INTRO
So here it is - another one and uglier than ever. Despite me saying „never again”, I may be addicted to making zines. I wrote quite a few sentences here in the polish version, which came out some time ago, but now I have no idea what to say... With so many terrible things that happened around me recently I’m glad I managed to finish this piece. I’d like to thank everyone involved, every photographer and band, and most of all - Bartek Tajak of Fueling The Fire for helping me with tranlations and Pascal of Evil Greed for believing in this project. I’d like to think that there are no mistakes here, but fuck it, it’s a punk zine, right? DIY or cry. xx Bastian P.S. That wicked cover art is a photo by Gingerdope Photography edited by PWEE3000 ;)
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^^photo by Nous Davidse
SOUNDCHECK: Nick Cogan (Drug Church).........4 INTERVIEW: Rain ...............................................8 INTERVIEW: Youngbrother................................12 SOUNDCHECK: Boy Tillekens (Swain)..............16 INTERVIEW: Tomek Jazwiecki (Skateaffair).21 INTERVIEW: Wherethebirdssleep....................26 INTERVIEW: Lochy i Smoki...............................31
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(Nick Cogan) What guitars are you currently using? Which one is your favourite? My live guitar(s) are constantly changing because I have an actual addiction to buying gear. The guitar that I use the most is also the guitar I’ve had for the longest. It’s a 1980 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Everything is stock and it sounds perfect. The next guitar in line is my ‚73 Les Paul Deluxe. I love those guitars but I absolutely hate the stock mini-humbuckers, so I take them out and put P-90’s in there. Preferably stock Gibson ones, or Seymour Duncan Antiquities.
What was your first guitar? My first guitar was a no-name Stratocaster copy. It was red and it was far too big for my body at the age of 7. My first „real” guitar was the ‚80 Les Paul Custom I mentioned before. One of my father’s friends was selling it for pretty cheap when I was about 12 or 13. So I really lucked out on that one.
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^ nikospl3gas.tum
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What pedal effects are you using? My pedalboard is constantly changing because I’m neurotic about those sorts of things. The pedals that never seem to leave would be my Rat, Small Clone, Small Stone and my Memory Man.
Your favourite amp/head? Why? My favorite amp is the one I’ve had forever. It’s a ‚79 JMP. It’s a 100 watt and it’s really loud. I use that for everything really, at least rhythm wise. I also use a ‚74 Silver Face Twin Reverb. My recording/live set up switches between those to amps. Predominately the JMP with a TS-9 in front, A/B’d with a fender twin with a Rat.
What kind of guitar gear are you dreaming of?
Haha the list could go on forever. I’ll just give you my current „saved searches” on eBay and Craigslist. Lately I’ve been looking for an early 60’s SG Junior, a newer Gibson Firebird, and a Marshall 1959 SLP. Those are my current obsessions. Thank you for your interest!
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ak 8 //Bastian //translated by B. Taj
Hi man, introduce yourself please and tell me about the origins of RAIN. Harry: Alright mate how’s it going? I’m Harry and I play bass and sing a bit in Rain. We’re a band from Swindon, in the south west of England. Before Rain started, Cam (Drums), Rhys (Guitar) and I were all in a hardcore band together and decided we wanted to do something different so started practising casually. We’d always talk to Jonah (Vocals / Guitar) about this type of music and when it came to making a band it was an easy decision to ask him to join. Recently we’ve become a five piece as our good friend James has joined to also play guitar, it’s been great having him in because it really seems to add an extra dynamic to the sound and the band as a group. How did you come up with that name, is there any story behind it? H: I can’t even remember to be honest, It just seems like it’s always been the name. It must be annoying as hell trying to search for us online though. Traditional question – what bands would you mention as the biggest influences for your music? When we went to record the EP we watched that Slowdive documentary together and
were blown away by it for sure. As far as other bands go we all have different influences. You’ll be able to tell when you hear the EP that Cam has a huge love for thrash punk and hardcore music because the drums are so aggressive. We all love bands like Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, and The Jesus And Mary Chain too. Me and Jonah have also really been into LSD And The Search For God recently, they’re great. Oh ok. As you are one of the fewer bands on the scene, that (in my opinion !) can be described as, more or less, shoegaze band, don’t you think that this label is soooo overused and misused nowadays? H: I definitely think since that Title Fight record dropped people have been quick to say that anything heavy with a chorus pedal is shoegaze, which is obviously not the case. I’d never classify us as a shoegaze band because the real “shoegaze” bands from the 90’s don’t sound anything like us really, we could never make music as good as that. Yeah I definitely see what you mean. Your debut record is gonne be released soon by Close To Home Records, right? Can you tell us about it? How did it happen? H: We recorded the EP in June
