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Thanks to " Dark_Phoenix" on the official boards for translating the new Muse interview in a French Magazine!
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Chris: When we started the new album, we wanted to make different songs than we previously made.The first two tracks are a kind of open bridge between Absolution and this new album. It's a clue over the musical direction that we wished to take. All our albums work this way. If you compare Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry, they have nothing in common, but the first songs make you slowly enter in the bath. Same thing for Absolution compared to OOS. We're moving more and more towards chaos, it's all about unleashing our energy. Absolution is for me our first real album because it was recorded in a row, with reccurent themes and a stronger coherence. Our new disc keeps that state of mind. <more>
STARLIGHT
Chris: Matthew said in the press that this title was influenced by the Strokes and, immediatly, it took huge proportions (laughs). The Strokes rule in their ability of composing tracks that seem simple but somehow extremly effective. It's difficult to stay focused on the rythm, a melody, and not adding anything else. The structure of Starlight is binary, with an easy bass line to remember, and a continue rythm, without break. It perspires the pop genre, one of the most pop songs we ever made. Sometimes, you take a lot of pleasure in writing that kind of track. We don't know whether it will be a single or not. It seems almost too obvious! We like to take aback our fans so it would be fun to choose a less easy title as a single. Every song on the disc is so different that it's difficult just to take one to represent the whole album.
SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE
Chris: The title of the song echoes to a menace or a superheroes' universe whereas it's all about dancing. I like this contrast... If a song on the disc represents a new start for Muse, it's this one. It's the first time we go this far in the use of electro sounds in our music. Bands like Millonaire or Soulwax perfectly manage to combine the guitars of alternative rock and crappy industrial electronical keyboards, without forgetting to keep a nearly disco shape. These sounds that seem so different wonderfully complete each other. We've thought for a long time about composing a such track. It began with a simple riff and an electro beat. Then we worked the production of Supermassive Black Hole to outcome to this very rigid and martial result. And over this, Matthew found a very high-perched voice that adds ambiguity. The journalists speak of Prince or Freddy Mercury, and indeed it's the same genre.
A SOLDIER'S POEM
Chris: It's a track written from a young soldier's point of view, gone to war. He's there but he doesn't really know why. He fights for his ideals which he doesn't know the nature. This could be applied to any war even if we were very influenced by Irak, of course. In that way, it would be reducing to talk about a politic song. It can be related to plenty of events: to fight for a cause we didn't choose. The melody existed for quite a bit of time, we even made a first version for Absolution, but we hadn't kept it. We have reworked on it in a very tiny studio and it ended up on this very refined version, without battery and totally different from the original one. I'm playing on a counter bass, which gives almost a jazzy atmosphere. It was all about freezing a moment, in a spontenuous way. Contrary to what one could think, the lyrics didn't came up with an intense work but a rather simple chain of ideas. Matthew wrote them quickly. When the music is composed first, it inspires and kind of leads the rest. It's one of my favourite tracks on the album.
INVINCIBLE
It's one of the last songs we composed. When we were working on it, I didn't know it would have this huge power in the end, this stadium spirit. We improvised a lot on this title, mostly on the intro. It's almost a live performance, a bit like "A Soldier's Poem". The melody of "Invincible" is really born during our sessions in the south of France, in the Miraval studios. We've always loved France, we spend most of our holiday there. It was an instinctive processus to begin the new album there. Instead of going home after the sessions, we used to stay together and we worked whatever time it was. We really were isolated, far from any distraction. To put it bluntly, around us, there was only fields and vineyards (laughs). This environment played a role on the sound of the disc, this whole more mature and relaxed side that some songs are filled with. Everything had to be perfect before the recording in New York in order to spend as little time as possible and keep our freshness pristine.
CITY OF DELUSION
Chris: This song is quite old, really. First, it had this tex-mex side with these mexican acoustic guitars. We even kept the trumpets for the end of the track. In studio, our arrange guy, who listens to a lot of arabic music, kept on telling us to add violins. We told ourselves "let's see it" and it worked. None of us listens to or is influenced by this type of music. The strings brought a new dimension to the track, which may not have figured on the album without this arrangement. Overall we wrote twenty tracks but we agreed on the final choice of the eleven titles. Often during the recording, some songs don't go over the demo status. The strongest ones find their way to the top rather quickly. It's an obvious processus. For this album, we let down more songs than before. Basically, they end up as B-sides because we spend so much time in gigs after the release of each album that we don't have the time to record other tracks. It's not impossible that we'd use some of these for something else or that we'd publish them on an EP next year.
