Interview Transcending Into the Unknown

Introducing "Transcending Into the Unknown"! Following the unexpected success of "Giants," the band shares insights into their diverse influences, familial dynamics, and the creative process behind their evolving sound.

1. Congratulations on the release of "Giants"! How has the response been so far, and what inspired the darker and heavier sound compared to your previous self-titled release?

Thank you very much. The response has really been overwhelming and also quite unexpected to be honest, as some of our listeners may have been taken a bit by surprise by the harder, heavier and more experimental sound. We are all three very big fans of heavy, guitar-based music in all forms, and we thought that it would be great and challenging for us to try to go in that direction now. That’s really how it should be, when you are taking part in the TITU-experience.

2. The band's name, "Transcending Into the Unknown," suggests a journey into uncharted territories. Can you share more about the concept behind the name and how it reflects your musical journey?

We are a family with several “guitar geeks”, but we have never, previously to TITU, played together due to different playing styles and music taste. However, we did finally find out that it could be interesting to try to do something together, and then we also had to find a name of the band. We ended up with “Transcending Into the Unknown” as we all felt that this was like entering into a completely new and unknown experience.

3. "Giants" showcases a unique blend of various music styles. How did the individual members' musical backgrounds and influences contribute to the eclectic mix heard in the single?

We were very well aware of that our individual musical preferences and performing styles could be quite challenging to blend together. We do all respect and admire each other highly when it comes to guitar playing, and we had to be open minded and avoid being prejudiced before we entered into this project. It did luckily turn out to be an amazing experience and it triggered so many great ideas, once we got together and started working.

4. Filip Dahl, being a seasoned composer and multi-instrumentalist, has a diverse musical career. How did his experience as a lead guitarist in the '70s and later as an engineer and record producer influence the sound of "Giants"?

I did initially start off as playing guitar in bands that played covers of pop and rock hits at dance halls back in the 70’s. It was for sure a great time, but also somewhat boring to all the time try to sound like someone else. My passion was already then to compose and record my own music so I got more involved in that in the years to come, and it was also what brought me to start working as an engineer and record producer. I did get the chance to work with so many great bands and musicians, and in so many different music styles in those years. It really brought me so much inspiration and it also taught me to be open minded to all kind of music, as long as it's good and performed with heart and soul in mind.

5. Stian Dahl, your guitarist, has evolved his playing style from blues and rock to incorporating elements of neoclassical and death metal. How does this diverse range of influences contribute to the band's overall sound?
I hope that it brings a bit more diversity to the overall sound of the band and also contributes to the unique musical identity, by fusing blues with neoclassical influences and sometimes even heavier death metal elements.

6. Robert Dahl, fronting the band Ack-Ack in the '80s, has a background in punk and metal. How does his experience from the subculture punk-/metal scene influence the artistic direction of "Transcending Into the Unknown"?

What attracted me to being part of that scene was the creativity and "anything goes" feeling. We made the music we wanted, not what we thought others would like to hear. This is the same feeling I get as part of TITU. Although we have different musical backgrounds, and indeed tastes, all ideas are welcome. I probably push the balance more towards "old school" metal sometimes, but I love the feeling that our next song could be a gloomy piano ballad or a brutal black-metal song or something else entirely.

7. The band consists of family members - brothers Filip and Robert, and Stian, who is Filip's son. How does the familial connection impact your musical dynamics and creative process?

It’s clearly great to know each other as good as we do, when you are going to cooperate closely in a creative process. You have to listen to the ideas that each brings, try them out in order to see if it works and all the time have an open an honest discussion on how to proceed in the best possible way. That's in our opinion the best way to work when you want to achieve a goal with lots of musical dynamics.

8. "Giants" takes a departure from blues-rock to a more prog-rock-inspired style. Can you share the reasons behind this shift and the creative process involved in crafting the new sound?

[Robert] It started quite a while back when Filip sent us a song-idea, which actually ended up as the drums/bass and rhythm guitars on the finished recording. Although we didn’t do anything with it right away, it stuck in the back of my mind because I really liked it. So, I was really happy when we decided to do something with it, also because it was a great foundation to build a heavier and darker song on (which I like 😀). So, I may have been partly responsible for pulling it more towards a harder tone, but the great thing is the way we work together, where the diversity of our contributions makes the final result greater than its individual parts.

