I have not worked on a setlist for Bulgaria yet. I wish to perform Conspire, but I do not have decided on a setlist yet. But, of course, there are no concerts without playing something from Leaving Eden (laughing).

Do you have any surprises for your Bulgarian fans?

Mick Moss: Actually, yes, we have couple of songs from some very old albums that we have not played very long time which we intend to start playing live, so I hope that we will have at least one of them included in our setlist for Sofia

Would you like to tell few words for them?

Mick Moss: Thank you! Thank you for staying with us so long and still listening to our music, supporting us and helping us to create it, to travel the whole world to perform it. Thank you for being with us all that time.