Music is like the biggest ocean of the Earth. With billions of colours, billions of lives, and water drops. So complicated, sometimes dark, sometimes wavy. Sometimes warn and in a moment cold enough. There are treasures hidden in these waters. Sound Struggle is one of those. As the band’s name suggest, they have struggled with their sound to bring it to the level where it is now. And now is their second studio release titled “Rise.”
Sound of funk stuck inside djent, progressive metal; brutal vocals matched perfectly with cleans; sometimes calm as a jazz song, sometimes more aggressive — there is a lot of struggle in here. That is the only logic explanation of this Boston based band.
From the first moment of the album until its last breathe, there is absolutely something that will keep you excited. From progressive rock to djent to jazz to metal, “Rise” has plenty of diverse elements signed by the band. One of the most interesting things about the music of Sound Struggle is that the saxophone is featured full-time. They continuously throw in plenty of different elements such as swinging jazz walks, funk grooves, and progressive metal intricacy. Although this sounds incompatible ‘Rise’ is a very accessible release with a steady pulse. There is plenty of inventive and ambitious material displayed here. Starting from the opening “Strongth” to the heavy jazz metal of “Rotating Door” and “Tempest.” My favourite tracks, though, are the classic jazz inspired title song and the insanely dense “Close Your Eyes.”
All in all, “Rise” is another mind-blowing experimentation from one of the funniest, innovative, and most technically accomplished bands out there.
“Rise” is available now from Bandcamp. Sound Struggle is a band you want to follow on Facebook.
Will Hack recently released a video single for “The Change in Me,” which features guitarist and producer Tony Lowe (Robert Fripp, David Cross, Flying Colors, etc.). About the single and his plans for the future, Will was kind to talk with us in the interview below.
Alright, first things first. Before we dive into all the music stuff, how’s life?
Life is very good, thank you. I am very excited with what music has to offer and in return for what I can offer to the lives of people in the world through my music. I have the joy of supporting children through my support work and teaching career but also in my music career, I aim to help others. I would like to help people to enjoy life; to feel empathy, even if just for a little over five minutes! Music is there with us on the journey of life; it can be a very good friend, and will allow us to feel alive. I hold this mission when creating music. Each song I create aims to tell a story, but also lets the audience create their very own emotional response, so two people may experience the music in different ways. So, thank you for asking; life is good and music is definitely a big part of it. I am enjoying writing songs, rehearsing on my drum kit, piano and working on vocals. I have also enjoyed the challenge of being involved with the video production for my new single too. I enjoy learning new skills!
Speaking of new music, you recently released a new single. Are you satisfied with the reception you received for “The Change in Me” so far?
I have been overwhelmed with the reception from ‘The Change in Me’. Thousands of views of the music video in a couple of weeks and so many people across the world have shared it via social media and expressed kind, supportive comments in different languages. I have made new fans across the world from Brazil to Spain and a number of other countries, and these great people are actively showing support, which is so valuable to me. It is with the support from family, friends and fans across the world that makes it all possible. And it doesn’t look as though the warm reception for ‘The Change in Me’ is slowing down- each day my inbox is flooded with lovely comments from my followers. I want to thank everyone so much for this support. And, I want to express my gratitude towards the producer and featured artist, Tony Lowe, for their involvement in the music, and to Sunn Creative for their involvement with the video.
What is “The Change in Me” about?
‘The Change in Me’ is a story of emotion; one of personal experience of change in my own life, and a way of expressing the journey that I felt I was on at the time of writing it, and that I expected to always be on. It is all about the importance of immersing oneself into the darker and sadder tones in ones thoughts, because unless you do this you cannot truly find happiness and the correct path you are meant to be on. A bit like a way of dealing with experiences in life; letting the mind unwind and process what has happened (not dissimilar to how we dream and re-programme ourselves ready for the challenges of the next new day). ‘The Change in Me’ therefore is really a very positive song. Although it has some rather dark lyrical themes the overarching message and integral mission of the track is that we should somehow come to terms with what has happened, to try and move on and to enjoy learning in life. Hopefully this ties in with my comment about wanting my music to help others as the track aims to act as a form of support and example of empathy.
Are there any touring plans?
At the moment I am promoting my single and continuing to work on various areas of my music career. I would welcome the opportunity for a tour and concert dates in the future but at the moment I have been taking some time to focus on giving this single the attention I would like to offer it. I would be very interested to work towards live shows in the near future as a solo artist but also as a musician working with other artists too.
While we’re on the subject of touring, what countries would you love to tour?
I would love the opportunity to tour countries I have yet to visit before. It would be amazing to tour in the countries that have supported my music. For now though, I am happy to have my feet on the ground and to be promoting my music in other ways. Although, playing concerts are simply amazing experiences.
Who and what inspires you the most?
