Aperco is a band from Israel who enjoys a foray into soundscapes similar to Camel, Yes and Pink Floyd, some times in a very lyrical fashion while at others through meandering but equally beautiful instrumental passages, true to the spirit of the high-prog of the 70s and they seem to do so, with an amazing degree of mastery and gusto, despite having been together for only 3 years. Guitarist & songwriter Tom Maizel speaks to Grande rock about the band and their exquisite debut album “The Battle”. Read on…
Hi Tom… welcome to Grande Rock. Firstly, do give us a brief bio of the band. When and how did Aperco come to life?
T: The band started as a musical project of Tom Maizel (guitar) and Tal Maizel (keyboards). It was officially formed in 2013 when Yuval Raz (bass) and Dor Adar (drums) joined the band. A year later they went into the recording studio, to record its first album.
And how did you come up with the name Aperco and what does it mean?
T: The name of the band comes from one of the tracks from Kansas band, Aperçu, which means “to perceive” in French. We loved how it sounded.
Where did you have in mind to move with Aperco musically? Did you want to follow a specific music path or you were always fond of different music styles and so on?
T: We come from a variety of worlds in music. Each one of us is very diverse musically in terms of the type of music he listens to. Progressive Rock is really unique to us and we connect to it in the artistic level. To be honest that’s the natural thing that comes out when we write music. We can’t tell where the music will take us in the future…
It took you quite some years to release your debut album “The Battle”. Why’s that? Did you do that on purpose or there were other factors that urged you to do so?
T: The reason why it took us such a long time to record this album is that we are very meticulous about the way we vision the final product. We kept on trying to make it better...
As far as I know you released “The Battle” independently. I know that things are kinda mixed-up in the music industry at the moment, but why did you finally choose to do so? Did you feel safer taking care of your own things?
T: First of all, we felt much more confident in making our own decisions. There are no boundaries in the artistic level and no pressure from people with suits. We think that just like no one will take care of a child better than his parents, we are willing to give everything and do the best we can.
And which are the pros & cons of releasing the album on your own?
T: The advantages are that you are on your own; you have the freedom to do whatever you want musically, without any pressure. The hunger to succeed is much greater because it’s all up to you. It’s not being another artist in a label company, without knowing if you are going to get the right treatment or if they’ll believe in you the way you thought they will when you signed with them.
How did you come up with the album title “The Battle” and what does it declare?
T: The name of the album represents the tale the album tells. The endless struggle of a man between the emotional and the rational, between emotion and logic.
Do give us a hint of each track…
T: “Intro”: The beginning of the story with clues about the motif of what’s coming…
“Focused”: Represents self-control and logic…
“Another Day to Live”: Represents the day to day monotony and dissatisfaction through life…
“A Call for Submission”: Represents temptation and the desire to realize them.
“The Battle”: Represents the battle between emotional and rational, emotion and logic, when your emotion always wins.
“Euphoria”: Represents the satisfaction of realizing what we urged for.
“Delirium Before Lunch”: Represents the storm of emotions as a result of the that realization, as result of emotion and urge.
“Dissonant Sound Within”: Represents the inner discomfort we feel and the urge to let it out and clean ourselves.
“Horizon”: Represent time as the cure for everything…
“Awaken”: Represents the end of the journey, back to self-control and logic. The man goes back to the start point with experience and insights. But this journey is endless, it will happen again and again throughout his life.
Where did the recordings take place and who took care of the album’s production?
T: We recorded the album in Tel Aviv at the studio of our talented producer Gideon Ricardo. He did an amazing job on the album and took part in writing some of the songs. It was a lot of fun working with him and we learned from him a great deal.
Do you have in mind to release any lyric or concept video at some point?
T: Of course. We are starting to work on a video clip for one of the songs. We will not reveal its theme, but it’s going to be something that every music fan will love to see.
What are your touring plans so far?
T: We are in the middle of the tour of our album in Israel. Right after that we are planning on a tour abroad.
How would you describe Aperco’s music style to someone who hasn’t heard of the band at all?
T: Progressive Rock, Art rock…
What are your expectations from “The Battle” and what do you wish to achieve with Aperco in the next years?
T: We expect that this album will bring us exposure and acknowledgement. We think that this album has a lot of songs that not only Progressive Rock fans can relate to. The album is very diverse, melodic and accessible to people.
It’s time for our Weird Questions!!! If you were an animal, which animal would you be and why?
T: I guess a bird; I don’t know which kind but the one that can fly the highest.
Is the “free downloading issue” the main reason why the music industry has taken the downhill or there are others, more important reasons for that?
T: I think that the free downloading is the best thing that ever happened to the music. Because now no one depends on the record companies and each one can get some audience. Not only the artists that chosen by the record companies. The only problem now is that no one can be rich from one album or one hit song from selling it to the audience, because it’s free. So you can only live from one concert to another.
Which are the best 3 Prog Rock albums of all time according to you?
T: Camel – “The Snow Goose”, Genesis – “Selling England by the Pound”, Yes – “Tales from Topographic Oceans”…
Which do you consider to be the best male & female vocalist in rock history?
T: Freddie Mercury…
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
T: Listen to our new songs on Bandcamp. I’d love to hear what you think.
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
T: I’ve had better (Jim Curry)…
You have the opportunity to sleep with a movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
T: Jennifer Aniston because she will never keep the baby…
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
T: Pink Floyd – “The Dark Side of the Moon”…
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
T: I would travel to the past, because it’s only getting worse. Once everything was better, especially music.
Which one of the Seven Deadly Sins you consider yourself to be?
T: Pride…
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react? ☺
T: I’d be happy, the more expensive the ring will be, I’d know it reached more people…
Thx for taking the time to do this interview Tom. Say anything you feel like saying before we close. Take care dude!
