Around that time, yeah.

You guys have been together a little over 20 years minus your little breakup for a little while.

There's been many breakups. There's been plenty of breakups. The band's existed for that amount of time, yeah.

You have little breakups so you can do other things outside of the band.

Originally that was my intention. I broke the band up in 1991 and then I continued on another project which I had to do. We'd been together quite a long time. As far as I'm concerned Fields Of The Nephilim has always existed. We tried working with each other amongst that time but many members just fall away. It's sort of been resurrected in a new way really. I think I'm the only remaining member now.

When you resurrected the band, how did you hook up with the new members of the band?

It's just fate really. I start recording and writing on my own to start with anyway so I've got a pretty vivid idea of what I want to achieve. I scratch that down and then when my capabilities might fall down on some of the final recorded parts I'll get people involved with that. I don't like to work with any strict lineup anymore as I find it quite restricting so I've found a fresher way of working.

It gives you more freedom to experiment a little with your music. I know sometimes other members don't like that too much.

No, it really has caused problems for me in the past with other members because some people, unless you work in the same format every time, then other members don't know what to do with their hands. Standing around with their hands in their pockets so they don't like it. They feel threatened by that whereas I feel like music and creating music is what it's all about. It's about trying new things and new challenges so for me it's a much better way of working.

Something that caught my interest was Nephilim comes from sort of a biblical legend about fallen angels.

Yeah, there are a lot of references there to Nephilim that the meaning is those who were cast down as fallen angels I suppose. There's a lot more than that according to the way you look I suppose. I've had my own philosophy on the whole idea of it anyway.

I thought what was interesting was that they divulged hidden knowledge to humans. Seems to me like God is a really secretive bastard. He just doesn't want anybody to know anything.

Yeah, that's one point.

You worked with a gentleman named Richard Stanley who did a couple of movies called Hardware and Dust Devil. You played a part in those.

I played a part in Hardware, yeah. Back in 1990 I think that was, yeah. That's right.

What got you interested in doing a little bit of acting?

I don't really know. It's just that I was asked to do it. I've had an involvement with Richard Stanley anyway. He's working with me again now on the new videos for Mourning Sun. I have been approached a few times about having parts in movies and many of the times I've turned them down just because I've either been busy doing something else or concentrating on my musical career really. It's quite an interesting thing to do I think. That's why we're here isn't it? To try things.

Absolutely. To have creative outlets as it were.

There you go.

You have a new record out or will have a new record out called Mourning Sun. Tell us a little about it.

It's been out in Europe now for a few months so it's come out late in the U.S. for some reason. Mourning Sun is a fresh album. It's all been written in the last two years Mourning Sun has come out in the back of that. It's a fresh statement. It seems like it represents a new start for Fields Of The Nephilim as well as encompassing reflections of the past really so I think it's really a grown up Fields Of The Nephilim album. It needs to be listened to in its entirety. It's not a list of songs. It's more like one composition and I'm quite pleased with it. I think people should listen to if they can find it on the shelves.

Well hopefully on April 25 is when we should find it on the shelves. Tell me a little bit about your writing style.

I didn't know I had one.

Everybody has one.

Yeah, well I have no format in the way I work. I'm quite chaotic in the way I approach things and I do like to be quite spontaneous and truthful in the way I deliver things sometimes. I always try to capture that real moment that's caught. That real spark when it means something rather than going over and over and over trying to get the best take. I go on the feeling and I think that's my main approach really. It's an honest approach.

Have a little bit of chemistry going there. How do you feel Mourning Sun differs from some of the stuff you've done in the past and how does it have some similarities?

I think it's different from the very early stuff because it's got a lot more layers I think to deal with as far as sound goes. I'm not afraid of experimenting with sound and noise generally. There's always an underlying background noise in everything I do now. I do feel that it's a little bit more simplified in some ways. On top of that since I've done the main instruments I've simplified but made it more complex as in atmosphere. It's a weird way of doing it but it's what I've done. I think the music actually compliments that, the main instruments, and they gain a bit more strength by being simple.

Do you find yourself experimenting with instruments now that you haven't done anything with in the past?