My inspiration comes from my passion for music. I love the positive feeling that I get while drumming to my heart’s content, or while playing a passionate melody on the piano, or while belting out a powerful vocal effort in my singing. The great feelings that I get from such musical activities give me my drive to create pieces of musical works to share with others. Also, it is the support from family, friends and followers/ audience members who make it all possible. The warm support from everyone since the start of my musical life as a young child has inspired me to learn, practise for hours most days for 25 years, yearn to mature musically, and to develop as a musician. This is always with the central idea that I want to help others; that others may enjoy the experience I can offer either in a live show, sonically and or through video.
What other genres of music do you listen to? Have any of the other genres you listen to had any impact on your playing?
I think that the genres of music that have inspired me have depended on what I have been doing at the time. As a drummer I have been inspired by certain heavier rock bands and progressive rock artists, as a pianist and composer I have been inspired by genres from pop to classical to film scores to rock, and as a vocalist and music listener I have been inspired by more genres than I can think of! I am one of those sorts of musicians whom cannot easily answer that question, because such a wide variety of genres, bands and musical works have inspired me towards my own ‘style’. In short, if the music stimulates a sense of power, energy and emotion then I probably would love to hear it, and may then want to learn from it too. I enjoy the challenge to creatively entwine various genres, so that I may build a colourful mix and a rich sound scape for my own music.
I really appreciate you giving us your time today. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us and the fans before we wrap things up?
Just that I am grateful for the opportunity for this interview and I hope my followers will like learning more about the journey of my music. Together, let’s inspire the music and hearts of tomorrow!
“The Change in Me” is available from Will Hack’s Bandcamp. You can follow Will on Facebook here.
Deep Stare is a progressive metal trio from Prague, and they released their debut EP titled “Triplet” recently. Guitarist and composer Michal Popelar introduces us to the work of this great instrumental band.
Thank you for having time to answer some questions. First of all, introduce us the band Deep Stare. What does the band name refer to?
Deep Stare is an instrumental progressive rock/metal band and it was founded in September 2013. But we know each other much longer from previous musical activities. The band members are: Michal Popelář – guitar, Tomáš Monok – bass guitar and Luboš Pavlík – drums. Our work is strictly auctorial and you can find components of many musical genres.
The name refer to way, how we feel things. Whether it is a music or everything that happens in our lifes. It is important to go deep and not to judge things superficially. The superficiality made us lose „deeper“ knowledge of the essence of the matter.
Would you mind telling us about your musical background, as well as education?
Each of us has different musical backround and education. Luboš studied drums at a conservatory, I was studying violin at an art school for 7 years and Tomáš didn’t attend any art school. However it doesn’t discourage us from playing that kind of music we play. Each of us tries to improve his individual skills of playing as well as playing in a band. Always is something to improve.
You recently released your debut EP titled “Triplet.” How was the creative process for it?
In the beggining there was a song „Eternal Sense,“that we composed during our period with vocals. This song had originally two parts. The first one was sung and it was kind of rock ballad, the second one was instrumental. After our decision to make a music instrumentally we kept only the second part and called it just „Eternal Sense.“ Then we decided, that it is the high time to make other material and record a CD. Then we composed a song „Words Of Wisdom“ and at last „Obsession“, which is played only instrumentaly without samples. We made an EP „Triplet“ from these three songs. As the title says, there are only three songs on the EP.
“Triplet” is very eclectic. What do you think I should describe Deep Stare as to my friends? The real question here is, what do you guys consider the music of Deep Stare to be?
We try to build our music to evoke some feelings, thoughts, moods, but also relax. It works the best at live shows. It is necessary to immerse into the deep and to not take it as several things put together. Every another song is trying to go deeper and deeper. We are on the beggining of our existence and we belive that some day we will be able to compose songs, which nobody will have to think about and listeners will be just dragged into the music.
This eclectic music must have a wide range of influences and inspiration. Would you guys mind enlightening us as to some of the influences you haven’t mentioned already?
We draw inspiration from many sources. Each of us listens different kind of music and we are not cut from the same cloth. We try to bring variety of styles and combinations into our work. For now we are a little bit conservative, but I belive, that we will free ourselfs of the borders and we will connect more music genres into one piece. Our big inspirations definitely are Dream Theater, Rush, Led Zepelin, Pink Floyd and many many others.
Can you think of some moments where musical homages have been included in Deep Stare’s tracks?
In our songs, we hope, are not used any parts of music, that have ever been composed before. We know, that parts of classical music from famous composers are used very often, but we haven’t used it yet and we are not planning to do it.
What’s the live experience with Deep Stare like? Any plans for a tour somewhere down the road?
We have played in several concerts and festivals in the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary up to this day. We participated in international drum festival in the Czech Republic in 2014. It was great to meet musicians as Mike Terrana, Gavin Harrison etc. We have got many plans for tour, but we are still looking for someone, who would help us with it.
What have you been listening to recently? Also, would you tell us what your all-time favorite albums are?
There is so many bands and albums. Each of us listen to little bit different kind of music. It is not just progressive music, art rock or metal. There are also other genres. The music has nothing to do with rock or metal very often and still it sounds great to us.
What kind of advice would you impart to other musicians? Do you have any words of wisdom or inspiration for other artists trying to make their mark?
