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TERRA NOVA: "Reinvent Yourself"

TERRA NOVA-  The Dutch AOR/Melodic Hard Rockers and their forthcoming 6th studio album "Reinvent Yourself". 1996 their highly acclaimed debut album Livin´ It Up was launched. After that the albums Break Away in 1997 and Make My Day in 1999 followed. After the first three albums the band had to split up due to a conflict with their Dutch record company. Fred, Ron and Gesuino continued under the name Aquila and released two albums: Say Yeah 2001 and Man With A Mission 2004. In 2004 the band was free from their contractual obligations towards their Dutch record company and signed a record deal with Frontiers Records. The first album after their break was Escape released 2005 followed by the album Come Alive 2010. End of 2013 the Reinvent Yourself album was written by Fred and recorded and mixed during 2014. During 2014 the band and their record label Frontiers had different views on which direction the album should take. This resulted in Terra Nova moving on with their album without a record company. In 2015 Terra Nova was signed by Melodic Rock Records for the world and King Records for Japan. In february 2015 Terra Nova did this interview /promo piece at RockUnited.com [yeah, baby!] Find out more about the album and the band. Here's:  Fred Hendrix

Your forthcoming album is to be entitled 'Reinvent Yourself' can you explain the meaning behind this.

Reinvent Yourself is about trying to improve yourself. Creating a better you. We´re all trying to accomplish in life. In doing so you have to ask yourself about what you could do better. In case of writing new songs, and especially when it comes to writing lyrics, how to say something that has been said a million times. But you still need to try to make it sound new, to give it a twist somehow.

You've been releasing albums as Terra Nova for the past twenty years. Would you say that downloading is the root of all evil or a good thing?

Neither good or bad. In the past we had cassettes and now we have downloads. There is not much of a difference to me. When you get downloaded it means at least that your music is still interesting enough. You don´t make big money in the music biz nowadays. Only the happy few. That´s the fold of the major record companies that made the price of a CD so ridiculously high. With doing so they ruined their own market. If they would have handled a fair price of ? 15 for an album all still would be OK but they couldn´t get enough. Downloading was a result of that.

Your previous record label (Frontiers) had different views on which direction this album should take and you decided to move on. Would you care to explain this further?

Well I had an agreement with Frontiers to make demos first and they would review them. With the previous two albums that worked out fine. But with this album it simply didn´t. The music of an artist goes where his heart goes. Sometimes a record company doesn´t understand that. Then it´s time to split up. When they declined Shadow Man it was clear for me to go separate ways. It was good under Frontiers Records but I am sure it will be as good under Melodic Rock Records..

How long did this CD take to make from start to finish?

It took about a year and a half to finish the album. I do almost everything myself otherwise there would not be enough budget. We have recorded the drums at the ArtSound Studio in Belgium. The rest was recorded at my own home studio. I mixed and mastered the album myself. Also: I am no longer a fulltime musician due to the bad market. So everything is done in my spare hours. Something my wife not always appreciated. I cannot blame her.

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind prior to recording

I hope I succeeded in a mixture of old and new school. I like it when things sound big. There is still a lot to learn but I will get there. I will Reinvent myself over and over again.

What kind of input did friends and fans have during the process?

None in this process. But I keep track on which songs they're playing on www.numberonemusic.com/terranova . I try to keep that in mind but I also try to follow my own heart. So in a way they did have some input on the album.

Any (weird) experimental micing and/or recording techniques?

Normally I try during the making of every new album something different with mics but not this time. All just conventional micing.

Any overall theme of mood that you're trying to capture while writing songs?

The most important thing is trying to capture the mood and events of that moment. The things that effect my life.

Tell us something about "Meltdown". What is the meaning/story behind the song?

It´s about the crazy phenomenon of kids with guns in school killing other kids. Moms and dads who fight and end up killing their offspring and than themselves. And the fact that we live in a crazy fast going world with so much pressure that sometimes people snap and makes people do crazy things. Those people are like time bombs, unpredictable.

Please inform us about your favorite lyrical moment(s) off the album.

Promises was written in the hope that Frontiers might change their mind. It was also a statement. And Jenna is about my daughter of four years old.

How would you describe the new CD to any potential new fan?

Good old AOR with a light modern sauce. Check it. You might like it!

How would you describe the live scene in Holland at the moment? Can you find venues to play at?

Live venues are hard to find for our kind of music. Let alone that they bring some money. Most of us have wife and kids and need a descent income for mortgage and daily living.

Who are your influences and heroes/heroins?? (music-wise)

Journey, Boston, Styx, Van Halen, Asia, AC/DC, Brian Adams etc. All those big heroes from the eighties and early nineties.

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do

Enjoy life to the max. It might be over before you know it. And take your daily dose of musical vitamins. That might keep your sanity. Keep on Rocking.
FRED HENDRIX

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the band's websites   facebook page 

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