Reunions sind ja mittlerweile ein Thema für sich geworden, versuchen doch mittlerweile so einige Größen der frühen Neunziger Jahre, in der gegenwärtigen Szenerie Fuß zu fassen. So auch COALESCE, die jedoch mit einer etwas anders gearteten Zielsetzung wieder zusammengefunden haben. Die interessiert es nämlich gar nicht erst, was im Laufe diesen Jahres noch so alles passieren wird. 'Ox', deren neues Album, welches erneut auf Relapse erscheinen wird, versteht sich in gewisser Weise als 'open end'. Man lässt sich eben treiben und versucht neben Familie und Kindern, das gerade mal noch Mögliche zu schaffen. Doch eigentlich hatten Sänger Sean Ingram, Gitarrist Jes Steineger, Bassist Nathan Ellis und schließlich Schlagzeuger Nathan Richardson ja vor, das Kapitel COALESCE zu schließen und unter einer anderen Flagge zu agieren, das auf 'Ox' Befindliche hörte sich jedoch dann aber doch zu sehr nach COALESCE an, um nicht COALESCE zu sein. Wir befragten COALESCE-Gitarrist Jes Steineger in einem Interview zur Reunion, zum neuen Album "Ox" und die Pläne, die man mit COALESCE anno 2009 verfolgen möchte:


SJM: In the 1990s Coalesce has been one of the most influential hardcore bands of that time. From my point of view the scene as such, its spirit and philosophy has changed drastically. From your point of view – has it changed for good? How would you rate the current 'scene' as such or aren't you interested in things like that anymore?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: Actually, we are not the best band to ask a question like this. Since we started playing again in 2005 we have been a part-time act. That means we don’t play shows that often. And in general, I rarely go to shows just because I have so much else going on. The same goes for the other guys as well I think. But when we do play shows I think that the scene is different from what I remember. That could be because we are playing a totally different scene than we used to, or maybe the scene has actually changed. I don’t sense as much of the pretentious politically correct stuff lingering around our shows anymore, but on the other hand, I sense a new sort of pretentious apathy that has replaced it. In any case, we try not to let these sorts of things affect us. We have met some great people since 2005 that have become really good friends to the band and that’s all that matters when it comes to talking about “the scene.” The scene is about friendships and camaraderie. And I think there are two ways that coalesce, then, relates to “the scene” (if there really is such an entity that we relate(d) to). The first way is involved: coalesce could provide a catalyst for people coming together to hang out. The other way is indifferent: I don’t play coalesce shows for anything except the feeling I get from that 30 or 45 minutes of playing. Whether the scene is pc or apathetic or full of my friends, it doesn’t effect how much I enjoy the freedom of a coalesce show (even if there are times when I can’t find the feeling I’m after in a coalesce show).

SJM: Can you perhaps tell us something about the intention and the spirit of the band in 2009? In comparison to the nineties – has it changed in any way? What kind of philosophy is the solid basis for the 2nd (well. I think at least it's the 3rd time) start of Coalesce?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: It’s a good question because I don’t think we have thought about the collective intention of the band in 2009. We started playing again in 2005 and have considered ourselves to be a part-time act since then. After being asked to do a reunion show, we felt the impulse to write some new stuff. We also wanted to travel abroad and knew that coalesce could provide a good reason (and hopefully the financial support) to do that. In general, there was a time (a long time ago) when we might have thought coalesce was going to be a full-time band that would somehow fund our lives as professional musicians. That has never been an option since 2005, and in that way, I think this part-time status has sort of protected the DIY nature of coalesce. But who knows? We’re always changing our minds and re-evaluating how we feel about stuff; so perhaps there is a very slim chance that coalesce could go “full-time” in the future. For me, personally, I think of coalesce as a thing of immediacy and freedom, even whim. That’s what I mean when I say that coalesce is my wild ox moan. I hope that the other guys feel that sort of freedom with the band as well.