I’m not sure if it’s not too soon to pass on some experiences, but no matter how old are you, how long is your experience or how long you play, the most important thing is to do it by your heart. It must be honest. You have to belive in what you do. As well as he must like it.
Thank you again for agreeing to do this interview. I think I’m out of questions, so feel free to add anything you like.
Thank you for this interview.
Visit Deep Stare’s official website here, and follow the band on Facebook.
Through trial and error, through experimentation, through perseverance, Lanes Laire has come full circle to the core of his being… his musical roots. Originally from Los Angeles, Lanes started his musical career playing in various bands while still in high school, performing all over Hollywood and the famed Sunset Strip. However, he always stood out from the crowd musically, bringing a moody progressive edge to his songwriting. He was the “Peter Gabriel” to Genesis. And like Peter, he eventually moved on as a solo artist.
Earlier this year Lanes released an album titled “Resurrection of Black,” which features drummer Gregg Bissonette and his brother, bassist Matt Bissonette.
Read below what Lanes had to tell us about the record, his beginnings, and more.
Tell us more about your musical beginnings.
When I was 12 years old I found and old guitar stuffed away in our hallway closet. It was a Kay f-holed acoustic my dad’s dad gave to him when he was a kid but he never played. We took it to a local guitar shop to get it fixed up and I started teaching myself how to play guitar. The first song I taught myself was Day Tripper by The Beatles. Eventually I had formal training and studied contemporary and traditional jazz. I think I was 13 when I joined my first rock band and knew that’s what I wanted to do.
How did you go about forming this project?
When I began working on this album I tried out a few musicians but wasn’t finding the right combination. I was talking with my good friend Wally Minko, who’s a great session keyboardist and arranger about the project and he said “I’ll get you the right guys.” He hooked me up with drummer Gregg Bissonette and his brother, bassist Matt Bissonette. This was exactly what I was looking for. They provided a solid foundation and brought that musical intangible I needed to build upon.
Which bands or musicians influenced your works at the most?
I’m pretty eclectic when it comes to music but there are a few that have stood out. I grew up listening to The Beatles so they have always had an influence. When Gary Numan’s Replicas album came out, that really grabbed me. The moody rawness and synth heavy album was something I had not heard before. It was because of Numan I got into synths. Still a fan to this day. Pink Floyd is a huge influence. When I was first starting to write serious music I didn’t know much about Pink Floyd. Being the dumb naive kid that I was, when I heard them I thought, “damn, these guys sound just like me!” Of course they were the masters of their craft so I had a lot to learn. Jean-Luc Ponty was a huge influence. It was his music that exposed me to jazz fusion. I also got into Al Di Meola, early Genesis, ELP, and other progressive bands. But Numan, Pink Floyd and Ponty were the biggest influences.
Lets talk about your new studio album “Resurrection Of Black.” Describe its music and tell us about its sound.
The music is definitely moody but rockin’. Maybe moody crossover progressive is the best description. I wanted to create a soundscape with this album and make sure it flowed from beginning to end. I used sound effects and did guitar experimentation to create unique sounds throughout the album. I like utilizing drone bass notes as the foundation to set the mood. There’s a lot of Moog Taurus pedals on this album. Those original pedals have such a great sound. The songs themselves deal with topics ranging from the state of the world, corporate greed, to cliques and not being part of the “cool” crowd. It’s not necessarily a concept album but there is a common underlying theme.
How did the creative process of “Resurrection Of Black” go?
Resurrection Of Black actually has its roots going back when I was still in high school. Most of the songs were written back then. I performed these songs in various bands but never seriously recorded them. After putting them aside for a while, I decided it was time to bring these songs back and do them right. Though the songs themselves were already written, there still was plenty of room to mold and craft. I had the freedom to do what I wanted, which is great to not have restrictions on the creative process. The album came together fast and ideas for the songs just kept coming. I felt fortunate for such a smooth creative flow.
What was the hardest moment at the recording phase of the album?
Laying down intricate guitar parts were probably the hardest moments. Whether a technical riff or a soft string bend, it had to be perfect. I’m my toughest critic, as is the case with most artists so striving for perfection can be very frustrating. However, you do have to draw the line. So, there are imperfections on the album but that’s what makes it human…what makes it real.
Are you satisfied with where “Resurrection Of Black” landed?
Yes, I’m very satisfied. I feel I accomplished what I set out to do with Ressurection Of Black.
If you have to pick a song that in the best way describe your work, which tune would that be?
Two immediately come to mind – The World Around Us and Justifiable Condemnation. But if there had to be one definitive song, it would be The World Around Us. It pretty much encapsulates my style.
What does the future hold?
Great things, of course! Always thinking positive. I’m planning to do some live shows in 2016. I’m excited to take Resurrection Of Black on the road. Also, I already have songs put aside for the second album so I’ll be starting work on that next year.
Is there anything you want to share with our readers about your new album?
The best way to enjoy Resurrection Of Black is to sit down and listen to it from beginning to end. It’s rockin’ as well as provocative.
