Music, Perseverance, and a healthy dose of Prog—an Interview with CHAOSBAY

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It may sound a bit clichéd, but if you really want something in life, you have to pursue it seriously and not let anything deter you. Charles Bukowski summed it up with “Find what you love and let it kill you,” and there’s hardly any area where this is more true than in music. How many have failed or given up because the hurdles seemed so big? One band that, LUCKILY, didn’t let itself be deterred is CHAOSBAY. A lot has happened for them in the five years since our first interview. What constants have emerged? How does life on tour affect songwriting? And what technical device did Matze fall on before a show? You can find all this and more in the interview with singer Jan below!

Thanks again to lightinmirror.de for the pictures! What would this press release be without you?

Shieldmaiden’s Voice: What does music mean to you?

Jan Listing: It’s become my whole life, from my career to my private life. Music pretty much determines everything. It has an all-encompassing meaning in the sense that I don’t even think about it anymore, it’s just there. It’s like breathing!

SV: How does that manifest itself in relation to CHAOSBAY?

Jan: It has grown steadily over the last few years, both the band and the time it takes to keep it going, so the band has become part of everyday life. But I mean that in a very positive way! It’s really nice to be able to work with your band in your everyday life.

SV: What is your biggest contribution to the development of your genre?

Jan: We’ve noticed quite often that we bridge the gap between technically demanding prog and good vibes and partying. We involve the audience a lot, and with us you can either get really involved or just stand on the sidelines and watch the whole thing in peace. Everyone can enjoy us live in whatever way suits them best. It’s fun!

SV: I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but it’s been five years since we did our first interview. Time has flown by since then and you’ve been able to do so many things and have had some successes. How does it feel that things have turned out the way you imagined?

Jan: It feels very, very good! Of course, there are always phases in between where you get stuck on little problems and think, “Damn, why isn’t this working right now?” But when you have time to look at it from a distance, it’s really nice and you feel a little bit proud!

SV: What are the constants that have proven themselves in your music?

Jan: I have to think about that for a moment… It’s definitely the kind of harmony and emotions we convey, both in the more prog-heavy songs and in the more catchy songs. At least if you go by the feedback we get from a lot of people. Apparently, that’s how people recognize us, which we don’t really notice ourselves, or rather, we find it difficult to hear our own style. But other people say you can hear it right away, and that’s a great feeling! I think it’s mainly because of the harmonies and chords, and of course Patrick’s drumming, which is definitely a constant. Another constant is that our songs are always catchy in some way. 

SV: Your last album, Are you Afraid?, did well too! How did that album change things for you?

Jan: It brought us closer together! We made the whole process, from writing to shooting the videos, much more collaborative. That strengthened our group spirit a lot. When we play live or are on tour now, it just feels much more coordinated, and the album somehow achieved that. I don’t know why, but it did!

SV: What were some of the experiences that you would say were things you could cross off your bucket list?

Jan: The first nightliner tour with SIAMESE at the beginning of the year! That was something I really wanted to do with my own band, and we did it! Now we can stop! [we laugh]

SV: You’re also on the road a lot this year. Are there any songs that you say you absolutely can’t listen to anymore?

Jan: Yes, there are, but we always notice that early on and then we take them off the set list in time and replace them with new songs, which we then can’t listen to anymore after six months! [we laugh] Just kidding! There are some songs that are always part of the set and never get boring, simply because they get the audience going so well. We just have to keep playing those. With others, of course, it gets tiring at some point and then we have to swap them out for a while. We’ve been touring for so long now that we’re putting songs we haven’t played in a while back into the set, and it’s kind of nice to rediscover them. 

SV: You did a headlining tour last year and then another one this year. Isn’t that a bit much?

Jan: It was actually supposed to be just one tour, but for various scheduling and organizational reasons, which also affect the support tour for SIAMESE, we simply split it up. Last year we played the smaller cities, then the SIAMESE tour, and now we’re doing the bigger cities. It works because they’re not exactly the same cities; at most, two overlap. 