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The Ranch in Southampton with Lewis Johns. Lewis had done so many great records we thought he’d be our best bet in trying to capture the huge sound we were after. When we finished the record we sent it across to some independent labels that we thought would like it including Close To Home. We were confident that working with Joe was the right choice and we still are, he puts so much work in and does everything he can to make the bands on the label happy. We couldn’t be happier working with him. Could you tell a bit more about its content? What can we expect? H: Like I said in the previous question, we wanted to capture a huge, heavy wall of sound and Lewis did that perfectly. The re-
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cord has got quieter moments like on the track ‘Dandelion’, but even that leads to probably the heaviest part of the record towards the end. Can’t wait then! Harry, your other passion is videography, especially good, old VHS. How did it all start? By the way I love your work, especially the „Slur” video! H: Thanks so much mate. Obviously I’ve been watching music videos all my life, so it’s cool to be able to create things similar to those that have been such a huge part of my life. It’s so exciting seeing the SLUR video being shared around everywhere obviously because it’s our band, but on a selfish note it’s really cool because it’s something I’ve made.
Nice! Now tell me - what are your favourite 2015 releases? H: As a band we’ve all loved the latest EP by the Danish band Communions, that’s probably our collective favourite. Other than that, I loved the new records by Chain Of Flowers and Tame Impala. 9. To end with, what are you plans for the nearest future ? We’ve got a really busy start to 2016 actually which is exciting. We’re doing a live session, a few headline shows and obviously the record is coming out which we honestly can’t wait for since we recorded it over 6 months ago.
isaband
FB.COM/rain
rainisaband.tumblr.com
Thanks a lot mate, take care. Thank
you
and
good
luck!
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label:
CLOSE TO HOME RECORDS.
//Bastian
Hey man! How are you? Can yourself? introduce you Hi, my name is Dmitriy, i play guitar and sing in a "Youngbrother" called band
90s emo and alternative rock influences. Other music inspire me all the time...in one hand it would be some bands from 90s and in other hand some modern kind of music. Too many bands, i can call you some names if you want.
Ok, so Dmitriy, tell me how would you describe the music Yeah, name a few please :) I’ts that you're playing and what always interesting and maybe I bands inspire you the most? will find some new bands to liHm..i don't like genre clishes, sten to haha but i think we play some kind of Hmm..right now i have in my playloud, mid tempo punk-rock with er some stuff from Dinosaur Jr.,
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Face to Face, Sleeping Weather, Nothing, Knapsack, latest Kurt Vile album, latest album from Thurston Moore and some Sonic Youth, also have some sludgy doom metal stuff like early Electric Wizard, YOB, Cough, Windhand, Sleep, With the Dead... Also i like indian folk and some soundtracks, experimental ambient music, drone doom music. Oh nice! These are pretty diverse and interesting inspirations! By the way, how did it happen that the band started? What’s the story? I started this band with Yegor, the drummer. Our previos band just broke up and we just wanted to play. Simple story.
Yeah that’s right...and I also think that it’s an awesome way of making shows :) Can you tell me what guitar gear are you using? Right now my main guitar is a Gibson SG Special Worn Brown, a great workhorse for every kind of music you want to play. But i also like „Fender shape” guitars and right now making an master-build custom guitar. I have only 3 pedals in my board: Boss Tuner, Ibanez de-7 and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff pi with tone wicker. That’s my sound.
Ok. I’ve noticed that you play a lot of shows with hardcore bands. How does the scene look like in Russia? Are the hardcore/punk scene and alternative scene connected? Yeah, few raw hardcore bands with some post-rock or emo band or alternative band in list at the gig is a normal practice. Of course we have a lot of shows with only hardcore bands or some other stuff, but multi genre shows is a frequent. I think it’s interesting because you can discover something different, something new, feel other direction. And peole often play in a few bands at once, this make that connection. You can play some beatdown hardcore and then mellow emo stuff...
You’ve recently released a single called „Drown”. Tell me something about it and why did you choose Bob Cooper to master it? This is the first song that we wrote with a second guitarist, and last recorded with old bass player, i also record some bass parts on it. We just looking for someone who really knows how that kind music should sounds and chose Bob.
