When we first reviewed Sonic Pulsar's music we praised their Playing The Universe album, saying "well composed, the playing is out of the top drawer ... this is an album you could play again and again. Very enjoyable". Then with our review of their sophomore release Out Of Place, our comments progressed to "far more complex than the previous effort, with tighter composition and a fuller sound ... lightly metallic, very technical, well constructed and characterized by good melodies" - and we closed with a "Well recommended".So Sonic Pulsar's key artist Hugo Flores is obviously a talented musician, and when he re-invented himself as Project Creation and released the first record in a 3-part concept piece, we were curious about how well he could pull it off. Well the jury is in and it was impressed - as evidenced by our review of The Floating World.

To get more insight into the creative force behind Project Creation, Sea Of Tranquility's Duncan Glenday caught up with Hugo and asked a series of key questions about what many are calling the 'second coming of Ayreon'.



Duncan Glenday, Sea Of Tranquility : Hugo, I usually start my discussions with artists by asking if they’re familiar with the Sea Of Tranquility webzine - but you and I have been in touch for at least 3 years. Do you follow many of the webzines like Sea Of Tranquility?

Hugo Flores, Project Creation : Yea, I visit Sea Of Tranquility and other fine prog related webzines very frequently, usually on a daily basis if I manage to. I really like to be up to date regarding news in the progressive rock genre. Today the internet plays the most important role promoting the progressive genre and music in general. Nowadays we can find hundreds of resources, with news, reviews and most importantly means to communicate and express one’s opinion like forums, chats, among other great things. So, thumbs up to Sea of Tranquility for the fabulous support over these 3 years!

SOT : For those readers not yet familiar with Project Creation – can you give us a brief overview of the project, and maybe a brief history of your own musical background?

HF : Sure. Regarding Project Creation’s genre, and although I usually don’t like to catalogue my music, I would say it’s progressive hard rock, sometimes touching the metal edge, but with lots of atmospherics and an ethnic vibe as well. It’s not always, in my view, space metal, it’s different than most things, I guess.

I began Project Creation immediately after completing the recordings for Out Of Place, Sonic Pulsar’s second album. I already had many compositions that I’d been working on and most were based on synthesizer work with a lot of atmospheric moods. I love atmospherics, especially when they're combined with powerful symphonic rock, great melodic content and with highly distorted guitars full of body. These first ideas that I mentioned were the basic foundations for Floating World and some of the compositions were actually based on older songs that I wanted to re-arrange for quite sometime. So, I started this, while I was completing the mix of Out Of Place.

I also wanted to gather many talented musicians especially from the Portuguese progressive scene and do the first project of the kind in my homeland.

Regarding the concept, I’m a sci-fi fan. Sonic Pulsar’s essence is mainly Space and the Universe, blending these themes with actual social-political issues, but using sci-fi to do so. However, Project Creation follows a story line, and each song was composed to match each part in the story.

Regarding my musical background, I had a music lessons as well as a few piano and flute lessons and main notions when I was younger. Later, I had about 2 years of acoustic guitar training, and from that point on I decided to continue on my own. In part, I’m self-taught.

SOT : Where does the name "Project Creation” come from?

HF : I had the concept in mind, and wanted something to do with 'Creation'. There’s too much destruction nowadays, and I feel that there’s a need to invert things on this spot. So, first I thought about “Creation” for the band’s name, but I think that there is already an older band called Creation, and I didn’t want to confuse anyone. Since this is more of a project or 'super group' as I read somewhere, the name Project Creation came about. It also works really well since the advanced civilization described on track 4 could have created a project aimed at creating life on dead planets, and thus “Project Creation” is part of their master plan.

So it basically represents a project developed by this advanced society. Their goal is to create life in harmony with nature and their machines. This theme was also brought to life in Sonic Pulsar’s song “Moving Engines”. I usually like to provide coherence in my work and revisit things to make a connection between projects. Project Creation had much more to do with the concept story, and I think it’s quite a different approach for a band. I really wanted to do a bigger venture capable of representing my dreams on a music album, and the idea of making a world traveling in space was the way to release those thoughts.

SOT : Floating World is an ambitious album, and as you said, the first project of its kind in Portugal.  But with such a big lineup of guest performers - how did you select your guest artists, and how did you coordinate everything? It must be like herding cats!

HF : It’s true, it's a lot of musicians, but it's quite easy to coordinate if you have things on paper, well defined, and let them know everything there is to know about what’s intended for the album. And most of all, give them the freedom to provide their personal touch and ideas.

We have several guitarists, vocalists, woodwind sax players, a cello playe … I knew all of them, and knew their work, so it was quite easy to choose and to handle things. I’m usually very decided regarding instrumentalists. Regarding the vocals, I was looking for a high voice, very distinct and Linx was immediately thought of, especially because his voice is higher than mine and very controlled. I’m mostly in the middle range, sometimes attacking that higher pitch. Then, I needed a more lyrical voice and Alda was also chosen after some auditions of a few other female vocalists.

For the Cello Nuno was great because he has a music degree, he teaches the cello and plays extremely well. I just showed him the musical notes on the system, and he followed them instantly. He also plays the bass guitar on some songs.

I also made a working schedule where I wrote where and when I thought sax, flutes, cello and guitar solos would fit on each track. Same thing with the vocals - and we discussed new ideas, and improved my first ideas as well.

So, let’s see. The basics on synthesizers were composed for each song. I usually work in layers and this is usually the first step. Then, I started adding the electric guitars and boosting the overall sound. I was now able to show these “demos” to the musicians. Then we recorded the vocals in my studio and Linx, Alda and I worked on this for a while.  Although Linx recorded everything in less than 2 days. He’s extremely talented, has a great voice with a beautiful timbre, and he understood immediately the ideas for this album. The recordings were done almost in real-time with lots of improvisations, actually.

SOT : Speaking of your singer – Alda Reis. She sings her English lyrics with something of an accent - she sounds wonderful, though, and I hope you’re planning to feature her a lot more in your upcoming projects. Where did you find her?

