We’re on the Borders of Sanity! What keeps us Sane? Music by Borders of Sanity! Let’s hear what this Pop-Punk artist has to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
I came up with the name ‘Borders Of Sanity’ during the first months of lockdown due to Covid in 2020. I had already written several songs back then and was only still thinking about how and when I eventually wanted to release these songs. A constantly changing world and people seeming to be divided more than ever before, mainly because of mass-media and increasing censorship, made me think of the name ‘Borders Of Sanity’. This would be a new music project through which I would be able to write and release songs about my own struggles in a constantly changing world.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
When I was a kid I used to go to guitar lessons, however I quitted after approximately a year because I thought there was too little pace in the learning material. I went on learning myself to become better at playing guitar, eventually also learning myself how to play bass guitar, drums, piano and sing as well. Before I had Borders Of Sanity, I used to have a similar music project called ‘Reset Dynamite’. This was a straightforward punk-rock project which I discontinued when I started with Borders Of Sanity in 2020, mainly because I felt I had outgrown of this project through the years. Although, I have to admit that I had an absolute blast of a time during the Reset Dynamite years. I played a lot of shows with it, together with my close friend Stefan Mihajlovic who played the bass guitar during those live shows. Today, he is still a great friend of mine and of great value for my project Borders Of Sanity as well. He helps me with all the final mixes and masters of the songs because he really has an absolute fantastic musical hearing. He is a very talented musician who also has learned everything he knows by himself. Shout-out to Stefan!
How would you describe your sound?
BOS’ bio from 2020 says ‘the musical style of Borders Of Sanity can most easily be described as melodic punk rock with lots of piano and synths’. I still think this is a really accurate description of the music style of BOS. I try to create a massive sound with many layers of melodic elements in it, both musically and vocally. A great example of this are the last choruses in my songs “Christmas Is Here To Stay” and “Disguise”. Parts with multiple layers of vocal lines in it is definitely the thing that I love to do most while creating a song.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Obviously Green Day, which is my all-time favorite band. Other big influences are Destine, Sum 41, Only Seven Left (for example my last single ‘Disguise’ is heavily inspired by OSL’s earlier work), Electric Callboy and Ayreon. Latter of course being a great example for me in operating a one-man rock music project.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Motionless In White – Burned At Both Ends 😈
What’s your source for hearing new music?
I spend much time on YouTube discovering new music and artists. Listening to a new discovered artist works best for me when I can watch a music video together with the music. This way, for some reason I can get used to the new music sooner as when I only have the music to listen to.
Who is your dream producer?
Robin van Loenen, ex-singer of Destine. His productions are absolutely top-notch. I love his style of producing and mixing, he always creates a massive sound with heavy guitars and banging drums. The drum sounds/samples he uses are absolutely amazing.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, without any doubt. I would literally die if I ever get the opportunity…
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Music is one of the most beautiful things in life, without it, life would be colorless and joyless. I grew up in a family were music was present every day. My father is a huge fan of progressive rock/metal, so during my youth a lot of heavy music was involved. Although I of course developed my own taste of music through the years, lots of that early influences are still present. My long lasting love for Ayreon (Arjen Lucassen) is a great example of this.
However, in 2009 I discovered a whole new kind of music when a friend showed me the music video for 21 Guns by Green Day (their album 21st Century Breakdown had just been released back then). A whole new world opened op to me at that moment and I instantly fell in love with the music. I remember myself thinking “good music does not have to be complicated”, as I always used to be convinced of before that moment. I never stopped loving Green Day ever since that day.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Usually a song starts with a cool guitar lick or melody. When I have multiple ideas that fit together perfectly, I combine them into a song. After I wrote out a song structure, I start with recording the drum and guitar parts and I also record the bassguitar. When all these parts are done, I make a quick mix of it to decide if the song needs a piano and/or syntheziser. I have to admit that I often delete multiple guitar parts to make some space for other instruments. (A good example of this is my last single ‘Disguise’. At first this was a heavy guitar-oriented song, but after I reduced the distortion and replaced multiple electric guitar parts with piano and acoustic guitars, I felt this fitted the song way better as how it used to be with a distortion-to-the-max-guitar in it). I then record piano, synths and other FX sounds, but always try to keep the drum and guitar parts as the main ingredient in the song. When all musical parts are recorded, mixed and edited correctly, I start with writing the lyrics. As I already have some possible vocal melodies in my head while writing and recording the song, the melody usually isn’t much of an issue when I’m writing lyrics. When all lyrics are written, it’s time to record the vocals which for sure is the most intense and time consuming part of recording a song. Usually the vocal parts take up to 1 or 2 full days of recording. When all parts of a song are recorded, I make a mix and master of the song which can also be a very challenging part of the recording process. As I mentioned earlier, luckily with this last part I always have my musical friend Stefan who assists me on this.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Personally I think Facebook and YouTube are the most easy way for both fans and artists to connect with each other. Especially since BOS is a one-man music project, it’s easiest for me to centralise everything through multiple social media platforms. Although unfortunately I can not always find the time to post on a daily or weekly basis mainly because I have to do a lot of time consuming travel for my work.
Facebook: Borders Of Sanity | Facebook
YouTube: Borders Of Sanity – YouTube
Instagram: Borders Of Sanity (@bordersofsanity) • Instagram photos and videos
Spotify Artist page: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5qfNmRmIr59ZvFU69dWulD
Soundcloud Artist page: https://soundcloud.com/bordersofsanity
What’s next for you?
I’ve just finished making a rough mix of a new single and at the moment I’m working on some lyrics for it. For now it is too early to say too much about it, but I can say that it will be one of the heaviest songs I’ve created with BOS so far. In the future I’d very much like to release a full album with all released singles and of course also new songs on it, but for now that’s not where my focus is at. Stay tuned!
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
I’d like to thank CTRLPlusSpace.com very much for giving me the opportunity to do this interview. I will continue making music and releasing songs and covers as BOS, hopefully the audience doesn’t hate me for not always being able to post on a regular basis.
Thank you for reading this interview, it means the world to me. Thank you for your support and hopefully I can keep you enjoying my music.
“Those who do not try, do not deserve.”
