Sinplus Return to Their Rocking Musical Roots

When did you decide to travel to USA to experience, absorb and record new music for your latest album Break The Rules? Was it some time after your previous album This Is What We Are was released?

GABRIEL: Yes, it was. We realized that the music we were playing wasn’t exactly the music that we loved. We were more like producers than musicians. So we said: "Okay, wait—but I wanna be a musician, so I have to play the music I really like."

IVAN: It may sound a bit weird, because one can say: "Why didn’t you do it before?" But as Gabriel said, we were playing around with different sounds, producing, trying different styles. And in the end it was just like following our instinct. It was like coming full circle to come back to the music you were listening to when you just got started.

Once you said that you decided to "step out of the comfort zone in music." So, where exactly is that "comfort zone" for you? Is it about genre or rather the topics you write about?

G: There were a lot of things. When you play pop or pop-rock, it‘s easier to get things like airplay, interviews, and so on, that's for sure. But then we realized it just wasn’t what we liked. . . .

I: It’s like a routine. We were used to that kind of situation. We were, like, stuck there. This was the kind of comfort zone that doesn’t even feel all that comfortable at the end of the day! (laughs)

G: Yes, I think everybody needs something new, to search for new stuff. And for us the real input was to go back to the roots.

So, what were your musical roots? When you were kids and your dad had a band, you helped him on stage, being sort of his roadies. What was that like? And what influenced you musically? For example, which stars were on the posters on your bedroom walls when you were teenagers?

I: Exactly, our father used to play in a band and we were always excited about going to rehearsals and sound checks. We were lucky to have a small drum set in the house, and our father taught us to play guitar. . . . There was always music in our house. For example, my mother liked Bob Marley, my father is a huge Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones fan. And of course we had Iron Maiden poster in our kids's room and even—our parents always joked about it—the Spice Girls! (laughs)

Do you remember any particular moment in your career, when you looked at each other and said: "Oh, bro, this is not what I wanted!"? Or did the feeling grow gradually?

G: Yes, there was a specific moment. We played a concert in Locarno, our hometown. There’s a big club and we wanted to do a show for our friends and fans there—we organized everything by ourselves. And after the show. . . we were happy, but not so happy. . . . 

I: It had a bitter taste to it.

G: Yes—it was good, but something was missing. And I think that moment was pivotal. After that, we decided to take a break, go to the US, and change everything. I changed everything in my life, honestly. And from there we started something new. We discussed everything with our team.

I: I remember when you came to the team meeting and said: "Guys, I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this." And we agreed that we have to change something. Because we both love music, but the fun part was gone. It was too. . . 

G: . . . too much thinking.

Too much thinking—about the sound?

G: Yes, about the sound, about songwriting. . . 

I: We spent so many hours on the same song. . . 

G: . . . looking for the right kick sound and snare sound. . . but that’s not our job! We are musicians, songwriters—not producers or sound engineers. We were writing everything with the computer, without live instruments. But then you loose something. So we started composing by playing together again, using acoustic guitar, vocals, jamming. Then, we'd choose the parts we liked. It was so much easier, more fun, and. . . so much more real.

I: This was also thanks to JT Daly, the producer we worked with. When we walked into the studio, the first thing he said was: "Guys, we are gonna have fun." And I think this is the most important thing when it comes to songwriting: to have fun with it. I know it sounds simple, but it’s so easy to lose your way at the end of the day. I think all the puzzle pieces were already there, just not in the right place. So right now I feel like we found what we really needed and I am thankful it finally happened.

Let’s talk more about the recording of Break The Rules. You said it was about fun, but was it also like: "Okay guys, now let’s sit down and have songwriting workshop?"

I: Yes, it was, but we were writing without having that many expectations. We just said: "Hey, let’s do it the old school way—a couple of beers in the evening, guitar, vocals. . . . Most of the songs were written in a jam session, and we recorded many short takes till we got that vibe we really liked. This was a good thing we really reinforced. We just said: "Let's see what comes up." And suddenly we had a song. It’s amazing.

Who else did you work with?

I: We split the production. Most of the songs we produced by ourselves and some of them with JT Daly.

In Nashville?