HF : She works in the same company as myself, and she sings often, especially the more lyrical and classical songs. We have a popular group in Portugal called Madredeus, and she sings that very well. So, when I heard her voice, I thought it would fit Project Creation’s mood very well.

Yes, she’ll most probably be on Creation Part-2, but I’m also going to listening to a few more people as well. I did some work with her regarding English. She knows English, but not thoroughly, and I did some work with her regarding the accent, melodies, and vibe. I do this with myself often as well, even though English is almost like a second language to me. But she has a great voice, and actually most reviews do mentioned this. There’s even one that says her voice stands out much more than mine and Linx’s, so …[Laughs]

SOT : Project Creation is a new venture for you - what methods are you using to get your message and your music out there?

HF : Well, from the start I wanted this to reach a wider audience. I knew that the Sonic Pulsar fans would enjoy this project as well, since it captures part of that style. I always said to myself that if I didn’t find a label to produce the album, I would do it on my own. However, this wasn’t required since a few labels made offers, and then Progrock Records decided to embrace this Project. I got really happy with this cooperation. It’s a great label, capable of proving the necessary push to the album.

The album is being sent to several radios, both online and FM, and also to magazines, webzines, etc. I receive most reviews and playlists to be kept informed. I also wanted to ensure that the webzines that also received my Sonic Pulsar albums would in fact get Project Creation. This was ensured by Progrock, and I knew they were not only a great label with a good name out there, but also communicated with its artists almost on a daily basis, which is, for me, extremely important. By the way, Sea Of Tranquility is among the best webzines I’ve seen, with good info about progressive rock, very up-to-date, really great work. And I had to guarantee that you would receive this album.

SOT : [Laughs]  Well, thanks! I was glad to hear from you when the CD was released - I think we discussed a review a few weeks before Prog Rock had them ready for distribution! Let's look at the business aspect for a moment.  I know it’s a bit early to tell - but how your sales been here in the USA compared with other parts of the world, and where are you the most popular?

HF : That’s a good one! But it’s really very early to tell, and I have no idea of the sales situation. I’m just glad to see the album being well received by webzines and fans in general. Anyway, I’m sure that the US is where sales will be higher followed by Germany, Netherlands, France, maybe Japan and in the near future Portugal and perhaps Brazil.

SOT : You mention Portugal, of course – and all of your guest artists are Portuguese. Has that helped you make a big impact in your home market?

HF : I hope it will. Prog Rock Records just started to work with a Portuguese distributor, called Nemesis. I know we also have Plastic Head as a major label acting in Europe. So, this week the album is gong to hit a few big stores here, and promotion will start shortly to the media. The impact will be greater than it was for Sonic Pulsar, I’m sure. I already did an interview with LOUD magazine which is the most important metal based magazine, along with other webzines and radios. The only thing is that progressive rock is a bit neglected here and it’s difficult to get inside the market, but I’m sure this is the same for most countries.

SOT : Gouveia Art Rock is Portugal’s equivalent to our NEARfest – although I was a bit surprised not to see Forgotten Suns, or any of your projects in the lineup. Would you consider performing there, and are you planning to see the festival yourself?

HF : Yeah, it’s impressive to see the way Gouveia is becoming more and more popular in the prog rock scene. Not only Portugal, but abroad also, which is very good for this country and to the prog scene. I want to go to the Festival, but this year I’m currently moving to a new home and constructing my new studio, so, it’s a bit difficult to leave Lisbon! But I'll try to go.

Forgotten Suns already performed at the Gouveia show once, but not this year. I would love to see them again at a great show. As far as Sonic Pulsar is concerned or Project Creation, I’m getting many requests from my fellow musicians to play live but it’s just so time consuming for me that it’s going to be almost impossible. But we’ll see about that in the future. We've already rehearsed many songs from the Sonic Pulsar repertoire, but it’s true that they were never presented on a bigger event. My fault, because the musicians want this badly!

SOT : When I wrote my review of your CD, the first comparison that came to mind was Ayreon – although I also thought of Abydos, Aina and Missa Mercuria –which were all concept projects with big casts of guest artists. And later, when I read other peoples' reviews, they drew similar comparisons. What other acts do you compare yourself with?

HF : It’s usually common to relate a space or scifi theme with Ayreon - or Arjen - although Ayreon is not specifically about the universe. I think we both have the same tastes regarding concepts, and surely there are several projects trying to achieve or approach the same subject or sound, but many do this in an awkward or impassionate way. For me it was easy, since for many years I’ve been approaching and playing this subject, both with Sonic Pulsar and my solo work. I simply love this theme, and every day I think about this wonderful mystery. I see Project Creation as a natural extension, or branch, if you will, of Sonic Pulsar. It’s a development of the Out Of Place song “I Heard Of A Place Called Earth” or even “Moving Engines”. Also, when a project features many musicians, it’s also commonly associate with these projects, but wrongly in my view.

Project Creation has a lot of flutes, cello, piano, so it's got quite a different sound vibe from those other projects. I think it's got a very warm sound. It even has a jazzy fusion to it, that really sets it apart. Just remember the sax solo work on track 2, completely insane, or the flutes on "Artificial Satellite", or the piano based track 3 and the overall sound on “Creating Atmosphere”. I love piano, and will always use it on my albums. I think it’s almost like a reference mark on both Sonic Pulsar and Project Creation. Floating World sometimes can even be ethnic or world-music like, such as track 13 – "Cheops", a song that was entirely composed and recorded on synthesizer in 1998 and '99 - can you imagine!

Everything in Project Creation is about one thing - melody. Melodic sensations. Whether it’s an ambient part or an aggressive part, these two opposite sides, have a similarity, that is melody and a beautiful sense to me. There is also one thing which is interesting: about 6 of the songs were made back in ’98, like "Cheops" as I mentioned. They were re-recorded and re-written for The Floating World and for these musicians.

