Interview with Mnemic guitarist Rune Stigart

Rune Stigart, guitarist of the Danish metal band Mnemic, recently took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for PureGrainAudio about the bands newest disc, Sons Of The System. The new disc was produced by the famed metal producer Tue Madsen and let me tell you, this is one hell of a phenomenal sounding disc. The band has shared the stage with bands such as Metallica, Machine Head and Fear Factory and they are currently on tour in Denmark with F.U.K.T.

Different groups have unique ways of writing their songs. How do you guys go about writing your music? Is it a collective effort or is it more the efforts of one particular member of the band?
Rune: It is both. In the cases of the first albums, we have been collectively jamming it out in the rehearsal until we have had a basic structure that later turned into an actual song in the later process. On Passenger and especially SOTS, it has mostly been one or two of us writing basic structures on our mini-studio at home. That gives the song a very different feel. Of course, the other guys can and will leave their mark on it when we then rehearse and finally record it. Nevertheless, the “solo”-writing at home can really give some creative freedom and let you have control over a song. It usually also makes a song sound more direct and ultimately personal.

Every band has its musical influences. What are some of the other bands and artists that have greatly influenced you guys and your music?
Rune: Well, on the first albums I suppose there may be some obvious names, like Fear Factory, Meshuggah and Devin Townsend. That is the way we were labeled back then which kind of sucks, because it’s a label that is hard to dismiss when you are trying to go in a new direction. These days we’re influenced by everything under the sun, but yeah, those basic influences are still in there somewhere.

Now that your brand new CD, Sons Of The System, is complete how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Rune: Very. I think it is the best we have ever sounded. It is the most personal album to me so far, so yeah naturally I will regard it as one of our peeks. Also, the fact that we have been co-producing ourselves, well… then you really only have yourself to blame. Control requires effort.

You worked with Tue Madsen a very well known well-respected producer. How did you get in touch with him and what was it like working with him?
Rune: We worked with him on the second demo, and have kind of held on to him ever since, aside from Passenger. Tue is the best. As we always mention, Tue is the periodic sixth member of the band. He has that much influence on the outcome on the sound, music and feel. He is as wise and talented as he is funny. He is funny as hell, but in a very Danish laid back fashion. Just like us.

The record is a pretty dense affair with increased levels of technicality on about every aspect. Musically, how would you say you have progressed compared to the previous album?
Rune: I actually think we’ve cut back on the technicalities and focused more on the song-structures and the musical themes and attitudes. Yes, we are still hinting at some of the stuff that drove us into the music and kicking it, but I definitely feel we have become more moderate and focused. More matured if you will though I hate that word in this sense. So yes, we have progressed in the sense that we are always trying to renew ourselves while still looking back. That has always been the approach with the music. Now we’re just simplifying it to really emphasize it.

Along those same lines the new material, while still aggressive, contains more progressive and melodic elements than anything that I think you guys have done before. What brought on the addition of these newer elements?
Rune: Well, we’ve always had that melodic touch. It has always been our aim to mix the hard with the melodic for the sake of the diversity and the extremities. We have definitely focused more on it this time though, but again, the simplification of the song-structure makes it stand out more than before. I guess we just felt like kind of leaning back and making the music breathe for a change.

What song on the album do you feel most satisfied with?
Rune: Some of the songs turned out pretty much the way they were imagined, so I guess you can say that that’s satisfying. One of those songs is “March Of The Tripods,” but that’s also a very theme-driven song, so naturally it had a destined path to go down, so to speak. Guillaume and I (Rune) collaborated on a couple of songs, which were totally improvised compared to March, but they also turned out really well. But as such, there’s no song I’m most satisfied with or proud of.

Where did the name Mnemic originate from and is there a special meaning to it?
Rune: Our first singer, Mark, found it in a Latin dictionary. I guess he just thought it sounded cool and non-defining. We wanted a name that did not associate us with metal. Odd maybe, but we just wanted to do something different. The name itself means regarding the memory, I believe. Kind of ironic since we played more technically and polyrhythmic at the time.

Do you have any touring plans for the immediate future?
Rune: We’re touring right now with F.U.K.T in Denmark. Other than that we’ve got some single gigs lined up right around the corner, for example in Spain and Russia.

Are you looking at any particular bands you will be touring with?
Rune: We’re looking, talking, but it’s just talk at the moment, so I’ll leave it at that for the time being.

Any closing words?
Rune: Well, thank you for the interest, man. Look out for us in the near future. We will try not to knock you out on the way through. In the mean time check out SOTS as much as you can, then it will be a better gig. Kudos to everybody. And remember… laugh. Truck on, people!  [ END ]