1. Woman is the earth, was formed in 2007, how was the beginnings of the band? Why did you choose the name of Woman is the earth and what it means?
Jarrod: The band started in 2007, we were all working on other music projects at the time and decided to get to together and focus on a new project, which became Woman is the Earth. The three of us had known each other through mutual friends for several years and had similar tastes in art and music, so it came together very naturally. The name "Woman is the Earth" came about for several reasons. First, and most simply, is we wanted a name that as far as we knew, was completely original. We didn't want to have the same name as someone else. The name pays homage to traditional cultures that view the earth as a female energy, as a provider. We chose the name to actively step out of the pissing contest of what metal band can be the heaviest, most brutal, or most evil. We feel that by stepping away from stigma and expectations, we are allowed to write and focus on whatever we want. The music can speak for itself, with no preconceived expectations of how it 'should' sound. We also feel that in metal music, there is a vast under-representation of the feminine and masculine duality that exists in nature. The focus seems heavily one sided toward masculine energy. We are not feminists or advocates for some kind of social change or movement… we simply appreciate and understand that feminine energy is extremely powerful. Without it, there is no masculine energy. We felt it was important to show that understanding and step away from stigmas so that we can allow ourselves to create anything we can imagine. Anything we want. Whether its metal music or not.
2. How was the process of writing and recording of "This Place That Contains My Spirit"? How is your way of working in the studio?
Andy: It was more tedious than any other work we'd done before. The 3 of us took up the recording and mixing process in our house, miles out of town in the Black Hills National Forest. We don't know a whole lot about recording and mixing so the whole thing was trial and error. Each night we'd spend a few hours adding a couple of tracks and changing a few things, then sit on our deck and listen to it. That went on for a few months.
3. What differences can we to find in "This Place That Contains My Spirit" regarding your previous work "Of Dirt"? How has the band's sound between these two jobs?
Andy: TPTCMS has subtlety, experimentation, and atmosphere. Of Dirt has some experimentation, but it's more obvious and short lived. Of Dirt captures us in a more natural, present way. We'll release another self-recorded album this year called Depths. That album is a cleaner recording than TPTCMS. It has a darker sound with more experimentation than the other albums.
4. Woman is the earth is deeply rooted by nature and especially for your home instead of Black Hill. What inspires you when composing? What aspects of nature are present in your lyrics and you speak to them? What are you trying to convey with your music?
Jarrod: Nature, specifically our home in the Black Hills does inspire our music greatly. Nature is an extremely powerful muse… it holds so much energy, and mystery. It is harsh, but it is very real. The three of us have close connections with wilderness. We are not trying to change anyone else's outlook on nature or the environment. We write about what it means to us, and how it gives us power. It is not our only influence either… When composing, we also gain much inspiration from many different music styles and artists. We all have a great appreciation for different styles and techniques. We take inspiration from social situations, and psychological struggles as well. As far as our lyrics… In our first demo/album "of Dirt", the lyrical focus was on the cycles of life and death within the different seasons. It focused on how much impact the seasons have on nature, both the dark, brutal side along with the more vibrant, beautiful cycles at work. "This Place that Contains My Spirit" was also influenced by nature and our home, but focused more on human spirituality and primitive traditions in nature. It dealt more with a man's place in nature and the universe and focused mostly on appreciating old cultures and traditions. Just like there is much to learn from nature, there is much to learn from our own histories. Our upcoming album "Depths" is much more personal and experimental. Lyrically it focuses once again on man's place in nature and the universe, however, it goes much deeper into psychological aspects- dealing with the struggle of living, dreaming, and dying in the world we are in. It dwells on finding our place in the reality that we are in and the ability to ultimately find freedom and beauty whether it is in life, death, this reality or another.
