This is the complete question-and-answer session answered by all three members of Soil & Eclipse via email. S&E is a darkly dramatic electrogothic band laden with inspired compositions and emotionally-charged vocals. An article based upon this Q&A session can be found in Chaotic Critiques #9. Jay Tye - singer, keyboards G.W. Childs - keyboards, programming, drums Chris Heartgrove - guitar Jay Tye For those that have yet to hear Soil & Eclipse, how would you describe your band's sound? What do you feel are the defining characteristics of S&E? Soil & Eclipse is a dark alchemy of electronic fused with prophetic operatic vocals. Have you released any other albums or demos, or is Necromancy your first release? Necromancy is in fact our first release although I have worked on other projects as an individual. Can you give the readers some details about your new album? What is your favorite track? "Necromancy" is my favorite - I think it best represents what we were all trying to accomplish on the album. How did you hook up with Cop International? We had been playing clubs around town in Hawaii for some time. We had also been working on a demo in our spare time. It was G.W.'s idea to approach COP after being spurred on by some close friends. It was a good choice. COP is an incredible label to work with. More like a family than a corporation. Your vocals are amazing - has he had any previous training? I have had some formal training in college. I always enjoyed madrigals, chamber music, that sort of thing. Have you ever been involved in other gothic/industrial projects before S&E? I worked on a few experimental pieces in college that could be considered industrial but nothing as solid as S&E. Is your songwriting a reflection of your personality, or a release for your emotions? Very good! Yes, Music has always allowed me to express and say things that I cannot in any other way. I use the music and it uses me. When you write music, do you tend to write for yourself, for what you perceive as appropriate to S&E, for the fans, or something else? Honestly, the music is more self creating, automatic in a sense. The music generates a feeling that I transcribe into lyrics. I can't explain how it works, it just does. Do you listen to your own music? If so, what sort of reaction do you get from it, as somebody that participated in its creation? When I listen to my music, I am always over critical. But I know a piece is good when it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. What are some of the lyrical topics dealt with on Necromancy? I notice that the lyrics are all written in the first person - are they based upon the personal experiences and emotions of the band members? If you could pick out a few lyrical lines from your album that have the most meaning, what would they be, and how would you interpret them? Necromancy is sort of encrypted with all of our personal experiences. We all had our little demons to exercise. For myself, rejoice has held the greatest meaning. I remember the faith my grandmother had in all the TV evangelists - Jim Baker and so on. It makes me sick to see them deceive people. "The world will sing the songs of heresy." Any faith I had in organized religion has since vanished. So "why should I rejoice?" How would you describe an S&E live performance? What is the weirdest show that you have ever played? What sort of audience does S&E typically attract? Do you generally try and replicate the CD as closely as possible when playing live, or prefer to inject a bit of randomness into the works? I like spontaneity - it keeps things interesting. You have to approach every show like its the first one. I feed off the energy of the crowd. Describe the songwriting process used by S&E. When you write music, do you tend to start off with a vocal harmony, a rhythm, or...? Most of the music begins with a concept galvanized by a rhythm. Have you started writing for your next release yet? If so, in what direction are your newer compositions going? Are there any new songs that you are particularly excited about, or new elements that you are eager to incorporate into your songs? We have started working on the next release. There were a lot of things we wanted to try with Necromancy but we ran out of time. We are all very excited about the direction the next CD is heading. I think things are really starting to gel as a band. We will continue to move toward a more prophetic sound. My goal is the sonic representation of the coming dark age. What is the most exciting point in your musical career so far? With out a doubt the production of our first CD. Is there anybody that you would be interested in seeing take a stab at remixing an S&E tune? IMBUE? What can fans expect in the future from S&E? Change. G.W. Childs For those that have yet to hear Soil & Eclipse, how would you describe your band's sound? What do you feel are the defining characteristics of S&E? The current release I usually describe as orchestrated techno. Something new with respect to the old. At the time I was using a classical approach to composing, rather than just throwing down tracks, I'd make up a nice piano piece first, then build from it. Have you released any other albums or demos, or is Necromancy your first release? Can you give the readers some details about your new album? What is your favorite track? "False Prophet" is my favorite, though "Adoramuste" is always competing with it. How did you hook up with Cop