FEN Debut New Video for First Single, "A Long Line," from the Album that Power of Metal.com Gave a Perfect 10/10

Strutter 'Zine has called it "Stunning."  The Power of Metal gave it a perfect "10/10."  Hard n Heavy Webzine hailed it "Spectacular."

Of Losing Interest is tearing through the charts and leaving the critics and fans alike with slack-jawed amazement.

Now, Vancouver's alternative prog-meisters, FEN, have partnered up with The Ripple Effect for an World Premiere exclusive preview of the bands new video, "A Long Line."

 Following up on 2010’s breakout album, Trails Out of Gloom, the band return to their heavier roots with the brand new album, Of Losing Interest. Once again recorded at Creativ Studios with longtime producer, Mike Southworth at the helm, the band have crafted themselves an album that perfectly balances the technical virtuosity of heavy metal with the more down to earth tones of the early 90’s alternative rock movement. Of Losing Interest is available through Nail Distribution in North America, Code 7 in the UK, Clearspot International in Europe, at the Ripple Music Bandcamp for digital and here at the Ripple Store for physical.
Tune in here!: Heavy Planet


Fen will be hitting the road to begin support Of Losing Interest in September:

Sept 21st: Kamloops, BC - The Dirty Jersey
Sept 22nd: Salmon Arm, BC - Hideaway Pub
Sept 25th: Calgary, AB - Vern's Bar
Sept 28th: Prince George, BC - Riley's Pub
Sept 29th: Dawson Creek, BC - Rockwell's

Here’s what the press has to say:

“Fen combine more traditional prog  passages with heavy riffs creating a unique sound. The band certainly know the way around their respective instruments  and have the talent to pull off the complex passages.”  --  Get Ready To Rock!

“Certainly, Of Losing Interestis different than its predecessor, but not entirely unexpected from Fen. Being heavier rock, even metal, the album still offers the listener their darker side. Recommended. 4 / 5”  --  Dangerdog

“Now they are back with a stunning new album titled ‘Of losing interest’, which musically goes into a very high quality Progressive Rock/Metal direction. It is especially thanks to the superb vocalwork of singer DOUG HARRISON that FEN’s music is lifted way above other bands in this extensive genre called Prog. 8.6/10 ”  --  Strutter ‘zine

www.fenmusic.ca

RIPPLE MUSIC STORE


Now, here's the World Premiere Video "A Long Line"

Fen - Of Losing Interest

Was gonna go a totally different direction with this.

I was going to tell you all about how Fen's mind-blowing music helped shape a small part of my life for the past year or so.  I wanted to explain how their last stunning album, Trails Out Of Gloom, took me straight to the doors of Ripple Music.  How those doors opened up a line of communication with the president of the upstart label, which eventually landed me here at The Ripple Effect.

The point is that my Ripple relationship started with Fen.  If you're not familiar with them, then you definitely need to be.  Progressive and heavy, modern and melodic, with strikingly powerful and passionate vocals akin to Tool and Chevelle, Fen is among my favorite underground bands.  I feel like I owe the Canadian rock group because this past year has been such an enjoyable ride for me.

But this isn't supposed to be about me.  Let's talk Of Losing Interest, the latest breathtaking album due for worldwide release on August 14.

Well...maybe a little about more about me, too.  Don't sigh.

In one word: amazing.  No, not me, silly.  The album.  Amazing is exactly what I said in my buzzing head.  I think it's even more remarkable than Trails Out Of Gloom.  Of Losing Interest seems much more forceful and energetic to me.  Less mellow - even more electric - with tons of timely tempo shifts and smooth transitions which Fen have perfected over their years together.

"It's heavy on guitar and bass and rock riffage in general.  There's a lot of solos too," the band says collectively.

I think that's putting it mildly.

I could tell from the first machine-gun riffage on "Riddled", that Fen entered ultra-heavy mode on this album.  A pleasant surprise.  There are more explosive riffs by Doug Harrison (vocals, guitar) and Sam Levin (guitar) in the first half of the new the album than all of their previous effort, as far as I'm concerned.   Solos?  Yeah, lots of solos throughout.  Sometimes 2 or maybe more in a song.  And there are rumbling spots on the album, such as during the title track, when all you hear are the heavy bass lines by Jeff Caron.  The drumming from Nando Polesel is f-in phenomenal.  And they didn't even mention the vocals.  Harrison hits notes on this record that I don't think he tried on the first Ripple release.

It was exactly 4 minutes into "A Long Line" when IT happened.  You know.  I'd already been rocking the hell out when, amidst a stomping beat and upper-body-convulsing riffage, Fen take it to another level.  Yet another solo kicks off and I start to feel every hair on my arms start rising.  The feeling works its way up my arms to my neck.   It's the chills people.  After 40 seconds of ripping solos, the song ends suddenly and I'm literally breathless.  It's like a shot of pure adrenaline straight into the veins.  Wanna know the best part?  I get that feeling every time I listen.

