The depths of the mighty oceans pale in comparison to the creative spirit of Hubi Meisel and his passionate thought provoking current release EmOcean. Hubi spent a great deal of time researching the facts of the Sargossa Sea, Alantis, The Bermuda Triangle and Greek Mythology. His attention to detail coupled with his keen ear will place his concept album in the history books right along with it’s subject matter. As for the musical quality of EmOcean, Hubi’s passion is evident in each note that flows from deep inside this musical genius. Simply stated I love everything about EmOcean. BRAVO Hubi !!!!!!
THE SURFACE… HUBI, HOW ABOUT A FEW PERSONAL STATS?
Hubi: I am from Munich Germany, I’m 29 years old, the colour of my eyes is blue-green. My hair colour is blonde/dark blonde -height: 1.76 meters -I am not married, no children, but I have a wonderful girlfriend!
KNOWING THAT MANY MUSICIAN GET INVOLVED WITH THIS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SMOKING, DRUGS AND DRINKING?
Hubi: Fortunately I’ve never taken any kind of drugs, not even cigarettes… but I love drinking a bottle of good Bavarian “Weissbier” (bright beer) from time to time 😉 I think that excessive drinking or smoking is an outlet for people who want to forget about their problems or pain, but the sad truth is that it cannot solve anything. These things can be pleasant if you consider them as an occasional luxury (like eating a piece of good chocolate) but it’s no fun anymore if you get addicted to it.
WHAT IS YOUR VOCAL RANGE …ALSO YOU WRITE THE LYRICS & MUSIC BOTH?
Hubi: I don’t know my exact vocal range (I think between 2 ½ and 3 octaves) but I don’t think that this is THAT important. You can express a lot with two single notes if they come from your heart and you can create really boring and awful feelings if you are singing extremely complicated stuff and if the listeners can’t feel anything since you lack emotions. I’m used to writing my own vocal melodies and lyrics and I arrange (or at least co-arrange) the stuff on my CDs. But for the composing of the basic instrumental music I prefer cooperating with great people who are better in that field than me. As for EmOcean and my next solo-CD my dear friend and keyboardist Vivien Lalu from Paris is responsible for this job and it works perfectly
THE TECHNICAL ASPECT: TELL ME ABOUT YOUR STUDIO WORK/PRODUCER
Hubi: I love singing but I also love recording, engineering and producing. It gives me the freedom to express and realize at 100% what I have in mind. I’ve invested a lot of money in my own little studio that specializes in vocal-recordings and where I can mix and master my own CDs or the CDs of other musicians.
DELVING DEEPER… WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER YOUR PASSION FOR MUSIC?
Hubi: I think I was already BORN with this passion my mother used to play the music of Mozart to me during her pregnancy. In my early childhood I was already singing into plugs, haha, and at the age of 16 I finally founded my first Metal-group with some kids from the neighbourhood. I LOVE many different styles of music and I think the most important thing about music is that it harmonizes us and that it conveys positive moods
GIVEN THAT THE SUBJECT MATTER OF YOUR ALBUM EmOcean HAS SPIRITUAL OVERTONES, ARE YOU RELIGIOUS, IF NOT WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?
Hubi: -I’m very much interested in spiritual things and I do believe in GOD… but I admit that I am no big fan of the pope and the Roman Church. In my heart I am no advocate of a certain religion, but I accept all kinds of religious beliefs. My personal belief is a mixture of different beliefs and philosophies, but that’s too personal a thing to talk about here!
EmOcean IS A CONCEPT ALBUM AND AS YOU HAVE STATED IT IS “FULL OF DREAMS & MYSTERIES” CAN YOU SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE DISCOVERED IN YOUR RESEARCH OF THE SARGASSO SEA & ATLANTIS?
Hubi: I wanted to realize a Progressive Metal concept album and I suddenly had some dreams at night (I often get good inspiration while I’m sleeping) that gave me the basic information for the concept. Then I went to archives in Munich, investigated a lot in the internet and read lots of books in order to give the story its historical background (and I also used some elements of ancient Greek mythology). The Sargasso Sea is also a very mysterious topic: This Sea is unique because it’s unusually calm… there is almost no current and wind. Apart from that, researchers discovered new species of fishes in the depths of Sargasso Sea. They also found out that eels are actually born in the Sargasso Sea… then the baby eels leave this area and live their lives thousands of kilometres away. Shortly before their death, eels automatically go back the long way to Sargasso Sea in order to die (they seem to have a precise “inner clock”). Nobody knows WHY, they just found out about this fact.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL SUCCESSES AND HAVE ANY OF THEM CROSSED OVER INTO THE US OR OTHER COUNTRIES?
Hubi: My MAIN success that there are already quite a few people who like my style and who smile when listening to my voice or music. This means a lot to me and this is my main motivation in music. I’ve sung on some progressive CDs (e.g. Dreamscape/”very”) in the past, but then I decided to go my own way and I started my solo-career with the album CUT (a CD full of RE-arranged 80’s Pop-Hits in Metal style) in 2001. In late summer 2003 my new album Hubi Meisel -“EmOcean” will be released. My former releases were not distributed directly in the US, but most of them were available over mail-orders. I have quite some very nice friends & fans in the States, and I am really glad about that!
ARE THERE OTHER GOALS THAT YOU HAVE YET TO ACHIEVE?
Hubi: My main goal is to reach the hearts of the audience and to spread positive energy with music. When it comes to my concept CDs, I also want to make people think and philosophy about certain topics. This is enough of a demanding task and I’m constantly working on it
HAVE YOU FACED ANY HARDSHIPS AS AN ARTIST AND IF SO HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
Hubi: Temporary hardships are a FACT. I am not talking about earning lots of money or not… Most ARTists -including myself- are rather sensitive and openhearted persons, but this business is usually very cold & hard and treats you like shit. So you must learn deal with this contrast, and believe me, it was also not that pleasant when certain writers attacked me in reviews. But today, I can only laugh at their words and I’ve learned not to worry about this kind of criticism. If you believe in something you do, even the hardest problems won’t have a chance to tear you down
ANY LAST THOUGHTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE READERS? (YOUR CHANCE TO SAY ANYTHING YOUR HEART DESIRES)
Hubi: My best wishes to all your readers! THANK YOU for your interest & stay open-minded! BEST WISHES from Munich à PS: Dear Henry, it was a huge PLEASURE for me to be interviewed by you (also because you did not ask me these average boring questions).