KNIGHTS OF CYDONIA
Chris: Cydonia is a region on the Moon, we like these kind of unknown places that stimulate our imagination... It's the last song of the disc, and it's good to finish on a track that is not depressing like on all of our other albums (laughs). There's a latine influence for this track too. Our inspiration also came from the 50-60's bands like Tornados that used instruments that were a bit strange to obtain this spatial sound. Back then, the Man was walking on the Moon for the first time and the curiosity for space was reflecting in the musical branch. At the end of the track, we come back to something more traditionnal, with heavy guitars and a massive sound. It's like a travel through four or five types of rock. It's definitly our favourite title. Well, for the moment at least! "Knights of Cydonia" opened our mind and improved us as musicians, making us play differently than our habits.
Source : muse.mu boards
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first!
great interview! and with the bassist ihimself!
"we'd publish them on an EP next year."
liking the look of that!
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best info on the album so far. maybe we'll get a cd of b-sides next year!
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yes, the best interview yet. and prob cos its with chris and not some crappy reviewer
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Chris: Cydonia is a region on the Moon
ò_o ... Moon?!
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yeah i'm liking the sound of there being an ep or an album with just b'sides on iit 
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Teamy
1644 posts
 - Belfast
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Chris: Cydonia is a region on the Moon,
WRONG!
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Cydonia is actually a place on MARS. Sorry for that, Mr. Wolstenholme.
http://www.aadm.com/cydonia/
That interview was amazing! Its only flaw is... he doesn't talk about each and every song. Where are the others?
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least he said something tho.
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Teamy :
Chris: Cydonia is a region on the Moon,
WRONG!
was this an error in the translation or is chris really that stupid? 
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was this an error in the translation or is chris really that stupid?
I wouldn't call this stupidity at all. 99% of the people on Earth wouldn't know a name of a region on the Moon or on Mars, whatsoever. Or a lot of places on Earth, for that matter.
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....and it ended up on this very refined version, without battery and totally different from the original one.
I presume 'A Soldiers Poem', has no drums then?
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Gargumma :
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was this an error in the translation or is chris really that stupid?
I wouldn't call this stupidity at all. 99% of the people on Earth wouldn't know a name of a region on the Moon or on Mars, whatsoever. Or a lot of places on Earth, for that matter.
When someones song is named after something, I would expect that person to know what the title means 
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Nizzy
22 posts
 - Front row
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Thanks for this nice interview!
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i think chris hasn't talked that much in an interview :P
yes, the best review so far!
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When someones song is named after something, I would expect that person to know what the title means
Agreed, ok. But consider this: we're talking about the Moon and Mars. He sure knows what the title and lyrics mean, but what the hell? It's a pretty honest mistake, given the whole thematical universe (no pun intended) of the band. And also, it's only like that if he said it intentionally. The guy may have thought it right, but just said it wrong, as we all usually do.
Just to add one thing: it's probably Matt who came up with the theme, the lyrics and the title. You could say it's no excuse, but again, what the hell? If you ask Matt, he won't slip; if you ask Chris, he might slip on a detail or not. He's not Matt, the original writer...
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eoghan
28 posts
 - Fort Augustus
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Gargumma :
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When someones song is named after something, I would expect that person to know what the title means
Agreed, ok. But consider this: we're talking about the Moon and Mars. He sure knows what the title and lyrics mean, but what the hell? It's a pretty honest mistake, given the whole thematical universe (no pun intended) of the band. And also, it's only like that if he said it intentionally. The guy may have thought it right, but just said it wrong, as we all usually do.
Just to add one thing: it's probably Matt who came up with the theme, the lyrics and the title. You could say it's no excuse, but again, what the hell? If you ask Matt, he won't slip; if you ask Chris, he might slip on a detail or not. He's not Matt, the original writer...
Irak?? It must just be a mistranslation by someone along the line. As it is pretty important.
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EP EP EP, oh yeah
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Thats more words than Chris has ever spoken in his life!
Bring on the EP!
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Scr33nag3r :
first!
never do that again. you have been warned.
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Scr33nag3r :
first!
great interview! and with the bassist ihimself!
Exactly!
 EP!!!
It's one of the last songs we composed.
INVINCIBLE.........is more NEW.
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I CAN'T WAIT!!!! WAHOOOOOOO!
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I CAN'T WAIT!!!! WAHOOOOOOO!
I dont think i've ever seen an interview with Chris before! Sweet!
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city of delusion - is it that 15 second long sample that was named as knights of cydonia? Its the one that came on the news headlines just before supermassive was leaked.
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