Fountainhead interview

Fountainhead is solo project of German guitarist Tom Geldschläger. I was introduced to his music by Vishal J Singh. Last month, Tom released Reverse Engineering, his 3rd album as Fountainhead. The predominately instrumental album has a strong influence of Indian classical music, unlike anything I have heard before.

I spoke to Tom about the album, his work as a producer and also his other projects.

 

Hi Tom, what have you been up to lately?

Hi Peter, I’ve been super busy, as usual. “Reverse Engineering” just came out, only a few weeks after my second album with the “Pitts/Minnemann Project”, called “The Psychic Planetarium”. Right now, I’m in the process of starting a label together with some amazing people and the physical edition of RE will be the first release on it. Also I’ve been recording guitars for a new project mixing metal, dance music and russian influences, which I’m really excited about. Also, I recorded a ton of guest solos and did some more mixing and production-work.

How does it feel now that your 3rd solo album Reverse Engineering has been released?

I’m really glad to finally have it released since it’s been sitting on the shelf for quite some time while I had other obligations to fulfill – years, actually. I’m also glad it seems to get very positive responses from the fans and the press, which is not always a given when you’re trying to do something unique, something that doesn’t repeat what you’ve done in the past and may go totally against people’s expectations.

There is an influence of Indian classical music on a few of the tracks on the album. How did you get into Indian classical music?

I’ve been fascinated by Indian music for many years. Discovering the richness of Indian music went hand in hand with me developing an interest in meditation and eastern philosophy. Fortunately, these days I’m able to occasionally work with some amazing Indian musicians and I’m sure I’ll explore these influences further in the future.

A couple of the tracks have instrumental and vocal versions. What is the reason behind that?

Most of these tunes were originally written as vocal tunes for a band-project that didn’t end up happening. Re-working them as instrumental versions was the easy part and i just didn’t want to decide on either version. However, working with different singers was a lengthy and difficult process and I didn’t even get to include all of the vocal tracks we recorded, unfortunately.

The album features performances by Derek Roddy, Jacob Schmidt, Linus Klausenitzer and many more. How did they become a part of the album?

By me asking them. Most of these musicians I’ve known for a while and had already worked with in other projects.

With members in different countries, how did you manage the recording of the album?

I recorded most of the basic tracks in my Studio in Berlin, including demo-versions of the remaining instruments/parts, which I then sent to the guest-musicians to “put their own stamp on it”. They then recorded in their own studio of choice and we sent files back and forth until the final result was reached. Sometimes we even worked using skype.

The album has a cover of King Crimson. Which other bands would you like to cover?

No plans for other covers at the moment. “Model Man” was another song we did in the band-project I mentioned earlier, so it made sense to include it on RE. I’m not a big fan of covers, unless you’re able to give the song a unique and fresh perspective. It looks like the next Fountainhead release will be all-instrumental again and will certainly have no cover-versions.

You are also a producer. What projects are you currently working on at the moment?

I just finished producing and mixing an EP of old-school power metal for a band called “Liquid Fire” and mixing an electronic music album. In September I’ll be mixing a jazz-trio’s album. Anybody can hit me up for that sort of work, btw.

What advice do you have for younger musicians who like to become full time musicians?

Keep your ego in check, don’t be an asshole, but also don’t take shit from anybody! Work on your attitude and mindset just as hard as on your music. Don’t take shortcuts, they’ll always come back to bite you in the ass. Look to others for inspiration but never copy them, find your own way to do anything.

What are you plans for promotion of the album? Do you have any live shows planned?

No full-band shows are planned at this point, it would be just too much of a financial burden. But if the right offer comes I certainly wouldn´t say “no”. For now, I’m looking forward to a few select shows where it’ll just be me and a backing track, for example at the “Holy Grail Guitar Show” this October.

Thanks for answering all my questions. Do you have any final words?

Thank you so much for your support! Keep spreading the word about Fountainhead, there’ll be more to come. Also, keep an eye out for big things happening at vmbrella.com! In the meantime, get your copy of “Reverse Engineering” at thefountainhead.bandcamp.com. Love & Light!

Stream/Download Reverse Engineering below