Featuring Mr. SideSteps & Dag Otto from SideSteps Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl | 8 januari 2010 18:47
1- For the first question will be - do you know the Netherlands?
Dag Otto: Yeah, I’ve been to the Netherlands many times. I’ve lived in Havelte for one and a half months when I was a kid. My family home-exchanged with a Dutch family. We lived in their house and traveled around a lot around in Netherland. After that I’ve
been to the Netherlands every second year or so. Lovely country. Lovely people.
Mr. SideSteps: I’ve got some relatives in The Netherlands who live in Middelburg; I’ve been there once, driving around the near cities, such as Vlissingen & of course Neeltje Jans and the Delta. Except for that, I’ve been in Amsterdam for a couple of time, for holidays. I’m thinking seriously moving to The Netherlands in a while (laugh)! I love the country as well. It’s so close to Belgium, but completely different.
2- Do you follow the electronic music scene, do you have any other favourite bands?
Mr. SideSteps: Of course I do, electronica has a huge range, it can be combined with Rock, Jazz (Lo-Fi, Lounge), Dance & Industrial… so many! I prefer bands like Depeche Mode, who showed the way to the others, but from the recent bands I distinguish She Wants Revenge, Parov Stelar and, last but not least, all time classic Primal Scream & UNKLE.
Dag Otto: Yeah, I follow the electronica music scene, love the latest Archive album (Controlling Crowds).
3- Greetings Mr. SideSteps & Dag Otto: could you please shortly introduce our readers your music project SideSteps. Please fill also a biographical resume about how,when and where...give us a more background information.
Dag Otto: Well.. I come from Norway and Mr. SideSteps from Greece, we met for the first time in Belgium, as we work internationally for our countries. We hanged out, in the beginning he asked me to come over and listen to music, suddenly I was “the thinker”, then I became a singer, and the rest is history.. Honestly I felt kind of tricked in to it all in the beginning, I had other musical projects on the side, but now they are all on ice.. Because this is good and it might blow up!
Mr. SideSteps: Yeap, this is the way we met. Well, I am the songwriter of the duo. Personally I had written a few tracks back in my country but in a totally amateur way. I started thinking about it after some really nice comments I got, and this was actually the fact that inflamed the vision of a solo project of mine. In between I met Daggie and we stuck together, as I realized he was indeed interested in my work… Our goal is to express ourselves through our music, through our lyrics (vocals are recorded in our studio sessions). I think it’s interesting and people will love it. I’m sure, if they haven’t yet (laugh)! We create electronic music in a “rebel way”… This why rock music is for, but we chose electronic…
4- How did you start to make Electronica / Rock / Alternative and what is Gothic for you?
Mr. SideSteps: My story is really simple. I had creative ideas, but I didn’t have any music education, except for the drums I play, to keep them tracked down. So I had to find a way to write down my ideas. Some software helped me do it, and this is how I got used to the programs that create electronic music. Since then, I got expanded, buying new software & laptop.
Gothic is a philosophy. It’s a way of living. A tendency in music that influences me and my way of creating very much, although it hasn’t affected my normal life so far.
Dag Otto: I started doing alternative rock when i was in high school in Bergen, Norway. I had classes with 12 other students so it was a really small community, butt he inspiration and the creativity in that small class was incredible. I still play with 3 of my old classmates, and we’re probably doing something in the future, but for now it’s all Sidesteps. I also recorded and did some stuff while I was in College in Rouen, France. Great guys with the perfect gear to express music with. Unfortunately the group broke up after i left for my military service.
Gothic to me is either a man with a dark voice or a lady with a light, almost opera voice. Accompanied with bells, piano and synchronized ‘ooo’s and ‘aaa’s in the background. I’m probably not the biggest Gothic fan.
5- What and who are some of your influences in Electronica / Rock / Alternative?