International? My second family, Pulse Legion, got signed with COP and told us we should send some stuff in. This was funny to me because I had bugged them many times about sending something to COP and they got signed with them. Anyway, we scraped and messed around and tried to make a demo good enough for COP for 2 months almost. I'm a little anal retentive when it comes to music and recordings so nothing was sounding good enough. Finally after chewing every nail of my finger (not literally) Jay just grabs one of our original demo cassettes that we used for booking club gigs and sends it off. Days later we heard from Kim and the rest is history. It's just funny because the original demo we used was recorded a year ago and we had changed our sound quite a bit since then and added a guitarist. Jay Tye's vocals are amazing - has he had any previous training? Has he been involved in other gothic/industrial projects before S&E? Nah, Jay's only Gothic or Industrial gig is Soil. At least to my knowledge. He has definitely been an inspiration in the vocal area. I sing a few songs on the CD as well and it's tough trying to match or come close to matching his vocal quality. Is your songwriting a reflection of your personality, or a release for your emotions? It's the only escape I have anymore. It's my personality and emotions. It's actually a recorded journey from whatever night I was on one of my musical tangents or a well thought out vacation. Either way, once I'm in to the thick of some of these songs, new or old, live or in the studio, I feel ascension, I feel every emotion ten times and myself and my instrument are everything or everyone accompanying me or leading me is life for those short moments. When you write music, do you tend to write for yourself, for what you perceive as appropriate to S&E, for the fans, or something else? The lyrics I write when I write them are usually stories. "Plastic Chair" and "False Prophet" are the only ones that aren't fiction of the lyrics that I have written. Do you listen to your own music? If so, what sort of reaction do you get from it, as somebody that participated in its creation? It's kind of like being dead and watching how bad your children are misbehaving. There's a billion things you'd love to slap in to them but nothing you can do about it. I listen to the CD all the time though, picking out things I like, things I don't like, techniques I'd like to expand on. Ways to record Jay and Chris. On and on and on. What are some of the lyrical topics dealt with on Necromancy? I notice that the lyrics are all written in the first person - are they based upon the personal experiences and emotions of the band members? If you could pick out a few lyrical lines from your album that have the most meaning, what would they be, and how would you interpret them? "Sit and listen to the songs of Pharisees, with a word defile the hands of every man. And the world will sing the songs of heresy." Though, there are other songs that are close to me and are just point blank my experience. That verse means very much to me when I hear it. It means to me, look at all of the horrible thing said every day in the media, in music, from our own mouths and think of the damage it does to others around us, especially when it's a subject we're totally ignorant of and we slander anyway. And look at the heartlessness that continues to ensue every day like some sick choir. Think of other people's feelings. Is there any aspect of S&E's sound or lyrics that tends to get overlooked or misinterpreted? I think the title of our album gets misinterpretted all the time. There's a difference between Necrophilia and Necromancy. What's your worst nightmare? Living in the same apartment as my ex-girlfriend. It sounds funny but that experience spawned False Prophet. When I have nightmares still it's about that period of my life. How would you describe an S&E live performance? What is the weirdest show that you have ever played? What sort of audience does S&E typically attract? Do you generally try and replicate the CD as closely as possible when playing live, or prefer to inject a bit of randomness into the works? Half of the shows we played before we were with COP were with different members every time except for the core three of us. The CD is usually pretty closely replicated except the live harmonies are getting better which I think really makes us stand out live. My voice isn't as good as Jay's, my voice with Jay's (and hopefully with Chris's too when we get that kinked out) is expands on his. The last show was the first time we ever did that, Jay and I singing together. We got quite a few good comments. There's always randomness though. Hopefully more, I want to start performing more remixed versions of our songs. Describe the songwriting process used by S&E. When you write music, do you tend to start off with a vocal harmony, a rhythm, or...? The earliest songs started off as music, "Fields of Stone", "Adoramuste". They were simple melodies I made more complex through piano and then sequenced melodies and Jay would step in after I felt the music was finished and perform his magic. “Plastic Chair”, though, was more like a nervous breakdown to music though. Have you started writing for your next release yet? If so, in what direction are your newer compositions going? Are there any new songs that you are particularly excited about, or new elements that you are eager to incorporate into your songs? Yes! I've