DUSK

0:09HostWelcome to Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Arthur. And today we have Dusk as a guest. This is a video edition of the episode. So if you're on YouTube or Spotify, you're in luck. The rest can just enjoy the audio on Apple Podcasts or any other platforms, or just go to YouTube and Spotify and watch it there. Don't forget to follow this podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or any platform if you dig it. And don't forget to rate the show on Spotify on Apple Podcasts. And you can always follow this podcast on Instagram at Interceptor Beyond. All right, now let's talk to Dusk.

0:54?How are you doing? Fine.

0:57HostCould you please introduce yourself to our viewers for the first time? One by one from after-rides.

1:05DUSKHello, I'm Creepy. I'm the bassist.

1:11HostSo that you know the camera is there if you want. You can tell them. You can tell me. But tell me. You know, forget.

1:20DUSKYeah, I'm the bass player. And thank you for the invitation.

1:29?Should I talk in the microphone? Yes. Okay.

1:32DUSKYeah, I'm Stefan. I'm the drummer from Dusk since last year.

1:37?All right.

1:39DenicaHi, guys. I'm Denica, the singer of Dusk.

1:42?And I'm the best singer of Dusk.

1:44HostAll right, people. So let's start from the fresh hit. Oh, sorry. Fresh start. Stuff, right? So, Sengu just came out, right?

1:53?That's correct.

1:54HostPlus, you got signed to which label?

1:57?Argonauta Records.

1:59HostDon't forget about the mics.

2:01DenicaWe got recently signed by Argonauta Records. That's correct, yeah.

2:05HostYes. And what about the music video? Which song is that?

2:09DenicaActually, the song from this music video is Windigo from our forthcoming album.

2:15HostWhen the album is coming out.

2:17DenicaActually, release date should be 6th October to be hopefully precise.

2:23?Yeah.

2:26HostTell me more about the creation of this album and how you get to the point of getting signed to the record.

2:35DenicaI mean, album is more type of long story because actually we had like a long break in between. Like, that means like a break from 2020 until 2022. But actually, the whole album was written in this time, but it took us longer actually because it's very hard. Actually, if you don't experience anything anymore, like being around people, being on concerts, whatever, you are less inspired actually and less motivated, to be honest. So, we were like this type of musicians and artists that were not so inspired by this time alone at home. So, yeah.

3:14HostSo, the process was painful and horrible of recording.

3:20DenicaI mean, the process of recording wasn't painful. It was just very exhausting, of course. I guess a lot of people that are musicians as well or something similar do experience a lot of demanding recording time as well. So, recording is demanding, to be very honest. But it was not unpleasant or something. It's demanding. That's what it is. But it doesn't matter if it's an EP or if it's an album. It's demanding.

3:54DUSKBut regarding the songwriting process, it wasn't that exhausting. It took us some time to figure out all the songs. So, basically, me and Denika wrote all the songs, but we arranged it as a band, of course.

4:08HostWhat changed in the production of this album? Like, since the previous one?

4:15DUSKSo, for the previous albums, we were like, as a band, much closer, sort of, for the writing process. Physically?

4:23?Physically, yeah. Yeah.

4:25DUSKAnd physically and... Or sexually.

4:28?Both.

4:29DUSKNo, I'm just joking. We'll talk about it later.

4:33?Yeah.

4:34DUSKYou know, we were located in Graz back then.

4:39HostAgain, Graz in my life. So much Graz in my life. I need to go there. Never been there.

4:44DUSKYou should go there. But only in summer. Winter's horrible.

4:47?I will go in winter.

4:50DUSKYeah, but back then in Graz, we were like, rehearsing, I don't know, two to three times a week. And that's when our songs got together. And then through Corona, everything drastically changed. We had some lineup changes in the band.

5:06DUSKAnd also the songwriting process was basically done by the two of us. So basically we sat together and we were playing riffs and trying to arrange the vocals. And then in the end arranged it with the whole band. But it was a different process. Back then in Graz, we were like playing together all the time and arranging everything all together. But now it's... It was a little bit more focused.

5:31DUSKBut yeah, not the whole band was involved in every single step. You know what I mean? In the beginning. Later on, yes.

5:38HostBut in the beginning, during COVID. Who did the mixing, mastering and all that stuff? And where was it recorded?

5:45DenicaActually, the album was recorded at LW Studios in 14th District, which is not so far from here, actually.

5:52HostYeah. We don't know where we are. We can't tell. Because we're shooting at yours.

5:56DUSKIt's better.

5:57?Yeah, it's better. Definitely. Yeah.

6:00DenicaAnd it was actually mastering and recording and production in general was done by Nitro from Evig Frost, who has actually an own recording company called Rock Dog.

6:14HostSo he did the whole album, right? Yeah.

6:17DUSKWas it the first experience?

6:18HostWas it the first experience? No, it was not the first experience working with him in this role.

6:23DenicaFor me, not, actually. For me, not. And it was actually the previous experience I had with him for his own album was really nice. And he had like a very good understanding of voices, which was very impressive for me because this is sometimes a pain point in studios, what I experienced in my past. But he has like this very, very special feeling for voices and it's great. So this is the reason why we cooperated.

6:50HostWhat do you mean with voices? Like how to mix it, how the production goes or how to bring the voice out of you, the necessary one?