Mr. SideSteps: Of course my favourite bands, as I mentioned above, plus some rock bands, such as Porcupine Tree, Muse, Placebo and Poets Of The Fall (I love the Scandinavian scene) & so many other kinds of music such as Jazz, Funky, Ethnic, Blues, Latin, R n’ B, EBM, House and so on. I try to have my ears open and not stay tuned to a specific kind of music, as electronica is not as pure as the other kinds, but usually co-exists and is combined with distinct styles (breakbeat to mention one) which creates a unique result not found in other types of music. This is why I am so excited with my way of songwriting and see potential to it, as it will expand as my ear does… Free your listening guys ;)
Dag Otto: My biggest influences are the surroundings, situations, nature, people, and colors. Music is to me a way of expressing the fragileness and the unfairness that happens around us all the time. All you need is a person or an event and your whole life can change. Scary thought if you ask me.. Music wise I listen to a lot of Archive, Bob Marley, The Upsetters, Placebo, Thrice, and for the time Funeral For A Friend.
6- What are your top ten favorite Electronica / Rock / Alternative Club Songs of all time? Who are you influenced by? What would you consider your favorite cd's?
Dag Otto: My top 10, huh? 10. Radiohead – Where I End You Begin 9. DJ Krush feat. Esthero – Final Home 8. Kid Loco – The Rain Falls 7. Jakob – Verstærker 6. Placebo – The Bitter End 5. Thrice – Stare At The Sun 4. Archive - Controlling Crowds 3. Archive – Again 2. Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out) 1. Thrice – Of Dust And Nations.
The Best CD’s of all time would be; Bob Marley and The Wailers – Uprising, Placebo – Sleeping With Ghosts, Radiohead – Hail To The Thief, Jakob – Solace, and Thrice – Vheissu. When I listen to those albums I go into a state of mind that it’s hard to break out of.. You’re looking for inspiration? These albums will give you loads of it!
Mr. SideSteps: That’s hard man… Usually I don’t distinguish a song its-self, but the whole result of the work. But my list would definatelly include DM, Archive, Placebo, System Of A Down, Muse, UNKLE, She Wants Revenge, Parov Stelar, but some classic masterpieces as well, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and sooooo on. I can’t; stop talking about my influences man. I need more lines (laugh)!
7- Do you have a favourite track and album?
Mr. SideSteps: These days I’m listening to Muse – The Resistance a lot. My favourite track of all time maybe should be The Heartbreak Song by SideSteps.
Dag Otto: The favorite group and album, eh? I think Thrice is the group I’ve listened the most to, I’ve grown up with their music, and they’ve changed their genre a lot throughout the years.. Favorite album and track? Hard one, but the song I’ve listened the most to is Of Dust And Nations, so favorite group Thrice, favorite album Vhessiu. But the music depends really on the mood, right now I’m in a Thrice mood.
8- So tell me a bit more about yourself, such as musical?
Dag Otto: Born in Norway, moved away from my family at 16 to France, moved to Belgium when my mandatory military service started, and soon I will move back to Norway again. It’s time to settle down again.. Throughout the years I’ve played piano for 5 years, guitar for 4 years, and now I’m starting playing bass guitar. I realized I had a fascination about bass after being constantly asked “why do you have the bass on max all the time?”. I’ve also sang in a couple of groups before, worked with some local rappers in France, played some hard rock with the same guys, made some mellow alterative stuff in Bergen, Norway. The ones in Bergen will be something huge one day.
Mr. SideSteps: My history is not as rich as Daggie’s, I’ve been playing drums for 2 years now, I’m having some lessons right now in Brussels from the great and experienced Belgian drummer Maxime Lenssens to improve. The only think that motivates me compose music isn’t my education, but my passion in what I do. This why we’re gonna succeed. I’d really like to learn how to play the bass guitar. I have the dream of creating a band with many musicians like Parov Stelar did; starting as a House Dj and composer, he expanded adding some instruments, such as saxophone and real drums, really wisely & created a music style very unique.
