Fox Reviews Rock

Introduction

Austrian psych-rock former trio (now quartet) Mother’s Cake join us today to share insights such as new band members and to talk about their upcoming album, Ultrabliss, scheduled for release on October 18, 2024.

This marks the band’s fifth full-length album, and after getting an exclusive preview from Duff Press, we can confidently say it’s their finest work to date! With a unique blend of genres and a newfound sense of freedom, the creative handcuffs have been ripped off!

A big shoutout goes to Jesse Kooker of Dingir Zu for the first connection. For those not aware Dingir Zu is the ONLY religion based exclusively on rock music with an awesome weekly show! Valeria from Duff Press for expertly managing all the details to make this happen. And of course, we can’t forget Yves for providing those incredible insights! So, kick back, pour yourself a beer (Trust us it is what they would want), and enjoy the interview!

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Interview

You’ve supported some massive bands including Limp Bizkit, Alice in Chains and Iggy and the Stooges. What was it like supporting big artists and what are your favourite memories of the experiences?

Yeah, it was a great experience to share the stage with such legends. What I learned is: the bigger the band the more relax they are. One of my favourite stories goes back to Limp Bizkit, they didn’t have a bass player for one of the shows we played with them, so the production manager came to us and asked if we could play the bass for Limp Bizkit.

Of course, me and my bass player said yes, even if we couldn’t play all the songs yet. We thought we could split the set in two halves … I’d learn the first half and Benni (our bass player) would learn the second and we would both play the show.

We rehearsed the Limp Bizkit set in the backstage till 20 min before the show, so at this point we were sure we were going to perform with Limp Bizkit. But minutes before the show another guy, the real substitute turned up and actually got to play bass for them.

That was kinda sad, but hey! No hurt feelings; it just showed me how relaxed these guys are playing a show in front of 10.000 people without any bass player in the back. In the end, everything went fine and they played an awesome set.

You participated and did extremely well in a lot of band competitions, what was the standout moment for you from these?

It was at a very early stage of the band. This was a time where we were searching for gigs and this was a good opportunity. Actually we didn’t expect anything.

But it was a good moment when we won it, because we met a lot of interesting music industry people, for instance it’s how we met our very first producer Georg Gabler.

What’s the music scene in Austria like?

There are some good bands out there, but when it comes to rock and psychedelic rock, I’ve got the feeling that here in Austria there is not much interest in such music.

What cake did your mother bake?

Chocolate cake! That’s the best

What was the process like finding new drummer Alex Kerbl?

He already did some substitute jobs for us. So he knew the band and the songs and he’s an awesome drummer and even more an awesome human being.

You toured a lot before the pandemic, did you enjoy the break or were you itching to get back to touring again?

Actually it was nice to have a break at first, it was totally different. But after a while I found myself praying that this pandemic would quickly come to an end, because, besides all the other scary stuff that was happening at the time, I really missed the road and my work.

Benedikt was ill during the recordings. Is he now able to participate? did he feel left out at the time?

That was a hard time for us all. But fortunately we found an amazing guy Arthur Darnhofer Demar, who filled the gap and did a fantastic job, please do check him out!

From the upcoming album ULTRABLISS which song is your favourite, and why ?

I really enjoy the whole album, because the songs make more sense when you listen to them in context of the whole album. I guess we are still an album band even, when “we” are getting rarer these days 😉

For instance, I like Love Me, because it reminds me of so many songs I like and here I’ve got the feeling that so many styles are combined in one song, it’s like a cool mad medley.

If someone told you, you had to choose one song from before ULTRABLISS which you best think encompasses the mothers cake sound , which track would it be and why?

Oh thats a difficult question, because they are all so different.

But all in all Mother’s Cake is all about groove, it has to catch you by your b*lls or p*ssy.

Clockwork, Serotonin, Poor Boy, Clementines, Love Me…ok you see I love them all. New songs are like your children, you love them all the same, but differently.

A few of your songs on the new record + songs such as Clockwork and On a trip come in at over 7 minutes. Is that length of song a conscious decision or something that happens naturally?

The song always tells you how long it should be, so I guess it comes naturally.

What was the inspiration behind the album artwork for ULTRABLISS ?

We wanted to do a cover in the style of old sci-fi movies, however we ended up with something totally  different, which reflects the typical journey from original thought to the end product. It’s like an evening with good friends where you planned to stay home talking the good ol´times and but actually end up on a drum ‘n’ bass dancefloor at 06.00 in the morning.

Being Austrian what was the rationale behind singing in English rather than German?

All my heroes sang in English, and I always wanted to travel the world and not just Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Beside that to me the English language has a special appeal, I don’t quite know how to explain it, some emotions and groove patterns happen to appear in my mind in English – don’t know if this makes sense for you, and I also sing English in the shower 😊

English is just more international.

If you could play a gig anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be and why?

South America and USA. I never been there and I also think we have an audience there. It’s always interesting to meet new people from different parts of the world, because culturally people are so different, but in our hearts we´re all the same, I think.

What’s your go to snack while on tour?

Beer

If you could only drink 1 thing for the rest of your life (excluding water) what would it be?

It sounds plain but I think beer. I also love milk.

How does the band settle disagreements?

Often too late.

But what we learnt is that it’s really important to talk about everyone’s problems and desires as soon as they appears. Sometimes you forget about that and stay in the comfy zone of not telling what bothers you, but it’s always good to make a reality check to see where the others are standing.

What band from Austria would you say inspired you the most?

I would say Bilderbuch they have a nice mix of goovie funky vibes and change their style on every album.

Your guitar has a distinctive sound, was this intentional and was it inspired by another guitarist?

I didn’t know that it has a distinctive sound! I always try to fit in the band … My part in the song should not stand out too much.

If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be ?

Sometimes it’s hard to be an entrepreneur, you know, you have to pay everyone before you are getting paid, but we are most of the times in a lucky position.

For young and upcoming artists it’s so much harder, there is everyone getting their fee where they can live from, but the artist is the last on the bill. “Your artistic endeavours have to be philanthropic; you are not entitled to make a living from it…”

What is your song writing process like?

That is easy, playing guitar and I wait till something pops up in my mind, soul and heart.

All the songs, used in this interview belong to their respective owners and this website does not claim any right over them. All images were provided by Mother’s Cake & Duff Press and were taken by Benjamin Thomes.

Let us know what you think to Mother’s Cake and this interview in the comments section below!