7:02DenicaHow to bring the voice out of you and how to stage it, actually. It's also like what you're using, what kind of mix are you using, actually, and what kind of emotion you're triggering in this person.

7:15HostWhat kind of emotion for this album?

7:16?Hate, love, pain.

7:19DenicaI would say it's quite a mixture of everything, to be honest.

7:23HostWhat's the most painful song on the album?

7:25DenicaThe most painful song on the album. So I can already reveal there will be a song called Shapeshifter.

7:31DUSKAnd it has a great riff, by the way.

7:36DenicaI mean, we will see how it will be perceived then. But yeah.

7:42DUSKYeah, there's one. There is one song that is called Shapeshifter, yeah? Right.

7:49HostOkay. And what's so special about why it's painful? Was it emotionally connected to the life you had, Shapeshifter? Are you a Shapeshifter? What kind of Shapeshifter are you?

8:00DenicaI mean, I'm not thinking about myself. I'm thinking about a very painful experience in my past.

8:07?So yourself.

8:10DenicaActually, something I experienced, yes.

8:13DUSKOkay, let's not go too deep.

8:15DenicaBut it's meant to really show real emotions, a real story. Because sometimes it's very hard to find stories in, actually, that are real or really experienced by somebody. And this is a story that is brought, like, in a real story that really happened.

8:36DUSKAnd, of course, with a lot of metaphors.

8:38HostWhat is the story?

8:40DUSKWhat is the story? I mean, since the song is... I mean, that song.

8:44HostLet's talk about the song. Let's not about... Let's not go far.

8:48DenicaActually, to be very honest, every album needs something like a heartbreak song, right? Like a ballad.

8:54DUSKLike a ballad.

8:55HostIn the end, the last song should be a ballad.

8:57DUSKWith some great riffs. With some great riffs. Okay.

9:01HostSick drums and thick bass. Yeah.

9:06HostOkay. But, okay. For example, you wrote the lyrics, right? Based on real life of somebody, right? So, you give it to the guys or whatever, right? And they're like, what the fuck is this, right? It's so painful. How can we write music to this?

9:21DenicaActually, it was the other way around. Because I really hate heartbreak in ballads. Actually, heartbreak songs in ballads. Because I did not want to have a ballad on the album, to be very honest.

9:32DUSKBut, actually, you guys really enjoyed having a ballad on the album.

9:36HostI really like the contradiction that we need to have it, but I hate that we have it. So, what made you... Why did you decide to put it there? Why?

9:47DUSKSick riffs. Sick riffs. I knew it.

9:51HostThat's your business. When you sick riffs.

9:53DUSKSo, it started with that bunch of riffs. And they were a little bit more emotional. Like from the feel you get when you listen to it. Right.

10:03HostI like that we talk about emotions. Because I got to you emotionally. Don't worry.

10:08DUSKAnd we were struggling a little bit to find some lyrics to it. Because you came up with some initial lyrics, which didn't really work out for that song. And then, after some time, you came up with these lyrics, and they fit right from the start.

10:23?All right.

10:23DUSKBut she didn't like it. But then, we kept the song. Because it was, in my opinion, a great song.

10:29HostAll right. All right. All right. All right. It's a great song. I've never listened to it. Well, check it out.

10:34DUSKIt obviously is, yeah.

10:35HostYeah. Obviously. You will like it. Yeah.

10:38?Fine. But, one thing.

10:42HostYou had... So, if we compare the previous stuff with the new stuff, plus the previous stuff was a different lineup. We have a new lineup.

10:50?A lot have changed.

10:52HostThe looks changed. The style changed a little bit. Right?

10:57HostSo, in which direction are you going? Because now, you're more like, do me, maybe? Do me, do me?

11:05?Or... Actually...

11:06HostFor the looks. By the looks. If we take the photos that you had. Because, like, recently, we had, like...

11:13HostRelatively recently.

11:14?Some time ago. Some time ago.

11:17DUSKActually, I have two words for that.

11:19DenicaDarker and faster.

11:21DUSKDarker and faster.

11:24DUSKSo, the song we already released, the Wendigo song.

11:27?Yeah.

11:28DUSKI think it's the fastest song I wrote so far.

11:30?Like, from the riffs.

11:32DUSKAnd there's another song on the album, which is very similar in its pace, you know?

11:38?Very fast, also. All right. But... But...

11:41DUSKWendigo got, like, this very dark aura to it. And the other song is also a little bit darker, but not as dark as Wendigo.

11:50?So, do me.

11:51DUSKA little bit. Yeah, it is do me. Yeah.

11:55?All right.

11:56HostDo me. Did... Like, what was new for you in this? Like, okay, you're new. Right?

12:02?I'm new.

12:03HostRight. How was it for you to get into the band and, like, you're like, oh my god, this is like a doom band. I didn't sign up for this. It's like a rock and roll.

12:12DUSKNo, I wouldn't consider Daska as a doom band, but...

12:16HostI'm joking. Don't forget that I'm joking all the time.

12:21?It was easy. Easy? Yeah. I don't believe that.

12:24DUSKIt was really easy. I don't believe that. These two figured out all the songs.

12:31DUSKSend me the riffs. I played something on it on my e-drum set. Send it back to them and they said, yeah, that's fine. That's nice. We're gonna take it. It worked out right from the start. He had, like, great ideas for all the songs. We also had one rehearsal in Graz in 2018 or so together. Yeah.

