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| MSJ: It has been about a year or so since we last did an interview. What is new in the world of Pontus Gunve? |
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I launched my new album Black Hole BBQ in October. The process took about four years – from writing, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering everything. Also, I have been working on a few videos. The title track, "Black Hole BBQ" video is out on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iS496_cC3s) and another video is currently being edited and finalized. |
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| MSJ: Talking about the new album. How would you compare and contrast it to other of your works? |
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| This has a bit more emphasis on the guitar and maybe a bit “heavier” overall. I also worked with my friend Ian O’Brien (Fastus) on modular synth elements. He really helped by adding amazing soundscapes and modular synth sections. |
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| MSJ: What’s the best thing that’s ever been said about your music? |
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| Always a hard question, but Salim Ghazi Saeedi wrote a nice thing about the music with the title “The Magician of Rich Melodic Canvases of Sound” in an interview from 2015 - http://www.artrockin.com/interviews/2015/01/pontus-gunve-the-magician-of-rich-melodic-canvases-of-sound/ |
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| MSJ: What’s ahead for you?
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| I want to write more music this next year, 2020. I am planning on taking some time and really think about what direction I want my music to take and how to put this together. I want to explore different compositional styles and sonic textures and just learn as much as I can - maybe lock myself in an isolated room for a few days to see what comes out of that. But yeah – I want to keep writing new material. |
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| MSJ: What was the last CD you bought and/or what have you been listening to lately? |
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I have been listening to Stars of the Lid And Their Refinement of the Decline, a 2007 release. It has some amazing textures and atmospheric compositions. Also – Deadprod’s 2004 album Morals and Dogma - there are some amazing textures of sound in this album – and it is really a frightening sound - cold, desolated, and straight out of a horror films. The second track "Dead People's Things" is really spooky, but amazing to listen to. I have been trying to listen to music that is not necessarily in my genre to get inspiration and new ideas.
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| MSJ: Have you read any good books lately? |
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Sadly I have not been able to read much lately, but read A Brief History of Time recently and found this fascinating. It was released in 1988 and is a captivating read and helps the “laymen scientist” understand some of the concepts relating to the story of the universe and the laws holding it all together. |
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| MSJ: What about the last concert you attended for your enjoyment? |
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I saw Marty Friedman earlier in the year at St. Vitus in Brooklyn. It is a small venue – and great atmosphere. Basically you get to see this big guitar hero put on a shred show in a small size club. There is something special about that intimate type of show – it is a whole different experience – compared to the stadium sized (and over priced) shows in NYC. I was trying to get tickets for Queen recently but could not find a single seat that was less than $300 - and those seats were very far away. |
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| MSJ: Have you come across any new gear recently that you love? |
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| I have been trying to simplify my guitar rig lately - sort of back to basic principles – based on my previous guitar tones. I picked up a treble boost (Dallas Rangemaster Clone) for a Queen tribute show – trying to emulate Brian May’s guitar tone. The pedal really did the job, and I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate this into my current rig. I try to stay away from too much craziness with guitar tones, but if I am experimenting with drones and atmospheric tones I tend to blend pure guitar tones with reverb or delay plugins (in Pro Tools). I found the Valhalla Shimmer to produce some epic guitar reverb tones over a clean or lightly overdriven tone. |
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| MSJ: Are there any closing thoughts you would like to get out there? |
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Keep making music. Keep supporting local bands, and keep creativity going. Live music is a very special event, and I hope that people will continue to support it and keep showing up.
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