T: Doing Progressive Rock in 2016 is not common, but we think that people are really thirsty for good music… music with a meaning and depth. We are here and we are following our truth and making the best music we can.
T: The band started as a musical project of Tom Maizel (guitar) and Tal Maizel (keyboards). It was officially formed in 2013 when Yuval Raz (bass) and Dor Adar (drums) joined the band. A year later they went into the recording studio, to record its first album.
And how did you come up with the name Aperco and what does it mean?
T: The name of the band comes from one of the tracks from Kansas band, Aperçu, which means “to perceive” in French. We loved how it sounded.
Where did you have in mind to move with Aperco musically? Did you want to follow a specific music path or you were always fond of different music styles and so on?
T: We come from a variety of worlds in music. Each one of us is very diverse musically in terms of the type of music he listens to. Progressive Rock is really unique to us and we connect to it in the artistic level. To be honest that’s the natural thing that comes out when we write music. We can’t tell where the music will take us in the future…
It took you quite some years to release your debut album “The Battle”. Why’s that? Did you do that on purpose or there were other factors that urged you to do so?
T: The reason why it took us such a long time to record this album is that we are very meticulous about the way we vision the final product. We kept on trying to make it better...
As far as I know you released “The Battle” independently. I know that things are kinda mixed-up in the music industry at the moment, but why did you finally choose to do so? Did you feel safer taking care of your own things?
T: First of all, we felt much more confident in making our own decisions. There are no boundaries in the artistic level and no pressure from people with suits. We think that just like no one will take care of a child better than his parents, we are willing to give everything and do the best we can.
And which are the pros & cons of releasing the album on your own?
T: The advantages are that you are on your own; you have the freedom to do whatever you want musically, without any pressure. The hunger to succeed is much greater because it’s all up to you. It’s not being another artist in a label company, without knowing if you are going to get the right treatment or if they’ll believe in you the way you thought they will when you signed with them.
How did you come up with the album title “The Battle” and what does it declare?
T: The name of the album represents the tale the album tells. The endless struggle of a man between the emotional and the rational, between emotion and logic.
Do give us a hint of each track…
T: “Intro”: The beginning of the story with clues about the motif of what’s coming…
“Focused”: Represents self-control and logic…
“Another Day to Live”: Represents the day to day monotony and dissatisfaction through life…
“A Call for Submission”: Represents temptation and the desire to realize them.
“The Battle”: Represents the battle between emotional and rational, emotion and logic, when your emotion always wins.
“Euphoria”: Represents the satisfaction of realizing what we urged for.
“Delirium Before Lunch”: Represents the storm of emotions as a result of the that realization, as result of emotion and urge.
“Dissonant Sound Within”: Represents the inner discomfort we feel and the urge to let it out and clean ourselves.
“Horizon”: Represent time as the cure for everything…
“Awaken”: Represents the end of the journey, back to self-control and logic. The man goes back to the start point with experience and insights. But this journey is endless, it will happen again and again throughout his life.
Where did the recordings take place and who took care of the album’s production?
T: We recorded the album in Tel Aviv at the studio of our talented producer Gideon Ricardo. He did an amazing job on the album and took part in writing some of the songs. It was a lot of fun working with him and we learned from him a great deal.
Do you have in mind to release any lyric or concept video at some point?
T: Of course. We are starting to work on a video clip for one of the songs. We will not reveal its theme, but it’s going to be something that every music fan will love to see.
What are your touring plans so far?
T: We are in the middle of the tour of our album in Israel. Right after that we are planning on a tour abroad.
How would you describe Aperco’s music style to someone who hasn’t heard of the band at all?
T: Progressive Rock, Art rock…
What are your expectations from “The Battle” and what do you wish to achieve with Aperco in the next years?
T: We expect that this album will bring us exposure and acknowledgement. We think that this album has a lot of songs that not only Progressive Rock fans can relate to. The album is very diverse, melodic and accessible to people.
It’s time for our Weird Questions!!! If you were an animal, which animal would you be and why?
T: I guess a bird; I don’t know which kind but the one that can fly the highest.
Is the “free downloading issue” the main reason why the music industry has taken the downhill or there are others, more important reasons for that?
T: I think that the free downloading is the best thing that ever happened to the music. Because now no one depends on the record companies and each one can get some audience. Not only the artists that chosen by the record companies. The only problem now is that no one can be rich from one album or one hit song from selling it to the audience, because it’s free. So you can only live from one concert to another.
Which are the best 3 Prog Rock albums of all time according to you?
T: Camel – “The Snow Goose”, Genesis – “Selling England by the Pound”, Yes – “Tales from Topographic Oceans”…
Which do you consider to be the best male & female vocalist in rock history?
T: Freddie Mercury…
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
T: Listen to our new songs on Bandcamp. I’d love to hear what you think.
What’s the worst thing one can say right after sex?
T: I’ve had better (Jim Curry)…
You have the opportunity to sleep with a movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
T: Jennifer Aniston because she will never keep the baby…
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
T: Pink Floyd – “The Dark Side of the Moon”…
If you had the chance to travel in time… where would you choose to go? To the past or the future and why?
T: I would travel to the past, because it’s only getting worse. Once everything was better, especially music.
Which one of the Seven Deadly Sins you consider yourself to be?
T: Pride…
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react? ☺
T: I’d be happy, the more expensive the ring will be, I’d know it reached more people…
Thx for taking the time to do this interview Tom. Say anything you feel like saying before we close. Take care dude!
T: Doing Progressive Rock in 2016 is not common, but we think that people are really thirsty for good music… music with a meaning and depth. We are here and we are following our truth and making the best music we can.