12:52?I think it was... I can't remember.

12:53HostWait a second. Like, 2008... Are you together, like, 2018? Since... Wait. No. No, no, no.

12:59DUSKIt's difficult. It's difficult. Yeah.

13:02HostOh. This kind of relationship. No, no. I just wanted to say... And then you don't know whose health was going on and somebody gets a disease and whose fault is it? I don't know. I don't know.

13:13DUSKBlack magic. No, we played together before.

13:18?All right.

13:19DUSKSo, yeah. So, you were... It was easy to fit in for me.

13:23HostThey were getting a taste of you in the beginning. Uh-huh. All right. And then finally got you and sent you the drums. And they said, like, recently I was talking to a colleague and he said, like, I did something and he said, well, that's something.

13:42HostBut everything worked out fine, right?

13:45?Of course, yeah.

13:47HostI don't know. Maybe we have an open discussion. Maybe it's the right time. No. It really worked out.

13:53DUSKStraight in from the start. I had the feeling like I was always in the band. Yeah, we had the same impression about that. It really felt like that.

14:01HostDid you already tour? No, you didn't have time to tour, no?

14:04DenicaNot yet, but we already started to play live again.

14:08HostOh, yeah. When is the next live? I know that in October you have something.

14:13DenicaYeah, exactly. So, next live show is on 9th of June in Ljubljana in Club Kromka. Via this booking agency, Cult of Sighten, which is very great.

14:28DUSKWhich is the booking agency from a good friend of us?

14:31?Exactly, yeah.

14:33DUSKNesha from... She was previously the bassist from...

14:35DenicaOr my bass player of Myst. And, yeah.

14:40DUSKDo you know Myst? It's a Doom band. You know, you are talking about Doom all the time. You should know them.

14:46HostMaybe from the Facebook, maybe never... Well, I think I know it. I just don't want to lie that they... Or pretend that they know it. I think I checked it out. You should check them out. Yeah, everybody should check them out.

14:59?There.

14:59HostFor me, it's that kind of... All right.

15:05HostSo, the real test for you is going to be at the tour and when the album is going to be released.

15:15?Wow. Good luck.

15:17DUSKThank you very much. Thanks. No pressure at all.

15:21HostOh, I love this shit. When I was talking to the great, great funk, they were waiting for the album to... To whom? The great, great funk.

15:33?I love the silence.

15:35DUSKI don't know the band. Is it related to Grand Grand Road?

15:40HostNo, no, no. It's a local band. A couple of episodes behind that. You can listen to the interview with them. Which genre?

15:49?If I may ask.

15:51HostTor. It's great. You already asked. Don't hate me. A mix of Chelsea Wolfe with Emma Ruth Rumble. So, it's a dark, dark, something dark. Dark rock from the mist. We already talked about mist. Something like this. So, they had the same experience. Album is coming out. New lineup. Just recorded. Stress as fuck. They had a new show back then. It's already happened. They killed it. Everything's fine. But I was grilling them about the questions of business more. Because they were fresh to this stuff. Right? So, labels. And getting signs. They didn't think about life in general.

16:44DUSKLike the whole painful stuff of being a musician.

16:47HostYeah, yeah, yeah. I love the painful stuff.

16:49DUSKGetting a label. Getting gigs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's talk about the painful stuff. Getting paid. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

16:56HostYeah, the money. Nah, I don't want to talk about the money.

17:01HostIt's boring because there's no money. Yeah, it's non-existent.

17:06DUSKYou know, we did shows back then in Graz. We organized a lot of shows in Music House. And we did what we could to pay the musicians. But it's so hard to get anybody paid. You know, because there's hardly any money coming in. Because everything costs so much.

17:22HostEverything costs so much. And nobody wants to pay for anything. Exactly, yeah.

17:29HostAnd I was calculating once. So that in order for you, for a musician, for a band, to get a manager, because the manager takes a cut around 10, 15, 20 percent, you need to have an income, constant income. So you need to play at least 80 shows per year, so that you would get to a certain level. So it's like at least three months in a row, I think.

17:53HostAnd professional musicians, I mean, but the full-time successful musicians play around 200, 300 shows per year.

18:04?Dude.

18:04HostYeah, yeah, like, because, like, for example, Villevaldo, right? Yeah. When I interviewed him, he was doing the European tour, and it was like one month of touring almost every day, right? Or two months, whatever. And then, immediately after that, they went to the United States with this band, the Kellen Mikla, for another one month or two months tour. And then, when I was talking to him after the interview, he said, yeah, yeah, we also want to do Australia and Japan and all that stuff, like, this year. This year is like full-on touring, you know?

18:38?Yeah.

18:39HostI mean, he can do it, right? You know, he can book shows, and it's going well. But for other musicians, that's like, I like to ask also younger bands,

18:50Hostif they can go away from their jobs for at least two weeks, three weeks, you know, which is super hard. It's difficult, yeah.

18:58?How is it for you?

18:59DUSKDifficult. I'm working as a saying.

19:03DenicaActually, normally, in my case, two weeks, three weeks are possible if it's planned, like...

19:10?In advance.

19:11DUSKYeah, exactly. You really need to plan it in advance.

19:14DenicaBut that wouldn't be such a big deal if people already know it, like, half a year ago, so...

19:20?Before. Before, so, yeah.