I’m a fan of progressive-metal, especially when there’s a big atmospheric component. Arjen is a great musician, I like his work, specially those albums prior to the Human Equation, but I’m quite new to his music.

I feel that there’s something to Ayreon that I also enjoy in Sonic Pulsar or Project Creation. I also enjoy Threshold, Dream theater, Rush, Forgotten Suns, Marillion, Yes, Vangelis, along with others. I like anything that combines power with melody and atmospheric and synth components. Symphonic rock is about this, and when done passionately, with talented musicians, it should turn out a good album.

SOT : Hugo, what keeps you busy from day to day, and how do you spend a typical day when away from your music?

HF : I always need to do something connected to music everyday. Whether it’s writing lyrics, music, experimenting new sounds, or just listening to new music, it’s a basic function in my life. I’m almost incapable of working during the day without listening to a CD.

I have a full time job during the day and later I spend my time with music, or just having fun watching movies or reading scifi, mystery of horror comics! During the day I gather new ideas, and later that day I put those on the multi-tracker.

To try and tell you more about me, I’m very critical of myself and my work. I’m too much of a perfectionist, to the point of spending hours over a specific sound. I also try to seek my own answers. When something new appears, I try to get as much info as possible regarding he subject. To give you an example, there is a theory about Cheops and the pyramids of Egypt, that says that they match the ones found on the Cydonia region of Mars, or at least, the distances are equal or something of the kind. I gathered this info after doing some research. This city-like formation called Cydonia is very curious, along with hundreds of other anomalies that can be found on that red planet. And there are even photos of vegetation, trees and probably lakes, pipes and other structures on Mars. Very peculiar but very very interesting. I could spend a day trying to understand this, and understand why the media doesn’t focus on this.

SOT : Besides your own record - what would you say were the best albums of the past year or so?

HF : Hmm, I can tell you my favorites, at least what I remember now:

David Arkenstone – Quest Of The Dream Warrior
Rush – A Show Of Hands - live
Vangelis – 1492
Dream Theatre – Falling Into Infinity and Awake
Threshold – Hypothetical
Devin Townsend’s Infinity and Terria

Along with many others that are inside my head, but are playing hide and seek with me now [Laughs]

The past year? I would say Man on Fire with Habitat, Threshold with Subsurfaces, Ayreon's Human Equation, Devin Townsend with Synchestra. And not really prog - but I also enjoy Within Temptation’s Silent Force. It’s much more commercial than the previous Mother Earth, but much better produced and more consistent, even if there’s a loss of identity from the band

SOT : In my review I briefly summarized the story behind The Floating World – but what comes next for your travelers?

HF : Ah, good one! Many new things, but the story will probably go in a different direction than I was previously thinking. I have two different approaches to the follow-up. What I’m certain of is that I want to focus on the future of Pyther, the new developed planet. The floating world will be steady for a while, helping to revive the planet.

One possibility is to show the floating world  continuing a journey of discoveries. It will also show the evolution of Pyther, the recently created planet. But most probably I will opt for a second approach that is to show the planet’s evolution, the new beings and the civilization of the floating world now living together but especially we'll follow a dragonfly that wishes to see more of what’s out there, insatiable. Her thoughts are really out there - the dragonfly decides to leave, but maintaining the connection with Cheops. She passes by several objects in space, and her database is getting more and more intelligent. Finally, she’ll find something she was dreaming of…

SOT : You know, I’ll admit that I’m not a sci-fi nut – and perhaps that’s why this story line strickes me as somewhat ‘unlikely’. Did you develop the story, or is it in based on some existing piece of literature?

HF : It was developed from start, although one’s ideas are a reflection of original ideas and dreams but also from movies, music, and literature. Actually Carlos Mateus (Sonic Pulsar) and I are working on a literature project that can be found at our web site.

I think that anything is possible. Two hundred years ago an airplane would be unlikely - or considered to be some kind of divine intervention. And now it’s common. Imagine what will happen in millions of years to come. If only a hundred years passed and technology developed so quickly, what kind of crafts will civilizations be using? Something we can’t now imagine. There are sounds and colors we can’t hear and see, there are probably dimensions we can’t touch because we don’t have the means to do so. What we’ve been seeing is that real events almost always surpass fiction.

Nowadays, music, films, literature have got to be reinvented. So, I have lots of influences.

I think that whether it is a movie or a book, it should have an effect on you to be a good work. As I mentioned, both Sonic Pulsar’s albums and Project Creation’s Floating World also speak about society’s hypocrisy, politicians and greed, etc. So it’s sci-fi, but very critical of our current way of life. To be more specific, there are influences of Star Trek, the film Dark City and Solaris on Floating World. Along with Solaris (the original film by Tarkovsky and Stanislaw Lem’s novel), Dark City is also one of my favorite pictures of all time due to its mysterious story and imagery. And most of all - I had the opportunity to put these thoughts on my website - the film wouldn't be the same without the musical score that really gives a unique identity. The "Shell Beach" song is beautiful, sad and mysterious at the same time, evolving along with the picture.

SOT : So this was the first part of a series – how firm are your plans for follow-up records?

HF : Since the storyline is already thought of, it’s time to clearly create it and put it on paper, and to continue both with the writing of lyrics, and the first compositions. I already started a few songs for it actually. I’m just waiting to get my studio ready, and I’ll be back to it!

I think that every idea a musician has, is a good idea. It depends on the way it is thought-of and developed, musically speaking. So, I’m re-visiting many older stuff for Project Creation because these songs were made when I wasn’t into progressive music, many years ago, and thus, they’re free of influences, which makes them unique in a way, and very symphonic. I think that Creation Part-2 is becoming even more symphonic than this album. But it’s still early to tell. What I can assure you is that it will be as good as the first one - or I’ll try to. I’m always trying to improve what I do.

SOT : Since Floating World tells a tightly developed story – do you have any plans for a stage show, something like Abydos or Pain Of Salvation’s Be?

