It really means a lot to me if the work of my musicians and me is appreciated. The first feedbacks have been amazingly positive so far, and many people told me that they close their eyes while listening to EmOcean and begin to see underwater sceneries. That made me really happy, since one of the main aims of EmOcean was to take people away from everyday life and to open their “inner eye”.

Believe it or not, but I had some very special and strange dreams at night that “instructed” me to work out a CD about the Ocean, the underwater world, and the message of Atlantis. This was really a bit weird, but also fascinating and very inspiring, of course! I don’t know why, but during the past 3 years dreams have become my main source of inspiration.

Of course! Fortunately I know many fantastic musicians, and after I had worked out the concept story of EmOcean, I had to decide about the line-up. At that time I happened to meet the young French keyboardist Vivien Lalu (Shadrane) on the internet, and we soon became friends. He really seemed to grasp my vision and what it should sound like, and so it was more or less clear that he would compose the main instrumental music. I really enjoy working together with him. Daniel Flores (Mind’s Eye) is a good friend of mine, too and I love his playing a lot! Marcel Coenen (Ex-Lemur Voice) had already played the guitars on my first solo-CD “CUT” and he’s definitely killer! The French bass player Jean B. Affonço a.k.a. "Bamby” (Absolute) finally completed my “dream-team” for EmOcean.

I like every singer (male or female) who doesn’t hide his/her face behind a mask. I simply need to have the impression that a singer conveys honest emotions. I particularly like Zak Stevens, Joey Tempest, sometimes also Russel Allen or James La Brie (on the earlier Dream Theater discs)… When it comes to non-rock singers, I like Tori Amos and George Michael, who both have a striking timbre and feeling, in my opinion.

I always wanted to become a singer, but my family certainly wanted my to learn a “reputable” profession, haha… so I only took my final decision after having finished my state exams at university. My life as singer and producer is a REAL challenge and I LOVE it!

Definitely “The Souls of Atlantis”, because this song is pretty long and complex. Whenever I sing it, tons of pictures appear inside my mind.

I’m sure that we will go on tour someday. But right now I have to say NO. I prefer working with people from different countries and it would cause very high costs to meet for rehearsals and go on tour together. This only pays off if there’s a huge fan base who visit the concerts. I don’t want to be the support for a main act anymore, since this always means poor light and sound and also not much time on stage. EmOcean is a concept album, the songs belong together somehow, and therefore the album must be played from the beginning to the end. I will work hard to get more known around the world and I will also invest a lot of time, love and energy in the next album. But sooner or later the “Hubi Meisel band” will be on stage.

Haha…I would forbid everybody to listen to NU-Metal…haha! No, seriously, I think I would try to lead the world into a more positive direction. It would be so great if all humans started to learn from their own mistakes and from those of their fellow men, so that we could accelerate our personal development and reduce the sufferings on earth.

I think that any group (if they are not yet as famous as Madonna or Michael Jackson) takes benefit from the possibilities of MP’3s. Also the music industry can spread their music much better. I for one always offer some songs or excerpts from my CDs on my homepage for free download. That way people can get a quick impression and decide if an album worth buying or not. On the other hand the RIAA is certainly also trying to minimize the huge damages. I mean if you can download CDs or movies before they are released, this will certainly cause a tremendous loss for the media industry. I’m not sure, however, if it’s really fair and realistic to sue single users, but probably both parties should be a bit more reasonable. It’s not fair to download everything for free because it takes much time and money to produce movies, CDs etc… but on the other hand it’s ridiculous if the usage of MP’3s for private purposes is not allowed.

I like many different styles of music... In general I prefer Progressive Metal, but sometimes I also like listening to pop and classical music. Music has many faces and finds different ways to reach our souls.

Some years ago I had some lessons but I quit immediately because I had the feeling that this would alter the style and the individuality of my voice. I know the techniques and how to use the voice as an “instrument”, but I always try NOT to sing too technical because to me this would feel more like a “vocal-chord-training” and not like singing.

CUT was more or less the realization of an old childhood dream. I just wanted to RE-arrange and interpret some POP 80’s classics in my very own style. This CD is not that serious, of course, it’s for FUN and I agree that it’s very different from my past and future recordings, haha!

ABSOLUTELY! I know these hard times very well. But whenever I feel exhausted and think that it’s all too much, I try to pull myself together and finally keep on working on my aim. I’m not the kind of person who gives up easily. My keyboardist Vivien also had some hard moments with “EmOcean” because he always wants to give his very best. But when it’s done, you finally see that all your efforts have been worth it.

DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANY NEGATIVE FEEDBACK OR THE OPINION OF OTHERS! Just sing, practice and try to express your emotions. EVERBODY can sing. Never copy anyone, just be YOURSELF!

You must know that I am a real chocolate freak. I always need a lot of energy when I’m singing, so I’ve formed the weird habit of putting a bunch of chocolate bars beside my stage monitor. Some years ago, I had an important concert with one of my former groups. During a freak solo of the guitar player I felt unobserved and quickly stuffed a real huge chocolate bar into my mouth… but then I suddenly became aware that I actually had to sing again in some seconds, haha! I didn’t know what to do, so I was forced to spit the whole chocolate into the backstage area… MAN! That was really embarrassing!

I don’t think there are many to choose from… unfortunately, this genre is still ruled by MEN…so I can’t really answer your question.

YES, some years ago I wanted to support some friends of mine (musicians with whom I started making music) who planned to do a cover gig. I had to sing boring and stupid stuff and the worst thing was a real silly song of a German comedy group entitled “MIEF” (=FUG), which was almost humiliating. But in general I don’t let anyone push me in a direction if I don’t like it.

Hey man, don’t you know that Eminem is my GANGSTA-buddy and that we will soon record a MOSH-version of one of his songs? Hmm, I also have to disappoint you when it comes to my hair… it’s just a blonde wig…hahaha!

Hubi, are you gay??” Perhaps you know that my vocal style has always been a bit controversial in the metal scene. Some people call me “a fag” because I refuse to sing like most other Metal singers. So I was really surprised that no one ever asked me about this topic, hehe. For those who are interested to know: “No, I am not.”

Nope! I’ve never had any conflicts where I had to use muscles … I hate violence and I’m a total pacifist.

ABSOLUTELY.

I think that my musicians and I worked hard to create emotional and positive moods with this album and I think this CD could give you the same positive energy that we felt when we were realizing it! The booklet alone is worth buying this album. It was done by my friend & artworker Chris “Saiyan” Kallias, this guy is simply AWESOME!!!

Thanks a lot for your interest & patience! Ben, this was a real amusing interview & your site simply rules!