19:23DUSKIt would be then not such a big deal.

19:28?All right.

19:29HostSo, let's pretend that you have this two, three weeks already planned. When are you planning to do your tour? So, in summer, you have a couple...

19:38DenicaThere is something in progress for autumn, actually.

19:41HostBut you also have, like, in October, like, the metal, not metal, the thing, the festival.

19:47DenicaVienna Metal Meeting, right?

19:48HostI checked it out on Instagram today.

19:51?Who's playing there? What's Primordial?

19:53DenicaPrimordial Kuhnring.

19:55HostWhere is it happening?

19:57?In Arena Wien.

19:58HostYeah, good. My home base.

20:01DUSKYou made an old place, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I was just about to say. You were fast. You have been fast to me.

20:05HostYeah, yeah. It's funny when the bouncers already know you. Oh, it's so nice. Awesome. Great place.

20:12DenicaAnd, of course, not to forget Harakiri for the Sky. So, yeah.

20:15?Yeah.

20:16HostAnd you also going to be playing there. So, are you going to play... By that time, the new album will come out, right? So, you're going to be playing the new stuff, right? Let's talk more about the new album.

20:28?All right.

20:28HostSo, the most difficult song is Shapeshifter. Then we have another song, which is a little bit faster. Faster, with sick riffs.

20:38DUSKAll songs got sick riffs.

20:40HostAll right. Tell me more about the music. Right. So, hardest song. What is the song that you should play on the first date?

20:53DenicaThe song that you should play on the first date?

20:56HostFrom the album, yeah. Let's promote.

20:58DenicaOh, it very much depends on how the date ends, actually.

21:02?Happy.

21:03DUSKHappy in which way? For everybody.

21:07DenicaOkay. Then, I would recommend, actually, a song called Empress of the Emptiness.

21:16?Is this from the album?

21:17DUSKIt is from the album. It's a good song. Sick riffs?

21:20?Always.

21:20HostAll right. Always sick riffs. What's the tempo?

21:24DUSKIt's a mid-tempo song. Mid-tempo song. Right. It's a mid-tempo song with strong rhythm, I'd say.

21:31?All right.

21:33HostI love discussing the music that I haven't listened to.

21:38HostIt's always the part of the thing, right?

21:41DUSKYou can get a pre-listen afterwards, maybe.

21:43?To wait.

21:46HostIt should have happened before the recording. All right. So, why is this a good song for the date?

21:55DenicaBecause it's fast and sexy.

21:59DUSKIt's got a good rhythm, if you know what I mean.

22:04HostIs there more groove in there? What's the dynamics of the song?

22:11DenicaIt's groovy and fast, right? Yeah, it's groovy.

22:13?What about the lyrics?

22:15DenicaThe lyrics are actually about females that are very powerful.

22:21DenicaSo, this could be a sexy song for a good end of a date.

22:28HostGuys, what do you think?

22:30?Totally agree.

22:31DUSKTotally agree. It's got a drum intro.

22:36HostFinally, we're talking about drums. We'll talk to the bass. Bass, what do you think?

22:42DUSKWell, I think for the end of a good date, the rhythm would be too fast for me.

22:51DUSKBut, well, yeah, in general, it's a very, very strong and powerful song, I think. And I'm not pretty sure, but I think it's maybe the song it's most fun to play for me.

23:06?Yeah? Why?

23:08DUSKI don't really know. Maybe because when we wrote the song, I just kept the bass line very simple because the song didn't need more or something like that to get powerful, to be powerful. And so, it's the song where I can really let it go live because I don't have to think or to play much. But still, the song got some very pronounced bass accents to it, like some slides where you can't hear anything but the bass and stuff. Yeah, but it's not very complicated. It's not that complicated, but it works.

23:50HostOkay, it works. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Regarding the complexity and stuff, I mean, you created a thing, right? You think like it's this thing, right? And then you give it to the public and it's completely different. They see it completely, they hear it completely different. It's usually how it goes.

24:09DenicaYeah, that most certainly will happen, definitely.

24:13HostYeah, yeah, of course. It's a natural process.

24:17DUSKYeah.

24:18HostAll right. Let's talk more about the album. So, how many songs are there?

24:27?Seven.

24:29DUSKOh, interesting choice.

24:31?Why?

24:35DenicaActually, an album doesn't need to be that long. It just needs to be catchy.

24:43?Okay.

24:44DUSKSo, we had, I don't know.

24:46HostWe're going into the commercial way, I think. Are you writing the music based on the Spotify algorithms?

24:55DUSKAbsolutely. No, no, but we had, I don't know, initially we had 10 more song ideas or something like that, but we discarded a lot.

25:03HostAll right. That's a good approach. I totally support that. But let's go back to the Spotify thing. What I mean when I talk about the Spotify thing is that to get the attention of the listener in the first four or five seconds, you know?

25:19DUSKI heard about that, yeah.

25:21?Yeah, yeah, yeah.

25:23HostShorter songs, attention in the first five seconds, and sick rips somewhere in the middle so that you can TikTok it. That's the Spotify thing.

25:34DUSKDidn't know that, thanks.

25:35HostYeah. To wait.

25:38DUSKThe album is already written.

25:40HostShit. But you can do a remix and be sides, but it's actually going to be new material.

