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When I first listened to the CD I was wandering about the mixture of genres and thought it would be interesting to find out more about Candiria.... Singer Carley Coma answered my questions. And here we go!
What's the meaning of "Candiria"?
As far as we know there is no meaning for the word Candiria. My guitarist, Eric Matthews came up with the name. We liked the way it sounded so we kept it, but as of now we the band are the definition.
Please tell a bit about your past. I'll try to travel through your past with you. When was the band founded? How did you get together?
The band was founded in 1992 by Carley Coma (vocals), Chris Puma (guitars) and Eric Matthews (guitars). Ken Schalk (drums) joined shortly after, John Lamacchia (guitars) replaced Chris Puma (founding member) in 1997, and in 1998 Mike MacIvor (bass) joined the band after playing with Merauder for one year.
Your debut Surrealistic Madness was released in the States in 1995. How were the re;actions?
The reaction to that album was pretty good, at least in the death metal scene. We were creating a new way of arranging heavy music, it sparked a lot of new interest in the band. Our fan base continued to evolve from there on.
Are you still satisfied with your debut?
We will never be satisfied, that's what keeps us going and challen;ging ourselves. If the day comes when we are satisfied, that's when Candiria should break up and move on.
How did you come up with these outstanding mixtures of music genres?
Natural evolution. Plant a seed and it will grow. Candiria is a democracy, therefore our influences are free to show themselves in our songs.
How would you describe your music?
We don't like to categorize our style of music, but if we were to be described as anything, we would like to say it's a form of urban fusion.
It seems that you could play a lot live in the States, but you always played (as far as I know) with bands from the metal genre. Did you had the chance to play in front of other audiences?
We mostly play in front of metal, hard rock and hardcore fans. We plan on playing with many types of bands and fans in the near future. We feel that the response will be positive and long awaited.
In 1997 your 2nd album was released. That album hit the radio charts without a big promotion campaign. How did you feel?
I kind of expected that to happen being that our record company at the time (Too Damn Hype) was a poorly operated one man operation. We considered that album (Beyond Reasonable Doubt) a stepping stone to the next level and that's exactly what it was.
After that album you signed with a bigger label, but again just for the USA. Also you had a line-up change, MacIvor came from Merauder to Candiria. In the bio it say that he's the first real bassist in Candiria. How did this change effect your song writing?
It was like having another musical memory bank of information at our disposal. Each member brings fresh new ideas to the table, so adding a new member gave us more to work with.
Process Of Self-Development entered the Top Ten college charts and the album sold quite good. What does the album mean to you now?
It's a good album, but like I said we are never satisfied. I wasn't totally happy with my vocal performance on the Process. We were under a strict deadline, so I didn't really have enough time to work on my vocals the way I wanted to.
To quote your bio again, you are involved in C.O.M.A. Productions. Please tell us about, coz many might never heard about it.
COMA Productions is a company that we started to support ourselves financially. We don't want to rely on album sales to make money, if we did,the focus would shift from music that feels good to music that sells good. We didn't want to take a chance of compromising our style of writing for the sake of a quick dollar. The company (Children Of Mental Awareness) is comprised of graphic designing, production, merchandising, etc. We have strong feeling Candiria will sell a lot of albums, but it's smart to have a back up plan.
You also had songs on movie soundtracks. How does that happen?
Our publisher 800 Pound Gorilla (sesac) is in charge of getting our music into movie soundtracks. The more they do things like that for us, the more they, as well as the band gets paid.
Now you signed with Century Media. What do you expect from Century Media? Is the album released world-wide?
Century Media is doing very well for us as of now. The promotion has been very good and consistent. The distribution is world-wide, something that we never had before. This will be a great year for Candiria.
Have you already recognized a change? Is there more interested into the band now?
The reaction to the band and the new album has been mind blowing. The industry is keeping a close eye on the band, with coverage from MTV, MTV2, as well as metal and hard rock magazines. Everyone is watching. We are getting better tours and playing in front of bigger crowds. It's a dream come true.
300 Percent Density is your 4th album. What does the title mean?
The title is a term that graphic designers use, but to us it represents the thickness of the music, production and the heavy emotion that was put into the album.
Can you tell a bit about the lyrics?
The lyrics are about the rewards and challenges of being a human being. The dark and lustful side, as well as the loving, self-disciplined and compassionate side.
What's the idea behind the cover artwork?
We wanted to come up with something that best explained the title of the album. The cover is just as dense as the title.
Are their any plans to tour outside the States?
We are flying out to Japan on August 22nd 2001 to play the Beast Fest with Pantera, slayer, Statc X, Sevendust, etc. We are also flying out to the U.K. to play some dates with Biohazard in September and then we fly out to Japan again with Cryptopsy and Nasum in October.
Your music is an outstanding mixture and you can't expect to make it to an 'arena band'. Is your motivation to break the limits of the genres and to make people more open-minded?
The show that were playing with Pantera is in arena with 15,000 people, so I feel that anything is possible. All you have to do is ex;pose yourself to big crowds. The diversity of our music seems to be the key ingredient to our evolving success. I don't know what's going to happen exactly but, I think it's going to be big.
Where are your musical roots?
I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Kool & The Gang, Eric B and Rakim etc.
Do you think that you can influence people?
We already have, that's the power of music.
Without Water is for me a kind of continuing of what Biohazard started in the early 90's. Do you see a similarity?
Perhaps more in the beginning of Candiria...
Unfortunately I don't know your other albums....
One of the things I love about this band, is the ability to allow the listener to interpret the music anyway he or she wants to. We are whatever you say we are, good or bad.
I hope that this emailer gives you an idea about Candiria, but to learn more about Carley and his outstanding band check out their MySpace!
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