Artist for the Bands, Helder Pedro, Makes Works of Art

IO "Materioptikon (United Kingdom)

I came across this amazing artist when I interviewed Ninth Moon Black. I asked them who did their artwork and they pointed me to Helder. What I found was some of the most truly amazing and inspirational art I've seen. I immediately knew an interview was coming. The following pictures are all band covers by Helder. Information to see further artwork is at the bottom. Enjoy!

Ninth Moon Black "Kalyug" (USA)

Who are you, and what do you consider yourself?

My name is Helder, I currently reside in Portugal and I am a graphic designer.

Was art something you always did? Did you develop this gift as you grew?

Art was actually not something I did growing up, although I always had a keen eye for it. I was always good at sports, maths and sciences in school. Only in more recent years did I develop or discover that maybe I had a talent for it. The so called "discovery" happened as I began listening to more music and being exposed to various different styles- genres that progressively made my brain tick. I started to develop my own vision over some band's music and how I could perceive the visual part of their releases to be. Then slowly I began to explore my own ideas and improve, all of this was done on a self taught basis as I tried to better visually express their sound through my art.

Jakob "Solace" (New Zealand)

What inspires you to create these images, and where do the creativity and ideas come from?

It's rather difficult for me to pinpoint my influences My main inspiration is music itself, besides the music, it's difficult to pin point influences, since everything is an influence. What I do is very technical too, so I improve all the time by looking at other artists work or researching more. My biggest influence is my own goal and I suppose this is what drives me, is achieving something that is fitting for what I feel the music transpires and represents. This way, not only is the music alive in the sounds we hear but also it comes alive visually which I find very stimulating.

How do you create your art? Freehand, graphics, pastels, etc.

The art I create is done mostly by a mix of media which I manipulate digitally. I have some techniques of my own, that I've developed over the years and I guess I have really tried to define my own style.

Do you only do artwork for bands? How did working with bands come about, and is music important to you?

I mostly do artwork for bands, although I have worked for private businesses, expositions, film and music promoters. I began to pay more attention to the visual part of the music albums I listened to and as I listened to the music I tried to picture in my mind alternative album covers for them. That lead me to begin exploring ideas. At the start, it wasn't easy since I didn't have the necessary knowledge and control to create intricate pieces, however as I put online my "tries", people seemed to liked them. The feedback was very positive and I began receiving requests to do work. As my volume of work increased, the requests and contacts increased as well and things just naturally grew by themselves. I love music on its own, I listen to music everyday and it's really rewarding to be able to "work" with a media that I enjoy so much and with bands that I truly find inspiring.

Tides of Nebula "Aura" (Poland)

Do artists give you ideas or do you listen to the music and come up with these things yourself?

Most times, I work on ideas by myself listening to the music with none or only general ideas from the artists. I prefer it this way, since it allows me more freedom and I am also capable of surprising them with things that initially they didn't envision and then ended up loving- this happens very often. There are other artists who have a very clear idea of what they have in mind, which is sometimes tricky because you're not inside anyone else's head and it may be difficult to exactly recreate what is described to you.

What is the most difficult part about being an artist, and what's the most rewarding?

The most difficult part is the nature itself of having to create something new each and every time and meet not only your own expectations but also the expectations of others. While doing this you have to deal with people that may not be the greatest at being clear at what they want or just be hard to deal with in general. The most rewarding is to see your work printed and the client (i.e, a band) appreciating it. It's a great feeling to contribute to the work of others and establish long lasting relationships that sometimes transcend the 'artistic' or 'business' side of things, becoming a friendship.

Do you have rates for artwork, or does it go by a person to person basis?

I don't have set rates. I am flexible with what I charge as it depends on numerous factors.

The Mantra above the Spotless Moon "Defeated Songs" (Italy)

Where do you hope to see yourself going with this, or are you there already?

I know I am not there already but although I can't quite say where I am now and where I see myself going with this. I never imagined to be at this stage to begin with, things have just been happening very naturally. At the moment, it is something that I enjoy doing and as long as I am with how it is going, then that is all that matters. My ultimate goal is to have the opportunity of working with more artists and develop by taking on new challenges that push me to the next level.

Where can people check out your work, or contact you?

Visit my website www.helderpedro.com or contact me directly through hepemo@gmail.com 

www.helderpedro.com
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God is an Astronaut/The Mantra Above the Spotless Moon Spilt (Ireland)

If you are interested in having Helder Pedro do work for you, contact him at hepemo@gmail.com

Juarez

Interview with Ninth Moon Black

(L to R) Atom Bouris (guitar), Eric Eiden (synths, guitar), Kasey Marcusky (drums), Erin Gruwell (guitar), Caleb Jarzemkoski (bass) 

This is a band who's CD I reviewed for WSIA. Upon listening to the music I knew it was a band that I needed to talk to. I looked them up, found an email, and it was simple as that. The drummer Kasey responded to me, and we were on our way. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I did on that first time listening. Look for this article in an upcoming issue of Broken Records Magazine.