9. Stian, you draw inspiration from guitarists like Dimebag Darrell and Paul Gilbert. How do these influences manifest in your playing style, especially considering the diverse genres you've been a part of over the years?

The influences from those guitarists have shaped my approach to how I write riffs and solos. It often results in a balance between melodic and technical leads. With TITU I lean more to the melodic side, as it suits the overall music style we have better.

10. Robert, as pzyroks, draws inspiration from thrash metal, doom, stoner rock, blues, and jazz. How do you balance these diverse influences within the band's overall musical framework?

That is one of the great things about this project. I never have to produce music “to a specification” (like -This is a blues song - only play pentatonic licks in a 12-bar). I can use the parts of my influences that I feel fits the song we are developing as I feel best. As I often take inspiration from what the other two are doing, which can be quite different from my initial ideas, it’s great to have a diverse “influence-bank” to draw from.

11. Filip, having taken a break from the music scene, returned with several album and single releases. How has the music scene changed since your earlier days, and what motivated your return to full-time music production?

It has indeed changed dramatically since I started working with music. I grew up with analog recordings (I started off on a 4-track reel to reel tape machine) and vinyl records, so the change to the digital tools and possibilities we have today is stunning. I did eventually end up more and more being behind the studio mixer, recording other artist than write and perform music myself during the 90’s. It finally got me to a point where I did not touch a guitar for several years, and I had no inspiration or motivation left to pick it up again. So, I ended up selling all my gear to get some money instead. A friend of mine did show me an inexpensive but really great Kramer guitar that he had bought on net back in 2015, and that triggered me to order one myself. The joy of playing and making music returned to me again as soon as I got it, and the rest is history now. 

12. The single "Giants" is described as having a symphonic rock element. Can you elaborate on how symphonic rock fits into your overall musical vision, and are there specific bands or artists that have influenced this aspect of your sound?

[Filip] I guess that I’m the one to “blame” for the symphonic rock elements in our music. I’m a huge fan of bands like Dream Theather, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple and the way they manage to mix symphonic elements in to rock music. I love to incorporate music elements which creates a broad musical landscape with melodic parts (keyboards, vocal and choir parts), that supports and elevates the main elements in a song to a higher level. “Giants” is a very good example of that, as you will find such layers behind the predominant guitars, bass, drums and lead vocals.

13. The band has its roots in Norwegian rock bands from the '70s. How do you see the evolution of the Norwegian music scene, and how has it influenced your current musical direction?

[Robert] Actually, as there are some years between us, I think we bring influences from different eras from the 70’s and onwards together in TITU.  They say that the music you like when coming of age shapes your music-taste for the rest of your life; there might be something to that. For me the late 80’s/early 90’s was a great time for Norwegian rock-music, with bands like Raga Rockers, Jocke og Valentinerne, early period Motorpsycho etc. being some of the more mainstream ones.

[Filip] We are blessed with so many great musicians and bands in Norway. However, not so many of them managed to reach out to an international audience back in the 70’s, even if they were really great. That did luckily change a bit during the 80’s when bands like Aha, TNT and Stage Dolls managed to crack the international music scene and achieve great success abroad.

14. Considering the diverse musical backgrounds of the members, how do you manage to maintain a cohesive sound for "Transcending Into the Unknown"?

Filip’s extensive background as engineer and record produce comes in very handy here. He is the one who mixes and produces our songs, but of course also in close cooperation with Robert and Stian. It’s again very important to listen to all individual suggestions and preferences we have in order to try to achieve a final result that we all can stand for an be proud of.

15. What's next for "Transcending Into the Unknown" after the release of "Giants"? Any upcoming projects, collaborations, or plans for live performances?

We already have some new ideas, which currently consists of only basic drums, rhythm guitars and bass. They will be a great basis for creating new songs and it’s always so exiting to be able to start off with an almost blank canvas and then add bits and pieces bit by bit in the same manner as we did with “Giants”. We will hopefully manage to have a new TITU release later in 2024, and we are really looking forward to continue our journey into the unknown.

(1) Transcending Into the Unknown - YouTube

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Filip Dahl (@FilipDahl8) / X (twitter.com)