Location: Cvetličarna MediaPark / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Interview date: March 31, 2011
Mark Jansen is the guitarist, vocalist, founder, chief visionary and driving force of the Dutch gothic symphonic metal band Epica, who stopped by Slovenia for the first time on March 31, 2011, to be precise at Ljubljana’s Cvetličarna Mediapark hall. In a seriously interesting chat, the sparkling musician filled us in on the story behind the latest album “Design Your Universe”, which Epica are presenting on this tour, on the point of continuing the sagas that run through the band’s albums, on his new band Mayan, and on some fascinating personal experiences that set him on the right road to success, where he creates freely and enjoys every minute.
You’ve been roaming around on tour for over a year now. You came back from South America in February, and now you’re kicking off the second leg of the European tour. How does it feel, how are you doing?
Mark: Fantastic! Music is my life, and I enjoy touring like it’s a vacation. Whenever I get on the tour bus and I’m surrounded by that touring ambience, I feel like I’m at home. I really love it and I’ll never get tired of it.
The reactions to the new album must be super encouraging. You’ve been on the road since 2009 and you’re still promoting it like crazy… how does the success of your latest album feel?
Mark: That’s right! Our fans welcomed the new album with open arms and huge approval. We really worked hard on it and put in every last drop of energy we have as a band that writes its own music. I’m truly happy and thrilled to see all this positive feedback on our new studio effort. Lots of people are honestly amazed that we’re still out there on stage promoting it, they can’t believe our shows are still so packed, even after two years of this tour. On this tour we’ve also hit some countries where we hadn’t played before. The Balkan region, for example, and we even made it to the far south of South America.
“Design Your Universe” is the title of the latest Epica album. What are the fundamental differences in your approach to creating it, compared to its predecessor “The Divine Conspiracy” from 2007?
Mark: One of the main differences between the two albums is that the music on the new one is even more brutal. The arrival of new guitarist Isaac Delahaye for the new album left its mark as well. Ad Sluijter was mainly a rhythm guitarist, while with Isaac we gained even more melodicism. That works really well in combination with the way I write music for Epica. When he joined, the foundation for the new songs was already laid, and Isaac added a special touch just by coming in, something Epica didn’t have before. Along the way we also pushed out our heaviest album so far. The way I see things developing, the next album will be fairly similar to “Design Your Universe”.
“Design Your Universe” is actually a continuation of the saga called “A New Age Of Dawns” from the second Epica album “Consign To Oblivion”. Why did you decide on a new part of this saga?
Mark: I always like continuing sagas. The whole thing goes back to the era of “The Embrace That Smothers”, a collection of songs from when I was still with After Forever, and it has now spilled over into the Epica albums. I leave the stories with a door open for continuing in the future. The old has to give way to the new. But for that you need inspiration, you need time. Things have to have a common thread. An individual’s views on the same thing change through personal growth. You can look at the same thing from several angles and get multiple answers to the same question, and also more questions. You never know what the future will bring along your path, so you have to leave your mind wide open so your awareness can expand.
Unlike the previous one, the new album explores the integrity of the individual and the care of nurturing a personal religion that stems from the individual’s consciousness. Can you tell us more about that?
Mark: Lately I’ve read a lot of books about near-death experiences. I learned an enormous amount from reading them. People from different religions, people who each have their own story behind them, run into the very same experience when it comes to the near-death state. It doesn’t matter what you believe in, when you’re approaching death every single one of us goes through the same experience. Besides reading those stories, based on the experiences of people who came close to death, I also read a lot about quantum physics. At first glance that’s far from this experience, but personally I think it’s still very close to it, because, as scientists say, everything we are and everything around us is just energy. Tiny threads of energy that are constantly flowing, and energy changes form. Consciousness is the foundation of the universe, and it affects energy directly. Whatever you think or wish for has a direct impact on your surroundings. That means we really are creators. Here on Earth we can create things. Many people feel like victims of the circumstances they’re handed. Personally, I believe every one of us has a lot of influence over what we do in our lives. So you’re not a victim of what happens to you, because you’re the one deciding what you want, which is also why the environment you’re in is created in line with your conscious plan, what you dictate yourself with your very being, because you are the center of the universe. So if you follow your heart and intuition, everything that follows is within arm’s reach, right there in your palm. But lots of people are afraid of that. That’s why they have secure jobs they don’t even like, they get enough money out of their paychecks to pay their taxes regularly. I believe that if you follow your intuition and your heart, you’re on the right path. At the start you have to walk a thorny road, but that’s the only way you can find the right one. The same goes for your source of income, being able to make a living from what fulfills you and brings you joy, because that’s the real proof that you’ve found your purpose. Mine is making music, and on top of that I can also earn money from it so I can exist in this society. A lot of people laughed at me at first when I explained this. I told them I believe in it. Today they see me in a different light.