"Light Up The End", affects me much differently, like an emotional roller coaster.  I suppose it's the lyrics - presented along with light acoustic guitars in the beginning - that make me reflect on my own past and look forward to what future I may or may not have left.  It also leaves me asking a few questions.  Why does music do this to me?  Am I the only one who gets such strong feelings?  I know I'm a freak, but surely I can't be the only one who gets so overwhelmed.  At least, I hope not.

Sure, I could describe each song and tell you how I feel, talk about all the interesting lyrics, and go on about how much I enjoy the new album but I think you get the hint.  I don't think I can do it justice with my middle-school writing skills anyway.

Something I don't like?  The title.  I don't want anyone to lose interest at all - I want the opposite.  A lot more people need to know about the tunes by this band.

I think Fen are the gigantic waves at Ripple Music.  If there's one group on the label who I'd love to see sweep across the globe - and who I think has the talent to do that - it's this one.  I might get some flack for saying it out loud, yet I don't care.  I'll grin and take it.  I owe those four guys for the great time I've had so far at The Ripple Effect.

Maybe Of Losing Interest could touch your life in some way.  You can get the cd today, before it hits the shelves, straight from the Ripple Store.

--Heddbuzz

A Sunday Conversation with Mike Southworth

In a few weeks, Ripple Music artists, Fen, will be releasing their fifth full-length album and eagerly awaited follow up to Trails Out Of Gloom. With Of Losing Interest in the can and buckling our building supports with its sheer volume, we wanted to get to the root of how this disc came to be so awesome . . . so, we went to Fen co-producer, Mike Southworth, for the low down on how he gets sounds from the artists heads into our ears.

Mike, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions!


What’s the history on Mike Southworth? How long have you been in the production game?

I’ve been producing albums as my main job for about 10 years. I feel really lucky to be able to make a living doing something that I love. I went to a music school in Nelson, Canada called Selkirk College in the late 90s and then moved to Vancouver and started producing and playing full time. A couple of years after moving here, I started Creativ Recording Studios. It was a small-ish studio with basic gear but I did a ton of albums there. We’ve now expanded to a 3000sqft facility with two control rooms, a big live room and tons of great gear and instruments.


How did you acquire an ear for capturing sound to tape? Is it something that you’re taught or more of a raw talent, like a musician, who is continually crafting their art?

Like playing an instrument, recording is a never-ending learning experience. Styles and equipment are always changing so you have to keep learning if you want to stay current. I think I’ve always had a good visualisation of what I want from my recordings but over time,  I’ve gotten better at actually knowing how to get there.

Digital or analog recording, which do you prefer? What’s your pro’s and con’s for either format?

Since most of my engineering experience has been post 2000s, I never really got to use tape much. There’s a few people that still use it, and it does impart cool tonal qualities to a recording, but for my workflow I’m way more comfortable in the digital realm. Plus, the scarcity and costs of using tape makes it prohibitive on most projects. Digital plugins have come so far in the past 10 years. At the rate they are improving, I don’t think it’ll be long before digital plugins makeup the majority of the signal processing chain.

When you work with an artist, how much input do you have? I’m sure it depends greatly on if the band comes into the studio with a set idea of what they want, but do you ever try to influence an artist’s direction?

It really depends on the artist or the project. Some albums I co-write, produce and play most of the instruments on - others, like FEN’s, it’s more of an engineering/co-producing gig. The guys in FEN always have a very specific idea of where they are going with each song which usually is a good thing. I just help them get there and do a bit of steering along the way. ;)

Fen’s Of Losing Interest is a full sounding, thick and multi-layered album, and being that it’s your fourth album with the band, what did you do different on this one? What did you learn from recording this album?

Since it’s FEN, there’s still lots of thickness and layering, but we really made an effort to strip it down in comparison to their previous albums. I really used the live room and it’s tall ceilings to make all the instruments blend together. We wanted the album to sound like a hyper-realistic version of being at a FEN live show so I made liberal use of room mics and tracked less overdubs than on the previous albums. FEN’s previous album, ‘Trails Out Of Gloom’, was very overdub heavy and more acoustic based. ‘Of Losing Interest’ is back to more of a classic FEN sound with Nando and Jeff on drums and bass.

How many artists do you typically work with in a given year? Who are some of your favorite bands that you’ve had the pleasure of working with?

I usually work with about 15-20 artists per year in a wide variety of styles. For example, in addition to the new FEN album, I’m just finishing a lullabye album with my wife Hilary Grist, a roots album for Karly Mundy, an R&B/Pop album for Dawn Pemberton & BJ Block and an album with singer-songwriter Ailsa Rose. Some of my proudest productions are Warren Dean Flandez’s ‘Vintage Love’ - Nominated for a 2012 WCMA, Hilary Grist’s ‘Imaginings’ and of course all of the FEN albums! ;)

As a producer, who has influenced you the most? Are there certain producers that you would like to collaborate with?

I’m a huge fan of Jon Brion’s production and playing, he’d be fun to work with. I also love Justin Vernon (Bon Iver)’s work. Then there’s the classics like Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. It would be really intimidating working with those guys though!

Thanks again for taking the time to field these questions!

http://collideentertainment.com/
http://www.facebook.com/creativrecording