Interviewer: Artistopia 

Q. To set the tone for the readers, how would you describe your sound?

My sound is generaly described as Alternative Rock, but dives into lots of different genres during an album listen.

Q. So you are about to release a new album, tell us everything about it starting with the name of the album.

Well it's called The Sensation Of Pain, it was written and recorded this summer at my home studio and was released today. You can download it from my indiestore site
www.indiestore.com/aovstore. It consists of 14 tracks, each with a varying sound. There are piano ballads, prog rock tracks, industrial tracks, hardcore, something for
everyone.

Q. Who else was involved in helping you bring this album to fruition?

Well I worked on this album alone, however I would like to give credit for all the people who have supported me along the way, thanks to them.

Q. What would you say some of the challenges you encountered in doing this album were?

Well, it was a difficult writing process trying to create the strongest songs I could. There were also some difficulties as the musicianship was stepped up. But all in all
I think it has turned out well.

Q. Can you give us some insight into where, what or who motivated you to do the album?

Well my motivation comes from all the support I recieved from my first album, I have been supported every step of the way through this CD so it's all thanks to them.

Q. What would you say is the best single and why do you think it is?

As the songs are so different, it's hard to tell. However I can tell you I released the titke track as a single as it is short and to the point.

Q. Are you planning to produce videos for any of the songs on this album?

Well I have produced a video from video game scenes. The video is showing war scenes and is for the song This Shit Is Bomb, which is about religion and it's
influence on war and violence.

Q. Are you planning to tour to promote this album? If so, when and where will you be performing?

I do, but no dates have been planned as of yet.

Q. So how do you see this album propelling your career in the music industry?

Hopefully this album will show my full potential I feel wasn't reached on the last album. I feel this album is more accesible and much stronger.

Q. And we can’t forget to ask, of course, when and where can fans buy this album?

http://www.indiestore.com/aovstore or http://aovrocks.bigcartel.com

Q. One last question for you: What other great things or projects can we look forward to hearing about from you in the future?

Well in the future I have plans for an acoustic EP which will contain around 6 tracks but this is only an idea right now. And of course album number 3 which should be
released late 2008/early 2009.

We would like to thank you for talking with us and we wish you all the best!

Thank you.

Interviewer: Artistopia

Q. At what age did you realize you wanted to become a music artist and why?

At about 13 or 14 around the time I got my first guitar. For me it was defiantly seeing
Iron Maiden concerts that made me want to become an artist.

Q. Most music artists have that special someone or thing that influenced their decision to do music. Did anyone or something in your life play a major role in influencing you to go into the music business?

Well I guess at the start it was just me really wanting to get up on stage and play music. Later on I was driven by other things that I knew I could express through
music, music as therapy. During my teenage year I was also quite into fantasy stories, the whole power metal scene.

Q. In terms of the music, which major artist(s) influenced your style and why?

Oh, a tough one that as my music has such variation. I mean one track might be a piano song influenced by Evanescence or Robbie Williams or something. Then the next
might be a hardcore track influenced by Napalm Death, Norma Jean, Sick Of It All etc. So i'd say I take influence from everything I hear really.

Q. With so many independent artists trying to make it, what makes you stand out from the competition?

Well that comes down to the whole variety in my music, the honesty and I have a huge driving passion and I work really hard with everything.

Q. Music industry professionals are quick to say that being an artist means to gracefully fit a marketable niche in the industry. If you were offered an opportunity that asked you to be something you are not, would you do it to get your foot in the door?

Good question, the problem is I don't really think I would fit into any niche as the songs on my album are so different. If they could find a niche which was true to who I am
and what I stand for sure I would.

Q. Making music is one thing, selling it is another. What types of strategies do you use in promoting your artistic work and getting it heard by the proper professionals?

Well, it's mostly a case of uploading MP3's building a decent biography but most importantly a strong press pack with a well chosen demo.

Q. In regards to wheeling and dealing, how important do you feel business knowledge is to making it in an industry filled with much heartache?

Well yeah knowledge of any industry you are in is very important. I think for this industry especially so, there are a lot of bad people out there
it's easy to get ripped off if you don't know what you are doing.

Q. Let's fast forward to 5 years from now. What advice would you offer to struggling independent artists?

Okay, be yourself, don't let anyone put you down, work as hard as you can and believe in yourself, dreams come true.

Q. Most successful artists are involved in charitable organizations that stand for a cause that hits close to home. In that regard, once you reach success, what charitable cause(s) would you like to be involved in and why?

Well there is an organisation over on myspace that has just won the Impact award called To Write Love On Her Arms, it's all about helping peple dealing with depression.
I feel very strongly about this subject and support these guys. Also more recently i'm supporting Rock Against Child Pornography, who are fighting against Child Porn on the web. And Fight For Life, a campain against sites that glamorise and encourage eating disorders.