Jarrod: We all have different backgrounds with our beginnings in music. The three of us had a mutual interest in metal music and experimental, ambient music. The sound of black metal is what initially intrigued us about the music style. I had always appreciated the intensity, and emotion conveyed through the style. The musical style appealed to all three of us because of the amount of emotion and atmosphere one can inject into the music. Another appealing factor to black metal is the freedom and individuality associated with it. We do not feel bound to any 'scene', social or political movement associated with a genre. We feel the black metal style gives the artist infinite room for individual expression and power. Black metal seems to me to be one of the last bastions for magic, mystery, spirituality and freedom left in music. That appeals very much to the three of us. We don't feel connected to music that has no emotion, no power. We do feel however that with the freedom, emotion, and atmosphere in black metal, that we can expand on the sounds and emotions greatly. We feel that many artists are taking the black metal style and expanding on it, and changing it. We appreciate the progression and in fact, are writing music that strays from traditional black metal greatly. The reasons and appeal of black metal are still very much valid to us, and will continue to be throughout the life of our project, even if the style changes, the power of black metal will still be present. I think that is the beauty of such a powerful art- that it can manifest itself in a variety of styles and genres.
6. What bands is your reference when composing for Woman is the Earth? Five fundamental cds in black metal?
Jarrod: What a great question! We are influenced by many artists from a variety of genres. Five fundamental black metal albums that have directly influenced us would probably be: "Dead as Dreams" by Weakling, "Two Hunters" by Wolves in the Throne Room, "Filosofem" by Burzum, "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" by Gorgoroth, and "Monument to Time End" by Twilight. As well as those black metal artists, one of our greatest influences is an electronic band called Boards of Canada. The way they compose and record music is very inspiring.
7. Unlike other bands that sound environment include compositions based on their keyboards, keypads you but you do not use everything you do with a good base guitar. Do you find it very difficult to develop the riffs that shape your songs?
Jarrod: If I understand your questions correctly, yes, we do develop all our compositions on guitar first. We do use some analog synthesizers and keyboards in our music but most riffs all come from guitar. Often times the riffs are written on an acoustic guitar first to make sure we can clearly hear the notes we are playing, then they are transposed to electric guitar, generally tremolo picked. The riffs we come up with tend to come fairly naturally, without much difficulty. It is often times difficult though to connect different riffs to create a whole idea. I am sure that is a difficult thing to do for most musicians. We have found most success by 'jamming' our songs and letting riffs change and progress as naturally as possible. We try not to force sounds or riffs into our music and we rarely use mathematics or theory to write. In general, we listen and feel for what sounds the best without forcing anything.
8. "This Place That Contains My Spirit" was self-released but I know it very carefully, as the digi pack, comes packed with straw and a small sign. Who came up with the idea to offer your work in this way? There was no label interested in releasing "This Place That Contains My Spirit", or else you consider that this is the best way for a band like yours to work?
Andy: Most times, if we can do something ourselves, we've opted to go that route. There's been offers to help with distribution and other things, but we've really enjoyed handling everything. The idea that the people who wrote, played, and recorded the music are the same ones who packaged it and are mailing it to you is a rare and special idea to us. It's even more rare that some people would discover such a thing and want to hear it.
9. What can we expect in terms of concerts and upcoming releases?
Jarrod: We do have a new release coming out called "Depths". It is being released initially on a US label in late 2013 and we may also be releasing it through a European label after that. "Depths" was written, recorded, mastered and designed by us once again, but is of a much higher sound quality than any of our last releases, and will be widely available on vinyl, cd, and digital formats. We are very excited about the new release! "This Place that Contains my Spirit" is also being re-mastered and re-released on cd by a European label. The date of that release is still to be announced. We do not have too much planned as of now in terms of touring or concerts. We have been on a hiatus this summer, but will be playing live again in the fall and winter of 2013. We hope to do some touring in the US to support the release of "Depths" early 2014. We will be updating our website with any news about those upcoming releases, live dates, new merchandise, etc. as soon as we can!
10. Thank you very much for taking the time to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for fans of Woman is the earth, this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
We just want to say thank you for the great questions! It is a wonderful feeling to have people from all over the world interested in our music. We appreciate it.
Jarrod, Jon, Andy - Woman is the Earth
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