9- By the way do you like my questions? tell me what you think about it! ;-)
Mr. SideSteps & Dag Otto: Your questions are great, we feel like we’re having a real conversation going on! ;)
10- What is the main idea, the message you want to leave to people who listens to you? What is your motto?
Mr. SideSteps: Never stop trying, you’re the only Master of your life, only you can control your way of living. Rock on!
There’s nothing more important than your mental and physical health, so go for it! We think we have real problems, but in the end everything is in our mind. Let your love, let your passion, let your spirit let go!
Dag Otto: The message with the stuff that I’m doing now is probably be careful about what goes on around you, don’t let people influence you too much; nobody cares more about you than yourself. So Sidestep around it!
11- What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?
Dag Otto: The name of the band is Sidesteps, and it comes from stepping aside, dodging the question and avoiding the problems. The name of the band comes from all the problems people carry on with and how it influences us. So we thought if you could sidestep most of the problems, life could be much better. Well, Mr. SideSteps has worked with his stuff for a long time, and I’m pretty new to this kind of genre, I joined pretty recently so I don’t know, it had been something before we called it sidestep but I don’t think it had a name back then.
Mr. SideSteps: Ok, this is the name I was using as a nick in a forum. I came up with it while trying to find a way to become better than the others. As Dag Otto said, people carry problems in their backs, wouldn’t life be better without them? All you have to do is clear your mind and realize the REAL problems you have to worry with. We tend to get miserable and cry with every difficulty. I say NO man, I’m gonna sidestep all the minor things and will overcome the mass. I’ll become a better man. Myself deserves it! According to me, this is the attitude people should deal with. Not being losers. Because you are what you fee.
FreeDictionary: 1. to step aside from or out of the way of (something)
2. to dodge or circumvent
3. a movement to one side, as in dancing, boxing, etc.
So, it includes dancing steps, if people wanna dance with our music!
12- "Rays Of Heat" where did the concept come from? and whats planned now that your album is finished? or anything else you're working on? Tell me why this title,"Rays Of Heat"Tell us a few words about the concept of this?
Mr. SideSteps: Well, first of all, the album isn’t finished yet, the production reached a good level, but we still got to decide which tracks should be in and which out. We have many tracks in the fridge. The name isn’t something for sure, probably I will change my mind and put something more representative for the whole concept of the album. I was thinking to name it “Rays Of Heat” due to the global warming, but I’ve already changed my mind. We’re discussing this matter.
13- When's the new album coming out?
Mr. SideSteps: We don’t rush, all we care for now is the quality of the production. When everything is according to as I want it to be, the album will come out. I want perfection (laugh).
14-How is the current promotional tour going for supporting this album?
Mr. SideSteps: The only promotion we have for our music for now it through the social networks, you can see our profiles through our page in Facebook. MySpace is the main one (this is how you found us ;) ), but for the near future we’re planning to create an official web page with many and juicy details and extras, some promotional stuff, such as T-Shirts and so many other thing. I’ve got plenty of ideas in my mind, but for the time being all that I care is the production, as I told you. Everything else will come, we don’t worry.
15- What do you think of a modern,Electro and about Electronica / Rock / Alternative scene?
Mr. SideSteps: Electro is a type of music that can evolve more than any other kind. As I mentioned above, co-exists with all the other types, I can see much potential in the future, as many new upcoming bands appear, and people start turning to them, everybody knows La Roux, She Wants Revenge, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Daft Punk, Groove Armanda, Prodigy, Kraftwerk, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Chemical Brothers, The Future Sound Of London, Rotersand, Covenant. They produced some massive-hits. I like some new bands I recently discovered, too. A Spell Inside, Necessary Response, Informatik… I hate bands who scream in their vocals, I won’t mention any though. But I think you won’t get disappointed once you follow this genre. It’s so big, everyone finds what they want. Personally, I love bands who combine with a nice way Rock and Electro. Dag Otto is not the biggest fan, but likes it as well.