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I don’t really know why. He just inspires confidence...An d we like his work for Nai Harve st and Hindsights and other bands Ok, do you plan any new music out soon? Now we’re just writing new songs. We play couple on shows. I hope we can record some new music in the begginin g of 2016. Ok so to finish with - can you recommend me some russian bands :) ? Yeah, i would recomend yo u to listen a few bands: Se lfchase, Rooftops, Jinx, Get Co ld, Us Pàlm, Materic, Bicycl es for Afghanistan, Kovarski, and WLVS if you want somethi ng heavy Ok thank you ! Thank YOU for the intere
st :)!
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studio edition.
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^^photo by Nous Davidse
What guitars are you currently using? Which one is your favourite? I’m playing a Fender Jaguar HH and for some songs on this record I also used Noam’s Gibson The Paul.
What was your first guitar? My first guitar was a red and white Squier Strat from one of those starter packs with a small amp. I bought it when I was 13 or something and got into rock music. It’s obviously shitty but I used it to play along to Blink 182 records playing from an even shittier boombox so it got me excited enough to keep on playing.
What pedal effects are you using? An MXR phaser for obvious reasons. Several boost pedals to especially make choruses sound bigger and heavier. These were made by a guy who works in the same building as the studio. I have an EH Nano Clone, which I think I only used for one part on the record. I prefer using the EH Pitch Fork, which if you turn it all the way down kinda sounds like a chorus, but it’s prettier and has a less distinct chorus sound. I also use it to add an extra octave to a lead at times. For the heaviest parts I used this nuclear sort of pedal that J got from someone a while ago, only two of these were made and it makes your guitar sound like your amp is about to blow up, it’s great. The nuclear image describes its sound pretty well. The Angry Sparrow I used a lot for leads, to add some gain. It’s some sort of diy pedal that I don’t know anything about, except that it sounds pretty sick. I used the EH Small Stone for one or two songs that needed a more over-the-top phaser than the MXR, which is more of a safer phaser, I guess. The volume pedal I actually only use for one song that has a verse where the guitar slowly fades in. The ZVEX Instant Lo-fi Junky is a pretty cool one, I’m still not entirely sure what is does exactly, but half of it works as a sort of chorus, but it warps the sound a bit more, to the point where you start to feel a bit sea sick if you use it an entire song. It’s cool. I also use a splitter to use two amps at once.
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Your favourite amp/head? Why? I don’t really know, back home I use a sort of 80’s Marshall plexi copy that I bought off some guy who couldn’t tell me much more about it for very cheap that sounds really cool. In the studio I used a Fender Bassman with, for most songs, an Ampeg Gemini II, and for some other songs a Gibson amp that I don’t remember the name of. The Bassman I used for a more cleaner sound and then the other one to add some weight. Both combinations work really well.
What kind of guitar gear are you dreaming of?
Nothing, really. I can’t say I’m that much into guitars or gear, or that I actually know what I’m talking about or whatever. Although, I am starting to get invested in pedals more now that I’m finding out more. But I’ve always cared more about songwriting, I guess.
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^^photo: Jonatan Carlsson
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introduPlease Man! Hey brieus tell ce yourself and about. ffair.pl fly what is Skatea TJ: Hi, my name is Tomek Jaźwiecki, and I lead a web portal Skateaffair, which oscillates between skateboarding and street fashion. Our website has a daily run of news from the world of skate clothing (not exclusively), as well as we tend to cover some news about equipment and footwear. What’s more, we test gear, trying to do that as often as it’s only possible, we put out tutorials, and just like you, we invite people from our “environment” for interviews. There’s really a lot to say, so if anyone would like to know more – please just visit our page at www.skateaffair.pl.
Besides that, or maybe should I say most importantly, I’m occupied with skateboarding. Sometimes I study on top of that. For the last two years I’ve been enjoying surfing, but my newest passion on which I spend all my time and money is music on vinyl. Where did you get the idea for Skateaffair? When it came to starting with Skateaffair, I was mostly influenced by great products released by the legendary footwear company éS. Everyone who knows that company would know their shoes were always based on cool new technologies. I couldn’t find a website that would thoroughly describe that, and especially not in polish language.
