FaceCulture: Giving You The People Behind The Music

Back in 2010 we sat down with vocalist and guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney from the American rock band Alice in Chains. We had an in-depth conversation with the iconic Seattle rockers about how they started in music, the time they were homeless, horrible lyrics, Layne's death and legacy, and a lot more!  Support the show Thank you for listening! For more interviews with your favor...

Alternative rock band Shame turned quite a few heads with the release of their debut album Songs of Praise in 2018.  We had a fascinating conversation with frontman Charlie Steen about the much-anticipated follow-up Drunk Tank Pink (released last month), existential doubt, the success of the debut album, growing as a band, a sense of gratitude and pride, and a lot more!    By: Robin Hignell Suppor...

We have been speaking to Simone Simons, vocalist for Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, for years, and each interview is an absolute pleasure to do. On this occasion we spoke about the upcoming album Omega, writing with the band together in one room, her dreams and nightmares, the Omega Point theory, looking back at their earlier work, working with Ayreon on Transitus, and a lot more!  Support the...

Steven Wilson is a singer, songwriter and producer known for both his work as founder and frontman for the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and his solo work. We've been lucky enough to talk to Wilson throughout the years, as he is always honest and genuine in his answers. This time we spoke abou his upcoming sixth solo studio album The Future Bites, falling out of love with the guitar, the ev...

Jeff Tweedy, known for his work with the widely acclaimed  alternative rock band Wilco, is one of those artists for whom songwriting seems easy. He even wrote a book called 'How to write one song' that appeared just last October. Unsurprisingly then, it was an absolute privilege to be able to pick his brain a bit about creativity and the songwriting as we discussed his latest album Love Is The Kin...

It's very difficult to describe how I felt the first time I heard Nordic folk band Wardruna's music, there is something primal about it, something that reaches you down to the core, something one needs to experience for themselves. It was such a pleasure to talk with the creative mind behind the project, Einar Selvik, about how he thinks about songwriting, how his surroundings inspire him, but als...

Another one of our highlights over the years: It's not often you get the chance to speak to someone of the caliber of Bruno Mars, especially not amidst his ascent to superstardom. We spoke with Bruno about his first steps in music, how artists like Prince and Jimi Hendrix helped shape him,  songwriting and doo-wop music, the Grammy Awards, and a lot more!  Support the show Thank you for listening!...

Back in 2012 we had the chance to speak with at that point former The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha around the release of his second solo album Look To The Sky. We spoke about the music he grew up with and how the Smashing Pumpkins got started and the succes they had, but also where he was at that point with progressive supergroup A Perfect Circle and running his own label and studio. We a...

Everybody of my generation knows who Jamaican artist Shaggy is; first it were songs like Mr. Bombastic and Oh Carolina that were played on every music channel I can remember, then it we're songs like It Wasn't Me and Angel  that caught our ears. Over the years, and into decades Shaggy has been releasing music and jumping outside of his comfort zone for new musical projects, and now he has a Christ...

Back in 2012 we were able to catch up with guitar legend Steve Vai around the release of his 8th album The Story of Light. FaceCulture founder Martin Kuiper had an insightful conversation with Steve about how his passion for guitar and music developed from his childhood, battling depression in his 20s and how he got through it, playing with artists like Frank Zappa and Joe Satriani, and of course...

I was aware of Steps as a young teen (5,6,7,8 and Tragedy were played on all the music channels all the time) but exactly how big they were I never realised before doing research for this interview.  It was great to talk to Claire, Faye and Lee about the ups and downs in their career and to see them coming out more confident and happy on the other side with a new album What The Future Holds.  As a...

I first got to know who Guy Sebastian was through a song called "Battle Scars" that he recorded with American Rapper Lupe Fiasco. It wasn't just the quality of  his voice that struck me, but also that what he was singing felt sincere and struck a chord.  Ever since then Guy has reached great heights not only in Australia but in the rest of the world as well. In this interview we talked about his l...

Back in 2010, we had the chance to talk to singer and songwriter Sia. What makes this interview interesting is that it was right as the Australian musician started gaining worldwide attention with the album We Are Born. Soon after she would be catapulted into the limelight with songs written for artists like David Guetta, Beyonce, Rihanna, and of course her own hit album 1000 forms of Fear (which...