You recently launched your new project Mayan too. What can you tell us about it?
Mark: Mayan is another dream of mine finally coming true. Every now and then I need some new challenge. I’ve been playing guitar for fifteen years and of course I chip in some vocals here and there too. Mayan is a somewhat more extreme musical formation. In it I’ll only sing. That gives me even more freedom to tackle the role in a way I never have before, and I’m really, really looking forward to it. On stage I’ll be without a guitar, so I can fully focus on communicating with the audience. As far as the approach in Epica goes, we can only be so hard, otherwise there’d be no room left for Simone. So Epica has its own established, recognizable sound and style, but there’s something else smoldering in me through all of this. Something that wants to explore even more brutal realms of music. That’s how Mayan was born. No restrictions. We do whatever we want and the feeling of creative freedom is very strongly present. I need this space, this freedom, really badly right now, because after “Design Your Universe” I was completely drained. I don’t think it would be best to carry on from this point straight into work on a new Epica album. That’s why this change, this redirecting of creativity into Mayan, matters so much to me right now. Mayan’s debut, titled “Quarterpast”, comes out this spring. So the batteries are recharged again and I can throw myself fully back into Epica. From time to time you have to step aside and do something completely different to find new motivation, new inspiration.
If we rewind the tape further back into the past, what led you to the point where you had to make the decision to leave After Forever?
Mark: After Forever was a story of two captains on the deck of the same ship. Sander Gommans and I differed in our views, our vision, our approach to making music. Once we each had our own fixed positions, we never found a common path, a common ground. The rift between us kept deepening to the point that we weren’t even talking anymore. I had no choice but to leave the band. Today we’re all older, more mature, wiser, and everything is totally fine. But when I go back to that time, when I was leaving the band, I was seriously insanely angry. After Forever is my baby too. I created with the band for seven years, built it up. And then I suddenly had to leave. That was a truly negative experience for me at the time, but I learned a huge amount from it. When I left the band I was properly lost, but today I’m very grateful for everything and I know that what happened was only good for everyone. For me and for the others.
Which musical influences inspired you to decide to become a musician?
Mark: My father was the first influence. He played guitar in a band. I grew up listening to live music. Dad practiced and jammed a lot at home. I was often right there while he played. One time I sat down at the drums and tried to drum. I broke a stick fast, and that was a sign that my role probably wasn’t hiding in drumming, ha, ha, ha, ha,…. Dad always listened to lots of rock too, and elementary metal like Black Sabbath, and he also listened to Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead and many others. But when he came home one day with Guns N’ Roses, I already had such a firm opinion of my own that I decided what Dad was listening to wasn’t any good, ha, ha, ha,… And yet I listened to Guns N’ Roses over and over, and before long those Guns N’ Roses albums ended up on the shelves in my room, moving over from my dad’s. I had to admit to my father that he had a really good selection, though. From that point on, I explored harder and harder music. One day I went to a CD store. I bought the Megadeth album “Rust In Peace. And only because I liked the cover. And what happened was that this album got thousands of spins on my player. I couldn’t get enough of it.
I’ve been tipped off that we only have one more question left. So what are Epica’s plans for the future?
Mark: First we have to finish the process of making the new album. We have 30-40 songs ready. Right now we’re at the point where we have to polish them. Raise them to a higher level of quality. I’m constantly writing music. It’s my hobby. Sometimes people treat me like a workaholic, but I never feel like one. When I write music, I’m relaxed. Someone else needs to watch football matches on TV to relax. So I never feel any stress at all when I’m creating music. After this summer we’ll go into the studio and record the album. If all goes well, I hope our new album will come out at the beginning of 2012. You can ask me something else if you like.
Will you be playing anywhere this summer, or just focusing on the work for the new album?
Mark: At first we really didn’t burden ourselves with summer festivals, there were no special plans. But today I got an email from the booker for our shows saying he’d put together the whole schedule of our summer gigs. We’re talking 15 to 20 shows at this year’s summer festivals, and I’m already hugely looking forward to them.
One more question. Sonata Arctica vocalist Tony Kakko also jumped in as a special guest on the latest Epica album. How did you get him to collaborate?
Mark: We were on a joint tour with Sonata Arctica. Tony kept hanging out with us, he felt great in our company, he was always with us backstage. And at some point we said to him: “Tony, why don’t you sing something on our new album?” He agreed with great enthusiasm, and I really appreciate his contribution and the mark he left as a guest on the album.
Interview conducted, translated and edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Rok Klemše
This interview was done in collaboration between RockLine and Rock Hard Slovenija.
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