Like the supercollider, Drummond seeks to smash two dissimilar things together and see what the results are. Naturally, and experiment by mad scientist, composer and guitarist from New York to combine jazz fusion and metal into one would of course create some explosive outcomes. Not to mention some pretty phenomenal musical pieces.
“Getting Comfortable” is a debut EP by Drummond, and it’s here now and ready to take you to unparalleled heights. Look to the skies: that is where Drummond is going to take you.
For a totally instrumental release (except for a small vocal part in the closing song), this thing is four tracks of expansive, experimental and wholly gripping fusion music. Take EP opener “New Paint” for a fine example: starting off so minimally, guitars and cymbals meekly registering their presence in the room before their flamboyance bounds forth from them with a burst of self-confidence.
If there is one enduring thing to take away from listening to this release, it’s that experimentation is the key to success: be it “Getting Comfortable’s” (song) flowing, flying musical escapology, “Second Self’s” Holdsworthian chemistry, or “Ecotone’s” otherworldly, ethereal ambience leading to space explorations. Everything on show here is made to play with the musical form and to evoke a response from your mind. And Drummond’s music is what makes you want to explore.
My pick would have to be the closing piece “Ecotone,” clocking in at five minutes. It’s frantic, for one thing: everyone is really laying down some serious licks on this, striving for the very best in their playing abilities and pulling it off with aplomb. It has to be said that Sithu Aye is on this song. Masterful work and a treasure for any fan of the indefinable yet oddly marvelous.
To say what Drummond and the company have done is prog is inaccurate; to say that it is metal is too vague. Rather, they have thrown into “Getting Comfortable” all their passions, excitements and inspirations and cooked up something that is beyond compare. This is music without boundaries, without barricades and without limits.
Buy “Getting Comfortable EP from Bandcamp. Drummond is on Facebook too.
Pearly Gates hail from Finland and they bring us music that picks up influences from plenty of musical styles. They released 6 EP’s so far, with “Unchained” being their most recent one. Pearly Gates songs interact a lot with metal, jazz, and even pop.
“Unchained” is comprised of four songs that show influences from likes such Tool and Graveyard. Fans of both mentioned bands will find something interesting in this release. Besides, a great chunk of Porcupine Tree’s influence is channeled through “Unchained.”
The opening piece “Glass Eyes” is a true masterpiece of the EP. It starts with a calm guitar voicing and is plastered with prog-y clean vocals. “Sİnk Hole” comes along with far more aggression in its structure. The most striking thing about “Unchained” are Jonne Nyberg’s vocals. The stylistic change towards more grungy and alternative rock vibe is emphasised through this piece. The title song is recorded live, and is an acoustic piece that slows things down and gives this recording diversity. Its folkiness makes the overall sound of “Unchained” a little bit warmer. The closing “Free Fall” crosses over pop and rock almost constantly during its 5-odd minutes; it’s another piece that’s nothing like the previous songs, what speaks a lot about how much “Unchained” is diverse.
Pearly Gates’ “Unchained” is a perfect mixture of popular culture of rock music and progressive rock. There is no clear line between modern and vintage on this EP. Definitely worth a listen!
Buy “Unchained” from Bandcamp, and make sure to follow the band on Facebook.
How did you go about forming viseMenn? Tell me about the distance you passed to shape the band as it is today?
We all come from different parts of the country and we all had been involved in different musical projects before we met, ranging from blues, rock, experimental, metal, classical, punk, pop, church-music, session-work, art-projects.. We met through the improv project «a Crack in Time and the Break of Dawn», we started playing together in relation to a couple of gigs and our individualities slowly started to shape into a band.
If I am not wrong, all of you guys worked before viseMenn on other projects. How do your previous experiences reflect on your work with viseMenn?
It is a growing process where you learn about who you are and who you are not, becoming aware of your own individual style helps keeping focus. We like the freedom of expression moving unrestricted between styles and perceive music more in terms of atmospheres and moods rather than musical genres. From «a Crack in Time and the Break of Dawn» jamming and improvising has made us better instrumentalists and improved our ability to be present in the musical performance. The pure spontaneous joy of performing/creating music is an essential part of our musical motivation.
Tell me about the creative process of the “Begging You Please” single. How would you describe the sound of it, or how would you describe your music in general to someone who didn’t listen to you before?
We wanted the song to have it’s own signature. We wanted it to reflect a bit of who we are and where we come from. We don’t come from a big city metropole and we felt that a fashionable urban sound would not be right. Where we come from is a place with few people and lots of nature that can shift from extremely dark, heavy and depressed to indescribable beautiful, bright and blissful. In a way this is our cultural inheritance. In many ways this is also the best way to describe our music.
Did you guys equally share songwriting duties for the single?
When we come together Helge brings a sketch for a song, everybody brings their interpretations and personal style to the table and together that is what makes viseMènn.
Are you satisfied how “Begging You Please” turned out to be? Is there anything from this point that you would change or do differently?