Well, we thank you for taking the time to interview with us and certainly wish you the best in your music career endeavors. There you have it ladies and gentlemen, an inside look into the mind of an independent artist struggling to bring their hard work to fruition in an industry where perseverance and thick skin means survival. No one said it would be easy.

Thanks.

Hello everyone, I have all instrumentation done for all but one track. I will be adding vocals to these in the coming days and then will only have one track left to record. I'm so excited for everyone to hear this album and i'm really fucking proud of it. 

Thankyou so much for everyones support it means the fucking world to me and I mean that

Love You All
      x x x

Hey guys day 60 wow. So I habve 10 finished track so four to go i'm guessing all guitars will be done within 2 weeks leaving vocals. The whole thing should take about 3 weeks so i'll be done mid-august. My myspace has been redesigned hope you all like it and the art work.

Thanks,

Ste.

Hello everyone, I have 9 tracks mixed and 100% complete just 5 tracks to go but there not started yet. The recording is going smoothly the art work is finished and photo shoot is next week so I'm on track so far. You guys are gonna see big changes in the coming weeks my myspace is gonna be redesigned a look really good. There shall be new artwork aswell as merch for the new album.

Thanks for reading take care,

Ste.

Hey guys just checking in to tell you I have a few more songs done. This week is gonna be crazy and most of the album will be finished by Sunday.

Thanks guys

Ste x

Hello everyone the art work has been completed today and you will see it around over the next few weeks everywhere you go on my site hope you will like it.

In other news I have released a song off my album as a video and free download.

I have put together a video for one of the new songs off my forthcoming album 'The Sensation Of Pain' which comes out in September. The song is very short lasting only 38 seconds, it is about religion and war. I have used computer generated video made by Nathan Skar and edited it. Hope you enjoy and look forward to the new album. This is not what the whole album sounds like as I have said before I aim for every track to be unique.

The song is available for free download thanks to Indiestore.com click on the link to the store on my profile to get your free copy.

So here it is enjoy. <p>

Hey guys wow it's now day 28 of the recording process. Good news the whole track listing is finished and posted and all the music has been written. I've got 5 tracks finished with another 2 nearing completion so its all going well. I have yet to write lyrics for five more tracks. Hopefully these will all be finished pretty soon. However July 1st was the day I planned to start recording so I have a huge head start and should finish as planned at the end of July. I will be spending August mixing,recording some bonus tracks and hidden extras, sorting out art work, distribution, advertisement etc.
   So i've been a busy guy I finish my college course on Thursday so I will be spending more time getting tracks done. The record will be out on September 10th. I'm working towards worldwide iTunes distribution so hopefully you can pick it up on iTunes or some similar site. I am also thinking about making hard copies available for people who aren't into digital downloads so watch this space.

Thanks so much,

Ste.

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1. Introduction (All The Same)
2. The Sensation Of Pain
3. Living The Same Day Over And Over
4. Sometimes It's Not Worth It
5. Bullet After Bullet
6. Negative Headline
7. An Interlude (Mommy Let Me Live)
8. God Used Cheats On My Life,Now The file Is Corrupt And He Has To Start Again
9. A Sketch Of The World
10.Life Speed
11.My Absent God
12.This Shit Is Bomb
13.Deaths Creation
14.Outro (Another Wasted Year)

Hey guys i'm back and have already recorded a song. I now have 2 with a third just lacking vocals so we have progress. I cant wait for you all to hear my new songs i'm super excited I love you all.

Ste.

Hey guys I am about to head off to a music festival here in the UK called Download so i'm taking a break from recording I will be back on monday. Recording is going well though so far no huge problems and its sounding pretty good. 

Love and best wishes.

Ste.

Hey everyone, so it's day four of my time recording the new album already. So I'm up really early today its 8:20 AM as i'm writing this. Today started with breakfast and Orange Juice always good for starting up the day. Today I am going to be putting down guitars to a track then putting vocals down and finishing off the song. It's a really diverse song with heaviness and moments of purity and emotion. It's about media always bigging up negative stories. Still working on the album art but hopefully this will be finished soon and then I can show you guys the tracklisting i've drawn up in pre-production.

Thanks for reading, 

 Ste.

Hey people, I have now began work on album number two. So far I have done relatively little but I do have one track finished. The demo you can hear on my page its called My Absent God. The new album version is similar but much more ambitious. Instead of a simple acoustic song we have strings, brass, drums and guitars. I'm pleased with the new version, I hope you will all like it.
  I have also got the piano recorded for a piano/vocal song which I am still yet to put down vocals for. I have also got the whole track to another song except keyboard parts and vocals. There are a few tracks which are basicly sequenced a little different to my other stuff with huge industrial drums coated in reverb its sounding pretty good. I need to record vocals for these too. Long way to go yet but we have progress.
   Also as I said the album title and tracklist will be available soon, I am just finishing off final adjustments on the artwork and drawing up a contract for that and I will be ready to announce everything yo you all. The art is looking good and I will show you some stuff as soon as we have finalised the design.

Thanks for reading

Ste. (Angel Of Violation)