been waiting for this question. Yes, I'm very excited about the new material. Jay and I both are doing some very different stuff for the next CD, Chris is as well. The music is definitely taking more of an experimental edge while keeping it's motion. Also a darkness of a new kind. I hope to incorporate more of the supernatural topics that interest me though, I'm finding some very painful things going on in my life are edging their way in. What is the most exciting point in your musical career so far? COP, Razed in Black. Getting signed to COP and having Rommell as a producer. One thing that seems to be popular lately is full-length remix albums - can you see anything of this sort in S&E's future? Is there anybody that you would be interested in seeing take a stab at remixing an S&E tune? If that would happen, I would be a very happy man. I've actually thought about doing some orchestral reprises from the first CD for this next one but I would really love to do a full length remix CD. I love remixing as well as hearing other people's versions of our music. What can fans expect in the future from S&E? Something different, something with a lot of heart put in to it. Chris Heartgrove For those that have yet to hear Soil & Eclipse, how would you describe your band's sound? What do you feel are the defining characteristics of S&E? It's hard to say. There’s a general consensus that the sound is still in its infancy among the band members. I feel the most defining characteristics is all the different personalities of the band members. Have you released any other albums or demos, or is Necromancy your first release? Can you give the readers some details about your new album? What is your favorite track? "Necromancy" - I feel its the most powerful song on the C.D. How did you hook up with Cop International? We were working on a more updated demo, and having problems with G.W.'s computer. So Jay sent the original demo in. Jay Tye's vocals are amazing - has he had any previous training? Has he been involved in other gothic/industrial projects before S&E? I believe he had some training, but all the training in the world could not produce such a powerful voice. Is your songwriting a reflection of your personality, or a release for your emotions? Both. Most definitely. When you write music, do you tend to write for yourself, for what you perceive as appropriate to S&E, for the fans, or something else? For myself and anyone who cares to listen. Do you listen to your own music? If so, what sort of reaction do you get from it, as somebody that participated in its creation? When we were making it, I heard it all so much that I got sick of it. Once I received the copy of our CD, I hadn't listened to it in a couple of months, and found it was like one of those CDS that grows on you the more you listen to it. What are some of the lyrical topics dealt with on Necromancy? I notice that the lyrics are all written in the first person - are they based upon the personal experiences and emotions of the band members? If you could pick out a few lyrical lines from your album that have the most meaning, what would they be, and how would you interpret them? "There’s nothing left to dream" - meaning, there’s nothing left to fight over. All the fights have been fought, and the bad guys won. What's your worst nightmare? To be misunderstood but have everyone think they understand. How would you describe an S&E live performance? What is the weirdest how that you have ever played? What sort of audience does S&E typically attract? Do you generally try and replicate the CD as closely as possible when playing live, or prefer to inject a bit of randomness into the works? We certainly try to put more randomness into the shows. The guitar is more powerful live. Describe the songwriting process used by S&E. When you write music, do you tend to start off with a vocal harmony, a rhythm, or...? That’s also very random. Sometimes a melody will pop in my head or maybe words and then the task is to take all those pieces and put them together. Have you started writing for your next release yet? If so, in what direction are your newer compositions going? Are there any new songs that you are particularly excited about, or new elements that you are eager to incorporate into your songs? On the inlay card for Joy Division’s tribute C.D., there’s a segment written about punk and how much of what punk was saying was "fuck you fuck you fuck you. After so many times of saying fuck you, you then realize, I’m fucked." I think that you can see the beginnings of where gothic music came from that. The whole feeling of "doom" etc..etc..; the next step in this evolution, I believe, is somewhere in the anger at that. As in, WHY am I fucked!? Why am are we thrown into this world without a clue? What is our justification? That’s an idea anyway of the direction that I would like to see S&E take. What is the most exciting point in your musical career so far? The interaction with the other bands. I like how cooperative as opposed to competitive it all is. One thing that seems to be popular lately is full-length remix albums - can you see anything of this sort in S&E's future? Is there anybody that you would be interested in seeing take a stab at remixing an S&E tune? Not that I can think of. What can fans expect in the future from S&E? We want to get a little darker and a little more nerve racking.

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