One of the perks of this job is that there are some incredibly talented people who's brain I can pick about their craft, and guitar virtuoso John Petrucci is definitely one of these people. Listening to his second solo record Terminal Velocity was an absolute pleasure, and as someone who tries to play guitar from time to time, also made me question my life choices a little bit. On the record Petru...

As someone who grew up in the 90s, hearing that I could interview one of the Spice Girls was tremendously exciting. Since their break-up Melanie Chisolm, aka Sporty Spice, has continued to develop herself as an artist and has release several solo albums starting with the very succesful Northern Star in 1999. Now, more than two decades later, she released her latest album 'Melanie C' and we spoke w...

Ever since their self-titled debut album back in 2015 we at FaceCulture had the pleasure to talk to English rock band Nothing But Thieves, and frontman Conor Mason in particular, on numerous occasions. Over this time, we've developed an understanding with each other, and Conor's openness and willingness to talk about anything ranging from when he suffered with depression to his musical thought pro...

We were extremely lucky and glad to have Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee sit down with us to talk about their upcoming album The Bitter Truth and a lot more. Right from the start the conversation flowed naturally from why it is important to vote and having your voice be heard, to how the sound of the band has evolved to where it is now. We also spoke about continuously striving to be your true self...

I remember being mesmerized by the soothing voice of Katie when her album Piece By Piece came out back in 2005. It has been wonderful to see her develop and progress with each album, exploring different sides of her psyche, her heritage, and her sound. Although FaceCulture has spoken to Katie a number of times it was personaly my first time, and her thoughtfulness and eloquence did not dissapoint....

I knew very little about Faroese artist Eivør before this interview, but delving  into her life and music I discovered this wonderfully original and truly enchanting singer, musician and performer. Even more so, both uf us were a bit sick of talking about the pandemic and all the depressing news surrounding it, so we dicided to skip all of that and turn our conversation to her new album Segl. The...

Toen het debuut van Spinvis uitkwam, was ik direct gefascineerd door de sferische muziek van Erik de Jong, de man achter Spinvis. Ik was net begonnen met FaceCulture en moest en zou Spinvis voor de camera krijgen voor een interview. Begin 2003 was het zover. We mochten langskomen in Nieuwegein en namen plaats in de studio waar jarenlang gesleuteld was aan het debuut. Erik liet horen hoe hij nummer...

Nickelback, despite being one of the most successful Canadian bands ever, has gotten a lot of flak over the years, and so has its polarizing frontman Chad Kroeger, unfairly in my estimation. I was pleasantly surprised about how approachable and genuinely friendly Chad seemed to be when I went to interview him in 2017 for the Feed The Machine album. He was honest, didn't take himself too seriously,...

We recently had a fun chat with guitarist and songwriter Kragen Lum, know for his work with Psychosis, Prototype, and for the last 10+ years with thrash metal band Heathen. We spoke about growing up around so much rock and metal, the new album Empire of the blind, the crazy times we are living in, and a lot more!  By: Robin Hignell Support the show Thank you for listening! For more interviews with...

Israeli singer-songwriter Asaf Avidan is an artist in the truest sense of the word. He started his musical journey first as part of Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, and since 2012 on his own, gaining an audience both at home and abroad. One of his earlier songs, "Reckoning Song" was covered by German DJ Wanklemut and became a smash hit all over the world. But when asked about the cover he says he prefers...

I don't remember how I first got to hear Big Thief, it was probably through NPR's Tiny Desk concerts, a haven for good music. Ever since hearing them I was sold, "Mary" in particular struck a chord, so when the opportunity arose I jumped at chance to sit down with Adrianne in a small pink room in Amsterdam to talk about tapping into inspiration, creativity and songwriting, wanting to be part of so...

In 2015 I had the chance to talk with Welsh singer, songwriter, and producer Marina Diamadis who at the time was touring for her album Froot as Marina and the Diamonds. We spoke about having a day off in Amsterdam, not wanting to censor herself, not caring about popularity, long-term pressure, sorting out her thoughts and a lot more. It's been great to see Marina developing herself as an artist ov...