viernes, 12 de abril de 2013

JARUN - ENTREVISTA


1.What inspired you to start a band? How did you make the decision to create it?  Why did you decide to accept new members to the group, disband solo project and bring Jarun to life? What can you tell us about the other members of the group? 

Jarun was created many years ago as my solo project. At first it was rather fun and a break from the other, more serious musical ideas. I wanted to try something new, check out the other musical genres, different from those with which I dealt with so far. Initially, such arrangement completely satisfy me. I made music at home, I recorded it myself and it was completely enough for me. But after a while I really missed working with other musicians and decided to turn the project into a full band. I offered the cooperation to some people, mainly my good old friends. They agreed very quickly, and so Jarun was created. All current members of the band (except for bassist) are very experienced musicians who play, or previously played in various bands. Our vocalist - Meph, is also playing with death metal band Formosus, and the drummer - Radoslav in also death metal band- Pneumatic Frost. By the way, I highly recommend both of these groups. They are playing really great. The second guitarist Rolsen, is in turn, my old, well proven friend, back from our high-school days. And in the same time, a versatile musician who plays in the past, almost everything from rock to gypsy jazz;) The last one in the band, bassist Radogost, do not have much musical experience, but makes up for this lack with considerable talent and commitment. 

2. How was the recording process of “Wziemiozstąpienie”?

First of all, it was very long. For various reasons, the session becomes very stretched. Between recordings of individual instruments were quite large gaps caused by the variety of factors. We recorded in a local studio with a friendly, experienced producer and for this reason  session was very pleasant and took place in a great atmosphere, but it did not save us from troubles. Among others we didn't have a permanent bassist back then, and for this reason, bass parts has to be recorded by our friend Mateusz "Mateo" Kotkowski, from a local rock band, Emergency Pilots.  Nevertheless the final result is entirely satisfactory.  Of course, there are many things that we could improve, but generally everything is fine. 



3.  Your music includes elements of folk, metal, and progressive. What had the most impact on you at the time of composing? What have been your influences?

Musical influences of all members of the band are very diverse, hence the final shape of the album is sort of the result of their interests. However, the main core of our music was written by me and was created long before Jarun turned into a full-fledged band. It is difficult to point out any specific artists, or even styles of music that inspired me when creating music. I listen to many genres, many performers, often very distant from each other. Of course, both the metal (especially its most extreme sub-genres), as well as folk music are particularly close to me, hence the decision to deal with just such a style. When it comes to some specific bands is difficult to identify direct influences. I like original bands, with its own style and its own ways of looking at music, whereas following the fashion trends and cheap imitation repels me very much. When recording our first album we tried very hard to achieve the greatest possible originality and uniqueness of what we have created. I hope that we have succeeded. 

4. From what I see, the lyrics of your songs are written in Polish. Whether this is due to the fact that this is simply more convenient to write in your native language or, maybe, in this way, you want to highlight your Polish origin? Can you tell us what your song lyrics say?

Initially, I had a dilemma before I made a decision as to the language in which the lyrics were to be written. In the end I decided to use our mother tongue. There were many reasons for that. First of all, I thought that the Polish will be easier for me to enclose everything that I wanted to convey. Previously, while playing in other bands I wrote lyrics in English, but it was a different style, different music. In the case of Jarun I decided that the lyrics in Polish fits best, the best match with the character of the music. We didn't want to emphasize our origins  in any special way, to declare ourselves as a band from Poland, etc. Simply some words, some thoughts sounds for us much better in Polish than in English. 
As for the theme of the lyrics I tried to raise some important and universal issues. I write about life, death, suffering, sorrow, about all that, what constitutes the human life. While writing I'm often using the metaphors taken directly from nature and that's the reason why some people consider our lyrics as "pagan", which is not entirely true. 
Simple, loose English translation of this lyrics can be found on our MS and FB profiles, so even those who do not know Polish can read them. 