HF : Actually, to be totally honest, I mostly enjoy composing and to be kind of away from everything, in my studio. Just like a writer that doesn’t go on the road to read it, I really like to do the same with music. That’s why I think of Project Creation as both music and moving pictures with the film clip. It’s also very difficult to do it live due to the complex logistics, and it takes so much time, that it would be virtually impossible for me to keep track of my three projects. The good thing is that we will spend a lot of time carefully crafting each release, so that it may be more than a mere album but a true adventure! I want the best albums possible. It’s a commitment on my part.

But as I said, it’s not a live performance.

SOT : You mentioned the film clip - you have a ‘teaser’ video trailer on the Prog Rock Records site, and in previous conversations you’ve mentioned the possibility of a 3D / CGI video – but I guess that must be very expensive. What are your latest plans for some sort of video?

HF : Yes, it’s very expensive. Even for a more commercial band it would be expensive, but it’s something that I wish to do for quite some time. Project Creation is music, that’s what matters, but I want to provide a view or window to it. The video is almost complete, and I hope to be able to give it away for free. It's going to be impressive I’m sure. One thing is that, although the single is track 1 – "Floating World", the clip will be the entire album! You'll see not only imagery of the first track, but from all tracks. It’s that big, it’s the whole album on film!

SOT : Awesome - that will be something to look forward to.  Let's get back to Prog Rock Records for a moment – what drew you to them, and how has that relationship developed? And is the relationship only for Project Creation?

HF : I followed the steps of Prog Rock Records since its beginning, and I've always respected the way the label grew, especially after the famous Frameshift album. I already knew Shawn Gordon for quite some time, since Sonic Pulsar entered the Prog Rock Radio. I presented him the first mixes for Project Creation, they heard the material and decided to support this project. The fact that Shawn enjoyed the album and concept so much really satisfied me!

Yes, Project Creation is part of Prog Rock Records, but we’ll see if in the future other projects might also be part of the label. I have to admit that it would be great to have Sonic Pulsar and my future solo album on the label.

SOT : As you know, I’ve reviewed your Sonic Pulsar CDs. Those were essentially guitar-oriented albums – yet I was surprised that there wasn’t very much guitar work in The Floating World. Why is that?

HF : You’re right. Although Sonic Pulsar has got lots of synths, the guitar really stands out and is much more aggressive than in Floating World, don’t you think? But it is done on purpose, if not I would include Floating World within the Sonic Pulsar discography. This is also why I created Project Creation - so I could apply my new ideas and styles on a different project with a different approach to Sonic Pulsar. I always though of making more ambient music, but I usually don’t like to have only synthesized stuff on a piece of music, so, I usually end up adding guitars.  Although "Mechanical Dragonflies" has almost no guitars. Project Creation is perhaps fifty percent rock oriented and the other half atmospheric moods. This is very different to Sonic Pulsar. Also, the songs are shorter and more defined, although the album surprises people, especially after track 9, where it takes a different approach to the music, I guess. It’s quite diverse.

From the beginning, I knew that the compositions I had on synthesizer were destined for a second project. By that time, I had many of the Floating World songs done and I also had track 2 – "Living Under A Blue Sky" which sounded a bit different than the rest of the tracks. The idea, by then, was to make 2 projects apart from Sonic Pulsar, one a bit more focused on rock-jazz-fusion - and the other more electronic rock and metal. However, these started to make more sense if mixed together. You have many more 'metal' parts, and then abrupt changes to ambient parts. It’s a game of power this Project Creation !.

HF : It’s designed by Mattias Norén and it’s quite vivid to provide that glare ,often associated with creation. The female figure serves two purposes. Both the idea of nature, and mother-nature, and also the female presence on this album. The child, or children, represent the young ones living on the new created planet. As you know, the ship - the floating world - developed the artificial satellite to speed up life there and rapidly create new intelligent beings. The children, they’re like a sculpture. Just see the colors, and it really is a sculpture because the civilization created these children based on their biology, but they made them better just like track 11 “First Species” says.

I’ve worked with Mattias for the cover on Sonic Pulsar’s second CD as well. I already knew his work from albums of Derek Sherinian, and Forgotten Suns. The booklet also serves the music, and I think we have a high quality one with this album. We spent a lot of time crafting the artwork.

The logo was designed by Olli Sorjonen, and it means basically three things: the mysterious and “space” aspect of this story, the face of an alien or a new being and a small man inside the face, meaning that we’re kind of inside a big chain and net/universe of dimensions

We made several versions of this logo, and this was the chosen one. But one of the first versions of the logo is within this final version - it’s the letter “O” in “CreatiOn”. Basically the “O” is the new discovered planet, and the semi-circles around it represent the energy emitted by the artificial satellite, thus feeding the planet.

SOT : Interesting - not many musicians put that much thought into their cover art. Yes, we think of Mattias as a friend here at Sea Of Tranquility. Back to the music - what's your favorite moment on the album?

HF : Hmm, I’m immediately thinking of 4 parts:
Track 1 The Foating Wolrd’s final blast, with the piano’s solo, I love it!
Mechanical Dragonflies on that part where Alda and myself join voices “….organic metal dancing through space…”
"Cheops", the middle of the track with the main melody
And track 8 "Artificial Satellite" is great as a whole track. By the way, what’s your favorite track or moments?
SOT : Oh - I liked @@@.  Anyway, Hugo, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us! The new album is great, and we hope it helps accelerates your penetration into the world market. Take care.

HF : A big thank you for this fantastic interview, Duncan! You’ve always been very supportive, and I’m glad there are still sincere and professional people like yourself. Thank you, and keep up your excellent work at Sea Of Tranqulity!