SJM: Let us have a short look at the first rehearsals of the band – what feelings would be the best to describe the mood in the basement after such a long time without Coalesce? What kind of feelings came up when writing new songs?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: Well, it’s hard to remember 4 years ago. I haven’t thought about it in a long time actually. We have been playing together for enough time now that there is no weird anything when we write songs. We just do it. The only feeling that matters when we’re writing a new song is if the song feels good. It’s weird that this is the longest running line-up for coalesce in its history. I take that to mean that we are having a good time doing it and working well together.

SJM: I heard that you intended not to release the new songs under the moniker of Coalesce at first. How come you chose the name Coalesce once again? Is it because "Ox" is kinda like a "typical" record for Coalesce?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: When we started back up in 2005, we were pretty committed to starting a new project with a new name, mainly at my request because James Dewees was not playing with us anymore. After playing a couple shows, however, it quickly became evident that it would just be stupid to change the name of the band because of a new drummer. The tuning was the same, Nellis’ bass sound was the same, Sean’s vocals were just as strong... quite simply, it was coalesce and a name change would have just stubbornly fought against that. Coalesce is like any long lasting friendship: there are good and bad times, good and bad memories, but none of that necessitates the dissolution of the friendship. Keeping the same name sort of makes that statement for us. And in many ways, Ox is a typical record for coalesce: we write riffs, we piece together structures on paper, we demo a rough draft of the song, give the demo to Sean, make some alterations, and then head into the studio. The only difference this time around is that we are not practing every week, but once every month or two. "Part-time" means that it takes double the amount of time to do anything in coalesce these days.

SJM: When playing the first few shows and telling people about the reunion – what kind of reactions did you have to "cope" with? What kind of feedback did you receive from your fans, old and new?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: In all honesty, I don’t really remember. Some (most?) people hate coalesce, some people love coalesce. I care about the feeling I can extract from it and the friendships that constitute it, so I tend to forget how others “evaluate” my choices or involvement in coalesce. In general, I’m really uncomfortable with the idea of coalesce having “fans” because I don’t consider us a huge band. There are people who come to shows and people who buy records, but when I come in contact with those people first hand I consider them to be friends; people whom I have something in common with. For some reason, “fan” always makes me think about a target market group that is supposed to be somehow appeased by a work that I “produce.” It would take away all of coalesce’s freedom from me if I started caring about something like “feedback” or “fan evaluation.” I’m thankful if someone likes a show or a record and I don’t care when someone doesn’t like a show or a record. In either case, we’re going to do what we want to do in coalesce because in the end it is an expression of us as a unit, as a group of long-time friends.

SJM: Your new record is called "Ox". I know this queswtion always seems to be such a bore. What can you tell us about the title and how it is connected with the new album as a whole?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: It’s not a concept album, but there was something like a conceptual thread that ran through the writing process. As with all things in coalesce, I think the conceptual side never really manifests as clearly in the final work as it does in the early days of writing. This question about the meaing of the record is always provocative for me actually because concepts are discursive, which means that they’re in the domain of lyrical content. But coalesce, for me, is predominately non-lyrical and non-discursive. That’s nothing against Sean. In all fairness, I pity Sean for having to write lyrics in a band where the guys have such diverse opinions on things as we do (or are as fickle in changing their views as I am). The point is: there was conceptual content grounding our decision to name the album Ox but we all agreed that it’s not for us to lay that out for the listener. In a very general way, I can say that we initially reflected on the animal in a predominately economic and psychological way, but that’s about all that’s worth saying. A record should have a certain saturation of meaning that its creators shouldn’t limit with their interpretation. What sort of meaning does an ox conjure up for you? Or better, what sorts of meaning are conjured up when you think of the animal in relation to our record and its lyrics?

SJM: Before recording "Ox" – did you know that you wanted to record an album that sounds quite like your older albums or did you just let your creativity flow? In short: Was it a conscious decision to record an album like "Ox" or just a natural development?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: I don’t know if I could write music for another band. I’m not that versatile so I imagine that anything I would write for any band would sound like coalesce. Hence, Ox sounds like coalesce to me. We definitely tried some new things on this record so that there would be a certain dynamic when listening to the record as a whole. For me, the fight in writing a coalesce record is always the issue of memorability: will the song have a long shelf life such that I will want to come back to it again and play it. Will there be moments in the song worth remembering?

