A new band was “born” due to some fine “consequences” and they’re here to go all the way. The “power trio” called Wonderworld consists of well-known members of the music industry that are making a new start on their music career. Grande Rock talked with the guitarist Ken Ingwersen and the bassist & singer Rob Tiranti about Ken Hensley, Wonderworld, their debut album and music in general… among other things…
Hi Ken & Rob, since we talk for the first time, do tell us… how did Wonderworld come to life and when exactly?
K: I’ve been a permanent member of Uriah Heep’s legendary songwriter, Ken Hensley for 9 years now. We’ve had band member coming and going throughout these years, but I think Tom (drummer) joined us about 7 years ago. Then Roberto (bass/vocals) joined us about 2 years. So, we all met through Ken, and we are still today a part of Kens band.
If I assume right the name “Wonderworld” has been taken from the Uriah Heep album with the same title, right?
K: Yeah. It felt natural to pick a name that was connected to Uriah Heep, because we all have this connection with Ken. So we did it to honour Ken and because we liked the name.
I’ve read that Ken Hensley is your mentor and your spiritual leader on the liner notes. Why’s that? Is this band part of a general influence that Ken Hensely has brought to your lives since the day you met him?
K: Ken is the whole reason why we formed Wonderworld. Without Ken, no Wonderworld. And Ken is a wise man and a wizard to us, and he told us “I’m your number 1 fan”! So the connection is quite powerful.
You say that the idea to record this album came when you were recording the most recent album “Trouble” along with Ken Hensley. Apart from the power-trio thing, what was the musical direction that you had in mind to follow?
K: All we knew was that, we could just start playing something... and it felt good. We had a super chemistry right off the bat, so when we talked about forming the band, we agreed that we wanted something fairly simple, hard-hitting classic rock vibe.
Have you played or cooperated with any of the other two guys in the past or you all met in Live Fire? Please tell us also what Live Fire is and how they came to be – for those who might not have heard of them before.
K: Live Fire was formed in Norway, during a show Ken Hensley was gonna play. A collection of fine musicians came together, and did this one gig. Back then it was Eirikur (Artch) on vocals, Morty Black (TNT) on bass, Willy Bendiksen (Jorn) on drums and myself. Ken was so happy after the gig, so he asked us to join him permanently. Then we’ve had musicians leaving the band, and finally we ended up as this trio today.
R: We met each other during the “Trouble” recording sessions last year in Spain and immediately we found out how easy it is to play together.
Back to the debut album. How did the recordings take place? Did you record all together live in the studio? What was the musical essence that you wanted to give to the album?
K: Yeah, we recorded most of it live during a couple of days in Norway. Then Roberto finished vocals in Italy afterwards. We communicated a lot through Skype during the process, and it felt very natural. We wanted to keep the album raw, without too many guitars and backing vocals, keyboards etc. So the core sound is the 3 of us playing... just a few overdubs here and there. I think we managed quite well!
You are also the producer of the album… so I assume that you wanted a specific sound, right? The production is very rockin’ & sharp without being “retro” at any point. I think this “old-fashioned” sound has started to become, apart from a “dangerous trend”, a bit boring these days. What’s your say?
K: Yes, I think I know what you mean. Personally I’ve never liked the old-sounding stuff (with some exceptions). I’ve never been a huge fan of Led Zep for that reason. I want a production to hit you in the face and sound vivid and clear. I’ve never understood why anyone would copy the poor sound quality from the 60/70s. There’s a lot of inspirational music made in that era, but not so much the production. Hell… it’s 2014!
Is what we see on the cover… a potential “Wonderworld” or what?
K: Yes, it’s a dreamy wonderful world, where nothing makes sense. But it looks nice. You can even see some roman figures and an old Viking ship there... and that’s a nice link to the origin of the band; Norway and Italy.
I’d like you to give us a small hint about each track…
K: “Wonderworld”: A powerful riff to start off the album, and an introduction to our world.
R: “Break the Chains”: Easy powerful direct like a train in the face.