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With some time I started finding all those different producers providing interesting technologies in their products, for example P2 decks. I figured it would be great to find more examples of that, and publish it all in one place. I shared the idea with my buddies at a skatepark during one of our countless night sessions. Between them there was Wiktor S., who told me a few weeks later that he loved the idea, and I should pursue that, or he would have to do it. Eventually we started working together, figuring out the whole business side of it, and now nearly 6 years later we‘re both still in it. The portal still evolves, and we still have new visions, currently bringing lots of upcoming changes for Skateaffair… Awhile ago you expanded your activity and created a web store. Maybe tell us something about that? TJ: We were always interested in progress and new challenges. The store is probably the biggest challenge we’ve taken so far. I think it’s also a natural step for us. We’d been getting lots of e-mails asking for whether it was possible to use our platform and buy some product X that we would have described earlier. There was so many of those messages, it made us think. After a few months of preparation stages, around the end of July 2014, we were able to open our Skateaffair STORE. Without being too modest, I’d have to say we carry a really wide range of skateboarding equipment. There’s obviously clothes as well, some stuff for snowboarding, something for girls, and who knows what. We’re always easy to get in touch with,
giving our customers some tips, that are backed by years and years of experience. Everyone here used to work at a skateshop before, and Wiktor even owned two stationary shops himself. We’re constantly filming some tutorials and skate edits. First effects might be found somewhere on the web. And to finish my boasting, I’d only have to add that we carry only selected brands, that we were consistently posting about years before the store came to life. Ok, stepping away from the web scenario, how many years has it already been for you with the whole skateboarding venture? JT: I took up skating right before the summer of 2005. Once you step on your deck time flows quite differently, as much looking at it short-term, as long-term as well. I’d recommend that to everybody. Thanks to skateboarding I’ve met so many inspiring people, travelled around some cool places. The last 10 years, or even more, I had something to make me happy, and I still have it. The first edition of Skate Yard Sale took place at the end of November, and you were the ones organizing it. It’s an awesome idea, could you tell us something more about it? TJ: One day I looked at that huge pile of gear and clothes that I hadn’t been using for some time, and thought to myself I wouldn’t even be able to sell it for example on facebook, or somehow auction all of that stuff separately. I instantly came up with an idea of trading all of it in the real life, in a form of a second-hand sale.
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Fortunately, In Cracow we still have the Forum Skate Pool, so I didn’t have to search for a host too long. A lot of kindest people helped me with some organization aspects. So the first edition is behind us, everyone had something sold, and the prices were ridiculously low too, which probably made both sides happy. The sellers were to pay for their stands, and all of the proceeds from that served as a donation for the skate bowl. During the sale we had some cool competitions in which people could participate and just have fun. But I was mostly satisfied with the charity collection for the Saint Louis Orphanage in Cracow. We gathered 40 t-shirts, around 10 sweatshirts, lots of caps, shoes, and plenty of sweets and other gifts, all in the right time for the St. Nick’s Day. High five to everyone that donated the goods. We’re already planning the next edition.
Do you remember your first deck? TJ: Yeah, of course. I bought a complete skateboard at a local toy shop (hehe), all for 40zł. It was a lot for me back then. Its design was horrible and poorly made, but I didn’t mind. I still remember the moment I tried to ride down the first small driveway outside of that store, I immediately knew skateboarding is something very special. I still have that deck to this very day, seeing as I felt it’s going to hold a lot of value for me. I know that one of your passions outside of skateboarding is also guitar, right? What have you been listening to lately? J T: Yes, it’s true. I’ve been trying to learn guitar for years now! Maybe someday I’ll get there (haha). If it comes to what I’ve been listening to lately, I couldn’t forget to mention
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a band called Reverend Baron. As for my current playlist, whatsoever, I can’t stop spinning Neil Young, Lykke Li, and Jozef Van Wissem, while the cherry on my cake would have to be a group called Cheap Tobacco. It’s a polish band, partly from Cracow, and partly from my family sides. You can check them out on youtube, but they’re much better live. While working on a skate-portal you kinda have to be up to date with everything. Which polish and international companies/teams stood out the most lately? TJ: A company that definitely deserves some attention is HUF, which is a brand that as one-of-not-too-many is still “skater-owned”. They regularly come out with interesting products, and they’re not afraid to experiment, having countless collaborations with other passionate companies, that’s just a common thing for them. It’s quite similar with the guys from PALACE or Polar Skate Co. It’s also worthy to keep an eye on RIPNDIP, Isle Skateboards, Cliché. If it comes to our native skate-companies, I’d have to admit that not a single one makes my heart stir as of now. Generally I do like the ethics of Egzul Skateboards, and I’m curious how will the new Straight Krukt collection look like, but I guess that would be it. Seeing as it’s already New Year and we’re in the middle of the end-of-year round ups, I’d like to ask you to name 3 of your favorite SV’s of 2015. And while we’re at it, I’d like to thank you for the interview, and wish you a great year!