Yes, we are very happy. Cenzo Townshend of Decoy Studios did a tremendous job of mixing it all together and enhancing our intentions. Precious is the experience that we bring onwards to the next project.
I suppose that “Begging You Please” is an introduction to your upcoming full-length release. If so, what can we expect from the album? When do you plan to release it? How much will it differ from the actual single?
Yes, we are working on an album, shape and form constantly evolving and time being a relative measure has to be related to us being artists, but shall we say next summer? Hopefully it will differ, in a brotherly fashion.
How do you see the Norwegian rock scene today?
Norway has lots of very talented musicians. The rock scene is generally shifted towards the heavier more aggressive sides. Original bands often struggle to find an audience as most people prefer cover/party bands.
“Begging You Please” is available from iTunes. Follow the viseMenn on Facebook.
Drummond is a guitarist and composer coming from New York, and last month he released his debut EP titled “Getting Comfortable.” The EP is available as a name-your-price download on Bandcamp.
In an interview for Progarchy, Drumm talks about his musical beginnings, the EP, and more.
Thank you for having time to answer some questions. First of all, introduce us the project called Drummond.
Thanks for having me! It started back in 2012 when I decided to write an EP. Things just kind of took off from there really. I wrote all the music and asked my good friends Eugene Bisdikian to play bass and Thomas Diognardi on drums.
Would you mind telling us about your musical background, as well as education?
I come from a pretty musical background with my grandmother playing piano for a living and my stepfather playing trumpet for a living, so music was everywhere around me. I’ve been playing guitar for about 8 years now, and started taking lessons when I was 12. I started formally studying jazz my junior year of high school, and have continued to study it in college.
You recently released your debut EP “Getting Comfortable” How was the creative process for it?
I had so much fun writing this EP, it took a while though. The first song was pretty much finished in 2012, and the last song was finished in 2015. I pretty much locked myself in my room during the summers and wrote and listened to music until I had the EP completed. Good times…
“Getting Comfortable” is a very eclectic release. What do you think I should describe your music as to my friends? The real question here is, what do you guys consider the music of Drummond to be?
This is always a hard one, because every artist has influences coming in from every genre you know? A lot of people have called my stuff prog rock/metal and a lot of people have called it jazz fusion. I think the answer is probably somewhere in between there.
This eclectic music must have a wide range of influences and inspiration. Would you guys mind enlightening us as to some of the influences you haven’t mentioned already?
I think I take most heavily from Plini, I just love everything he puts out. Along the same lines, I really love all of David Maxim Micic’s work, and Sithu Aye (who makes a guest appearance on the EP) always kills it. On the jazz end of the spectrum, I’ve been listening to a lot of Wayne Krantz recently, and Tigran Hamasyan too. All those guys are monsters.
Can you think of some moments where musical homages have been included in Drummond’s tracks?
That’s tough… I think all the music I listen to and study makes its way into the EP for sure, but exactly where, I wouldn’t be able to say. The whole thing is just a compilation of me trying to sound like the guys I listen to and love!
What’s the live experience with Drummond like? Any plans for a tour somewhere down the road?
I recently pulled together a group of great musicians and we have been rehearsing for a few months now, and once we tweak our live sound and get it sounding how we think is best, we will be hitting the scene. As for a tour, nothing in the works yet, but down the line I think we can expect some!
What have you been listening to recently? Also, would you tell us what your all-time favorite albums are?
I’ve been jamming on a lot of Wayne Krantz lately like I mentioned earlier. His record ‘two drink minimum’ is nuts. And I’ve also been really digging Owane’s new release ‘greatest hits’. I love his playing and writing, I highly recommend that record. As for all time favorites, the albums I always come back to are Plini’s EP ‘the end of everything’, Laurindo Almeida’s ‘The Spanish Guitars of Laurindo Almeida’ and probably Art Blakey and the Jazz messengers album ‘Ugetsu’.
What kind of advice would you impart to other musicians? Do you have any words of wisdom or inspiration for other artists trying to make their mark?
I think the best words of wisdom ever passed down to me were from one of my professors. He told me that if you have a goal and a passion, you have to do everything in your power to achieve it. Be aggressive until you get what you want, ‘like a bulldog trying to get a bone’ he said. That stuck with me. The best part is you have your whole life to try to achieve your goal, so don’t rush, stay relaxed but keep making progress!
Thank you again for agreeing to do this interview. I think I’m out of questions, so feel free to add anything you like.
Thanks again for having me, and thanks to all the people who have showed their support, its mind boggling!
“Getting Comfortable” is available from Bandcamp. Make sure to check it out.
Thank you for having time to answer some questions. First of all, introduce us the band Bangbakc. What does the band name refer to?
Aaron: And thank you for taking the time to ask us some questions! So before the band started, I used to use “bangback” as a term for when you haven’t had sex in a really long time, and then get lucky and just really go to town one night and wake up the next day with a sore back. The switching of the “ck” to “kc” was just kind of an inside joke and an homage to our friend Aliyah Boucher, who used to make these hilarious typos on facebook. Another friend of ours described her typing strategy as just sort of “laying her hands on the keyboard and just mashing out approximations of words and sentences.” This became a long running joke that still makes its way onto our facebook page quite often.
