Interview with the Band Mindwake

May 07, 2021

Interview with the Band Mindwake

By Mick Michaels

The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
Mindwake: Hello, my pleasure

CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
Mindwake: We mainly do Neo-metal…our music is violent, brutal and dynamic. Our 1st album was very Neo-metal oriented, old school style. For the rest, we seek to refresh the genre and create a more, modern and even more violent music. We really try to give a wow effect to our songs. In short, we make the music we'd like to listen to

CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
Mindwake: Today such a link is undoubtedly possible; to say that we have reached it would be a lie. We are not very well known so we still have the opportunity to respond to fans who write to us. Moreover, the moments during which we are most in "connection" with the audience are during concerts. Unfortunately, with the COVID situation, it becomes very complicated.

CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
Mindwake: Absolutely! We are nice and carefree guys, we love when people come to see us after concerts…when a fan writes to us. For us it's important, it's proof that our music has worked.

CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
Mindwake: Of course! It is up to each person, including the artist, to define a limit to their personal space. You have to know where you are and keep your head on your shoulders. It is true that today everything is a question of intimacy, social networks do not help but it is up to everyone to manage their ego. It's our music that counts, not the likes on our profile or the comments on our salad pic. Who cares?

CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
Mindwake: Excellent question, None of us have enough data or sufficient knowledge to answer objectively. In a subjective way I would be tempted to answer yes. In the sense that all cultures, although organized around music or sound in general, have not made their music evolve in the same way. For some, it’s all about religion, for others it is recreational and for others it is to be in communion with nature. Our culture allows us to use technology to make music, which is not the case everywhere in the world. The result, therefore, can only be different.

CV: Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend to connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
Mindwake: Not necessarily…it is certain that for Europeans reaching an American audience is a goal at one time or another, but international does not mean North America. The world is vast; it would be a shame to focus on only 1 country. Besides, whether the public is attracted or intrigued, you have to go play in these countries to find out

CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
Mindwake: First of all, what is an artist? If to be an artist I just need to watch a guitar tutorial on Youtube then yes, and I will go further by saying that every music lover with an internet connection and a little musical curiosity is an artist. But hey, dreaming is cool but an artist is not just that…it's hours and hours of training, personal successes and failures that shape a personal vision of music! To be an artist is to be ready to start all over again several times because this riff is not perfect or because this note at this precise moment does not have the expected impact. No, that line has not blurred with technology, it has simply shifted. Technology doesn't define artists; it helps them achieve their goals. It is up to the individual to decide if he wants to use technology to cheat or to progress!

CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
Mindwake: One makes music for passion, the other for a salary.

CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
Mindwake: No, the world is vast and everyone who likes to listen to music, whatever the genre, will develop a more or less pronounced taste for this or that group. It is quite possible to like only one track out of a band's entire discography because that track fits your personal taste. Moreover, the division into sub-genre is inevitable simply because more and more people create musical content by mixing inspirations that are sometimes very distant which potentially later become the inspirations of other artists and so on. All this creates infinite combinations that could not have resulted from a single artist. It is even a necessity, not to please the greatest number, but in the first place to stand out among an ocean of artists and subsequently participate in the "genetic" mixing of music and not to appease the fans. An artist who creates content will always find his audience on a small or large scale. This audience can change over time just as the artist can change because his or her personal tastes have refined or simply because he or she has matured.

CV: What can fans except to see coming next from you?
Mindwake: We are currently working on the recording of an EP which will follow our 1st album but the style will be more modern and more elaborate. We should also be releasing music videos and play-throughs during the next year while working on our next album.

CV: Thanks again for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
Mindwake: You’re welcome, it’s a pleasure

Check out Mindwake at:
Official: https://mindwakeofficial.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindwakeHxC/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBdcW_e_CXLkxQO_qx0J6w
Shop: https://mindwakeshop.bigcartel.com/products

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.