TJ: Last year what I liked the most would be Boys of Summer, which breaks all the stale patterns, and for one more time, proves that what really counts in skateboarding, is actually just us, meaning ordinary skateboarders. We’re the reason those companies and factories exist, not the other way round. The next production that appealed to me was Propeller, which was made in a very stand formula of having an intro/part/part/part/outro form. It’s probably the only downside of that thing, but I’m mostly excited about its ‘cast’. Another part from Rowley, AVE or DanLu? Yes, please! Last but not least, I’d name a polish production, seeing as we’re quite unhealthily so in love with the west, so I thoroughly recommend the newest one from Aram Socha, meaning YTH Video. It’s a noteworthy continuation of the already staple Easy Livin’.
Interview: Bastian Translated by: B. Tajak Photos: Łukasz Jaracz
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//Bastian //translated by B. Tajak
Hi, how are you? Introduce yourself for us here and now please.
Here I’d like to send a smile to Witold, seeing as I know he’s pretty sensitized to what I’m about to ask, but maybe you’d be able to define your genre of music somehow?
T. Masłowski: Hi, I’m good, thanks. Relaxing before tomorrow’s Turnstile gig, which I happen to have a pleasure of organizing. My name is Tomasz Masłowski, and people call me Masło. Yeah, that gig’s gonna be a good one, but anyway, tell us something about your band wherethebirdssleep. How did it start and where did the name come from? TM: Wherethebirdssleep is a name that our bassist Witold came up with. He would surely answer this question more accurately than me, as actually I can’t really recall where that name came from specifically. We had a few options, and in the end we decided that it was the one that suited our band well enough. We started the band in 2014. I was on my way back home after rehearsing with my previous band, in which I already played with Japa, and I mentioned something quite spontaneously about wanting to play something different. Coincidentally it occurred we were both somehow tired of the heavy stuff, I guess, and we wanted to look for some forms of escape.
TM: I actually have some hard time with that. I’ve been in a few other bands, and it was easier to describe them before. With wherethebirdssleep it’s difficult to pigeonhole us, it’s just more emotive and sad, it should provoke some reflection. Do you feel it does the job well with making the listener think? TM: I’d hope for that. Our group is not only about music, but also about some stories. We’ve got a lot to say and we share that openly. That’s right, during your shows you often use the stage to speak out about how big of a deal mental illnesses might be for people, especially when they’re constantly pushed aside. Isn’t it an example of that? TM: Exactly. It’s a very serious topic in my opinion, even more as it’s been touching me quite much directly for some time now.
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When I started battling against depression and panic attacks I realized what kind of disturbance it can bring. Since then I also notice how many people in our society deal with the same problems. I see it everywhere around me as well. At our shows I use some time to talk about that cause I think it’s important to share our stories. I want to let people know that there’s nothing to be ashamed of, and we could talk about our problems openly, in this way helping each other with the burden. For me personally, playing music is a form of therapy. I couldn’t agree with you more! Changing the subject we could talk more about your EP. Could you tell us something about it? TM: Hmm. Maybe I could start with the process of its creation. The EP came to existence completely naturally for us. What do I mean with that? Right at the beginning we instantly felt how well do we get on with each other, and how easy it is to write songs together. The whole EP was written during our rehearsal sessions, we talked a lot about the songs and crafted all the details as a group. We didn’t have anybody that would set a full-blown concept for the music, it was just collected from every separate member, and everyone had their equal roles. I can easily admit we make up a good team. When it comes to the layers
of music and lyrics, our EP blends plenty of different things together. There’s some punk, some post-rock, some people say melodic hardcore, or just post-hardcore. But in the end, I think we managed to take all that’s good out of that, and create a cohesive collection of songs. We’re really satisfied with that. And as I mentioned before, the lyrics depict some portions of our personal lives. You’re the one writing lyrics? TM: Some of the lyrics are written by me, and other parts are written by Witek, our bassist. I personally tend to think he does it better than I. I’m not a poet. Sometimes I manage to write something down under the influence of a given moment, or some stronger emotions, but it doesn’t always come out right. I just try to select all my best fragments to use them for songs. Only not so long ago the EP found its proper release, am I correct? TM: Yes, although the album was released online in June of 2015, it wasn’t until now we had a chance to see it out there in a physical form. How would you describe the new material you’re preparing right now? Is it different than the EP?