Dylan: Inside jokes get out of hand easily. This is a prime example of that. The only issue with this one is that folks sometimes try to overpronounce it. “Bang-bach” kind of creates an association with classical music that we aren’t going to attempt until we release the greatest hits album.
Brill: we r brangbaks and were he7re to tell you your on a sprace ship traped in a computerizer.
Would you mind telling us about your musical background, as well as education?
Aaron: I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, when my dad brought me home a classical acoustic guitar from one of his visits to Mexico. Initially, I took some lessons but just kind of taught myself after that. I would say my real musical education came from my time playing bass in The Mercury Tree, because I would have to practice playing impossibly difficult parts just to keep up with Ben and Connor. Ben is also a very knowledgable musician and taught me most of the theory that I know now. (Ben plays some really awesome keys and synths on track 6)
Dylan: I got a baby drum kit when I was two or three, and a proper drum kit when I was eleven. My mom and dad had some crossover in their music taste, raising me on Rush, King Crimson, King’s X, healthy portions of classic rock. In high school I rebelled and started voraciously devouring the Hydrahead Records catalog, drawing a lot of influence from pretty intense music, such as Kayo Dot, Daughters, and Converge.
Brill: been playing the bass of sprace since before any of you were born.
“Lot Lizards” album art
You recently released your second album titled “Lot Lizards.” How was the creative process for it?
Aaron: This album was a very collaborative effort. We would either come up with scratch parts and then bring them to the band or just jam and record the jams, and make songs out of the parts we liked. The album’s story is about a premium cable TV show called “Lot Lizards” that begins to gain sentience, and then things get really weird and David Lynch-y. And I think we came up with most of that concept after driving home from the SeaProg festival, having smoked a bit of grass beforehand, of course.
Dylan: It was very different. “Echocomplexities” was a handful of songs that were at least mostly written by Aaron before I heard them, or even before Brill jumped on bass. “Lot Lizards” was absolutely a collaborative effort. Notably, I remember that the first track was such a monster during the writing process that we wrote out a song map, detailing the arrangements. There was also a lot more experimentation with production as well, like on “commercial break”. We initially planned for this band to be a dream pop outfit, to serve as a break from our prog bands. When the writing started for this album, that pretense was abandoned almost entirely.
Brill: im not sure how it happened im pretty sure i was there when we made these songs. Its hard keeping trakc of time on a space ship. I do remember driving home from seaprog and conceptualizing the albums early concept whilst aaron was joking about lot lizards.
“Lot Lizards” is a very eclectic release. What do you think I should describe Bangbakc as to my friends? The real question here is, what do you guys consider the music of Bangbakc to be?
Aaron: For a while now we’ve been referring to ourselves as “heirloom stoner prog”, because we grow a lot of heirloom tomatoes at our house. Lately I’ve been using “surrealistic stoner prog” or “kraut prog” but you can describe us however you’d like!
Brill: bangbakc is a music sounding band.
Dylan: It should probably be called impressionistic prog, if you want to call it something specific. If you focus on the individual elements, there are krautrock, surf, and stoner rock portions that are adjacent to one another, but its a lot to take in, and it is presented as kind of a collage. There’s enough variety there for it to be assessed on a song-by-song basis, but part of what makes it effective I think is the fact that it is all presented sequentially without a whole lot of breathing room amidst the twists and turns.
This eclectic music must have a wide range of influences and inspiration. Would you guys mind enlightening us as to some of the influences you haven’t mentioned already?
Brill: I dont know man ask salmon b jammin
Aaron: For me, I would say my biggest influence was David Bowie and Robert Fripp’s work in the late 70s and early 80s. But we also were inspired by this random vinyl record we found in the trash called “big rig hits”, which is just this hilarious trucker country album, which sort of flavored “Lot Lizards” as this sort of surrealistic western. We were also inspired by RIO-flavored bands like Magma, Thinking Plague and Hamster Theatre. Actually, we were lucky enough to have Dave Willey of Hamster Theatre/Thinking Plague guest on this album, which we are eternally thankful for. Every Time I Die had some influence on me personally, and I think it’s probably pretty obvious that we all adore The Mars Volta.
Dylan: The various incarnations of “Omar-jazz” definitely play a huge part in our respective musical backgrounds, and we have drawn a considerable amount of influence from seventies and eighties prog, as Aaron mentioned. I am a huge fan of Swans, Pere Ubu, Jeff Buckley, Codeine, and just about anything that the members of Slint and Cave In have had their hands on.
Can you think of some moments where musical homages have been included in Bangbakc’s tracks?
Aaron: For me there are definitely a lot of shameless Bowie and Fripp homages.
Dylan: The Theme to Lot Lizards has some Twin Peaks flavor to it, and various vocal harmonies that we have employed over our two albums have been compared to Qui and Soundgarden. I’m not sure how much of that was intentional, but I suppose you are what you eat. Badmotorfinger is a good car album.