Sea of Tranquility - May 2006

Providing his axework and musicianship to Sonic Pulsar, Hugo Flores took his musical stance many levels higher on his latest endeavor, titled Project Creation, for which this release is called “Floating World.” In the world of concept albums, Ayreon, Consortium Project, Aina, Avantasia, and so on have been at the forefront of the whole new breed of symphonic or art-rock projects that have set a the current standard for contemporary rock operas (or whatever you would like to refer to them as). You could literally spend all day reading (press releases or reviews) about what the concept is about, and to be honest, experiencing the record itself is the right way to delve into the storyline. However, when it comes to completely understanding the album, creator Hugo Flores gives an interesting insight on what this record is about, and how it came about.



“I always wanted to do a bigger project capable of representing some of my dreams on a music album, and the idea of making a small World actually traveling in the Unknown, was really pushing its way on my mind. I also wanted to involve a great set of musicians for this,” begins Flores, “When I finished “Out of Place,” Sonic Pulsar’s 2nd album, I already had a few compositions that I’d been working on. Most were synthesizer based with a lot of atmospheric moods, and some were really asking for a sound boost and I needed to incorporate powerful distorted electric guitars. These first ideas were the basic foundations for “Floating World.” Some of the compositions were actually older songs that I wanted to re-arrange for quite sometime, and so I decided to combine these old and new ideas with my visions of a future civilization. Take Track 13 – “Cheops,” for example; it was written back in 1998! You guys may find that old version somewhere on the net (or ask me for it!). As the composition process progressed, the songs were gaining an epic scale, too big to handle only by myself! So, I though that it was a really good chance to do what I had in mind, that is, gather many talented musicians especially from the Portuguese progressive scene and do the first project of the kind in this country. This is why I created “Project Creation”, with 9 musicians playing in the album, so that I could apply my new ideas and styles on a different project with a distinct approach from Sonic Pulsar. Regarding the concept, I’m a sci-fi film and book lover. Sonic Pulsar’s essence is really Space and the Universe, blending these themes with more down-to-earth subjects. As you can see and hear, both Sonic Pulsar’s albums and Creation’s Floating World, do touch some sensitive issues, like society’s hypocrisy, politicians and greed, etc… The difference, regarding the concept, is that Project Creation follows a story line, and each song was composed to match each part in the story. So, it’s quite elaborate like you mentioned, not only in terms of concept and song structures, but also regarding the amount of time that I spent crafting the mixes. There are many details that maybe only heard after 5 listenings or so. I love the story, and the idea of having a World traveling in space, is part of my own dreams and hopes as a human being! Imagination is a wonderful thing.”

Nothing like this is created overnight, “Floating World” took two years to create. There was a lot of support from fellow musicians and his label (ProgRock) that helped the process move along, “I spent one year composing most songs and then, the second year, was to contact the musicians, make choices, and introduce the project to the guys, explains Flores, “After the recordings were complete, by the Summer of 2005, I spent my time mixing this thing! Really hard work, and ProgRock records also gave me some tips by the end to improve the final mixes. I think it came out very well, with a powerful sound. I remember the “pounding” sound showing the Floating World’s engines moving, on the first track. That was a combination of synth elements. Then the distorted choir was also a combination of my own voice, guitars and some synths. The idea was to have something no one ever heard, or near that! After the mixing was done, mastering followed by ProgRock Records, and Mr. Henning Pauly did a great master!”

Getting down to the actual writing of the record, it is interesting to see how Flores’ ideas all came together to make this record, and to see what actualy influenced the concept in general; and regardless of how much thought was put into this, the writing process went smoothly. “. I had some ideas for the story, and I also wanted to incorporate some other interesting elements as well, like the artificial sun and the meka dragonflies,” elaborates Flores, “Most of all, what is really the point of the concept is to show respect among species. This is especially mentioned in the last track, “Returning Home”. The track says that we must get along with each other, no one is better than the other, Creators and “Creaties” should respect mutually. The album really speaks of life. I even wanted to show that the Mechanical Dragonflies have a mind of their own, and dream about the day they’ll be able to live in a natural garden, instead of the artificial garden on the Floating World. I had 3 leading ideas: the Floating World, which really was like a small planet, with its own resources and a civilization living there, breeding, with several generations and controlling this world; I wanted the Satellite to feed a dead rock found by the scouting Dragonflies, and finally I had an image of the last part/song. Having these key points, I now started form track 1 which describes the World-Like ship, track 2 is a flashback to tell what is happening to their home world (analogy to earth), track 3 is the desert planet about to be reborn and finally, track 4 describes the Floating World’s civilization. These 4 tracks work as an introduction to the theme, and from this point on the story evolves, like a sci-fi movie or novel. Speaking of movies, I’m producing a video clip, having track 1 “The Floating World” as the single. This will be a great 3d/CGI film! So, the writing process went very well, although sometimes I had to correct a few things, so that I could have the possibility to continue the Creation’s saga. It’s imperative to take a few days to organize all the ideas (too many!), re-arrange them if required and established a master plan for a Project like this.”

And when it comes down to recording the record, it is almost if the writing process continued and took on a whole new life of its own. Again it was ideas that were written with precision, precisely for certain instruments. He does build his music upon songs and certain instrumental ideas, basically adhering to an evolutionary process. “I always enjoy that part when you’re discovering something new. I usually begin a composition on my synthesizer,” explains Flores, “It inspires me more than if it was made on the guitar or vocals (most times). I put my headphones, and I’m out of this world. Then I begin building and sculpting new parts and the feeling of having a new melody capable of moving you, and playing with your thoughts and sensations, is a truly fantastic feeling. What I really appreciate is when I have a melody, and then I see it gaining life, evolving into a song, and boosting this song with new parts to fit the lyrics/story. Sometimes, it works the other way round, and the song dictates the lyrics…” “So, let’s see. The basis on synthesizers was made for each song. This is how I usually work. Then, I started adding the electric guitars thus pumping and reinforcing the overall sound. Then followed the acoustic guitars. Here I already had a second version of the album, and I was now able to show the “draft” songs to the musicians. Then we recorded the vocals on my studio. Myself, Linx and Alda worked on this for a while, although Linx recorded everything in less than 2 days! He’s extremely talented, has a great voice with a nice timbre, and he understood immediately the ideas for this album. It was done almost in real-time with much improvisation! He heard the songs and for 10 minutes we rehearsed. Then, we simply recorded all of it. I like spontaneity, since it captures the moment. Drums were recorded at Fxestudio, used by Forgotten Suns, Linx’s main band. Sax and woodwinds were recorded by Paulo Chagas at his own studio, and the same for the rest of the musicians, including the frenetic guitar solos by PtRocker.
I also made a plan, or a working schedule if you will, where I wrote where and when I thought Sax, Flutes, Cello and guitar solos would fit on each track. Same regarding the vocals. This was emailed to my fellow musician friends, and they worked on this before the recordings. We discussed new ideas, and improved my first ideas as well. They contributed in the best possible way to this CD.”