R: “Surrender”: Very good verse, quiet and moody, amazing chorus.
R: “Voices”: A tribute to the great Russ Ballard.
K: “Every Now and Then”: A straight forward rock track, with an epic guitar solo!
K: “No one Knows”: A beautiful ballad. Could easily be a power ballad, but I think we managed to keep it down…
K: “The Sound of the World”: A 6/8 time signature and probably the most modern sounding track on the album.
K: “A New Life”: A Led Zep-inspired track with a dreamy chorus.
K: “Hero Without Stains”: Powertrio how it should sound! With a flavour of SRV and Hendrix.
K: “Kissing the Sky”: A song that is slightly different from the rest of the album. More of a pop song, with a hint of the Eagles and the likes. It’s also almost a duet between Roberto and myself.
You tried to fund the album through a fund-raising platform but unluckily the goal wasn’t reached. Were you partly disappointed in how things turned out in the end?
K: No, not at all. When you’re doing the crowd-funding thing, there’s no way to know the potential result. So we just picked a number. We were very happy to see that so many people contributed. I mean no one had any idea of how the album would sound like. So there was no reason for people to do it.
R: Of course, it would be great to reach the goal but was it was still a good thing anyway, also giving us a sort of little promotion as well.
How did you overcome the fund-raising thing and managed to release the album at long last?
K: We had decided to release the album anyhow, so we were not depended on crowd-funding... we also wrote that on the page. It was mainly a way to pre-order the album and to help us out a little.
Now that you have tried it… do you think that fund-raising platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo etc. is the solution to the “music industry” issue of our time? Can bands/artists only be supported by their fans in order to make music?
R: That’s the new frontier for a musical production, the market is dead and gone, the labels are day by day fading away so the only way to raise the money is basically coming to the fans. Actually is just a sort of pre-order and I think is a good way to create a solid contact with the fan base.
Did you look for any label in the beginning or you just wanted to make this your own way?
K: We were in contact with a few labels, but they really couldn’t offer more than what we could do ourselves. But who knows, we might be working with a label on future albums.
Have you thought of giving any live shows with Wonderworld too? Probably like a support act to Ken Hensley & Live Fire or something like that?
R: We had our first live experience last week in Norway and it was really nice, we tested the band on the road and saw that the potential is there ready to rise…
K: Yeah, and Kensley has suggested that we open for him on some shows, so we’ll be out there playing live to people.
Even though your priority is Live Fire, what do you plan to do with Wonderworld in the future? I mean this wasn’t a one album thing, right?
K: Wonderworld is a priority, for sure. Live Fire is Ken’s band, and we are loyal to him, so if he wants to record albums and do live gigs, we are there. But we can’t affect it so much. It’s Ken’s career. I’ve already started on the next album!
R: My priorities nowadays are my solo album and Wonderworld, of course Live Fire is important but it’s a solid and well known fact, that does not need the care of a brand new production.
By the way, what are the next plans for Live Fire and Ken Hensely?
R: Another album pretty soon!
K: Yeah, and we have some shows in Russia in November and in The Czech Republic in December…
You perform, hang around and spend valuable moments next to a music legend such as Ken Hensley. How is it like? How has that thing influenced you in general?
R: I love Uriah Heep since I was a child, every show with Ken and his music is a gift for me. Ken is a great musician and songwriter and also a good friend, we always have a lot of fun during the tours.
K: In the beginning it was a bit strange, because I’m a fan. But nowadays we are just good friends and he just loves to hang with the band and do all the stupid shit we do in the bus and on and off stage.
K: I’ve been a permanent member of Uriah Heep’s legendary songwriter, Ken Hensley for 9 years now. We’ve had band member coming and going throughout these years, but I think Tom (drummer) joined us about 7 years ago. Then Roberto (bass/vocals) joined us about 2 years. So, we all met through Ken, and we are still today a part of Kens band.
If I assume right the name “Wonderworld” has been taken from the Uriah Heep album with the same title, right?