(Listen to the album while you read)

Who is Ninth Moon Black, and how did you all get together?

We are a five piece progressive metal band from the Pacific north west: Erin Gruwell on guitar, Caleb Jarzemkoski on bass, Kasey Marcusky on drums, Eric Eiden on synths and guitar, and Atom Bouris on guitar. 

Erin and Caleb met while playing in Ahisma and fuckgodintheface, and had always talked about starting a band together. Erin began composing music for NMB on an 8-track recorder, eventually leading to a three piece band. From there keys and a second guitar were added and we now have a band of solid, committed musicians.

Where did you get the name of the band from?

 Erin was on a country drive and the words just came to him.

Why not have a vocalist? Did you ever, will you ever?

We enjoy letting the music speak for itself. Without a vocalist the listener is able to take away an individual experience. It also gives us a wider platform for creating melodies and soundscapes, which we are all drawn to. Though we sometimes suggest themes for the music with vocal samples, we will never have a traditional front person or singer.

I read that you guys are big on visuals during the live performance. How do you come up with these visuals and concepts?

Erin and Caleb were into the idea of having a visual backdrop for live performances and created black and white video to accompany NMB’s set. The intention of the images were not so much to make a statement, but rather to evoke emotions as well as accent the music. As well as our DIY video, we also show experimental films such as Begotten, Decasia and Man with a Movie Camera.

For people who don't get it, how does Kalyug flow and feel like a concept album? What's the story?

The music coincides with the themes brought up in the vocal samples and track titles; the heavier, more disjointed song first and the more emotional song last. There’s no cut and dry story, that is up to the listener.

Who's voice is sampled over the music, and what do the song titles mean?

The samples on the album were provided by an author/philosopher named Michael Cremo. Our artist, Helder Pedro, created the album art with Michael’s samples and the track titles in mind. Two of the song titles are taken from the Hindu scriptures Michael references in the opening track, Harbinger. Kalyug refers to the age of destruction; and Causatum, the aftermath. Satya Yuga is the age of truth and purity and represents a new beginning.

How does the crowd react to a vocal-less band?

Some people have a difficult time wrapping their head around it but mostly they are open, especially when they have visuals to take in.

How does the writing process work, and does it go hand in hand with the concepts?                                                                           
We all understand what the band is about. This makes the writing process really open, and allows us to keep our sound as a band coherent while incorporating a lot of different styles. In the past we wrote the music first then found a concept that fit the mood of the piece. However, we are currently working on a record for which the theme came first, thus creating a more focused musical composition.

What's NMB's biggest rock star moment? Biggest failure moment?
Signing autographs for some seven year olds outside of an In’N’Out Burger was super rad. We were also fortunate enough to open a slew of west coast dates for Wolves In The Throne Room and Minsk, both really great bands as well as people. That tour gave us the opportunity to  play for some large crowds in classic venues.  As for biggest failure…? Booking a tour while mercury was in retrograde. Our friends in a band called Blckws were flying over from Germany to join us for the tour and were deported the moment they set foot in the US because they did not have work visas to play a couple of five dollar shows. They were treated like terrorists. Much to our dismay we pressed on without them only to have endless troubles with our van. Midway through the tour mercury went out of retrograde and all the van issues magically stopped. It was very bizarre.

What are the long term aspirations for the band and where do you plan to be in 5 years?                                                            
We’d like to make a film and score the soundtrack for it. Touring for a project like that would be amazing. Ideally we’d book in old, independent movie theaters and perform the soundtrack live. In five years we’ll still be doing the same thing we are now, recording and touring. We’re always progressing, and have talked about incorporating other instruments, but who knows what we’ll sound like in five years?

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Is Ninth Moon Black part of a collective group of other bands and artists, and do you work to promote something bigger than music? 
It’s not that we’re part of a collective so much as the scene in Eugene is very tight, with all of us doing what we can to make good promotion and shows happen for everyone. Eugene is a small city, therefore we strongly rely on and support the heavy music bands in town.

As for something bigger, we all have our worldviews but would prefer not to use the music as a platform for our beliefs. 

Anything else you want to add?

For anyone who would like to check out Kalyug, you can download it for free at our Bandcamp site:

http://ninthmoonblack.bandcamp.com/album/kalyug

Helder Pedro, who has made some brilliant album covers, can be found here: 

http://www.helderpedro.com/

Currently, we are seeking label support for upcoming releases as well as vinyl distribution for Kalyug. Feel free to contact us at: ninthmoonblack@gmail.com


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This Album Blew Me Away- Ninth Moon Black "Kalyug"

I think I found out who I want my next interview to be with. I don't know if anyone has heard of the band Ninth Moon Black, but they just released a new album called Kalyug. Featuring only four instrumental tracks, the CD is a concept album running about thirty minutes. Throughout the disc is a series of vocoder induced speeches and vocal arrangements by a man talking much like you'll hear on the new Linkin Park CD, A Thousand Suns. I encourage everyone out there to give it a listen, and hopefully they'll respond to my email.



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