Like many musicians who contribute to or lead multiple projects, he makes it clear that his other band, Sonic Pulsar is a separate musical entity from Project Creation. Flores gives his opinions on how he feels his music, particularly Sonic Pulsar Vs. Project Creation is different from each other, “I like to keep different concepts and main ideas separate,” says Flores, “I really don’t want a big salad of concepts and sound approaches. From the beginning, I knew that the compositions I had on synthesizer were destined for a second project, since they were leading me to a different genre or sound approach. By that time, when I finished Out of Place, I had many of the Floating World songs, and I also had track 2 (from Floating World) which sounded a bit different than the rest of the tracks. The idea, by then, was to make 2 projects apart from Sonic Pulsar. One more concentrated on Rock/Jazz/Fusion and the other more Electronic Rock and Metal. However, these started to make more sense blended together. And so it was! Project Creation’s genres match the story, and, although focused on Prog Rock, they do wander through Jazz, Neo-prog, pop and sometimes touch Metal. Sonic Pulsar’s music may be a bit more “difficult” to hear, in my opinion. But this really is relative, because it depends on the listener’s mood, tastes, etc.. But as far as I'm concerned, has a listener myself, I find Sonic's music more aggressive, and it touches the edge of prog metal with a lot of odd parts and complex structures. I recall Schizophrenic’s Playground, which is considered by some as one of the best on “Out of Place”. Also, in Sonic Pulsar, you have songs that go up to 11 minutes, and with Project Creation, you have at the most, 7 minutes; but Floating World has got a full story flow. So, each song is easier to get into and is also well defined in terms of style…. Let’s take “I Heard of a Place called Earth” from Sonic’s Out of Place. This is a 10-minute song, with lots and lots of changes due to the theme and lyrics. You have many metal parts, and then abrupt changes to ambient parts. This happens often in our music… In Project Creation you will also find this, but with much softer passages and only in about 3 or 4 songs. The rest of the tracks are well defined from the beginning.”

There are quite a bit of musicians on the record, several guitarists, vocalists, a woodwind/sax player, keyboardists, string players, etc.. The basis for the use of these musicians was the fact that he wanted to use musicians from his home country Portugal. But it wasn’t so much that, it is the fact that commercial music that dominates the charts in Portugal overshadows any progressive rock scene there. “Prog rock is now a bit neglected here,” says Flores, “I thought that they should have a chance to emerge, and deserved this. Secondly, because I knew all of them, and knew their work. Every one of them is just a great musician, so it was quite easy to choose. Regarding the vocals, I was looking for a great voice, and Linx was immediately though of. Then, I needed a lyrical voice, quite high, and Alda was also chosen after some simple “auditions” of a few other female vocalists. For the Cello, there aren’t many available musicians to play the instrument, and Nuno was great because it has a music Degree, teaches the Cello and plays extremely well. I just showed him the musical notes on the synth, and he followed them instantly. He also played the bass guitar on a few tracks. It was a pleasure to count with these wonderful musicians that have a common goal, which is to make music above all.”

You often wonder with a project like this, what would influence such a work? Whether it’s movies, literature and of course, bands, the influences he mentions are obviously no surprise that he has the whole scope of different progressive rock related bands, seeing how Floating World’s musical styles change throughout the album. “The reason for having so many genres in my music is due to my constant need to seek for something new, and I look for this mostly in Space and the unknown. Remember 2001 – A Space Odyssey?” hints Flores about the Sci-Fi part of the record, “60% is music and sound, some of it is happy, some is mysterious, some frightening and upsetting, all emotions in Space, with a Monolith probably sent by a higher society as the maestro! Ok Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke are the true maestros there!! But it is amazing, as long as you’re in the mood and willing to understand it. This is why I also listen to diverse kinds of music, and do not stick with a genre or two. Universe has got many faces and melodies, so does music… I started to listen to David Arkenstone, when he was with Narada, making New age music mostly. I discovered some of the most beautiful melodies I ever heard, and they are still with me and move me. He’s into new age, world-music but also symphonic rock. At the same time, I enjoyed Steve Vai, Iron Maiden, among others. Now I listen to Rush, Dream Theater, Threshold, Within Temptation, Echolyn, Ayreon, etc..…. that is, most of this new breed of prog music. We are a sum of what we believe in, read, sea, hear and think. Anyway, when I imagine a song and a project, I record what passes through my mind without thinking of it commercially and if it would appeal more or less. I only do this when I have the possibility to arrange the song’s order, if that doesn’t mess the story line... I’m kind of out of line here regarding the question… eheh”

So having created such as work as Project Creation as well as continuing his musical prowess on the other end of things with Sonic Pulsar, he explains that his current state as a musician keeps going upward with every release; making “Floating World” and album of high feats for him; it is something for him to be proud of. “(“Floating World”) is a higher step, definitely. For three reasons I guess: I managed to do what I intended for quite sometime; I joined one of the best prog rock labels around, in my opinion (a big Hello you to Shawn!); and last but not least this is the album I’m most proud of, and this is so gratifying for me. I really don’t care about anything else, as long as I made what I wanted. If reviews are good, and the album sells well, that’s even better of course because it was simply a huge load of work, and I hope you guys out there will enjoy and feel this work! You can see the extreme care on each song, and all had to be as we wanted before a final release. Also, Floating World opens the door for 2 more Creation albums and a whole new perspective in sound for me.

