The Phoenix Experiment Interview

Interview:

Thank you very much for agreeing to do this interview! Can you introduce yourself? When and where was The Phoenix Experiment born?

Thank you :) My name is Mike Bee, singer and guitarist of TPE. the rest of the Phoenican order go under the names of Craig Harman, Paul Glover, Ian Wilson, and Joe Kaveney. TPE was born on the island of Tenerife, in March of this year. It was then smuggled through customs and constructed in Warrington, in the north west of England.

Tell us about the beginning / Why the name The Phoenix Experiment?

While on Holiday in Tenerife, I’d spent a lot of time thinking about what had happened with our previous band, following the exit of our singer. We couldn’t have been on more different paths, with different views, so it was the right thing to happen.

This led to me wake up one morning around 4:30am with the ‘The Phoenix Experiment’ engrained into my mind. It was like a ‘eureka’ moment, It had to happen. We had to evolve into something else that represented who we are now, not who we were 3 years ago.

Often an idea, sound or vision will manifest itself in an instant. This was one of those occasions, and the internal voice made it very clear that TPE had to happen.

I’ve come to realise since, that the purpose of the experiment is to capture and document our perception of the world, and this reality, in musical and visual form. This may also include the perception of anyone we collaborate, or associate with along the way.

Maybe we are all ‘The Phoenix Experiment’, undergoing a death of the old world, and a spiritual re-birth of the new, but some people just haven’t realised it yet. I like thinking about it that way.

What are some of your influences?

We’re mainly inspired by people, and events. Speakers like David Icke inspire me…he had answers when I searched for them on my own journey. I like his ‘information’, it spoke to me and I took from it what I needed to.

I also love the irony of a brainwashed person, accusing him of brainwashing, without even getting past the first page in one of his books. They can’t even begin to understand what they’ve just done, it just doesn’t register. It will one day…

Our musical influences are vast, including; The Doors, BJM, The Verve, Led Zeppelin, Velvet Underground, Robert Johnson, through to the Chemical Brothers. It has to have feeling and movement to appeal.

For us being part of something like Outlier Records is, to put it mildly ‘VERY FUCKING INSPIRING!’ I would suggest that if you’d like to discover what the future of music sounds like, use your Google to find our anti-label ‘Outlier Records’ and the ‘Vebeth’ movement.

There’s your homework; Icke, Outlier, and Vebeth. Your life may be about to change for the better, and FOREVER. If you think I’m joking, I’m not.

Were you in other bands before forming The Phoenix Experiment?

We've all been in various bands for years, and between us have done some quite amazing things that we’re proud of, the most recent band being ‘the 66’.

However, all that has started to feel like an old black and white movie compared to this - things have gone TECHNICOLOUR with the phoenix. We’ve only just begun, but it feels like it was always there, just waiting for us to catch-up.

You have some new songs out. Can you present us this songs?

Our label had recently made us self-sufficient, via the acquisition of top secret government technology. Mo (Outlier) was confident he could just leave us to it and see what was created. One month after the demise of the 66, we headed into our newly painted and created Phoenix Lodge and began constructing a sound.

Cut you Down was the result of two jam sessions, we then recorded; mixed, and produced it all in-house to our desired taste. It was scary, and thrilling at how easy it all came together. We filmed the video footage in our lodge; it was then transferred, along with the music, to Iceland where it went through the psychedelic blender.

We’ve been absolutely delighted and humbled by the amazing response to it. It’s begun to travel the globe and people seem to ‘get it’. This makes us all very happy, and is more than we could have asked for at the beginning of the experiment.

Go and grab it for free, see if it grabs you :)

Are you doing any touring/concerts? Are you satisfied with it? Share an interesting experience you had from concerts...

We're doing the odd gig, but our main focus is on the creation and development of the experiment. . We intend to stick around for the duration, documenting whatever we are heading towards, as it happens. We hope these values will conspire to let us travel the world

An interesting experience from the 66 time... Following a gig in Glasgow, Paul [Solid Snake] Glover once used a portable hotel fan and flew out of a window following a Since then we've only ever seen him 'just outside' of visible light, but we know he's always there waiting to be summoned.

How about some future plans for the band?

We intend to carry creating music, visuals, and art, and sharing it with other like-minded people for free. Despite only existing for a few months, we’ve already met some amazing and inspiring people at the Lodge.

There is a new wave of thought and perception emerging. Some have thought this way for a very long time, but are only now revealing themselves. For others it is a new experience. We’d like to introduce ourselves, and be found, by as many of those people as we can, and see what happens from it. It’s nice to be nice.

What is your opinion about psychedelic scene these days?

Something feels like its bubbling doesn’t it? I fully expect the psychedelic bubble to expand in the coming years – it’s the soundtrack to what’s happening with the world / universe. What I don’t expect is for it to enter the corporate mainstream. I believe the resurgence is part of the global awakening; people are realising they are more than what they thought they were.

Psychedelic music and experiences are a way for people to help tune themselves back into the frequency they’ve been blocked from, to get closer to the source. The mainstream machine is the polar opposite of this; they are trying to establish something very different, a new kind of world vision which isn’t to our benefit. Therefore, we’ll carry on inventing our own world, as theirs fades out of view.

The majority of mainstream music isn’t what’s popular; it’s what’s ‘put there’ to be popular for a reason, an agenda.

Thank you very much for your time and effort. Do you have anything else to say about the band or yourself, that I didn't ask?

I think all bases have been well and truly covered; it’s been a pleasure speaking to you.

All that is left to say is that if you’ve read this, and feel drawn to us – then come and join us at the lodge of the phoenix; grab some free music on the links below, check-out the videos, and check out our friend’s material as well.

We may see some of you shortly :)

http://thephoenixexperiment.bandcamp.com (Free Download of ‘Cut You Down’)

www.youtube.com/thephoenixexperiment (Audio / Visual, Art Experiments)

www.facebook.com/tpelodge (Our private corner of Facebook)

www.facebook.com/tpeonline (Our fan-page on Facebook)