Michael Kratz – interview

Michael Kratz – interview

26 Luglio 2018 0 Commenti Denis Abello

interview by Denis Abello

italian version

MR.it: Hi Michael, first of all thank you for your time! How are you?
MK: Thank you for getting’ in touch!

MR.it: Let’s start talking about your career in the music biz: can you introduce youserlf a little bit to the Italian audience? When and how did you start to write and play music?
MK: I started playing drums when I was 8 years old in 1980.
In 1985 four of my friends and I started our first real band called Way Up. We were offered a record deal around 1991 but only recorded two songs before we decided to split in 1992.
After that I joined several bands and in 1995 I was asked to join a Danish band called The Donkeys. From that day on I was able to make a living as a drummer.
I joined the Danish Kandis in 2004 and left the band in 2012. During those eight years we released 6 studio albums which combined sold more than 1 million copies in Denmark.
Since 1995 I have played almost 200 gigs a year as a drummer besides recording my own music.
In 2012 I decided to dedicate my time to my own recordings and though I still play drums for other acts my focus remains on my own music.

MR.it: After the signing with Art Of Melody Music, your great songs are finally getting the deserved exposure in the melodic rock scene, and for what I’ve seen the feedbacks received by fans and media have been really great. Are you happy about the deal with this new Italian label?
MK: Yes! I’m so happy that I was introduced to AOM! I feel that this is the right place for me and my music.
It’s like being a part of a family and that’s a very rare relationship between artist and label these days. They have a passion for the music and they really make the artists feel that they are special to them. I’ve had a lot of record deals but this is the first time I feel it as an equal partnership.

MR.it: I found quite interesting the graphics of the album, especially the main symbol in the front cover. Can you give us some details about it? What’s its meaning?
MK: The Vegvisir is an ancient Viking symbol that provides guidance for a person who might lose/have lost his way. In this case I made my own version of the original symbol and I like the idea of letting it take good care of the songs on the album. Secondly I’m a Nordic artist so I thought it was a good way to keep something Nordic in this pretty American inspired album.

MR.it: Again regarding the graphics, I’ve noticed that they’ve been developed by Aeglos Art (https://www.facebook.com/aeglosartpainter79/), who is also the creator in the recent years of some other wonderful works. How did you come in contact with her?
MK: The Guys from AOM introduced me to Aeglos Art. I saw some of Antonella’s creations and was amazed by the work she has done. So that was a very easy decision to take! :). She’s very talented!

MR.it: “Live Your Life” (our review) contains some unquestionable gems just like the title-track, “This Town Is Lost Without You”, “Game Of Love” and “Dying Young”. Can you describe the usual process when you write a song? Where do you take your inspiration?
MK: Thank you! Well, it differs a lot. Sometimes I start writing the music and sometimes I have an idea for the lyrics and write the music afterwards.
All my lyrics are based on personal experiences in one way or another. Many of the lyrics on Live Your Life are inspired by the people around me. Live Your Life is inspired by a good friend of mine who died of cancer. Even though he struggled every day he was the most positive man you can think of. He wanted to live and he tried hard to live every day despite the fact that he was dying.

MR.it: Looking at the credits, I’ve seen that you developed quite the full album with another Danish artist, Kasper Viinberg, that we had the pleasure to admire at our “A Melodic Rock Night” live event in February. Can you introduce him to the Italian audience?
MK: Kasper is my wingman. He is a very skilled young man! A multi-instrumentalist as well and he has a great understanding for my music and what I try to achieve with it. We worked together for the first time on the Cross That Line album in 2012. On Live Your Life I also asked Kasper to be a part of the writing process on a couple of the songs. I like to be inspired by other artists and songwriters.

MR.it: Speaking again about your gig in February, I can say with no doubt that the whole audience remained pleasantly surprised about the great musicianship that you and Kasper shown together the guys of Mindfeels, another very interesting band launched recently by Art Of Melody Music. How did your artistic relationship born? Can we expect new collaboration by you together in future?
MK: I was introduced to Mindfeels by Art Of Melody Music. When I met them I instantly loved these guys! They are such nice people and they have recorded a killer album! Xxenty is still on A-rotation in my car.
I’m very happy for our new friendship!
And yes! Absolutely! We will play together again in Italy in November this year – and who knows, maybe even before that.
Also, I’m planning some recordings together with Mindfeels, starting with a single to be released this summer to promote the acoustic version of “A Melodic Rock Night”.

MR.it: I’ve seen that the cd booklet contains a QR code, that once read gives access to some cool bonus material. This in my personal opinion a great added value to those fans who support again the artists buying their music. Where did this idea come from?
MK: AOM. They thought it would be a great idea to give away some extra songs to the fans who buy the physical CD. I totally agreed. Without fans of our music we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. The more we can give to the fans, the better!

MR.it: Are you already working on your next album? Is there any new release planned for the forthcoming months?
MK: Yes. Kasper and I started recording new songs immediately after the release of Live Your Life and we have already finished half an album.
The fact that AOM is working so hard for me and my music gives me a boost of energy and I’m very inspired by the interest that has been given to Live Your Life.
We are also working on a special release that will come out second half of this year. I’m not sure I’m allowed to tell you more about it yet 🙂

MR.it: Thanks Michael for your time and kindness, here at Melodicrock.it we wish you all the best with your artistic career!
MK: Thank YOU! I hope to meet you soon again!

LINK:

http://www.michaelkratz.net/
https://www.facebook.com/michaelkratz.net/
http://www.burningmindsgroup.com/art-of-melody-music/

© 2018, Denis Abello. All rights reserved.