Four years since their last album “Cyberfunk!”, psychedelic rockers MOTHER’S CAKE has opened a new musical chapter with their latest album “Ultrabliss” (Embassy of Music; release date: 10/18/2024). With their new songs, the band breaks free from all musical constraints more than ever before, both in terms of sound and song structure. “Ultrabliss” is colorful, spacey and multi-layered and creates a mood that is a joy to get lost in. In a mica – music austria interview with Michael Ternai, the band’s front-man and songwriter, YVES KRISMER, talks about the intention of the album, the innovations in the music and within the band, as well as the musical desire to really let loose.
I remember that we sat down together and chatted back in 2013. I think we were talking about your debut album back then. In any case, you were just starting out. You were young and fresh …
Yves Krismer: Yes, we were still fresh then. (laughs)
If you look at your career and your releases, you can of course see an enormous development that always went hand in hand with the next step. Your new album is another such step, another chapter. This chapter seems to me as if you have completely lived out your musical freedom – pieces of ten minutes, musically incredibly diverse …
Yves Krismer: That was also the idea. This time we really took every freedom to do exactly what we felt like doing and what felt right for us.
Was it a conscious decision to let go of the musical reins?
Yves Krismer: Not really. It happened rather unconsciously. Maybe it’s because a lot of the pre-production took place at home this time. This naturally gave me more time to try out different things. For example, certain drum sounds were already quite polished, which already gave the whole thing a direction. So the songs were created in advance and not just in the rehearsal room.
Because you mentioned the drum sound, it really is strikingly different. It conveys a very 1970s/1980s retro vibe …
Yves Krismer: Exactly, that’s how it should be. The drums are often the most difficult part because they basically already set the direction. Of course, it also depends on how you mix the drums, but this time we wanted to get as dry a sound as possible. And we used quite a lot, from certain amplifiers to various compressors, to really pump it up.
What was the songwriting and recording process like this time? (Benni Trenkwalder, your bass player, had to take a break due to illness …)
Yves Krismer: Benni is only on one song on the album. Arthur Darnhofer-Demar stepped in for him, and he brought a different influence to some of the songs. That’s perhaps why the album sounds a little different now, as his basslines are different to Benni’s. That makes a big difference, as Benni’s style is very distinctive and Arthur’s style is clearly different.
Another thing that is different or new on this album is that this time I took the liberty of writing songs for four people. Before, there were three of us. And I have to say that I sometimes reached my limits when writing for three people. This time there’s a second guitar, which of course has an effect on the overall sound.
And despite the two guitars now, I would say that the songs sound less guitar-oriented in general. Of course, the classic rock songs are also there, but they don’t dominate the overall picture.
Yves Krismer: Yes, that’s right. The new songs are more spacey, and a bit of indie has also crept in. At the time the songs were written, we were listening to a lot of seventies stuff. I’m a big fan of that at the moment – psychedelic and krautrock. But I also really like neo-psychedelic stuff at the moment, and some of that has also been incorporated.
As for the two guitars, one takes the harmony part and the other takes the lead part. It’s not like both guitars are playing in unison to sound as heavy as possible. Most of the time they actually play completely different parts.
You just mentioned the music you’re currently listening to. It always seems to have a direct influence on the overall sound of your albums.
Yves Krismer: Yes, it does. Almost always, actually. The music I listen to changes regularly and I’m always influenced by it. I often think to myself that it would be cool to do something in one direction or another. And then it happens. The songs are also so different this time because they were written over a longer period of time. During this time, I’ve listened to different music again and again, and that’s noticeable.
The nice thing about the new album is that, although it’s once again very diverse and rich in variety, it really sounds like it’s been cast from the same mold.
Yves Krismer: As stupid as it sounds, the intention was not to write the best songs, but ones that you can listen to on the side. You should be able to immerse yourself in them without having to actively listen. With some bands you have to listen actively, otherwise it becomes exhausting. That’s exactly what we wanted to avoid with this album. We want people to say: “I just listened to a ten-minute track and didn’t even realize how much time had passed.”
You’ve been in the business for over ten years now and are known above all as an excellent live band. To what extent has an album production become a task-to-be-completed after so many years? Or does the spirit of the early days still prevail?
Yves Krismer: Making an album is always something very special and exciting, especially when so much time passes between two albums, as has been the case now. It’s been four years since the last album. That puts a bit more pressure on you. An album should then be really cool. But I think we’ve managed that well with “Ultrabliss”.
Your mix of rock, spacey and progressive music is not that common. To what extent do you think that the rarity of your sound has helped you to establish yourselves – even outside Austria?
Yves Krismer: That could be the case, although it’s sometimes not so easy because some people find it difficult to categorize us musically. Sometimes we are assigned to the “stoner” corner, but we don’t really fit in there either. And that’s actually how we feel about all genres.
Jan Haußels, the founding drummer of Mother’s Cake, left you this spring. What gap does he leave behind? How difficult was it to replace him?
Yves Krismer: Of course it was difficult. And it’s still hard. He was there from the beginning. He’s a drummer with his own style, which was a big part of the music. We’ll see what happens next. The band will definitely sound different from now on. What makes it even more difficult is that he was responsible for other important tasks in the band, besides just the music. We are still working on redistributing these tasks. But we have found a great replacement in Alex Kerbl.
The release will also be accompanied by an extensive European tour. I assume there is a lot of anticipation.
Yves Krismer: Yes, of course. We’re playing in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Then, next year, Austria, France and England will join the club. I’m really looking forward to playing the new songs, because four years is a long time. It’s also really cool to play with the new line-up. I’m sure it will be fun.
Thank you very much for the interview.
Michael Ternai
Wanna catch the band live? For all the upcoming tour dates, go here.
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Translated from the German original by Arianna Alfreds.