Artist Profile: Nadja Peulen, Coal Chamber

Deep, dark, detuned, and heavy, Coal Chamber emerged from the Los Angeles metal scene in 1997, and have quickly garnered a rabid following of goth rock and nu-metal fans. With a gold debut album under their belts, and a successful second album behind them, Coal Chamber has returned with their third and strongest album to date: Dark Days. This month, we speak with Nadja Peulen, Coal Chamber's new bassist. Nadja and other members of Coal Chamber have SONAR 2.0 on the road with them and also use it in their home studios. Coal Chamber are clockwise from left: Nadja, Dez, Mike, Meegs

Cakewalk: Nadja, can you tell me a little about yourself and your background?

Nadja Peulen: I am originally from Germany and I grew up in the Netherlands. I've lived in Los Angeles for 9 years. I originally started out studying art with aspirations to be a painter, but then I decided to switch to music.

CW: What made you switch from art to music?

NP: I've always loved music, my parents were really into music as well and that's probably where it came from. I didn't know back then that I was going to be playing in a band one day and tour the world, I always dreamed of it though. I moved to LA when I was 18 and then started playing drums. I later switched to bass, and that's when I really became hooked. There are so many people here that are willing to help you and push you. And of course LA is full of musicians so it was easy to get a band started.

I still paint from time to time when the inspiration strikes.

CW: So was that how you got started with Coal Chamber?

NP: Well no, I was in a few bands before Coal Chamber. You don't just pick up an instrument and start playing with a band like Coal Chamber. I first hooked up with Coal Chamber in 1999 through Meegs's (Coal Chamber's guitarist) ex-girlfriend. She told him about me and then he paid me a visit at my work with a CD. He told me that their bassist Rayna was pregnant and that they needed someone to fill in for their upcoming tour. I liked what I heard on the disc, learned a few songs, and auditioned shortly thereafter. Four weeks later I was on the tour. Rayna later decided to quit the band to spend more time with her family, and because of our prior experience together they called me right away and asked me to come back. I guess you would say that the rest is history.

CW: What made you decide to start using SONAR?

NP: I decided it was time to make the jump to digital recording and I started asking around about what program I should use. My friend Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) told me all about you guys and he was absolutely raving about SONAR. He got so excited about the program that I knew I had to check it out, and once I saw it I got excited.

CW: Do other members of the band use SONAR?

NP: After seeing what I was doing with SONAR, Mike (Drums) and Meegs decided to start using it too. They have it on their laptops now. Craig #5 from Slipknot showed us his portable SONAR rig that they use backstage on tour, and we will be setting up a similar portable studio so we can start writing and recording for future albums while on the road.

CW: What are some of your creative influences and what are you listening to for music lately? NP: My primary influences lie along the Trip Hop, Industrial and Alternative vein: Massive Attack, Natacha Atlas, Killing Joke, The Cult, Faith No More, Jane's Addiction, Ministry and the Stooges. Lately, after spending time on the road with these bands and getting to know them, I've been listening to American Headcharge, Ill Nino, and 40 Below Summer. I also really like what System of a Down are doing. CW: Interesting choices, did you know that all of the groups you mentioned touring with, and System of a Down are SONAR users? NP: Yes, the scene is pretty tight and it doesn't take long for word about a cool product to get around. Between me and Craig from Slipknot, I think we turned them all on to SONAR. CW: What are your favorite things about SONAR? NP: First and foremost, SONAR is easy to understand. The DXi soft synths mean that I can take it on the road and not have to worry about carrying any extra gear except for my MIDIMAN Oxygen controller. And with the new Cyclone DXi synth in particular, SONAR is awesome for working with loops.

CW: Do you have any advice for our users who are trying to make it?

NP: Good question. Practice and record your songs live. When you take your songs out live you sometimes stumble upon little nuances that you never intended, but that work really well; you also can gauge what works and what doesn't work from the audiences reaction.

Listen back to your live recordings and make a mental note of the good stuff before you set out to record your studio quality recordings in SONAR. If you're really dedicated you could even compile those live moments into scratch demos in SONAR to get the arrangement down.

If you can get your recorded music to match your live intensity, you are on to something. Luckily SONAR 2.0 has a lot in it to bring out the intensity in your music.

CW: So what's upcoming for Coal Chamber?

NP: We'll be headlining a summer tour. The details are currently being worked out. Check our website out for the latest news.

CW: Beyond Coal Chamber, do you have some other projects that you are involved in? NP: I am working on project called Dr. Fungus with Martina Axen (Drain sth), Arthur Seay (Unida) and Kris Kohls (Adema). Obviously we have all been busy touring or recording with our main bands lately so the fungus is a bit on hold. This will be a fun project though with an entertaining live show. I'm still planning on working on Project X which is a collaboration with various female musicians. It should be a great project that will feature most of the girls you know of in the music business. Besides that I also have my t-shirt company called crueltees.com, which features my original designs. Basically it's goth/metal wear with a sarcastic & sinister touch. I've been on tour and very busy with Coal Chamber lately so it's been hard for me to really put my effort into my other projects but I haven't forgotten them.

Find out more about Nadja by visiting her website.

Pick up Coal Chamber's new release Dark Days at Amazon.com or other major retailers.

Visit the Coal Chamber website.

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