25:49HostWhat's the length of the song, actually? Did you go shorter or shorter? Shorter or shorter with the comparison to the previous song?

26:00DUSKSo we have only one song below four minutes, which is the second fastest song, which we talked about earlier. That's it.

26:07HostIt's not Spotify approach.

26:08?Yeah.

26:08HostYeah, that's it. Okay, I'm glad about that.

26:12DUSKAnd most songs are approximately five minutes.

26:18DUSKThere's two songs with six minutes and more.

26:21?Yeah.

26:22DUSKBut one below four minutes and the rest approximately five minutes, four to five minutes.

26:27HostAll right, so you're a doom band. You're officially a doom band. If there's like no short song, that's it. No. And what's the other song?

26:36DUSKI thought that's called progressive.

26:40HostFuck that. No, no, doom. On Reddit, there's only one category, and it's doom.

26:46?Reddit.

26:48DUSKI heard it's not no doom under seven minutes.

26:52HostYeah, yeah. Something like that, yeah.

26:54?All right.

26:57HostYou recorded this. So what are you doing now? I mean, you recorded. When did you record this?

27:04?Last summer.

27:05DUSKIn August.

27:07HostAll right. And then mixing, mastering. Mixing, mastering. Half a year.

27:12DUSKYeah, it took some time and then finding a label.

27:16?Oh, yeah.

27:17HostLet's talk about the label stuff. How did you find the label?

27:20DUSKSo, we researched some labels.

27:23DenicaActually, we had some labels in our choices, actually. So, labels that we really like and appreciate, what kind of musicians they are having on their roster, actually. And, yeah. And so we were, like, reaching out to them, and we were super happy that Agonauta Records was actually back to us.

27:44HostHow long did you take the negotiation with the records?

27:51DenicaActually, it was really quite fast. One month? Yeah, one month, actually.

27:55HostSo, they, and what did you do? Just send them music, or you knew somebody at the label?

28:00DUSKActually, we didn't know anybody from Agonauta before.

28:03HostYeah, so we just sent material?

28:04DUSKWe just sent them some material.

28:06HostHey, and what did you send? Like, ah, here's our music, here's our, did you have a press kit?

28:11DUSKSo, Denise is sort of a designer. She's a professional designer, like, web designer, whatever. UX designer. UX designer, yeah. But you're also doing web design.

28:22?Yeah.

28:22DUSKAnd she made, like, a very professional-looking portfolio, and we sent it out to a lot of labels.

28:27HostThat's what I'm telling you to the people who are watching this, because this is, if you receive high-quality stuff, just visually, you already want to listen to it. Yeah. Yeah, totally agree. Yeah, if you just receive, hey, check out my, like, song, here's the link. No, no, it's not going to work out. They don't have much time. For example, even when I was making a Spotify playlist, for myself personally, in one genre, just so that I could have, of musicians that I don't know, and only song for one musician,

29:05HostI needed, like, five seconds to decide if I like it or not. Five seconds in the beginning.

29:11?Yeah, sure. And that's it.

29:12HostAnd that's it. Like it? No. Next, Ben. Like it? No. So, and this was personal project. And for the labels, it's professional. They get thousands every day. So, if you don't have anything to stand, well, not stand out, but just to show that you're a quality in some way, then the chances are really low that they will actually listen to the music.

29:36DUSKWould you agree? Totally. I'm not working in a label, but I would agree, yeah.

29:42HostNever, never. Just so much time is spent on listening to stuff.

29:47DenicaI mean, it also, for me, as a visual creature, like, because I'm working with visual stuff, and I really feel like that I'm really appealed to something that looks aesthetic and has something catchy about it. So, I'm more curious and more likely to actually inspect more or find out more about it. So, yeah.

30:11?Visuals.

30:12HostSo, do you have already, like, album stuff, cover, and all that stuff? Is it presented? No.

30:17?All done.

30:18HostAll done. But it's not presented online, right? Not yet.

30:21DenicaNot yet.

30:22DUSKThe album cover is actually online on Bandcamp.

30:26DUSKRight, yeah.

30:29?Small hint. Small hint.

30:33HostI didn't check Bandcamp.

30:35?Shit.

30:36HostOkay, we're going to check it out. I mean, people will pause it or, like, check it out right now. I can't do this at the moment.

30:46HostWho did the cover? You?

30:48?Yes.

30:49DUSKThat's right. Yes, sir. Yes, yes, I did. I also helped. Don't forget to mention this.

30:56DUSKSick riffs and the cover?

30:59DenicaSick riffs and nice photoshopping. Yeah.

31:03?All right.

31:04HostSo, everything is done in the house, almost, except mixing, mastering, and what else? What else? Did you have to do something else?

31:15DenicaActually, photo shootings were also outsourced by a very good friend of ours. He is called Collapsing Light on Instagram, and he's doing very, very amazing, actually, housing and statuary photos, actually.

31:31DUSKAnd, yeah, it's architectural photography, to be very precisely.

31:38DenicaSo, it's very nice what he's doing. And he actually agreed on to photograph human beings for the first time back then in 2018, when he did his first human-based photo shooting with us. So, and all these pictures and photos turned out very, very nice.

31:59HostSo, basically, he looked at you as architecture. He's like, they are not humans, they're just buildings with face on them.

32:08DenicaMaybe, I don't know. I need to ask him, I guess.