5. Both the album cover and the name of the group, and I suspect that also lyrics and instruments that you use, bring you closer to the folk / pagan music. Is that approach is in line with your intention? Are such comparisons bother you? Or maybe such a coincidence for a change arose by chance? 

All of these elements you mentioned are rather a remnant of the initial, solo period of Jarun's activity. Both musical and lyrical initial concept was much more “folk” back then and in a certain sense much more "pagan" than now. After that it has changed a little bit. Our work began to drift in a different direction, change and evolve. But still there's within us this folk core, which will certainly stay there forever. 
At the moment Jarun is by no means pagan metal band. We do not consider ourselves as part of this scene, although we obviously have a great deal of respect for the bands and the people who create it. Of course we don't mind if someone sees us as such a band, but this is simply not true. At least, not entirely;) Even if it is something “pagan” in us,  then it lies hidden somewhere in the deep, far away from the traditional meaning of the term.

6.  How are for now reactions to your album?  I mean both the sales achieved and concerts.

Reactions to our record so far are excellent. We receive almost exclusively great, sometimes even enthusiastic reviews, from all directions come to us signs of support and interest. All of this is for us a real surprise. We did not expect such a reception and such reactions. 
The same goes for concerts. Although, for various reasons, we do not play live too often lately, but when we enter the stage it is usually great. The audience is usually amazing and highly responsive to our music. People know our songs, chanting our name and having a great time. And that is the most important thing. It gives us the strength, energy and desire to continue playing. I hope that it will stay that way forever.

7. Tell me what kind of equipment do you use during the recording session and live performances?

To be honest, we are not a band which attaches excessive importance to some technical issues;)  I don't even remember the specific model of the guitar on which I recorded my parts. Some Ibanez, some Yamaha, some acoustic guitars. When it comes to amps it was a studio Mesa Boogie Rectifier Recording Preamp - tube preamp and Tech 21 SansAmp RBI - bass preamp. If I remember correctly;) I'm not really a hardware maniac. When it comes to concerts, it also works differently. We do not always use our own equipment (except, of course instruments).  More often we play on what is at hand. Stuff which is provided by the club, or befriended bands that are playing with us. 

8. How do you see black metal scene in Poland, what prospects of development do you think it has? What groups can you recommend?



Black metal and metal in general has always had a strong position in Poland.  Now it's also very good. I would even say great. There are new, more and more interesting bands, the old "masters" record new, great albums.  It really is something to listen to. From my latest discoveries for sure I would highly recommend our friends from Outre. Their debut EP appeared recently and really breaks my head. In general in Kraków and its surroundings is a whole lot of fantastic bands. Starting from these already well-known, such as Kriegsmaschine or Mgła, to the more recent, but equally excellent Medico Peste, Cień, etc. I limit myself to my surrounding area, because if I had to mention all notable bands from all over Poland I will simply run out of space in this interview.
This music in our country continues to grow. It keeps looking for new ways, new solutions. Almost every new band has something interesting to offer, something that distinguishes it from others. I think that's what determines the strength of the Polish BM scene. A huge variety of styles, climate, atmosphere... Any fan of such sounds will find something for him there. I really recommend it. 

9. Have you recorded any new material? If so, what has changed in relation to “Wziemiozstąpienie”?

The material for the new album is almost completely ready. Composed, arranged and ready to record. We made for now only a few pre-recordings in home studio to see how it will sound. Slowly we are thinking about entering the studio, we have started work on percussion, but I guess it's still going to take a lot of time.  We do not hurry up, because we want the material to be polished and really good.  
Musically it definitely going to be slightly different from the "Wziemiozstąpienie". It will be a little less folk, perhaps a bit more brutal and heavier. Certainly some progressive and alternative elements will  play much greater role on it. In fact, we ourselves are curious what will come out;) 

10. Thank you very much for your time, if you want to add something for people who like Jarun, this is the time for it. I hope the questions are to your liking.

Thank you for the interview and for the interesting questions. It was nice to be able to spill the beans on your pages. Greetings to all your readers and all those who listen to our music. Thank you! 

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