SV: When you’re on the road together so much, you naturally spend a lot of time together. How does that influence your songwriting?

Jan: Of course, you get to know each other’s tastes, for example because you listen to music together in the car. It’s always exciting to hear what the others are into. You get a sense of each other’s musical passion, and you notice that, even if it’s something subtle. I don’t actively think about it. 

SV: Songwriting is also something you guys are very good at. Enemy was the last song you released. Is that a preview of more to come?

Jan: No, it’s a look back at the album! We deliberately didn’t put the song on the album because it didn’t fit. We think it’s better when it’s short and sweet, and it would have been too much. We preferred to have fewer songs rather than more, so that people wouldn’t get bored after two-thirds of the way through, but would rather listen to the album again. Since we wrote more songs than ended up on the album, and Enemy was so good that we didn’t want to let it disappear into a drawer, we decided to release it now. 

SV: Does that mean we can expect more in the future?

Jan: Yes, definitely!

SV: Okay, fair enough, but in the near future?

Jan: Not in the near future, because a new cycle is starting now. But it definitely won’t take until the year after next! 

SV: The tour is still going on for a while: What are people missing out on if they don’t see you live?

Jan: A lot of fun, both for us on stage and for the audience. There’s always a lot of energy in the room. We play powerful guitar music and you just have a good time!

SV: What surprises have you experienced in your life on tour?

Jan: I have to say that everything has always gone amazingly smoothly so far! I’m the kind of person who always expects the worst. Not in terms of quality, but I’m always afraid that something will go wrong and I get very nervous. So far, it’s amazing how rarely anything has gone wrong! Nothing has ever been stolen, no concert has ever gone completely wrong, and we’ve never had a power outage! The biggest surprise is actually that Matze once fell on the laptop, but it still worked afterwards!

SV: What are some things you’re particularly looking forward to on the tour?

Jan: We didn’t release an album this year, so we took the liberty of mixing up the set a bit more than usual and playing a few songs that are really close to our hearts. We just want to show a complete cross-section, and that’s really cool. It’s going very well, people are really into it and are happy to hear a lot of songs we haven’t played in a long time. I’m really happy every time I see people’s faces light up because they haven’t heard a song live in a long time. 

SV: What else is coming up for you in the near future beyond the tour?

Jan: We’re playing two more concerts, one of which in Essen is already sold out. Something very special is happening on November 15, because we’re playing another concert in Munich with SIAMESE and TENSIDE. We’ve already been on tour with the latter. The whole thing is taking place at a new location, which will make it even more special before we take a break from playing for a while. Then there are a few guest appearances here and there, but I can’t say anything about those yet…

SV: Looking beyond the tour and the other live dates, what are your wishes for the band?

Jan: Beautiful, big festivals! That’s always the dream. Lots of more great tours all over the world, but for now, just Europe. That’s what I’d be most happy about, because we just have the best time when we play live. 

SV: You’ve been active in the music scene for quite some time now, so you know how many things work. What tips would you give to other aspiring musicians that you would have liked to have had yourself?

Jan: The only tip I can think of is “Just keep going!” Because we didn’t do that and only narrowly escaped breaking up because we either didn’t get that tip or simply didn’t take it to heart. You really have to believe in it longer than you think and you really have to stick with it longer. We got back on track because a few stars aligned and now we get to experience it all over again. It’s just so wonderful! Even if it takes years, you definitely have to stick with it! You also can’t resist feedback, you have to accept it! Sure, you always have this feeling that you shouldn’t listen too much to what other people say, but honest feedback from people who aren’t part of your immediate circle is incredibly valuable for staying objective. 

There could hardly be a better tip than this! So, dear bands, keep at it and you’ll be able to keep moving forward. 

I’m actually a little sad that this is it for CHAOSBAY for now, but who knows what will happen next year. In any case, the guys have a permanent place in our hearts. We’ll continue soon with shamanic music, the question of how far a band can change before it finally loses itself, and a certain amount of Ultima Ratio… Stay tuned!