I: Some of them. Then came coronavirus, so we were at home and sent files back and forth.

Did you do the mastering by yourselves?

I: No, we mixed it with Wez Clarke and one song with Michael Rendall. And then we mastered it with John Davis at Metropolis Studios in London.

G: So it’s kind of a Swiss-English-American production. We experimented with different styles of production. In the end, everything worked out perfectly for the album.

Could you describe the differences between those styles of production?

I: I think it always depends on the people you work with. JT is Number One in this kind of approach: "Okay, let’s just do stuff—if we don’t like it, we'll change it later, but we gotta move on." Not overthinking it. I don’t know if that’s a difference between UK or Switzerland. We really didn’t edit anything. Even if there’s an imperfection in a guitar riff, it's still better that way.

Sometimes a bit of "dirt" suits the sound. Speaking of sound—are you "gear guys?" Do you buy and experiment with new stuff—effects, instruments, and so on? Or do you have that one and only beloved guitar you would never sell?

I: I am definitely not a "gear guy." On most recordings, we used the Gibson Marauder. It’s actually Gabriel’s guitar. We also played around with some stuff, but we didn’t want to go overboard.

G: I think we worked with what we had, but in an extreme manner. If we wanted distortion, we made it "fat"—and not just a litttle bit, but like, "I wanna hear it, pump it up, man!"

I: I have to say I love my Rat distortion. It’s a custom fuzz—wherever you apply it, it's like Jack White's sound. And I think something like that is very useful during production. For sure, I use the Tube Screamer a lot. It’s not very extreme, but it makes difference. A couple of times, I also used the Strymon Big Sky. It’s like a reverb that can produce a shimmering effect. . . .

G: So you ARE a gear guy!

(they laugh)

And you are gonna buy more of them, I know it! So which guitars are you gonna play tonight? In videos, I see you playing your white Fender Stratocaster. Does it  have any particular customization?

I: Yes. It’s actually my father’s guitar. You see I always borrow guitars from my family. (laughs) He bought it when he was kid. Then one day, a flood came. . . . The guitar was in the basement and my father found it floating in its case on the water. And then he found out that the neck was slightly bent, so he took the guitar to his friend, who changed the neck to some strange type, which you never see and it‘s not labeled.

But it fits into your hands well, probably.

I: Yes, and it has very unique sound, it’s really responsive. Now I have also black Fender Stratocaster. My father kept that neck he used to have in '70s. And then we had a chance to buy an '80s vintage Fender body, so we put them together—and now this is my favorite guitar. So tonight I am mostly gonna use this one, the black one.

Speaking of today’s gig, you have a lot of experience on big stages—such as your show at Eurovision Song Contest on 2012, opening for Roxette, or performing at the big festivals—as well as playing in small clubs. What do you personally prefer?

G: To be honest, for me it’s more difficult to play in clubs. I like to jump around and to do a lot of stuff, but in a club there is not enough space for it. And also when you play in front of 1000 or 2000 people, it’s much easier to get the people involved. But right now, I really enjoy play in clubs, because it’s more intimate.

Maybe the energy is even more intense, isn’t it?

G: Actually, you have to put out much more energy when you play in the smaller space. When you play in front of 50 or 100 people, you see every face, every reaction. And right now, I really need that. Although I love being in a studio, writing new songs, playing live is the best.

Especially after the covid pandemic.

G: Especially after two years at home. I mean, of course I love this guy (pointing at Ivan), he’s my brother, but. . . 

You know, the most important thing is to have two bathrooms.

(they laugh)

Gabriel, since your last album, you've been experimenting more with the timbre of your voice. You go lower and sometimes you sing softer than before. Is it partly the consequence of that "couple-of-beers" jamming strategy?

G: (laughs) Yes! A couple of friends visited us and they told me: "Hey Gabriel, you sound so good when you sing lower. Why don’t you always sing that low?"

I: And you of course replied: "Man, I am an Iron Maiden fan! Of course I wanna sing high, like: (howling) 'Oooooaaaaah!'" 

(they laugh)

G: The thing is, I feel more comfortable singing low. I have more space to create dynamics and different vocal sounds. Of course I’ve tried it years ago already, but two years ago I said: "Okay, now let’s use it more regularly."