SJM: I'd like to know which song is your favourite one of the new album, musically and lyrically, and why especially this one?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: I like each song for its own reason. I think I tend to like the songs that Nellis contributes to more than the ones I contribute to more. Notes look different when someone gives them to you rather than when you find them yourself. I can’t really explain it actually. I’ll evade your question by saying: I like the way the album fits together as a whole, as if it were one big song. It is why I was against posting a couple songs before the record comes out. Either post the entire record now or wait until it can be posted as a whole. That is my feeling. Moreover, I don’t think I could answer your question until we actually get out to some shows and play these new songs. Songs always take on a different meaning after playing them live. For instance, “Questions to Root out Fools” works well on the record, but it loses something so far when we play it live. Maybe I just need to get more comfortable playing it. I don’t know. The point is: I think of the songs as individual units only after we start playing them live. Maybe you can ask me this question again in a year and I will be better equipped to answer it. J

SJM: After having listened to the songs over and over again in the studio – What do YOU personally think is the most fascinating aspect about "Ox"?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: I don’t think I’m fascinated with the record…haha. I hear the record differently when I’m in different moods and I don’t have a fantasy mood for coalesce in general. These days, when I hear the record I’m thinking about how to play it since the songs are still not in a mode of second nature to me. When I am in a sentimental mood, I think about how the songs came together at different stages of the past two years: my travelling back and forth between Chicago and Kansas City, all the laughs, all the debates about what “worked,” all the distinct contributions that each guy made, the working titles that Nellis and I give the songs before they’re officially titled by Sean, etc. When I listened to the record in the studio over and over again, it was always for some mechanical reason: are the bass and drums loud enough (since, for me, they can never really be too loud in coalesce), is the panning working here or there, that sort of thing. Actually, there have only been a few times when I have rocked Ox in my car during a commute from one university to another. During those times, all that I could think about was “I can’t wait to play this or that song live.” In fact, that’s how I feel whenever I hear a song I like: “I wish I could be in that band and play that song.” Because playing a song brings such a more intimate relationship to the song itself. It’s why I have always loved covers; and why I absolutely love bands like Arcade Fire and the Black Keys—I would play the shit out of their songs.

SJM: I know all the members of Coalesce have kids and a family nowadays. Concerning music - has your point of view on that changed in any way? Are you still what we would call hardcore? Are you still listening to that kind of music?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: This is a really personal question that I know is different for each guy. For me, there is a certain freedom in coalesce that always feels threatening to my family life. I think the other guys know this about me. Actually, this very issue is what provoked my only lyrical contribution to coalesce in the history of the band: “Come on loyal woman, I gotta hear that wild ox moan.” There are varying dimensions of the line, but in general, it has to do with my desire to be non-committed and whimsical. And that is a really contradictory thing to want when you have a loyal significant-other and the responsibility of children who are looking to you as an example. You have sort of framed the question in terms of “hardcore” though and that has a different dimension to it. I’ve never been physically big enough to be a tough guy and I have never only listened to extreme music, so in that sense I’ve never been hardcore per se. Coalesce is an underground band because it does not appeal to the masses. We are an extreme band because we love frenzy, discordance, and lots of volume. In that sense, we are still part of the punk hardcore tradition of music: punk because we don’t give a fuck live, and hardcore because melody and harmony are rarer in our music than the belligerent and chromatic elements.

SJM: As a second to last question I'd like to know if you have plans to come over to Europe, especially Germany. What are your memories like when thinking about your last tour abroad?

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: We’ve never toured abroad. Coalesce has only ever played in the United States and Canada. So we are extremely excited to come to Europe this summer and hope that we will also be able to make it to Japan, Australia, and maybe South America as well within the next year or two.

SJM: I always leave the last statement to the band. Is there anything you'd like to say that hasn't been said before? Please be my guest:

Jes Steineger / Coalesce: Thanks for your interest and contacting us for the interview. We’re really looking forward to seeing your continent this summer.

(Dennis Grenzel)