Interview with The Gathering drummer Hans Rutten

For almost two decades now, The Gathering have been touring the globe and releasing records. Their ninth and latest CD The West Pole has just been released via Seasons of Mist Records and the band plans on touring across the globe in support of it. Recently, drummer Hans Rutten spoke with me about the band and their newest disc, The West Pole.

Now that your brand new CD The West Pole is complete how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Hans: Well, I think it is more extroverted, more alive and we didn’t use that much electronica this time. We wanted to make a more up-tempo album and we listened a lot to bands like Doves and Arcade Fire. They create up-tempo songs without getting too ‘happy’ or too ‘jumpy’ if you know what I mean. Overall, we are happy with the result. Of course we could do things better, but that’s always the same when you finish a record.

How would you describe the reactions it has been getting in the press so far?
Hans: We are surprised by all positive reactions we have received from both Gathering fans as well as the music industry. We did not expect such a warm welcome back, to be honest. It was a difficult task to continue and find a good singer who is also into our old material. So both live and on our new album we are happy with the outcome.

What was the writing process like for this CD? Did you guys all write together? How long did it take?
Hans: It was a bit tough in the very beginning, but at a certain point, around the beginning of 2008, especially René came up with a lot of very good ideas in a relatively short amount of time. Of course, you can decide to keep on going with the band, but you need strong song material too. We knew it would happen, but it is always the question when. This time we had a clear focus: we really wanted to make a rock orientated album, with a lot of guitars, and not too many layers. This was not a new idea; during the recordings of Home, we already wanted to make an album that had more guitars. However, it did not happen in the end. That is why it felt comfortable that René also produced the album, we knew exactly how we wanted to sound this time. This time René and Frank worked separately on songs. You can easily say this is René’s album, but Frank came up with some excellent tunes too (“No Bird Call” and “Pale Traces”).

Give us some insight into The West Pole and the meaning behind its title?
Hans: We have created a context in which we worked. When we were in the middle of the writing process, it became clear this album is very ‘urban’. Most of the songs were fast, guitar driven, it felt like this album was ‘city’ orientated in a lot of ways. So, we created a fictive kind of city, and gave this idea to the vocalists. It is like walking in a city, in the park, the harbor, and imagining that people are having dialogues, or monologues, and you have the ability to listen to those conversations. Everybody was free of course to make her own story, as long as it was connected to the context. There is no special meaning behind the title. It just sounds nice and it tickles a bit.

The songs on your new record, The West Pole, are not exactly what you would find on your typical hard music album. You offer a welcome range of musical sounds and abilities. Do you think this is due in part to your varied influences and/or a desire to explore new realms of music?
Hans: I think both. We always had the urge to explore, try out and use the so-called ‘trial and error’ way of making and recording music. This costs a lot of time and money, but it is the way we work best. On the other hand: we listen to a lot of stuff, it varies from pop, rock, metal, to classical, modern and old, and also non music things can inspire our writing process.

When you began writing The West Pole did you have a predetermined idea of what you wanted the record to sound like and what you wanted it to achieve, or did that come about naturally?
Hans: We had a long wish: to make a rock orientated album, ‘live’ sounding, with raw arrangements, not too many layers, just simple and clear. It was the perfect moment to work on this album, as we were quite unsure what would happen after the departure of Anneke. The idea of this album is an old one; we wanted to make this album when Anneke was still in the band.

What song on the album do you feel most satisfied with?
Hans: “Pale Traces” and “No Bird Call”. I love the relaxed yet heavy atmosphere of the title track. “Pale Traces” is something special. It has has an up-tempo hip-hop beat and beautiful violin arrangements that Frank came up with. We worked on it the whole last summer, trying to find the right vibe. We were positive that Marcela (she is the singer of Stream of Passion and we worked with her as a guest singer on this song) would do a great job on this song. She did a magnificent job in the end.

Any concrete plans on how you will promote the release of this debut outside of Europe?
Hans: South America is our most important market. We will tour in South America this year. I hope.

What are the touring plans for this album? Will you also be touring North America?
Hans: Tomorrow our European tour starts, almost four weeks throughout all of Europe. Then we will play two dates in Greece and we will play some Dutch club gigs in March. I hope that we will go to South America this spring. We are also busy with some festivals this summer. Nothing concrete yet. Of course, we want to play in the USA; we try to do our best. Maybe we will get tour support from the Dutch government.

Do you get decent support from the European audiences?
Hans: Yes, it’s always nice. Sometimes people are more extroverted, like in South Europe, sometimes a bit more reserved like in Germany or The Netherlands, but the reactions we have so far are great!

What is next for The Gathering?
Hans: We will play a lot in 2010 and we will start thinking about a new album. Of course, we will take some time off to have a nice holiday as well. We have plenty of ideas to work out!  [ END ]