Interview with Felix Pallas
Belgian band Felix Pallas and Mayson joined forces right after the summer of 2013. Earlier that year the band started recording their debut album with producer James Sanger, known from artists as U2, Madonna, Keane, Dido, Phil Collins and many more. Frontman/singer Simon Nuytten plays an M7/SE which he selected at the Mayson EU Service Center just before the band went for a club tour in London in november 2013. Right after their return Mayson EU managing director Danny Kok had a short talk with Simon.
Q: Who are you and how did you meet up?
A: We are Felix Pallas, a band of 4. My name is Simon Nuytten, 21 years old. I play acoustic guitar and sing lead vocals. My brother, Pieter-Jan Nuytten plays keys and he sings as well. Our guitar player is called Xavier Gosselin and the drummer is Ziggy van Wallendael.
Q: What is the story behind the name Felix Pallas?
A: To be honest, there is not really much about the name. In Latin 'Felix' means 'happy' and the name is often used for naming cats. 'Pallas' derives from the ancient Greek language, like the god Pallas Athena. Also this name is often used for naming cats and that is how we saw the combination of these two words. The name to us has a heroic and epic load, same as what we want to put in our music.
Q: How do you write your music?
A: It depends, most of the times I come up with some phrases and melodies. Then together we work on that and try to make it a stable composition.
Q: How did you get to know Mayson?
A: The father of our drummer Ziggy owns a music shop. He asked me if I wanted to help him to make a promotional video for a great new brand they got in. The first time I tried a Mayson D1 I was blown away by the exceptional high quality and it's relatively low price. The guitar played very nicely and sounded deep and powerful. I have never been caught by the reputation of big brandnames. In fact, I own a Taylor but to me it has become last choice. The big brands give you this impersonal feeling, being one out of thousands. I know that right now not many others play an instrument like my M7/SE.
Q: Can you tell me more about how you found your instrument?
A: I met the guys at the Mayson EU Service Center to try out some guitars. The minute I saw the M7 it struck me: the flamed maple back and sides just scream for attention! And when I started playing it really convinced me. I was overhwelmed with the crispy, yet deep and powerful sound. Off course I also tried out some other models and dreadnought body shapes which sounded fantastic too, but every time I came back to the M7. It just cried out for me!
Q: Your debut album was produced by James Sanger. If anything, what did you learn from him?
A: James in the first place is a true synth genius and by those means I feel that especially Pieter-Jan learned a lot from him. It became his task to try out all the analog synths of James, testing and playing them for days. At the end of our recording sessions PJ was able to match the perfect sound to each song entirely by himself.
Q: Who are you and how did you meet up?
A: We are Felix Pallas, a band of 4. My name is Simon Nuytten, 21 years old. I play acoustic guitar and sing lead vocals. My brother, Pieter-Jan Nuytten plays keys and he sings as well. Our guitar player is called Xavier Gosselin and the drummer is Ziggy van Wallendael.
Q: What is the story behind the name Felix Pallas?
A: To be honest, there is not really much about the name. In Latin 'Felix' means 'happy' and the name is often used for naming cats. 'Pallas' derives from the ancient Greek language, like the god Pallas Athena. Also this name is often used for naming cats and that is how we saw the combination of these two words. The name to us has a heroic and epic load, same as what we want to put in our music.
Q: How do you write your music?
A: It depends, most of the times I come up with some phrases and melodies. Then together we work on that and try to make it a stable composition.
Q: How did you get to know Mayson?
A: The father of our drummer Ziggy owns a music shop. He asked me if I wanted to help him to make a promotional video for a great new brand they got in. The first time I tried a Mayson D1 I was blown away by the exceptional high quality and it's relatively low price. The guitar played very nicely and sounded deep and powerful. I have never been caught by the reputation of big brandnames. In fact, I own a Taylor but to me it has become last choice. The big brands give you this impersonal feeling, being one out of thousands. I know that right now not many others play an instrument like my M7/SE.
Q: Can you tell me more about how you found your instrument?
A: I met the guys at the Mayson EU Service Center to try out some guitars. The minute I saw the M7 it struck me: the flamed maple back and sides just scream for attention! And when I started playing it really convinced me. I was overhwelmed with the crispy, yet deep and powerful sound. Off course I also tried out some other models and dreadnought body shapes which sounded fantastic too, but every time I came back to the M7. It just cried out for me!
Q: Your debut album was produced by James Sanger. If anything, what did you learn from him?
A: James in the first place is a true synth genius and by those means I feel that especially Pieter-Jan learned a lot from him. It became his task to try out all the analog synths of James, testing and playing them for days. At the end of our recording sessions PJ was able to match the perfect sound to each song entirely by himself.