Maybe you also feel more comfortable, because now your singing voice is closer to the timbre you have when you speak.

G: Yes, exactly. And I didn’t really do anything specific to get there. It’s just. . . natural. Of course I trained by myself. And I have vocal coach, who helps me. But "learning by doing," that’s my mantra.

This could be also related to the process of going back to your roots, sounding authentic without overthinking it, etc.

I: Yeah, to me it sounds like what I always thought about Gabriel’s voice.

G: (lowers voice) And I am still working on it.

(they laugh)

The album Break The Rules was released in 2020 already, am I right?

G: No, the album was released in May 2021. The album was ready before then, but we were still waiting for a better situation, due to covid and everything. But we wanted to give something to our followers, we wanted to say: "Hey guys, we’re working on something! Here is a new Sinplus, we have new stuff!" So we decided to release an EP in November 2020. And then we decided: "Okay, maybe we gotta go and release the whole album, no matter what the situation was."

Okay, then it’s pretty fresh. But how you see your former, older songs now? Do you rearrange them somehow? And do you feel a certain distance from them now?

I: I think there is a distance now, yes.

G: But not from all of them.

I: Tonight we are gonna play two old songs, but it’s like. . . we say: "Okay, why should we play old ones, when we can write new ones?" Because sometimes it takes more time to fix something than to make something new from scratch. I am not saying we won’t rearrange some old songs one day. Because the songwriting itself wasn’t that bad. But the arrangements, the production, and the attitude sometimes weren't right.

So if you were suppose to play "Unbreakable" again. . . ? It’s still one of your biggest hits. . . .

G: We have to.

Are you gonna rearrange it a bit?

G: We like "Unbreakable," because for us, it marked an important moment in our career. We tried out a few changes several times, yes.

I: We did like ten different versions in last four or five years.

And then you went back to the first one, didn’t you?

G: Yes. In the end, the only thing we changed is the key.

It’s lower now, I bet. 

(they laugh)

G: Yes!

Tonight at the show, are you gonna play with the same line-up? How does it actually work in your band?

I: We changed musicians so many times in the last years. But Matteo, the bass player, has been working with us for many years, so he is a fixed point for us now.

The bass player is always the fixed point in a band, right?

I: (laughs) He’s such a cool guy with lots of great ideas. But the drummer is new. We've only been working with him for a couple of months. And the sound engineer too, he’s a new addition.

G: We decided: "Okay, you really wanna step out of your comfort zone? Then you gotta change your crew as well."

As you have a team, a lot of people around you, it's probably not that difficult to tell the drum player: "Hey man, we need something new, so. . . sorry." Or is it still hard on personal level?

G: In a way, we were lucky. It’s a good example of how, sometimes, bad news can bring something good. In our case, the old drummer was the bassist’s brother. The two of them had been fighting and both of them came to us and said: "Okay guys, I am not gonna play with my brother anymore. So you gotta choose: me or him."

I just hope this is not gonna happen with you two!

(they laugh)

G: No, no.

I: Absolutely not. In the end we said:"Yes, maybe this is a chance to build a new team." We like to have a "band-feeling." Being together for ten days—playing together, eating together, really living like a band—not just me and Gabriel and the others showing up to play the concert and then going our separate ways.

G: That's important, because you can feel it on stage. And the audience can feel it when there is something more than just "some people playing a gig." So we feel super lucky right now. Because everything is starting to become clear. For me it’s like: I know what to do, I know how to do it, I just need time to do everything I have in mind. We are already writing new stuff, we have new songs coming out very soon. But I would also like to record they way it used to be done—with the full band in the studio, playing at the same time. A lot of people nowadays do it like: "First, we are gonna record drums, then bass, then guitars, then vocals. . ."

On separate tracks.

G: Yes, track-by-track. I finally have the feeling this band is the right one, so I would like to try to record a couple of songs with the whole band playing simultaneously.

It’s great that you have found the right person who fits to your band. That's not easy.

I: Yes, it’s difficult. But I think we finally found him.

Does he have a sibling who plays in your band, too? I hope not.

(they laugh)

G: Definitely not.