What’s the live experience with Bangbakc like? Any plans for a tour somewhere down the road?
Aaron: Live, we are pretty intense, and play mostly house shows these days…almost a punk band that decided to play a prog band’s music. We recorded almost all of “Lot Lizards” live and then added layers, so some of that live intensity is palatable on the album. I personally am not a huge fan of touring, or really emotionally or mentally equipped for it, but we have certainly talked about doing some baby tours, given we are able to set up the right shows. They’d mostly be house/DIY/all ages shows, because we usually scare bar crowds and don’t like dealing with bar promoters and such. But there will probably be a west coast tour in the works sooner than later. And we will certainly let everyone know when that happens.
Dylan: I’d say that, for a prog band with very little metal influence, we are very loud. We’ve never toured as bangbakc, but we have had consecutive shows before, and we’ll likely continue to do that sort of thing until we are able to waltz across the country playing nothing but DIY venues or houses. We were tired of feeding the booking monster before forming this band, and we don’t like turning down.
Brill: i want to tour all the time lets do it guys
What have you been listening to recently? Also, would you tell us what your all-time favorite albums are?
Aaron: Lately I’ve been listening to a ton of Secret Machines and the Curtis brothers’ offshoot projects. I’ve also been rediscovering some of Omar Rodriguez’s lost solo records. Also Tears for Fears and Kate Bush, and other related 80s new wave stuff. And always David Bowie, always. My all time favorites are probably Frances The Mute by The Volta, Red/Lark’s Tongue/Discipline by King Crimson, Station to Station by David Bowie, and probably 10 Silver Drops and the self-titled Secret Machines records.
Brill: ive been listening to lot lizards alot trying to finish the mix for you good people. Also listening through mixes for my latest project which is a soundtrack for an independent film.
Dylan: We’ve been binging on glossy 80’s pop and Krautrock lately, and I’ve been spinning Death Grips constantly. I’ve also got Palimpest by our friends in The Human Machine on repeat. Some of my all time favorites include: ( ) by Sigur Ros, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk by Jeff Buckley, Spiderland by Slint, Talk Like Blood by 31Knots, Charmer by Breather Resist, and the Mare EP by Mare.
What kind of advice would you impart to other musicians? Do you have any words of wisdom or inspiration for other artists trying to make their mark?
Aaron: I don’t know how qualified I am to give out advice, but generally I would say just be fearlessly yourself. Take as many chances as you can, and explore your different musical personalities. Don’t be afraid to try something new because it “doesn’t fit your band.” Never make the same album twice.
Brill: Advice to other musicians : balance your drug use with a decent amount of exercise and other drugs.
Dylan: Don’t compromise your artistic vision for anything, or anyone. If you want to make a mark, make sure you’re making the mark that you want to make. Just because some people want to listen to McDonald’s music doesn’t mean you need to make it.
Thank you again for agreeing to do this interview. I think I’m out of questions, so feel free to add anything you like.
Aaron: Thank you for listening to our record! We hope you enjoyed listening to it and by all means, feel free to share it with friends in as many ways as you can. If you dig the record but are unable to buy a copy for financial reasons, send us a message and we’ll shoot you a download code. We know the struggle!
Dylan: Writing about spraceships and creating a mythology is far more creatively fulfilling than singing about ex girlfriends or politics.
“Lot Lizards” is available now from Bandcamp. Like Bangbakc on Facebook.
Serbian instrumental prog rock band Daar just released their debut album “One-Way Expedition,” a very eclectic release that has to offer so much. As they put it, DAAR uses “all available musical tools to tell different stories with different atmospheres and emotional territories.”
The band was very kind to introduce us to their work.
Thank you for having time to answer some questions. First of all, introduce us the band Daar. What does the band name refer to?
Hello music lovers! First of all we want to thank you for showing interest for our work and let us introduce to your readers (hopefully our future listeners).
In today’s world people often take for granted everything that we have nowadays and that let us live quality and happy life. We often act like we have right to take everything that we want, as much as we want, regardless consequences that might have to other people and environment. In this atmosphere we lose sense of gratitude. We often forgot that almost everything we have is a gift. Gift from God, gift from nature, ancestors, other people…
DAR means gift on Serbian language, so using that name we try to be more aware of that fact and at the same time become more opened to surrounding world which than becomes our source of inspiration. By adding another “A” and becoming DAAR, we wanted to give this name a unique stamp and make it sound more musical.
Would you mind telling us about your musical background, as well as education?
DAAR has been created as some sort of reunion of old friends musicians. We all cooperated on some projects in the past. Nebojsa (drums) and Oliver (lead guitar) have been members of one of the first progressive bands in Serbia called “Talisman”. Band was active in 90’s, but situation in ex-Yugoslavia during that period (war and economic crises) prevented us from bringing our work to wider audience.
After that period we all went separate ways. We all thought that book is closed… but after early death of our bass player Tomovic Aleksandar, we wanted to spend some time together and honor his life by playing some of our songs again. But chemical reaction started again and we found ourselves in creative state again… after that, Sasa Kostic (bass) joined the band together with his brother Ivan (guitar). DAAR has been completed.
