SN:
Could you first of all tell me a little about your band? Who are in the band, and when did you form? What are your inspirations and influences that made you the band you are today?
Jimmy:
The band is Fraser and myself, but we have a few musicians that helped us to do the EP. The keyboard for "Fight" and "Stranger in this Land" were played by Felipe Zaror from Chile, from bands as 8 Monkys and Alta Densidad. Keyboards on "Dry Bones" and "Fire from the Sky" were played by Karim Harara from Halifax, NS. Guitars were done by Fraser except on "Fire from the Sky" where a Chilean friend, Fernando Kähs from Los Ñipas did all guitars. On Bass there Scott Richardson, Tony Tussaint and, I did all the voices and a few Guitars and Bass line on some tracks.
Fraser:
As far as influences I started with Rock and metal, I began to branch into progressive and neoclassical metal and that’s where my playing ability began to grow. I do however enjoy acoustic music as well as flamenco and classical.
Jimmy P. Torres - vocals
SN:I'd say your music is well within the melodic hard rock/power metal genre, but how would you describe your own music?
Jimmy:
I am not sure what name I would put our music on, there are so many influences in what we do and in what we hear that for me, I would say Rock is the common word for it.
Fraser:
I think its closer to power metal or progressive metal such as in some sections of dry bones. We don’t have many time signature changes but I think the way a song such as Dreamer changes from blues style rock to classical arpeggios to a driving metal solo could be considered progressive.
Fraser MacNeil - guitars
SN:I agree. Progressive music is much more than just odd time signatures. Variation, atmosphere, et cetera.
There are five tracks on the new "Origen" EP, plus a Latino influenced intro that I find really interesting, not only just because it is not the particular style you'd hear on any metal record, but of course also because of the musicianship and performance on the track. Where did the Latino element come into ARKHE?
Jimmy:
I am the Latino one, hehe. But "Origen" is entirely a Fraser composition.
Fraser:
Yes, I wanted to intro the album to show a different side of musicianship and came up with "Origen". I was influenced by some Malmsteen tracks where he plays nylon string. The first half is more flamenco, I'm a big fan of Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucia, and that’s where it came from. The second half is more classical or Malmsteen like.
SN:
As already mentioned the title of the EP is "Origen", which is the Spanish translation for the English word "origin". But what is the meaning behind the ARKHE name? What made you choose that particular name for your project?
Jimmy:
"Arkhe" is a philosophical term, that means the beginning of everything. We thought that would be a great name for a band and Origen was a perfect name for this starting point.
Fraser:
Jimmy told me about this, I liked the meaning and I like that it sounds like a metal band name.
SN:
How do you write material? Who writes the music? Can you describe the typical creative process in ARKHE, if you have one?
Jimmy:
I wrote all the songs except "Origen". The process… Hmm, I need to say that I picked the guitar or keyboard and I start to sing along and from then the ideas comes to me. The lyrics are stories that for me, complete the music.
Fraser:
I try to expand on the ideas that Jimmy comes up with. When it comes to writing the solos I start with an idea and try to keep it tasteful and let the notes tell a story, many times I change it over and over until I'm satisfied with it.
Jimmy:
That’s true, we had so many lead tracks and every time that Fraser told me, I would like to redo this solo, and I I thought, "Wow, can this be any better?" And yes, it was better! Hehe...
SN:
I noticed that mainly just the intro "Origen" is influenced by the Latino genre, as well as the first minute of "Dreamer". Will your heavier tracks include more of this on future releases?
Jimmy:
We have more music, and soon we will release some songs that we left out of the EP because they were, in some way, not in the same line of the EP, but for sure we will bring more heavier song in the a future EP or album. Fraser is an amazing guitar player capable to play from the most sweet lick to most crazy and complex solo and riff.
Fraser:
I could see this as being a signature to our sound but we really won't know until we start writing new material.
SN:
Your promo introduced the band as a duo, but after having done a little research I found a bass player on your YouTube channel, as well as a drummer on your "Dry Bones" video. Does this mean you have a full line up going, or are they just hired guns?
Jimmy:
We count with some friend that are ready to jump with us to play, one of the reason of us to do the album was to release these songs but also to find musicians alike to play with us. It is a good way to show what we want and what we need from other musicians that would like to join to Arkhe.
SN:
Will you be touring to promote the EP?
Jimmy:
Not at the moment, but to play on a stage is the dream for every single musician I would say.
Fraser:
At this point we are unable to but it is on our mind for the future.
SN:
Apart from the obvious promotion of "Origen", what are the future plans for ARKHE?
Jimmy:
We are already working on more songs but, for now we are trying to put attention to what we have because we think that is a pretty strong material and a great way to let us know.
Fraser:
Like Jimmy said, we are happy with what we put out on this EP, and we want to push it for more publicity. We are however working on a single that should be finished soon.
ARKHE's debut EP is available on the band's BandCamp page and all relevant streaming platforms.
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