Fanatic Media Group: First of all, when and how you formed the band?
Al Wynter: The band formed about 2,5 years ago. I put an ad on line for musicians that liked prog.
FMG: What about the name? I read that it starts with a dream…
AW: Yeah I had a dream of a kind of Goblin creature working a horse drawn plough and changing the land from autumn to winter.
FMG: What are your musical influences?
AW: My favourite band is Rush, but I also love Marillion, Gabriel, Seth Lakeman, Transatlantic, early Ozzy, Thin Lizzy etc. PG era Genesis too.
FMG: Your voice is clear, powerful and also emotive. How you train your voice?
AW: I had singing lessons from the age of 5 or 6 for a few years. Now I warm up before any performance and I also don’t smoke or drink alcohol.
FMG: What is better about a song sung by the writer?
AW: If the writer sings the song, then they unterstnad the meaning properly. The emotion is more real.
FMG: The title track “The Man Who Never Was” was written 10 years before the band’s formation. Could you tell us a little bit about it? Why it has only been recorded these days?
AW: It’s a long song, but I had written parts of it over a year or so. The band I was in before This Winter Machine was a straight rock band, not a prog band. So when I started this I showed the others the song and they like it and it become the title track of the first album.
FMG: The title track “The Man Who Never Was” was written 10 years before the band’s formation. Could you tell us a little bit about it? Why it has only been recorded these days?
AW: It’s a long song, but I had written parts of it over a year or so. The band I was in before This Winter Machine was a straight rock band, not a prog band. So when I started this I showed the others the song and they like it and it become the title track of the first álbum.
FMG: What are the previous experiences of the band members?
AW: I’ve been in bands since I was 15 (I’m 47 this year). Various styles but always rock or prog. Graham and Mark have been in bands together before and supported Marillion on the Afraid of Sunlight tour. Pete and Andy have never been in this kind of band but they love the music. Scott was mostly in covers bands before this one.
FMG: The band was very well received in the Progressive Rock press and among the public and the album was well praised with high review. How did the band receive the news of a short time of existence? Does it generate some pressure on the next releases?
AW: We were very surprised with the reaction we got. And that we still get. It’s cool though cos it meant almost immediately people had heard of us. Cut down on the time we had to keep travelling to get recognised. Puts some pressure on the next album though haha.
FMG: What are the inspiration for the lyrics of the band?
AW: When I write lyrics I usually do so after observations of various people. I sing ‘me’ or ‘my’ but the songs aren’t usually about me or my feelings. I’m more singing in character than as me, if you know what I mean?
FMG: How do you view the Progressive Rock scene today? Is it difficult to promote? Is the public really demanding, technically speaking?
AW: The prog scene is very healthy! The only real issue is that its really, seriously crowded. I think digital and home recording has meant that there are a load more people being in bands. It’s both a good and bad thing really. Promotion is easy on social media but you have to promote beyond FB and Twitter. It’s like a goldfish swimming in a bowl, you’re limited to where you can go and also limited to who sees it. Social media can flatter you (lots of likes or followers etc) but for a band to be viable it has to work beyond that in the real world. So we don’t focus only on social media to promote us. The public are very demanding these days cos there is so much choice.
FMG: The band is working on a new concept album, will the name be “A Tower of Clocks”? How you have the idea of concept album and what fans can expect from this new album?
AW: The new album has a concept internally but I’d like people to come to their own conclusions
FMG: There is a record of a live performance in Leeds. Is there any possibility of releasing it as a DVD or bonus material? Or are you not thinking about that yet?
AW: The live recording (or part of it) will be released as a bonus to those who pre ordered. We might release it seperately one day.
FMG: What about a tour in South America?
AW: I’d love to come to South America. Seeing Brazil is a dream of mine.
FMG: Could you leave a message for your fans and visitors of website?
AW: A message? Okay. “Keep supporting independent music and Live bands”.
Por: André Bona e Priscila Velasco
Fanatic Media Group 
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