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Interview with Jeff Hamel from Majestic in the Latest issue of Prog-résiste

The Jan 2010 issue of Prog-résiste magazine features an interview (in French) with Jeff Hamel of Majestic along with a review of Majestic’s Arrival CD. Prog-résiste is a belgian “Non Profit Making Association” having the aim to promote the Progressive Rock in Belgium, in other french-speaking countries and all around the world if possible.

Be sure to check out Prog-résiste at http://www.progresiste.com

The english translation of the interview conducted by Alex Willem is as follows:

Interview on 11/04/2009

To start, can you please present yourself shortly?

My name is Jeff Hamel and I am the musician primarily responsible for the music of Majestic. Majestic is a neo-symphonic prog recording project out of Minnesota, USA.

“Arrival” is your second album. Can you tell us the genesis of this album? What has been the creation process of it ?

Actually, Arrival is my third album release. My first was Descension and that was followed by String Theory. However, due to the label issues S.T. was not promoted the way it should have been. Fortunately, Mals Ltd picked up Descension and released it under their label.  Mals being a progressive rock and metal label really opened the door for Majestic.

In Oct 2008, I found an unknown vocalist Jessica Rasche looking for a band in our local area. I heard some samples she had done with some other musicians. Even though Jessica’s  music was quite different from Majestic I thought her voice would be a strong asset to the project. So I suggested collaboration on a track or two just to hear what the final product would sound like.  We put the samples out and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. It was quite clear that her voice fit perfectly with the Majestic sound.  Subsequently, I invited her to be the primary vocalist of Majestic and the Arrival recording sessions began.

Do you see an evolution between this album and the previous one ?

Most Definitely, Descension was a collection of smaller pieces of music written in 2006-2007 which was bordering progressive and just rock. Deservingly, it received only midgrade reviews. I have always been recording ideas down and descension was my first attempt at putting anything out there to the public.

My next attempt was String Theory. This was quite a bit more progressive in terms of being a concept CD. However, the songs were not as long due to limitations of label wanting me to keep the tracks less than 10 minutes long and be more like popular American rock.  String Theory was superior to Descension but the CD went into obscurity rather quickly from virtually no promotion.

When I began recording Arrival I decided to write something that I liked to hear and not worry about whether people would like it or buy it. I just wrote for myself and I have always enjoyed the longer epic sounding tracks. Also I have always had the desire to do something “bigger”. In addition, Jessica’s vocal talent opened up new doors for the music. Her vocals allowed me to go heavier than I had before. My vocals are passable on softer music but with Jessica handling the heavier riffs I felt the sky is the limit.

To the exception of the vocals (performed by Jessica Rasche), you play all the instruments (like Mike Oldfield…). Is it something you enjoy to play all instruments?

Very much. The guitar has always been my main instrument.  Playing all the instruments is like a double edge sword. The good part is that I have 100% control over the music and direction it takes with no arguments. The bad part is I have no one to bounce ideas off of when I get stuck on a part. Over all playing all the instruments has worked out and the good outweighs the bad.

The album starts with a long track and ends with another long track? This is very Rock Progressive. What do you think? Do you claim doing Prog music?

I rarely listen to anything except progressive music. I enjoy music that takes the listener places and lets them use their imagination.  I write music I enjoy listening to and Prog music involves more epic intricate tracks that you continue to get new things out of every time you listen. Arrival allowed me to write something that I as prog fan was able to enjoy.

What are the artists who influenced your work?

In no particular order, some of the bands that move me are Yes, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Ayreon, Riverside, Genesis, Rush and Pink Floyd.

How do they influence your work?

I try to pick up bits and pieces from songs I like. If you break down a Majestic track you will find all these influences throughout the music. Although, I have never been into learning and playing other peoples music their influences will always be there.

Listening to your music, it reminded us (at Progresiste) the music of Saga, especially the track “wish”. Is this also an influence?

I will take that as a compliment.  Saga is a great band. Though I thought “wish” was more Steven Wilson’s No-Man influenced.

Is that kind of music popular in the US? Is it easy to tour to present it?

There are some great prog bands here in the states. Short of some festivals, progressive music is not as popular as it should be. There is no denying  Majestic has a much bigger following overseas.

What are the things you are happy about this album and what would you like to redo?

I am thrilled with the response the CD has received. I knew with Jessica’s voice we were creating something new and fresh, however with the mediocre reviews of past material I had no idea “Arrival” would be so widely accepted.

As a musician, I always hear things I think could have been done better or different. That being said, I am a strong believer that you make a song as well as you can at the time and then put a stake in the ground and move on.  I just take the mistakes and learn not to repeat them next time around.

What are your project for near future?

For about a year now I have been collaborating with Gregg Johns of Slychosis on a project called Proximal Distance. We are almost done recording and are looking to release around end of 2009 or early 2010. This CD will feature Jessica and I (Majestic) along with Gregg Johns, Todd Sears, and Jeremy Mitchell from Slychosis. We are really excited about this project.

What would you say to our reader to invite them to listen your music?

Majestic is relatively new on the prog scene and definitely worth checking out. If you are a fan of prog you won’t be disappointed because this album touches on the many different styles. Stop by our website at www.majesticsongs.com . There we have free downloadable music, reviews, and current updates on our projects.