16- Our usual question - what is music for you?
Mr. SideSteps: It isn’t my life, but it’s the blood in my veins. Without it I won’t be able to express myself and that would be a disaster for me. I always find ways of expressing myself through it. It loves me & I love it. Simply that. My life always has a soundtrack, every single day of it. I hope SideSteps will you your own soundtrack in the near future.
Dag Otto: Music to me is a drug, you don’t need anything else than music to lift you up and encourage you. I listen to music probably 60% in 24 hours, everyday. So music to me is basically everything. Unfortunately I’ve lost some hearing after all that music..
17- What was your best live experience so far?
Mr. SideSteps: I will mention two: First of all, Muse, in Greece, in 2006 I think, and second, the best one, Rammstein along with Combichrist, in Antwerp, about a month ago.
Dag Otto: Best live must have been David Bowie in Bergen, Norway. I was a kid and didn’t know him very much, I went with my mother. She loved it, we were at the front of the scene, and when he started singing “Let’s dance” the rain started pouring down while the sun was still shining. It was probably 20 degrees so it wasn’t cold, it was magical.
18- Please list the name, age, school, and respective instrument of each band member
Mr. SideSteps (I use my nick on purpose), 22, Greece (Drama), Drums, Songwriting, Programming, Vocals
Dag Otto Braende, 21, Norway (Bergen), Guitars, Vocals, Piano
19-What are your views on the current state of this Electronica / Rock / Alternative scene in Belgum in terms of creativity and audiences? And the scene in other countries?
Mr. SideSteps: Ok, we’re really lucky to be in Belgium, you know in western Europe everything is so close, so I won’t talk only about Belgium, but for all the near countries as well. Germany, Benelux, Austria, all of them tend to adore this music, dark-goth-electro-rock-post-alternative-new wave. On the contrary with Greece and all the Mediterranean countries, who are used to happier music, like pop-rock and house. Regarding to some concerts I’ve been around these countries, most of them in Germany (“Amphi” the best), I’ve seen that the audience embraces these kinds of music and there’s a lot of acceptance to the artists.
20- you have very nice numbers`.............. tell me about lyrical compositions what you can tell about the done work? How does your music creation process work? How do you create a song?
Mr. SideSteps: Thanks man. Well, during my day I come up with ideas, I can get irritated by almost everything, so I write down what I think. After some days, I might check my notebook again and give a different meaning in what I’ve written (you know, brainstorming). I’m kinda strange in the way I write my songs, most of the artists write first the lyrics and then compose. For me it’s easier to write the music that I have in my mind first and the add the lyrics that I’d written before. Thank God, I come up with ideas all the time, I feel more creative than ever!
21-What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Mr. SideSteps: I don’t wanna put labels on my work, but I think it would be something like Darkwave-Synthpop with clearly distinct the rock influence. I try to be open though and don’t reject the other genres in the future.
22-Since the music industry is more open now to purely electronic music has this made things easier for you?
Dag Otto: I think it’s good that the public is more open to electronica music now, but it’s a shame that it took so long. One example of this is Archive and their Londonium album. I think that Archive would have been much better known if Londonium came out in an environment that respected the combination between electronica/alternative rock/hip-hop.
Mr. SideSteps: I definitely think so, it wasn’t that famous before. You only knew Joy Division and Depeche Mode and that’s it. Now thing are more open for artists to try, there’s more potential…
23-So what are their main influences as a band at the moment?
Mr. SideSteps: Everything that moves, can be seen and can be heard.
24-What is currently inspiring your material as an artist? Tell me all about the Electronica / Rock / Alternative scene of Belgum?
Mr. SideSteps: My inspiration depends on the day, but watch a lot of films and listen to tons of music everyday to inspire myself, but all the minor incidents you might overcome during the day are crucial for my inspiration. Whatever irritates your thought can be an influence. Apparently everything!
