Hugo Ferreira
by Deb Rao
Staff Writer
Tantric is back with their fourth studio album Mind Control, set to be unleashed on Aug. 4th on the Silent Majority Group label. Tantric features Hugo Ferreira (lead vocals, keyboards), Joe Pessia (guitars), Erik Leonhardt (bass and vocals), Marcus Ratzenboeck (violin) and Richie Monica (drums). The album was produced by Brett Hestla (Creed, Framing Hanley, Dark New Day) and is the follow-up to 2008’s The End Begins.
Mind Control is full of hook-laden riffs, and passionate vocals of Hugo Ferreira shine on this eclectic album, which has catchy melodies, outstanding musicianship, and no filler tracks. Founding Tantric member Hugo Ferreira has checked in with Hardrock Haven to discuss the making of what is possibly Tantric’s strongest release to date and give the HRH readers an exclusive track-by-track of Mind Control.
HRH: Hugo, Thank you for checking in with Hardrock Haven. The Tantric tour kicks off tonight in Syracuse. Are you looking forward to performing the new songs live off of Mind Control?
HUGO: Yes, of course I am. We pretty much perform a little bit off of every album. Like all of our singles and four or five new songs off of the new upcoming record along with some few other surprises.
HRH: How did you come up with the title Mind Control? And how did you come up with the concept of the album cover?
HUGO: The song itself is kind of about my trip. I went and played in Korea for the U.S. troops a few years back. It is kind of a commentary on how media seems to be controlling people’s opinions and their minds. It also adds reference to the bureaucracy of the music industry. So the cover had this guy that has this mask and suit on, which is kind of representing politics and it is adaptable to many different types of fields.
HRH: Tell us a little bit about the writing process for the album. Over how long of a period of time did it take you to write the album?
HUGO: Basically, everybody in the band is spread out through separate states. I have a studio, and everyone has their own home studio. So, basically, when Joe would come up with a guitar riff and e-mail it to me, I would dump it into my recording studio. And the label goes over it, and I would play a drum machine for it. Then the violin would get recorded. My violin player actually lives in the same city as me, so he would come over. Obviously, there are some songs that people wrote on their own. Then we went into the studio two weeks prior to the recording and just basically played the songs live, and we would hammer them out, polishing them and seeing which ones made the cut. But ultimately we ended up having 25 songs and 11 made the cut.
HRH: Would you say that Mind Control is the rebirth for the band? After listening to it, I definitely feel it is one of your strongest albums to date. What do you think?
HUGO: I definitely think it is the strongest album to date. It is an album that, as far as the flavor or vibe, is different from any other record that we did. It is kind of darker and heavier. We kind of stepped out into the box in the writing aspect of it. But we still kept what our core audience likes about us. We just kind of took a step sideways. It is definitely a departure from the last record, which was a little bit more mellow and subdued.
HRH: When you got the new band together after the demise of Maverick Records, was what your inspiration to keep on going?
HUGO: My attitude towards it; I had really come this far, and I worked really hard to get here. So I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I just pretty much took out all my frustrations into music. I was fortunate enough and definitely blessed by God to get another opportunity. I think that things are better than ever for us; being on track on where our careers are going. But also my love for music outweighs anything. I would just barely make a living and play music than be rich and sit in an office.
HRH: That is awesome. Do you hail from the Louisville, Ky., area? What is the music scene like out in the Midwest these days?
HUGO: Yes, I do live in Louisville, Ky. It is a great city for music and people. Kind of like you have all the benefits of a city and all the benefits of a small town kind of packed up in one.
HRH: Tantric returns to the Boston area at the Middle East in Cambridge on Aug. 4, the night of the release of Mind Control. Are you looking forward to performing in Boston again?
HUGO: I really love to play Boston, even though the stations there don’t show us that much love. Ultimately, my whole family is from there. I went to high school in the Boston area, so it is really good to kind of play for all of my old friends and to see my mom and dad and aunts and uncles. Basically, when I go out to Boston, it is like a giant family reunion with friends and family. My guitar player is also from Boston. So he gets to bring out his family. He is Italian, and I am Portugese, so between both of us, we can pack the place with just his family. I would just encourage everybody to join our Myspace page www.myspace.com/tantric and also join our facebook. Thanks for the support. Take care and God Bless ya.
Hugo Ferreira of Tantric Track-By-Track Exclusive of Mind Control:
1. Mind Control -“Mind Control is setting the tone for the record. But also a song that is an anti-corporate and also is anti-organized media.”
2. Fall To The Ground – “Is more of a relationship struggle song. Feelings that people have when it seems that a relationship, whether it be with a friend or significant other, fallen apart.”
3.Coming Undone – “Coming Undone” is a little bit more about bullies. It is kind of like an anti-bully song. It is saying that most people that bully other people, whether it be with schools or other formats, end up being the being pussies of all.”
4. Desert Me -“People that seem to be your friends during the good times and seem to be no where to be found when you actually need them. My father always told me that friends are like writers: When they need them most they never work.”
5. The Past Is The Past “Is another heart-wrenching relationship song that I wrote about my past relationship. I seem to never be able to hold on to any, but it makes for good songwriting.”
6. Kick Back -“Is basically overcoming life’s struggles, and when life kicks you, you have to kick back and really not get overwhelmed; just have faith in the higher power and in yourself and that persistence overcomes statistics. You just can’t dwell on the negativity. You always have to fight back with a positive attitude. Things will end up turning out your way. It is basically been my life story. As hard as it is to think positive about things, I just kind of try to meditate and stay focus on my goal. Try not to let negative thoughts enter my mind. Just look at the future and visualize it as a positive thing. ”
7. Intermerzzo -“Is something that Joe, my guitar player, had written for years. He showed it to me. He is such an unbelievable player. Immediately, I thought back to Van Halen’s first record, when they did “Eruption.” We, as a band, thought it would be cool to reintegrate just an instrumental piece. “Intermerzzo” kind of divides the first half of the record and second half of the record. It also really shows really great technique and playing ability. It seems that there is a lot of lack of musicianship out there. I just thought it would be a great opportunity to show a piece of music that is just instrumental.”
8. Run Out -“Is about drug addiction and basically about people being dependent on any sort of substance. And it poses the question: What are you going to do when you run out? Places to hide is referring to people hiding and trying to run away through substance abuse or whatever their addiction might be.”
9. Walk Away – “Is about knowing when to cut your losses.”
10. What Are You Waiting For -“Is a story about a friend of mine who has a drinking problem. It is basically me kind of me talking to that person and trying to empower them; telling them their life is totally controllable by them and trying to make them realize that you care about them. You want them to overcome the haze.”
11. Let’s Start -“Is about less talking and more doing. A lot of people say, “We are going to do this; we are going to do that.” It is about kicking yourself in the ass and thinking about your plan and actually follow through.”
12. Guiding Me – “My awareness of a higher power. It is kind of like an angel over my shoulder. I know there is a higher power that is pretty much guiding me through my everyday life and that is always looking out for me, and I take comfort in that.”