Yeah, I would say so, yeah. I do like to make funny noises and I do like recording them. I go out and record sounds and anything in the outside world and I'll bring them back to the studio and see what I can do with them.

I've noticed with some bands that they bring in instruments nowadays that they really haven't used in the past. I think that's cool.

Yeah, of course it's cool. It's great. It just adds extra texture to your compositions and there's nothing wrong with that really. It's good.

You said Richard Stanley was going to be directing some videos for you for the new album.

Yeah, we are working together at the moment. We're collaborating on some...we're trying to decide what tracks but that's another story. We are actually going to be working on the next promos for Mourning Sun. Richard and me haven't worked with each other for 16 years or something like that, we haven't worked together. It feels right now and obviously being me I don't want just a typical pop promo so I'd rather go and see somebody who's a bit like minded. I think Richard's experience and my experience, hopefully we'll produce a bit which is going to compliment some of the tracks. That's the idea.

I haven't had the opportunity to see any of your videos before. When you do videos are they performance type videos or is there a little bit more imagination in them?

Yeah, well some of them are quite a bit of imagination but you look at the early ones,0 you can understand that these were done on a ridiculously low budget so you were lucky to get anything really. They were fun to do. They don't really make a big statement with the music and they don't always run parallel with the music but we have done a few videos that have crossed over quite well. I have not made one for quite a while now so let's just hope I get it right this time. Hopefully it will represent the band a bit more rather than just being a piece of visual stucco.

People always talk about making videos on low budgets and I've found that some of the best videos are the ones that are made on low budgets.

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong. You don't need a million dollars to make a good video. I think imagination is a good use of your tools. My main efforts are in having good ideas, obviously very good camera operators, and things like that but keeping it simple. I think simplicity is quite good. I think a lot of people nowadays use too much technology and too many fast cutting efforts. I think if we can do one slow stream of moving visuals as in the old fashioned way, as in cinematic, then I'd like to achieve that really with what I'm doing.

I've had bands complain especially about the recording process, that a lot of times they prefer the old school way over Pro-Tools.

Yeah, technology can take over and it can make it tedious. It can actually hold you up. It can be a bit daunting. Basically you find that people end up staring at computer screens watching the music as opposed to listening to what they're supposed to be doing. Just use your ears.

Yeah, that's what they're on the sides of your head for. Are you doing any kind of touring for Mourning Sun or do you have some stuff planned?

We do. We have started to work out a schedule but it won't be probably until the fall. We actually have a start but hopefully that will be taking us to a lot of different places and hopefully we get out to the U.S. at some point as well because it's been a long, long time since we've played there. Who knows where it will take us this time but looking forward to it.

You're with SPV right now. How's that working out?

It's early days. We'll see. I've always had label problems. I'm known for it. I don't know. So far it's okay. Let's just hope that it works out. I think more importantly that I've got to make my efforts and as far as I'm concerned the record label is just a factory really. They just manufacture your records and I think it's down to me to go and create the music and go out there and promote it. Let's just leave it at that really.

I was on your website the other night and I was noticing some links to other bands. Are those other projects that you work on?

I don't know. I haven't looked at it for a while. I couldn't tell you. It probably needs updating. I just put links to other stuff. My main other projects are just my visuals and my graphic stuff that I do and my artwork I create for record covers. That's probably the main thing you've seen.

So you do artwork for other people's records.

No, I've been asked. I haven't done any other records. I've done a few book covers and corporate stuff really which is not anything to write home about. I mainly concentrate on my own records and projects.

That sounds cool. I think if you're talented enough to do artwork for book covers and stuff, that is something to write home about.

Yeah, I enjoy it. I can't do one without the other. If I create a piece of music I have to make a piece of visual art to go with it. I can't do this without something I've always done. I think I did that before I was doing music so it's in my blood.

Any other thoughts or comments?

Just hopefully if people get to see this then please give the record the time of day. Give it a good listen. Don't expect to just listen to random tracks. This album needs to be listened to in its entirety. Hopefully you do it.

I don't think you can get the full effect of an album if you just listen to random tracks. I think you really have to give the whole thing a shot.

I think especially with our records. I think our records are quite different because they're not constructed like a list of songs. They're constructed like one composition. I think more so. Let's see.

Kind of like writing a book.