Except Sasa Kostic, none of us has formal musical education. We all started to play instruments purely from enthusiasm as a teenagers. So at that time it was already too late for formal education. However, being in love with music, we spent a lot of time learning from all possible sources.
We had to find the way by ourselves.
You recently released your debut album “One-Way Expedition.” How was the creative process for it?
As I mentioned, once we gathered again, everything started like some chemical reaction. In some way, we were observers of what was happening. 🙂 And when you feel that wave of creativity, you don’t have other option but to stand on the board and surf. Interesting thing is that only after some pieces are already created, we seat back and analyze the whole thing. Then, it turns out that there was already deep meaning in music we created even before it came to our conscious mind. We all really have some secret life deep inside.
“One-Way Expedition” is a very eclectic release. What do you think I should describe Daar as to my friends? The real question here is, what do you guys consider the music of Daar to be?
If you try to analyze impacts that world has on you, from widest possible perspective, you can recognize that they are completely different in nature. If you try to give appropriate response to that as an artist, you need to master some isomorphic skills. Regarding that, we like to experience completely unrelated styles of music and other arts. So that approach influences our creative process as well.
This eclectic music must have a wide range of influences and inspiration. Would you guys mind enlightening us as to some of the influences you haven’t mentioned already?
DAAR is basically guitar centric band. So, our generation has its first baby cry in cradle of late 20th century guitar heroes, while legends like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen etc. already played with their toys.
So, that was our first milk as guitar players. Later on we tried to build our unique voice and style, we discovered other musical styles, like classical music, jazz etc. We were listening and learning from all type of musicians but we still like to play with quite a bit of distortion 🙂
Can you think of some moments where musical homages have been included in Daar’s tracks?
First song on this album, Portal, has a lot of changes, quickly touching different musical grounds (Heavy Metal, Flamenco, Latino, some Jazzy moments and few more if you listen carefully). Just like traveling through some wormhole, with warp speed and fast passing by different worlds. This song might be considered homages to various music styles.
Also closing song “One-Way Expedition” in the second part touches the ground of classical music. Basic reason is that at that moment whole album transcends into more spiritual sphere. We tried to achieve that by removing intense drumming and introducing some classical instruments (strings, flute, glockenspiel and harp) which make song becoming more fluid and esoteric.
What’s the live experience with Daar like? Any plans for a tour somewhere down the road?
It’s been a while since we stand in front of an audience. Now, when album is released we are eager to see how it will sound live. Basically, material is really playable… so we think that it has a lot of potential for live performance.
For now we can plan concerts in Serbia but we hope that there will be opportunities to present our music to people all over the world in the near future.
What have you been listening to recently? Also, would you tell us what your all-time favorite albums are?
The best thing with music is that there are always some new artists with fresh and unique ideas.
When it comes to guitar it’s amazing how it constantly evolves. One of the new artists that we are listening these days is David Maxim Micic. He recently released two new EPs: Ego and Eco. And there are always some interesting musicians involved in his projects. We like his music a lot.
Jakub Zitecky is also another young guitarist and composer that makes his way with unique approach and extraordinary playing skills.
Mokhatar Samba – extraordinary Afro drummer. List is long…
And it’s always nice to taste completely different atmosphere by listening to classics like Debussy or Philip Glass or whatever YouTube random engine brings to you 🙂
Some of the best albums of all time for us could be:
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway – Genesis
Head Hunters – Herbie Hancock
Passion and Warfare – Steve Vai
Angel dust – Faith no more
Animals as leaders – Animals as leaders
And many more…
What kind of advice would you impart to other musicians? Do you have any words of wisdom or inspiration for other artists trying to make their mark?
Music is same as life. If you are mentally healthy person you want to live your life. 🙂 You can experience every aspect of it and enjoy all the moments no matter if there is someone to share it with you or not. You can enjoy being alone or being with few friends or bunch of people.
Same thing with music. If you love to play or compose, and you can’t resist that urge, you are already an artist. Are you successful? Doesn’t matter, one adjective more or less… 🙂
It’s always nice to know that other people enjoy your work… but if it’s only one person, it’s OK. It’s not just one person, it is one whole world. The main thing is that you do whatever feels natural to you, because, only that way, you can use your instrument to really connect with other people, rather than just play it (which is also cool).
Thank you again for agreeing to do this interview. I think I’m out of questions, so feel free to add anything you like.
Thank you for letting us give a quick introspective into our creative process. What is of more importance is that you presented our work to people that like progressive approach to music. We all try to move boundaries of playing and composing a little bit further. This is collective task of all musicians involved in this approach. If we give our contribution to that task, that would be a great achievement. If there is someone out there that will enjoy our music or maybe get inspired for his/her own creativity we would consider our mission successful. Anyway, we already had a great time creating this album and we want more. 🙂
“One-Way Expedition” is availably from Bandcamp for measly €5.
Progarchy 