K: Yeah. It felt natural to pick a name that was connected to Uriah Heep, because we all have this connection with Ken. So we did it to honour Ken and because we liked the name.
I’ve read that Ken Hensley is your mentor and your spiritual leader on the liner notes. Why’s that? Is this band part of a general influence that Ken Hensely has brought to your lives since the day you met him?
K: Ken is the whole reason why we formed Wonderworld. Without Ken, no Wonderworld. And Ken is a wise man and a wizard to us, and he told us “I’m your number 1 fan”! So the connection is quite powerful.
You say that the idea to record this album came when you were recording the most recent album “Trouble” along with Ken Hensley. Apart from the power-trio thing, what was the musical direction that you had in mind to follow?
K: All we knew was that, we could just start playing something... and it felt good. We had a super chemistry right off the bat, so when we talked about forming the band, we agreed that we wanted something fairly simple, hard-hitting classic rock vibe.
Have you played or cooperated with any of the other two guys in the past or you all met in Live Fire? Please tell us also what Live Fire is and how they came to be – for those who might not have heard of them before.
K: Live Fire was formed in Norway, during a show Ken Hensley was gonna play. A collection of fine musicians came together, and did this one gig. Back then it was Eirikur (Artch) on vocals, Morty Black (TNT) on bass, Willy Bendiksen (Jorn) on drums and myself. Ken was so happy after the gig, so he asked us to join him permanently. Then we’ve had musicians leaving the band, and finally we ended up as this trio today.
R: We met each other during the “Trouble” recording sessions last year in Spain and immediately we found out how easy it is to play together.
Back to the debut album. How did the recordings take place? Did you record all together live in the studio? What was the musical essence that you wanted to give to the album?
K: Yeah, we recorded most of it live during a couple of days in Norway. Then Roberto finished vocals in Italy afterwards. We communicated a lot through Skype during the process, and it felt very natural. We wanted to keep the album raw, without too many guitars and backing vocals, keyboards etc. So the core sound is the 3 of us playing... just a few overdubs here and there. I think we managed quite well!
You are also the producer of the album… so I assume that you wanted a specific sound, right? The production is very rockin’ & sharp without being “retro” at any point. I think this “old-fashioned” sound has started to become, apart from a “dangerous trend”, a bit boring these days. What’s your say?
K: Yes, I think I know what you mean. Personally I’ve never liked the old-sounding stuff (with some exceptions). I’ve never been a huge fan of Led Zep for that reason. I want a production to hit you in the face and sound vivid and clear. I’ve never understood why anyone would copy the poor sound quality from the 60/70s. There’s a lot of inspirational music made in that era, but not so much the production. Hell… it’s 2014!
Is what we see on the cover… a potential “Wonderworld” or what?
K: Yes, it’s a dreamy wonderful world, where nothing makes sense. But it looks nice. You can even see some roman figures and an old Viking ship there... and that’s a nice link to the origin of the band; Norway and Italy.
I’d like you to give us a small hint about each track…
K: “Wonderworld”: A powerful riff to start off the album, and an introduction to our world.
R: “Break the Chains”: Easy powerful direct like a train in the face.
R: “Surrender”: Very good verse, quiet and moody, amazing chorus.
R: “Voices”: A tribute to the great Russ Ballard.
K: “Every Now and Then”: A straight forward rock track, with an epic guitar solo!
K: “No one Knows”: A beautiful ballad. Could easily be a power ballad, but I think we managed to keep it down…
K: “The Sound of the World”: A 6/8 time signature and probably the most modern sounding track on the album.
K: “A New Life”: A Led Zep-inspired track with a dreamy chorus.
K: “Hero Without Stains”: Powertrio how it should sound! With a flavour of SRV and Hendrix.
K: “Kissing the Sky”: A song that is slightly different from the rest of the album. More of a pop song, with a hint of the Eagles and the likes. It’s also almost a duet between Roberto and myself.
You tried to fund the album through a fund-raising platform but unluckily the goal wasn’t reached. Were you partly disappointed in how things turned out in the end?
