LTTM caught up with British band Ooberfuse to find out what their favourite moments of 2012 were, a year which saw them release their new album and play some major gigs, and to look ahead to what they expect the New Year to bring.
2012 was a busy year for you guys, what were the highlights for you?
So many highlights! It's been the best year so far!!! The year started with a peace concert in Trafalgar Square and ended with a mini-tour of Canada. In between we had an Italian tour, the launch of our 2nd album 'Seventh Wave' with various... Read MoreLTTM caught up with British band Ooberfuse to find out what their favourite moments of 2012 were, a year which saw them release their new album and play some major gigs, and to look ahead to what they expect the New Year to bring.
2012 was a busy year for you guys, what were the highlights for you?
So many highlights! It's been the best year so far!!! The year started with a peace concert in Trafalgar Square and ended with a mini-tour of Canada. In between we had an Italian tour, the launch of our 2nd album 'Seventh Wave' with various concerts in Leicester Square, Westminster Square, Soho, Grimsby, Sunderland, Manchester, Salisbury and Birmingham.
You've performed a lot of gigs this year, which ones stand out the most?
We were invited to perform at an event in Cesano di Roma, a small town 15km from St Peter's Square. Eating amazing Italian ice-cream at 2am after the post-concert guided-tour of Rome centre in the moonlight was surreal! Hal loved Italy because they had a really nice grand piano that he was able to use on stage!
Nico enjoyed the gigs in Canada, where we performed "Free Asia Bibi" among other songs.
Cherrie loved the peace concert in Trafalgar Square - it was incredible to be able to sing in the middle of London about what you believe in. In many countries Christians do not experience the religious freedom we all enjoy here in the UK.
Your music has had a huge impact since you released your latest album 'Seventh Wave', has that surprised you?
Yes, absolutely! We did not really expect such a positive reaction!
As a band we believe that music is much more than a form of entertainment taking people away from real world concerns. Because all our songs are written from real-world experiences whatever these might be, some ugly some pretty, the songs have registered in quite unexpected surprising ways. Because many of the songs, like Rescue and Blood Cries Out, confront head-on some pretty ugly contemporary realities, like human-trafficking and Taliban assassinations, the music moves as much as it entertains. That's why we see this musical experiment as a movement more than anything else...the 7th wave is more than just an aesthetic feature of the ocean... Mariners report that the 7th wave surges with such overwhelming force it can propel a drowning sailor back to dry land. We hope that some of our songs have that kind of impact for people trying to make sense of difficult circumstances.
Which was your favourite song on 'Seventh Wave' and why?
The song that seems to connect every time we perform it live is Call My Name. It is a favourite since it tries to articulate musically that deeply mysterious and yet intimately personal voice of God spoken softly in the deepest parts of our being. It is customary to speak about vocation like it is a simple thing. Vocation is quite often invoked to give the stamp of authenticity to our otherwise selfish ambitions. Yet when you read about Samuel's calling in the Old Testament it is an earth shattering life changing encounter that required an openness to God's purposes whether or not these were aligned with Samuel's own. The journey of faith takes us out beyond our comfort zones...we beach on unexpected shores when we respond to his call.
Many of your songs seem to have been written about, or inspired by, specific injustices around the world - what's the reason behind that?
It's easy to park our social concerns, like our faith, in a different place to our musical interests and inspirations. However, we confront the glass ceilings and musical taboos that perpetuate this kind of schizophrenic living. We allow whatever interests that inspires us, whether a sense of social outrage or a faith insight, to infiltrate our music. This makes it difficult for reviewers to place us and gives us a curiosity factor. We believe that curiosity is the new x factor!
You've written a song for World Youth Day 2013, what can you tell us about that?
It will be out next month, January 2013!!! It has been in incubation since the end of World Youth Day 2011. On fire with the spirit that occasion ignited we poured over Matthew's Gospel to bring out the significance of Jesus parting words in Chapter 28 'Go make disciples of all nations...' As the 2013 gathering of millions of young people from all over the world will take place in Brazil, the track will have a festive party feel. It's like what Peter said in Acts 4:20, "We cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard!"
The single launch party for the song "Go!" is on 10 January 2013 at the AAA in Kensington, 8 pm. We hope you will come! Entrance is free!!!
How would you define success in your career as a band?
Being true to our deepest inspirations. This is not as easy as it sounds ... the more people involved in the music production process the more opportunity there is for the original vision to be impaired and compromised.
If you could work with any artist or song writer in the future, who would it be and why?
Emile Sande, because her sound is sincere, genuine and amazing!
What does the next year hold for Ooberfuse?
2013 will be an exciting year! We will be releasing a third album and at the time of writing we have concerts planned in Japan, Nepal, the Philippines, Brazil, Germany...So please stay tuned and thank you for your support!!!
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