How would one follow up to this project? Would Flores write another concept that would be entirely different, or would he write “Part Two” of “Floating World?” The new record is the first part of a trilogy that he is writing at this point; whereas the next album under the Project Creation moniker will be a continuation of the story, “The second album will follow the Floating World on its continuing journey. After the return to their home, to pick up the rest of the population, the civilization on the Floating World will continue a journey of discoveries.” Hints Flores about the follow up, “It will also show the evolution of Pyther, the recently created planet. In this album, you’ll encounter many new interesting things. However, it’s still in the first process of writing and composition. Remember that part where I had the foundations for Floating World? Well, that’s exactly where it is, so, we’ll still have to wait for a year or more to have a finished product. But it’ll most probably be entitled Project Creation - “Pyther.”

But what about Sonic Pulsar? That band is still alive and well and there plans to expand the band with more musicians, making it more of a band, rather than, say a studio project. “We were 3 musicians, and 2 more musicians will probably join the project now. My idea is to have a more “band-like” sounding album with the new musicians,” explains Flores, who now talks about what to expect from the next Sonic Pulsar release, “Concept wise, the album will differ from our 1st and 2nd. It’ll be more down-to-earth, more socially critic, obscure and city based. It will follow a day in the life of a normal citizen, and see that there’s more to one dull day than meets the eye… In terms of sound, I want to keep Sonic’s 2nd album’s sound, but giving it a more natural or free sound, if you will.”

As a producer, songwriter/composer, and musician, Flores has plans to contribute to the forthcoming Fred Lessing album (who played on “Floating World), however, he says that at this time, he does not have any plans to produce any other artists. Revealing what he has in store for us, he does have a lot going on; the third Sonic Pulsar Record, the next installment of “Floating World,” and even working on a metal driven project called “Dimensions” where he describes as “ (being) quite Bi-polar, that is, one song is depressive and the next could be the total opposite, frantic, out of control. It will travel through most human emotions and mind-states, but applying these to things other than humans as well.”

With the support of his record label, the progressive rock community, and all the musicians he continues to work with; Hugo Flores will no doubt to continue to align himself with musicians such as Arjen Anthony Lucassesn and Neal Morse among others, providing multi-dimensional music for the art-rock masses. He closes out with these remarks about the future, “to sum things up, I’ll continue my work, trying to improve from album to album,” concludes Flores, “I’m very, very demanding of myself, and I’m never 100% satisfied with my work. This is good in away, and bad in another, ‘cause I’m too perfectionist, to the point of spending days over a specific sound. But as long as I keep on making music, I’m happy. And I hope you guys continue to enjoy what I do!”

Tommy “Hashman” Hash

"Feeling the pulse of the universe"

Interview to Hugo Flores, guitarist of the Portuguese band Sonic Pulsar

By Sergio Vilar

Well friends, how is everything with Sonic Pulsar?
Hi Sergio and everyone at Nucleus!
Sonic Pulsar are fine and we're distributing our “Playing the Universe” to various stores, hoping to introduce Sonic's music to the people.

Would you cheer up to describe the sound of the band? How would you be presented before somebody that never had opportunity to listen your music?
We are now 3 musicians on the band, somehow with different approaches to music and different tastes in genres. Although I don't like to catalogue bands, our music could be classified as progressive rock or metal, with a strong incidence in ambience and airy atmospheres. With Nuno, we're also introducing a "Jazzy" feel to a few songs. Personally, I enjoy a full, melodic and intense sound, punctuated by a strong bass presence. Something to be felt. Nuno is more on the jazz genre, and he is also having regular jazz lessons. Carlos is more into grunge rock and heavy metal. So, to sum things up, our music is very unique and varied. But if you're into more elaborate music and enjoy rock mixed with strong synths and a glimpse at other genres, then you will definitely enjoy us.

What bands have you influenced the sound of Sonic Pulsar?
Hugo: Dream Theater, Rush, Vangelis, David Arkenstone, Threshold, Steve Vai, Pink Floyd, Bjorn Lynne, Tori Amos,...
Carlos: Alice In Chains, Dream Theater, Pink Floyd, The Gathering, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Pearl Jam,...
Nuno: John Patitucci, Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, Dave Weckl, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock... Jazz in general. Dream Theater, Rush, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson,...

What do you think now of "Playing The Universe" that it is already published? Are you according with the result?
Absolutely! We're totally independent, which means that the work is 100% our ideas and what we intended it to be. I'm not saying that it is best to be independent than having a big label contract, but this really gives us total freedom and the main ideas are all in the CD. The recording quality is also quite good, and according to what we were expecting. As time goes by, and we see our next CD "Out of Place" taking shape, we improve a number of things, but that's life... always learning and making things better!

Something that I didn't understand completely was the reason of that explanation that the album is not a jam session. Is that comment necessary?
That comment is written in the "Song's comments" section of the CD's booklet. The comment is not intended for the whole album. It's meant exclusively for the song named "This is not a jam session"!
As we mention, most of this song was played live, and then we added a few other instruments. That's why it is not completely a jam session...

To the moment to compose, is the objective to achieve to transmit the feelings or to reach the perfection of the sound?
When we come up with an idea, we want that idea and concept in the song.
Then the idea suffers changes and evolves. We prefer to show feelings and emotions with the musical notes and lyrics. For example, the 3 last songs on the album are connected in a way that it is almost a story. So, we first concentrate on transmitting feelings as sonic sensations, then we try to bring the best quality as possible to the sound. With the CD, we're trying to "Play the Universe", this means trying to show a bit of what we know, or what we think we know, about the immense universe.