K: No, not at all. When you’re doing the crowd-funding thing, there’s no way to know the potential result. So we just picked a number. We were very happy to see that so many people contributed. I mean no one had any idea of how the album would sound like. So there was no reason for people to do it.
R: Of course, it would be great to reach the goal but was it was still a good thing anyway, also giving us a sort of little promotion as well.
How did you overcome the fund-raising thing and managed to release the album at long last?
K: We had decided to release the album anyhow, so we were not depended on crowd-funding... we also wrote that on the page. It was mainly a way to pre-order the album and to help us out a little.
Now that you have tried it… do you think that fund-raising platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo etc. is the solution to the “music industry” issue of our time? Can bands/artists only be supported by their fans in order to make music?
R: That’s the new frontier for a musical production, the market is dead and gone, the labels are day by day fading away so the only way to raise the money is basically coming to the fans. Actually is just a sort of pre-order and I think is a good way to create a solid contact with the fan base.
Did you look for any label in the beginning or you just wanted to make this your own way?
K: We were in contact with a few labels, but they really couldn’t offer more than what we could do ourselves. But who knows, we might be working with a label on future albums.
Have you thought of giving any live shows with Wonderworld too? Probably like a support act to Ken Hensley & Live Fire or something like that?
R: We had our first live experience last week in Norway and it was really nice, we tested the band on the road and saw that the potential is there ready to rise…
K: Yeah, and Kensley has suggested that we open for him on some shows, so we’ll be out there playing live to people.
Even though your priority is Live Fire, what do you plan to do with Wonderworld in the future? I mean this wasn’t a one album thing, right?
K: Wonderworld is a priority, for sure. Live Fire is Ken’s band, and we are loyal to him, so if he wants to record albums and do live gigs, we are there. But we can’t affect it so much. It’s Ken’s career. I’ve already started on the next album!
R: My priorities nowadays are my solo album and Wonderworld, of course Live Fire is important but it’s a solid and well known fact, that does not need the care of a brand new production.
By the way, what are the next plans for Live Fire and Ken Hensely?
R: Another album pretty soon!
K: Yeah, and we have some shows in Russia in November and in The Czech Republic in December…
You perform, hang around and spend valuable moments next to a music legend such as Ken Hensley. How is it like? How has that thing influenced you in general?
R: I love Uriah Heep since I was a child, every show with Ken and his music is a gift for me. Ken is a great musician and songwriter and also a good friend, we always have a lot of fun during the tours.
K: In the beginning it was a bit strange, because I’m a fan. But nowadays we are just good friends and he just loves to hang with the band and do all the stupid shit we do in the bus and on and off stage.
How would you describe Wonderworld’s music style, to someone that hasn’t heard of the band before?
R: A solid killer rock and roll of the golden ages with an outstanding production, good songs, good melodies… honest music without bullshit…
OK, I think it’s time for our “weird questions”!!! Name your three beloved rock albums of all time…
K: Whoa... that’s hard. Hmm. Kiss – “Alive”, Van Halen – “I” and Queen – “The Game”. But you’ll probably get a new answer tomorrow!
R: “In Rock”, “Led Zeppelin IV”, “A Night at the Opera”.
Top 3 rock singers of any era?
K: John Farnham, Steve Perry, Dio…
R: Ian Gillan, Robert Plant, Freddy Mercury…
How do you see the “free downloading issue” of our time? What can a band or a label do to change that thing?
K: It’s a big challenge. As a consumer I appreciate that it’s easy to find music anywhere in the world, but as an artist it’s very hard, not to get paid for all the work you put into making music.
R: The web is a Jungle, no rules, no limitations, the only thing that we can do is using it in any way to promote and spread our music around the world.
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
R: The music industry itself! Everything is too fast, no more time and/or money for a real project made of at list a couple of albums. Too many awful releases of awful bands that actually occupy space… the market is at a sort of collapse and I don’t think there is a cure.