32:11HostNo, but he did the last photos, right? The latest photos that you have. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I was here when, it's the guy, right? I was here. Yeah, yeah. When he showed you photos first time, I was like, yeah, yeah. Fuck it. That's good. No, photos are really good.

32:26DUSKYeah, you were here. I remember that.

32:29HostI'm everywhere.

32:30DUSKBut I was very drunk.

32:34HostYeah, yeah, yeah. It's really cool. That's why I say Doomy, because I'm a visual creature also.

32:43HostAnd for me, the first thing I see is these photos, and I think, okay, that's Doom. Because is the skull also there? No. The skull is not there, but we have a dagger. Dagger is somewhere there.

32:53DenicaYeah, the dagger is on the right side.

32:55HostA dagger, a knife, a saber, whatever, how you call it. A sharp object that you kill people with.

33:01DUSKYeah, that's great, actually. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Doom and... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like your tongue, you know?

33:10DUSKLike your sick ribs.

33:14HostYeah, so that's why I keep pushing in the Doomy direction. And I was surprised, actually, when I listened to the song for the single, because I didn't expect that, because I didn't know what the sound will be.

33:28DUSKWas it fast enough for you?

33:29HostYeah, it was fast. Yeah, I didn't expect that. No, no, no, no.

33:36HostAnd once we talked with Danica about the voice, the vocals, and I remember, it was like one year ago, and you said that you wanted to improve, or not improve, but work on technique.

33:51DenicaRight, yes, this is still in progress, and this is something like, it's always in progress.

33:56HostYeah, it's not like, I figure it out, I know what to do, right? No, no, no, no. But I could hear that you did some shit, I don't know, but it sounds good. Thanks a lot, it's really honest, and the music, of course, is good, but we haven't talked before, so I don't know what we could discuss before, but this is what she was telling me before, so I can see that there's an improvement. That's it. So don't, don't, secrets from space, don't, don't, don't feel like whatever, because musicians

34:32DUSKare really sensitive, I'm not sensitive, really, you're not sensitive, secrets, all

34:45Hostright, but during recording of this album, was there something new that you didn't expect that happened, you know, like, what was, and what was the big challenge regarding the recording, maybe playing or deciding which songs didn't, or what, actually, like, why you chose these songs and not those songs, what was your decision, why this sounds good or not, I guess there was a concept what you want to have in an album, so what was it?

35:18DUSKI think Stevan wanted to say something. Not to this question, actually.

35:23HostSo answer to the previous question.

35:26?Power to the people.

35:29DUSKWhat was challenging it, it was that we recorded it live, or we tried to.

35:37DUSKWent, went well, without click, that was challenging for me, but I insisted on it to try it.

35:45HostYeah, that's hard.

35:46DUSKBecause I wanted to sound vintage.

35:49HostDid you record to tape? No.

35:52?No.

35:52HostNo, at least something. Yeah, without a click, it's hard as fuck.

35:57?Yeah.

35:57HostYeah, yeah, yeah. And how was it for you?

36:00?Yeah, it was nice.

36:01DUSKIt was a cool experience, and it worked out really well. Mostly because he did such a great job on the drums. He played, like, extremely precisely.

36:12DUSKHe really did a good job playing the drums, and there was hardly anything we needed to correct.

36:21HostSo, you can do it on tape, if you had nothing to correct, next time, next single.

36:29DUSKAnd, of course, we overdubbed solos and doubled guitars.

36:34DenicaIt was not done in one take.

36:37HostBut the drumming was in one take.

36:40DUSKThe basic stuff was all live recorded. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And sleeping all day.

37:11?Do I record it here?

37:13DUSKNo. No, no. We were sleeping here, but the studio was just down the road.

37:18HostOh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, we're in a hidden location, but it's not far from the studio. Right.

37:23DUSKBut, so, yeah, it was very funny, and at first, the first two days, I guess, we just recalled everything live, and then there was one by one, went down and was working the whole night. And I think, yeah, Nino pushed every one of us to the limit. Absolutely. Six hit the drums. But, well, I liked the outcome very much. It's been hard work, but it was really nice. Same.

37:59HostYeah, but you had the benefit that it's not far from here. I remember when the first time I came here, I was like, why do I know this place? Ah, it's the studio. There. All right.

38:12?Connections.

38:15HostKind of. No, I'm joking.

38:19HostSo, the difficult part, right? So, without a click, what do you want to say? Oh, you forgot?

38:27?No? I think I forgot.

38:29HostYeah, I also forgot. Yeah. It was, yeah, how do you choose the songs? How did you choose, what was the decision behind that?

38:38DUSKActually, that was the most difficult stuff for me, or like the most difficult aspect for me.

38:43HostI so don't believe when people say, yeah, it was fine. I so don't believe it.

38:48DUSKSo, I came up with a lot of riffs and a lot of ideas. And as already mentioned, we discarded a lot.

38:55?Wait. Did we talk once that you like have like riffs from years ago?

39:02HostAnd then you, did you use your old, old riffs from the previous life that you used on this album?

39:10DUSKNo, no. All right.

39:11HostOkay. That's the thing. I do too many interviews. Okay.

39:15?No, no. All right.

39:16HostSo, we know that you did all the new riffs. Yeah. All right.

39:21DUSKSo, yeah, I had like a ton of riffs and I really wanted to make some of them happen. But then we actually started writing songs from these riffs and many things didn't work out and Denise and me had to discuss a lot. Let's call it discussing.