How is the musical scene of Portugal at the present time? Is it very different to the rest of Europe?
I believe it’s not a good moment for music in Portugal. I'm really disappointed because the labels are concentrating mainly on making fast money, and investing on a boy's band that only lasts for one year. But we do have a few truly fantastic progressive bands, such as Forgotten Suns and Tantra (probably the first prog band in Portugal). But there is a LOT of independent work that is just mind blowing (musically and technically). It's a shame that the true talented musicians are forgotten. But there are exceptions, and the response given to us by record stores (physical and online) has been very positive, which means that our music really has potential. This is a great stimuli to us, and that's what's important: good reviews, places to put our cds and excellent sites like Nucleus that really enjoy what they do, not caring about trends or money, and promoting the best they can!
I'm not sure about the rest of Europe, but there are certainly more opportunities and websites for independent bands. The US also offers a great deal of opportunities.

Do you have publications, radio shows or spaces in TV that they support this type of musical proposals?
Yes, we have a great prog rock show in radio Terranova, hosted by Jorge Cravo. They've interviewed great names on the progressive scene, both nationally and internationally. This radio also transmits through the iInternet: http://www.terranova.pt/site/emissao.asp But this is the only show.
Yesterday we were interviewed for a program (in another radio) that introduces new bands and independent projects. 3 hours of great music!

Well, let us change topic. Is it premature to speak of a new disk?
Not really. “Out of Place” is going to be released probably early 2004.

And what can we expect from the next work?
Half of it will be a story (about 5 songs), and another part will be stand alone songs. It's almost a concept CD. Nuno Ferreira joined the project, and since he is more into JAZZ, we have some new influences which are truly great. For example, our first song was based on an ideia played by Nuno. This simple melody sounded and felt so great, that the song was developed in less than 2 days!
It's a great song, providing a new breath to Sonic's sound. It's also good to see that many of the bass parts have been almost improvised as we're recording. We're trying not to incorporate the bass merely to tighten up the songs, but to make it as important as the guitar or vocals. Sometimes the bass is playing the main melody, sometimes it's only making the rythm.
The greatest improvements in the next CD will be in sound recording quality and song structures. In “Playing the Universe” you can find a wide range of genres from rock to ambient. In the next work it will mainly be prog metal but with a strong melodic component and ambience. The idea is to have a uniform sound throughout the CD.

OK friends, that was everything. Would you like to add something?
Thank you for this interview! It's great to know that progressive music is alive and well in Argentina.
Muito Obrigado Sergio!

Nucleus interview: 31/07/03

[1] Since Sonic Pulsar is a two-man project, I'd like to start by asking you about your partnership with fellow Pulsarian Carlos Mateus. Tell me a little about the two of you, how you met, and what brought you together musically.
We met in school when we were both living in Brussels, Belgium. We started playing the guitar together and by that time I was already writing songs using mycomputer. We met in 1990, started playing guitar in 1993 and started the Band in 2001. In between, I returned to Portugal in 1995, while Carlos went to England in 1996. Between 1996 and 2000, I wrote some songs and finished 3 CDs, of which the last one, "Atlantis", was published by Fossil Records. Carlos contributed to this album with some lyrics. In August 2000, Carlos returned to Portugal to study for his Masters and in January 2001 we decided that we wanted to work together as a band, whilst not giving up my solo career. We started writing in February and finished this CD in December. We are very proud of what we´ve been able to accomplish with our limited means.

[2] Sonic Pulsar makes a lot of noise with only two guys in the band. Do you do any live performances, and if so, how do you handle the logistics?
We really would like to play live, but unfortunately we do not have the time to be able to do that right now. Another problem would be that given the fact that we are only two people, it just does not sound right to do a live performance with electronic drums. For us, it destroys the idea of playing LIVE. If we were to play we would need at least a drummer. Anyway, it's possible that a third person might join the band during the next months and even play in our next cd!

[3] Your music has several different tangents - part prog, part ambient, and a good part hard rock. Is this mix of genres a forced combination for you, or does your songwriting naturally lend itself to crossing over this way?
We do what we want. The mix of genres comes out very naturally and it is a combination of our musical influences, if you like. All that we listen to, is there in our CD. We just do whatever comes to mind and I suppose that we both have similar tastes in music (at least as far as Iron Maiden, Steve Vai and Pink Floyd are concerned) so our mixture of genres is very natural.

[4] Noting that you are from Portugal and that all the music I have heard from Sonic Pulsar is in English - do you speak Portuguese, and if so, are there Portuguese versions of your music available?
Yes, we do speak Portuguese; In fact, it is our mother-tongue! However, we decided that we wanted to write in English and Carlos mainly writes in English so... we don't have any versions in Portuguese. Having said that, it was never discarded as a possibility that we might write something in Portuguese one day.

[5] Let's assume for a moment that the Music Industry Gods smile upon you and send their big-label representative avatar to your house with a full-blown record deal. Knowing that stardom pays bills and small labels let you do what you want to, would you greedily sign the parchment or show the suit to the door?
This is the most interesting question that anyone has ever asked us. We would like the big-label, big-money contract, of course we would. But there is a problem with which we would probably not cope very well with. We like to do what we want. We have that freedom now. In case that such an offer would come along it wouldhave to be carefully analysed. If the condition to sign such a contract would be togive up most of what we have been doing so far it would be complicated. On the other hand, we would have more means to do our songs:money to improve on the material we have beenusing (not that it is bad but we can think about two or three things that we would like to improve), and a studio to record in. All this sounds great. Then it would depend on our financial situation at the time the suit comes through the door. So, saying no has consequences and saying yes has other consequences. Nothing is ever simple! The best scenario would be to start our own distribution and, who knows, create our label.

Interview for a TV Show, in Portugal - year 2000.
A compilation was presented, still prior to Atlantis and PTU. The compilation featured many songs that will now be re-recorded for Hugo's CREATION FLOATING WORLD. The compilation also featured the first song recorded for Atlantis, the title song "Atlantis City".