Belgium is lucky to be established in the middle of western Europe, so many artists that perform in the near countries come here as well. I don’t know about the past, I haven’t been living here, but I think for the time being the audience is open to listen to new upcoming bands.
25-Do you think that people from the music press didn't expect you to grow up musically?
Dag Otto: In my mind we’re still not completely grown up, we still have a hard time deciding what to keep and what to bin. In our mind everything is great, we could probably release 5 or 6 b-sides at the same time as our first album. But this kind of knowledge is something that never will come, who knows, maybe we are grown up when I start thinking about it..
Mr. SideSteps: Growing up is in one’s mind. We still don’t know many things, we’re passionate, in our mind we see only bright future ahead, this is the secret according to me. An artist doesn’t have to be concerned about the acceptance of the press, only has to express his feelings. If acceptance comes should be a combination of luck, good promoting and quality of music. We’re aiming first of all in the last one. If the first thing we cared was acceptance, we would be vending machines with CDs in them (laugh)! This isn’t how an artist should be… Personally I knew that, although our short time in MySpace, someone would ask us to do something. I just knew it.
26- What is the key to making music from SideSteps and what inspires you to keep growing as a musician?
Dag Otto: The experience, the people, and the feeling the music gives you. If I feel that I can’t improve something or that I don’t get anything out of the music I produce, I will stop doing it. Then it will just be a waste of time.
Mr. SideSteps: I couldn’t agree with Daggie more. You create and succeed if you have something to tell. Examples are everywhere in music industry. I believe in our first live my vision for composing will change – to something better!
27-How do you see the future of download / Copyright in area of goth-Electronica / Rock / Alternative music ? What are the best ways to develop it in your mind ?
SideSteps: Downloading is spread worldwide, you can’t change it. Apparently it gives exposure to all the bands, and according to researches, people who download most, are the ones who buy most and support the artists. I believe that nowadays downloading is accepted, as long as you pay some credit to the artists, this is what they’re waiting for.
Dag Otto: Subscription services like Spotify.com is definitely the future. The artists and the labels will loose some money on album losses, but they will probably earn a lot more on collectibles and performances. The crowd will get biggest as more people have access to the music. Downloading is good and I don’t fear it. Real musicians will keep doing music even if they loose 10€, 1000€ or 1 000 000€.
Mr. SideSteps: I agree with the last one Dag.
28-If there was one thing you want people to know about your band what would that be?
Mr. SideSteps: I’m hard in connecting with people, especially to find members for the band. Daggie was perfect.
Dag Otto: We won’t be neighbors in 3 months so enjoy the stuff while it’s being produced at a faster rate than it will be in 3 months.
29-Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here
Mr. SideSteps & Dag Otto: We will give you guys something exclusive on your site in the near future if you want to, for the moment everything is secret… (laugh)
30-It has been a pleasure to interview you on your musical activity,Well,any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
Dag Otto: EBM-industrial fans? You’re the real deal, not many people thrive to find new music, and people like you are the ones who give flavor in life. So unless there’s a radio station playing industrial and alternative stuff, keep it turned off, and do what you do best! Enjoying “unknown” music!
Mr. SideSteps: Thanks man, it’s been our pleasure, as you’re the very first one. I wish we’ll come and play in all your places, as long as the weather’s good (laugh). Wish you all the best and keep it up, these kinds of music are special and not easy to do…
31-and what is next on Belgum agenda?
There’s a concert we might attend in the summer, nothing’s certain for the time being. We focus on your studio sessions. The rest will come.
32-thanks for your time! great work on the albums and good luck with everything. How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
The date of the upcoming CD will be published in MySpace and in the under-construction new official website. For now, MySpace should be it. In the near future some tracks will be downloadable
For more info look for all our pages in our Facebook profile.
33-Were you asked to play or did you have to ask for a slot?
We weren’t asked to perform so far, but we will accept any serious offer. We look it seriously. Keep SideStepping!
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