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
R: This is the reality if you stay out, you are out, I don’t mean it’s OK, I just say we have to live this moment trying to use it at its best. The same is when you see people that live on the social network everyday… real life is on the streets, on a stage with real instrument.
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
K: “You look just like a swan. You have skinny legs but a fat ass”… (i.n.: Hehehehe… has it actually worked in the past?!!)
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you be – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms? The other guys from the band?
K: Sorry, I started watching Game of Thrones and saw the first season, but it was too boring for me. So I don’t remember any of the characters. Except for that dwarf... so him then! I don’t think the other guys watch it either…
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
K: Hmm, I don’t remember the sins. I’m not religious, so I don’t give a shit. And there is no “Hell”, or afterlife, so the sins have no impact anyhow…
R: I’m not so involved in any of the seven deadly sins… what you say? I’m boring? Maybe hehehhe but really! That’s me!
If your girlfriend/wife caught you cheating on her… what would you do in order to calm her down?
R: Nothing… I’d be soon dead!!!
(i.n.: No chance for forgiveness at all!)
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
K: Tell her what a nice ring she picked…
R: I would take her shoes and her clothes to the Salvation Army…
I’m glad we talked guys. Add anything you want before we close this interview. Wish you the best for the future… take care!
K: I hope to meet as many of you as possible out there on tours! Always nice to meet people and make new friends around the world…
R: A solid killer rock and roll of the golden ages with an outstanding production, good songs, good melodies… honest music without bullshit…
OK, I think it’s time for our “weird questions”!!! Name your three beloved rock albums of all time…
K: Whoa... that’s hard. Hmm. Kiss – “Alive”, Van Halen – “I” and Queen – “The Game”. But you’ll probably get a new answer tomorrow!
R: “In Rock”, “Led Zeppelin IV”, “A Night at the Opera”.
Top 3 rock singers of any era?
K: John Farnham, Steve Perry, Dio…
R: Ian Gillan, Robert Plant, Freddy Mercury…
How do you see the “free downloading issue” of our time? What can a band or a label do to change that thing?
K: It’s a big challenge. As a consumer I appreciate that it’s easy to find music anywhere in the world, but as an artist it’s very hard, not to get paid for all the work you put into making music.
R: The web is a Jungle, no rules, no limitations, the only thing that we can do is using it in any way to promote and spread our music around the world.
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
R: The music industry itself! Everything is too fast, no more time and/or money for a real project made of at list a couple of albums. Too many awful releases of awful bands that actually occupy space… the market is at a sort of collapse and I don’t think there is a cure.
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
R: This is the reality if you stay out, you are out, I don’t mean it’s OK, I just say we have to live this moment trying to use it at its best. The same is when you see people that live on the social network everyday… real life is on the streets, on a stage with real instrument.
Best pick-up line that has worked for you several times in the past?
K: “You look just like a swan. You have skinny legs but a fat ass”… (i.n.: Hehehehe… has it actually worked in the past?!!)
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you be – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms? The other guys from the band?
K: Sorry, I started watching Game of Thrones and saw the first season, but it was too boring for me. So I don’t remember any of the characters. Except for that dwarf... so him then! I don’t think the other guys watch it either…
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
K: Hmm, I don’t remember the sins. I’m not religious, so I don’t give a shit. And there is no “Hell”, or afterlife, so the sins have no impact anyhow…
R: I’m not so involved in any of the seven deadly sins… what you say? I’m boring? Maybe hehehhe but really! That’s me!
If your girlfriend/wife caught you cheating on her… what would you do in order to calm her down?
R: Nothing… I’d be soon dead!!!
(i.n.: No chance for forgiveness at all!)Imagine that your girlfriend/wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
K: Tell her what a nice ring she picked…
R: I would take her shoes and her clothes to the Salvation Army…
I’m glad we talked guys. Add anything you want before we close this interview. Wish you the best for the future… take care!
K: I hope to meet as many of you as possible out there on tours! Always nice to meet people and make new friends around the world…