39:44HostSo, it was like a fight with the switchblades.

39:47?Yeah.

39:48DUSKExactly with the takers. Yeah.

39:50HostBlindfolded. And I won.

39:53DUSKSick riffs, huh? No, but like most of the songs, we really thought a lot about the arrangement and about the riffs and how they match together.

40:06DUSKAnd then Denise came with the lyrics or she had the lyrics pre-done and then we had to rearrange the riffing again and again. And so, that really was difficult for me this time. Because as I already mentioned, back in Graz, the songwriting was a little bit more straightforward. I would, like because we were writing with the whole band. But now, yeah, it was a lot of back and forth again with every song and it was a tedious process, but I think it paid off in the end.

40:36?Yeah.

40:37DUSKI think it worked good in some ways because, how should I say, me and Stefan are living in Graz and so we have to drive two hours and we don't want to, how should I say, it's not good going to Vienna and staying in the practice room and discussing. And so they, at most songs, Denise and they are working them out in some kind or structure and then send them to us and we will try to record or we will find ideas for it, which is, I think, a good method for songwriting. Because when you try to record it and say, okay, yeah, you will sometimes try more ideas than you would if you are just jamming the songs in the practice room.

41:39HostHow long did it take you to record all this stuff or think of stuff? Let's think if it's really efficient.

41:47?I'm joking. How long did it take?

41:51DUSKWhat recording?

41:53HostTo come up with the stuff, with the album.

41:57?One and a half years? Jesus.

42:00HostYeah, but it would. I mean, it's normal, I know, but this time, you know, like when I talk to musicians, they always say like one year or one, it's normal, I know. But this time, it's like, Jesus.

42:09DenicaIt would be faster by now, but we had like really this structural change and how many iterations we took for a song actually. And we learned actually a better way how to create songs. And since we now have like this strategy implemented, it goes much faster.

42:27HostSo what is it? Like, let's break it if you can, if you want to tell it. How does it work? You have a riff. Then what else?

42:34DUSKSo we start off with an idea for a riff and then usually I play the riff like, I don't know, a million times until my brain starts to build up like riffs that continue the first

42:48?ideas and sort of, and then I come with other ideas.

42:51DUSKThen we talk about the riffs and then the lyrics.

42:55DenicaI also put some more ideas in there.

42:56DUSKThen Denise is putting, giving some input usually. And then... No, they're fighting. Yeah, that's a fighting process. And then I start again with the riffs and then the whole ideas slightly changed or totally changed.

43:14DUSKAnd yeah. And after some iterations, we end up with what we would call a song. And then we arrange it with the band.

43:22HostI think you skipped a couple of parts. Yeah.

43:25DenicaYeah. It basically happens with each part of the song structure.

43:30DUSKSo we are going by part by part by part actually.

43:34?All right.

43:35HostI need to talk too. I will talk, when I will interview a place to very strangers on Wednesday, I will ask them the same question. Let's see what they will respond.

43:47HostI will start asking these questions to all musicians, you know, with the exact way how to record, how they record, no, come up with a song. Because I think each band has its own way. I don't think it's like really universal.

44:06DUSKSo to sum it up, for me personally, the most crucial part about it is like reiterating every part in every song and playing every riff, I don't know, a million times, like very, very often until it feels naturally and until you deviate from the basic idea, until every aspect sort of feels organically, organically if you play it, if you know what I mean.

44:32HostOh, I know, because when I make music videos, right, I have a song and I play the song a million times so that I know that I become the song.

44:41?Sort of, yeah.

44:42HostAnd when I become the song, I know how to make that music video because I am the song. So basically it's the same thing with you. You know it so much that you go, it's like meditation when you go to this super state, you almost reach nirvana thing. And then from there you can create even further stuff, like more stuff. It's like the idea is good. I heard this many times. The idea is good when you can go beyond the idea further. So I guess what you're talking about, you have a riff, you play it a lot, then within a riff you find mega riff. And from the mega riff you can make many, many, many riffs.

45:25DUSKExactly, yeah. Exactly, yeah.

45:27HostAnd then from there it continues more and more.

45:30?And then...

45:31HostExactly, yeah. That's exactly what I mean, yeah. Denise is kind of guiding, like, maybe it's like this mini riff is not so mini, big or whatever. Let's go to this direction.

45:41DUSKYeah, and then we arrange it with the lyrics. So that the emotions or whatever you would, or the vibe, like, matches with the lyrics.

45:50HostSo that the meat is starting to grow on bones, then we add more skin and veins with the rest of the band, I guess.

46:02?What do you think?

46:05DUSKI think the songs were finished about 70%. When you guys joined, yeah? Then I came up with some things, those arrangements.

46:20DUSKMaybe more fresh inputs.

46:23HostOkay, but when you, like, connected to this, when you, like, write riffs and lyrics and that's your part, right? Do you think about the drums or anything or any other stuff?

46:34?Yes.

46:35DenicaThis is already part of it where we have, like, ideas and maybe inspiration.

46:40DUSKWe have, we have, we have, we have some ideas.

46:42HostFor you, for you, for example, like, to, maybe you want to be more proud of the, of it.

46:48?Sometimes it's helpful. Yeah. But when I think it's shit, but they selected, then I play something else.

