Berikut kutipan wawancara oleh LPA bersama AltWire dengan Mike Shinoda.
LPA: Maintaining the drive to continually record and produce music seems like it would be a difficult challenge in the long run. Who or what inspires you to continue the work that you do, and where do you look for motivation these days?
Mike Shinoda [Linkin Park]: When it was our first or second album, we had a more limited scope of the aspects of what we do. And it went beyond writing and recording; I’m talking about the whole picture–how a release and an experience feels to a fan. In general, as we’ve made more albums and experimented with many things both in and out of the studio, we learn how to be better artists, better songwriters, better performers, better designers, better community builders, better communicators. I wouldn’t say we “raise the bar” each time, or that every move we’ve made is better than the last. It’s often all about the journey, taking risks, and enjoying what we’re doing at the time. But while we’re doing that, we strive to innovate and achieve.
LPA: You recently made some very interesting comments on the state of rock music, and how the genre has gone soft. Are you unsatisfied with the current version of rock music?
M: The question is, what’s “rock” right now? Mumford and Sons? Capital Cities? AVICII? Vampire Weekend? Lorde? Arcade Fire has basically gone disco, and Trent Reznor spends too much of the new Nine Inch Nails album whispering–and I truly like all these bands, I’m just saying there’s something missing. I guess it doesn’t have to be “rock,” but I’m at a loss for something else I’d call it. I’m looking for ferocity, innovation, and energy without giving up songwriting, sophistication, and craftsmanship. It’s a tall order; even if we’re able to address it on our next Linkin Park album, it’ll take more than one band to really move the needle.
LPA: Just two songs from your first five studio albums have eclipsed the 5-minute mark in length. In the future, are you open to writing longer songs and worrying about radio edits afterwards?
M: Sure, I’m open. It’ll happen if it happens–I really don’t write a song to fit a certain time length. When we make a song, the song length is dictated by how the “story arc” of the song progresses.
LPA: Is the process for the writing/recording of the next album any different this time around, with Chester off doing his own thing with STP? What challenges does this bring forth?
M: He knew what he was signing up for–it’s very hectic for him, but he’s making it work! I don’t think our progress has been negatively affected in any major way by the STP shows.
LPA: You’ve been touring as Linkin Park for over 14 years now. How do you balance keeping your live setlists fresh for yourselves vs. appeasing the fans? Are you sick of playing One Step Closer yet?
M: I think Mike Einziger (or Incubus) said it best, I’ll paraphrase: when I’m onstage, I’m not thinking about what my hands are playing or how the notes go, I’m engrossed in the experience of connecting with the fans, on that stage in that city. So with that said, it kinda doesn’t matter what song we’re playing, as long as everyone is into it.
LPA: Although you did do a short run of European Projekt Revolution shows in 2011, the last time we saw a full-scale Projekt Revolution tour was back in 2008. Are there any plans to bring back Projekt Revolution in the future?
M: I don’t know if that will come back in name, but I hope to do a more robust U.S. tour in the next couple of years. We’ve missed playing in a lot of places in the U.S. because there has been such incredible demand overseas. I suppose it’s a great problem to have!
LPA: What have you taken away from the process of creating video games?
M: One side project I really enjoyed working on was the LPRecharge.com game. As you know, I was a visual artist before I was a musician–I majored in Illustration and design in art school, and always thought I’d be a designer or painter of some kind. I also grew up drawing video game characters like Mega Man, Samus from Metroid, or Mario and Luigi. So being able to create and sculpt the characters in RECHARGE was a dream come true.
LPA: Your gear and instrument collection constantly evolves with each album cycle. What kind of gear are you working with in the studio right now? Anything new that might surprise some people?
M: I’m playing with a lot of different things; I don’t want to give away any surprises, because they might be a part of the next phase in our sound or tour. One interesting thing is that we’re expending off the usual platforms: we’re working on Mac and Windows, and we’re working in Ableton in addition to Protools. And we’re trying to get off of the computer as well, which is unusual for us.
LPA: With the recent Typhoon in the Philippines, what is the band doing to support those affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan?
M: The band and Music For Relief are fully committed to raising funds and awareness for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which has forced over half a million people from their homes and killed over 10,000 and counting. One: we’re accepting donations at musicforrelief.org. Two: we’re going to offer an upgrade item in the LPRecharge.com game: you get a character boost and the purchase money goes to Haiyan relief. Three: we are in talks to put together a fundraiser event. Our partner on the effort is International Medical Corps., one of most renowned and experienced disaster relief organizations in the world. And our (MFR’s) overhead for programs like this have historically been close to nothing, because people donate their time, we offset costs with our own (LP) contribution, and we try to work with partners who will waive fees when it’s a philanthropic effort. I encourage every person reading this to go to musicforrelief.org right now and donate–there are literally millions of people need your help.
source : LPA
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