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TM: It is a little different this time around. Some moments it might move more towards our post-rock influences. In its whole it will surely have its own flow. Some of the new tracks are already being played live, so if you see us at a concert, you also can hear the new material. So, to sum it up, what are your future plans? TM: We’re not really planning too much. There’s no actual plan for the foreseeable future. We’re playing all the time, having fun and that’s generally fulfilling. We’ll surely take a few steps to record our new LP soon enough, and we’re really excited about that. We want to play as many shows as it’s possible, as this is the most fun thing in all of that. Alright, so I’ll wish you guys just that, enjoy your gigs, good luck with your LP, and have fun! TM: There’s nothing more I could ask for, so thanks a lot.
facebook.com/wherethebirdssleep wherethebirdssleep.bandcamp.com/ wherethebirdssleep@gmail.com 29
LOCHY I SMOKI budyourself Introduce Hi! dy, let the world get familiar with one of the three leaders of the boy band Lochy i Smoki! Hi! My name’s Arek, in Lochy i Smoki I play bass and sing along. Besides me there’s Paweł on guitar and second voice, and there’s also the third guy, Krzysiek, playing handsome. being and drums I’ve heard you guys are metal veterans, are you active in any other bands? And what made you play this kind of music for girls like me? Well, we’re veterans of metal, punk 77, metalcore, beatdown… There was a lot of that, and there’s even more planned, but besides Lochy i Smoki the whole trio currently plays in a sludge/
//Bastian + fot. piątaesencja hardcore band, it’s called The Throne. Moreover, Krzysiek and I both play in WC, and I play in ODC. Lochy i Smoki came to life out of the need to play that specific kind of music, and as well just to try ourselves out at something new – that’s where Paweł’s and my singing came from, as well as playing as a trio, which to my mind is a perfect way to go with guitar music.
Ok… So here comes the key question of our interview. Which Jawbreaker record is your favorite and why? You’re really bad at building up any suspense then :P It would definitely be “Dear You”, but that’s basically because it was the first one I stumbled upon.
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Haha, ok! Got that one behind us, so maybe you could tell us something about what inspired you while writing your debut EP? It’s generally just difficult to say. Out of different reasons that thing was being written over the span of more than 5 years. In that time the project entitled “hey let’s just play emo” was just in the works, shaping up for what it is, with things getting through lots and lots of changes in between. It’s the same when it comes to our inspirations. In terms of music it’s probably quite possible to spot it out. It’s worth noting that before we had our first practice I made sure that the rest of the guys would be down for having sort-of-exclusively my ideas in the works, and that I would always have the final say on song-decisions. That’s an awfully foolish attitude towards playing music, but it didn’t come from nowhere. Everyone who plays in a band knows that a band is a product of every member’s craze. I definitely cared too much for my then-nameless-project to go down that road and fall far from what I had intended to do with it. With other bands I could never stick to any initial arrangements. However, it took me too long to understand that it’s kinda stupid and it takes away all the fun of creating that whole thing with your buddies, and only later on it really picked up steam. Anyway, our first attempt to play something along emo/screamo music was The Trone ;] Yeah, you could obviously try to catch some resemblance to other artists in you music, but I’d be also interested to hear what’s your stance on the part about spotting out your main music influences, just because it’s usually something different than people might assume.