46:54DUSKAnd it worked every time.

46:56DenicaIt did not really happen because you also came up with a lot of creative stuff.

47:01?Yeah.

47:02DenicaAnd we were like, hey, this is, this is so much better than what we expected, to be honest. And I was, we were like, yeah, Stefan, please do your thing, actually, because it's amazing.

47:12DUSKAnd there's just, like, like, that we are also transferring what we thought in the moment

47:20Denicawhen we wrote it, actually, what, what we thought about, like, maybe a drum playing in a specific song or something that we had, like, this rhythm in mind, but it's not a limitation to it, actually. If, if somebody in the band comes up with a better idea, of course, we're taking the better idea.

47:38?Definitely.

47:40?All right. Well, yeah.

47:42DUSKBetter in terms of what fits the song best.

47:45?Yeah, exactly. Exactly, yeah.

47:47HostAnd what do you, okay, the song, but do you discuss, for example, if the song, like a theme or something, you know, like, do you discuss, I mean, what, before even making the rips and stuff, did you discuss what kind of album you want to make?

48:09DenicaNo, it's not a concept album. So, we had, like, not an initial idea, actually. It just, like, was, in the end, like, this main song that actually described all the other songs. And this is the reason why the album is, like, having this specific name, which we can reveal.

48:28HostWhat's the name of the album?

48:30DenicaSo, it's not revealed yet.

48:32HostSo, we can talk about the songs, but we can't reveal the name of the album, right?

48:36DUSKActually, I think you can read it on Bandcamp. It's also true.

48:41DenicaSo, yeah, let's reveal it. It's called, it's called Weals of Twilight.

48:47?And, um... I hear Twilight. Your favorite novel?

48:53DUSKRight, yeah.

48:55?Yeah, okay.

48:56HostSo, once again, the name of the album?

48:59?Weals of Twilight. Twilight.

49:04?Why that name?

49:07DenicaBecause there are, like, there's light spots in our world, and there are dark spots in our world, somehow, like, energies. And where all these energies flowing and are actually, I don't know, lurking, actually, there is something, like, a gray area created. And this is where these perspectives on this light is shifted, like, something that is bright is maybe dark, and something that is dark is maybe bright, actually, because it's not always how it seems.

49:42HostAnd you say it's not a concept album.

49:45DenicaIt's not a concept album, right?

49:48HostAll right, but it sounds like, okay, the album with this...

49:52DUSKSo, the album got some darker sides, some lighter sides, you know? Some sick riffs, and some sick riffs.

49:59HostSome sick riffs, drums, bass, lyrics, the painful creation, connected to light, life, and stuff.

50:07?All right.

50:09HostWhat else is on Bandcamp?

50:12DUSKIt's only the...

50:13HostMaybe the whole album is already there. No, no, no.

50:16DUSKIt's just that the... I don't know whom of you did it.

50:20HostIt's just, like, the list of the songs, the name of the album, and you just can't listen to it?

50:26DUSKOnly the first track, Wendigo, but it's featured as if it was part of the album already, you know?

50:32HostOh, okay.

50:33DUSKSo, not like the single cover artwork.

50:35HostSo, maybe the record label did that, right? I don't know who did it. I mean, I know that on Spotify, the album was uploaded by the label. Yeah. So, I guess they did that.

50:45DUSKBut on Spotify, we got the single cover artwork, not the album cover artwork, which is on Bandcamp, so...

50:55?All right. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? On Spotify, it will be up twice then, the song, once a single now, and then the album version.

51:04HostOkay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's the same song, of course, but...

51:09DenicaYou can expect more singles that will fill up this album until the whole album is there on Bandcamp.

51:15HostSo, how many singles are coming up?

51:17DenicaThree. There will be two more.

51:19HostTwo more, exactly. At least one more.

51:21DenicaAt least one more. The third one is already in discussion.

51:26HostIs it Shapeshifter?

51:29?No.

51:30DUSKSorry to disappoint you.

51:32HostIs it the sex song that we talked about?

51:34DUSKYeah, the sex song is one of them.

51:39HostAll right. We have a nice start there. So, we have... Shapeshifter is not... So, which is the third one?

51:49HostStill disgusting, right? All right.

51:51?Yeah.

51:52HostI don't want to pressure you because you're going to fight here or whatever.

51:57HostOkay, guys. I don't want to bother you too much, right? So, nah. I mean, we've been talking almost like an hour. Or, I guess... I mean, that's the first video interview. So, this time, there's not much choice of which song should I put in the end. Because I'm just going to copy-paste the YouTube video of the single that you have. And I'll put it in the end of this video. And I hope that the label will not ban me. Usually, they don't. But who knows? This is completely different. Because this is YouTube now. On YouTube, it's a little bit different. Rules.

52:35HostSo, one of you, please say the name of the single.

52:46DUSKWhat? I didn't get it. So, you want to hear the name of the single?

52:51?The Dagger?

52:53?No. Oh, no.

52:55HostThe one that you have already. Oh, okay.

52:57DUSKShit.

52:58HostBut the Dagger. Uh-huh. We didn't discuss the Dagger.

53:05HostSo, it's the third single. Uh-huh.

53:09DUSKThanks.

53:13HostI'm not going to cut it out. It's good shit. No. Say the name of the song.

53:20?Wendy go. Wendy go. Thank you.