Alright, alright. It would mainly be bands like Street Smart Cyclist, Snowing, Grown-Ups, Small Brown Bike, Cap’n Jazz, Algernon Cadwallader, Die Last… Let’s say these would be the ones I intended to rip off the most, but seeing as I can’t play as well as them, it is what it is hehe. Haha, ok – that’s fair! So maybe now you could tell us something about recording your latest material? From what you’re saying it seems like you were really having your time with it! We were dragging the whole process mostly because of a great grip on time management, or precisely the lack of it. Add that to the fact that meanwhile we released two albums from The Throne and ODC respectively, did some touring, and sometimes it came to a point where we just didn’t feel like doing anything more. Eventually we recorded the music at our rehearsal space on Krzysiek’s equipment, seeing as Krzysiek is not only a drummer, but also does sound engineering under the moniker 515 Agency. We recorded it under the watchful eye of our friend, Marcin “Panu Marcinu” Rybicki, out of Left Hand Sound from Poznań. Besides producing he also took care of quick mixing and mastering. We actually recorded our vocals at his place, having his parents and sister right behind the wall. They took it quite bravely, and we even got meat chops for dinner. They had to be wearing some earplugs or otherwise I’d only expect us to get some boiled potatoes at best. Anyway, I’d recommend Marcin to any sort of recording sessions – it’s enough to go and listen to the last album from In Twilight’s Embrace, which he produced entirely, you can clearly hear he knows his stuff.
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understood when played live, so the emotional aspect also has got its role.
Generally it’s plain to see you have this kind of a ‘nerd-ish’ theme surrounding your band(Lochy i Smoki means Dungeons & Dragons in polish -Bastian), could you elaborate on that? Yeah there’s been a set idea of focusing everything we do on a certain topic, and seeing as we all have only love for those, as you call it, ‘nerd-ish’ things, it was easy for us to choose. Moreover, we’re all fans of Forgotten Realms – Krzysiek still plays Baldur’s Gate (he even forces us to throw some references here or there, and we hardly agree on that), I enjoyed all of the books with Drizzt Do’Urden back in the day, and Paweł is the best DnD player I’ve ever played with. Other than that, I always liked to find references in the lyrics of the songs I liked, whether it would be to pop culture, or literature. I have a feeling it allows you to bring your listeners closer to what you intend to say in your songs. If I was a better lyricist, I probably wouldn’t have to use that form as much, but what can you do. Come on, it’s not that bad :D By the way, why in Polish? Dammit, I don’t see why not? Maybe to make it a bit more difficult – there’s no denying that it’s much easier to write in English. But it’s mostly because lyrics in your native language might hit you harder (at least in my opinion), especially when they’re really good, where I think we have plenty of those “sad bands” wording it all out so well. Besides that, there’s too many English-language bands, with which we don’t come up to scratch hehe. I also have a feeling, that with this type of music, it’s much harder to yell your own native equivalents of words like “I need you”, than just some sounds that aren’t necessarily
I get it and I back it up ;) You also had your debut released physically, but in a form of cassette. Why’s that? Generally, we’ve been witnessing quite a comeback from vinyl and cassettes, what do you think about that? The reason we chose a cassette form for the EP is quite prosaic – it’s just that none of my other bands have ever done anything like that hehe, and besides that, we couldn’t afford a vinyl option, whereas I gotta admit, I’m a little bored with standard CDs. I figured lately, that in our times with all the streaming services and mp3s and so on, you need to somehow encourage people to even want to have your music in a physical format, it has to be something more than an average CD in a plastic case. Let it be some screen printing on a cardboard vinyl cover, or a CD with a cover sewn together from bits of felt. There’s plenty of different options, and it only makes an album stand out from the others within a collection. I myself saw something like that for the first time when I was throwing a gig for now-defunct Words Mean Nothing, and I bought their CD released by Basement Records – a CD slipped into a ‘case’ made of black cardboard, all wrapped in a jacket of grey paper with a cut-off in the middle. I just like this sort of things, and I have loads of fun with finding releases made that way, or with preparing them myself. I guess you’re right, now physical releases are more like gadgets made to be put on a shelf… And still concerning the so-called emo scene in here, how do you think is it shaping up around?
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Hard to admit, but I’m not really up-to-date with that, at least not to an extent of an expert or something. There are bands - though quite young – which I’ve seen live, or got some of their releases, and they just keep up the good work. But let’s say there’s not too many names that I could list like right away, and that’s mostly just my fault. Ok, so to sum it up, I’ll ask you about your future plans in Lochy i Smoki! And I could even pretend that I care :D I’m actually well aware that you for one, as our biggest fan, wait and follow our every step hehe. Plans over here are just the same as with every other band, to play as much as we can, and in some time to get some new material, and release it somehow. Maybe next time on a floppy disk? We’ll see. Thank you for the interview! Thanks! It was terrible!
//translated by B.Tajak
facebook.com/lochyismoki lochyismoki.bandcamp.com lochyismokiemo@gmail.com
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