Erdve Interview: In Metal-Archives, they have actually blacklisted us as strictly not metal, it was like they were almost offended by what we do.
LEER LA ENTREVISTA EN ESPAÑOL: ENTREVISTA A ERDVE
DARGEDIK: Welcome Vaidotas Darulis to Dargedik webzine pages, it's a great pleasure to talk with you about the band, this new album “Savigaila” and other things into metal scene. Reading information on the band I read that you came from Lithuania and according to Metal Archives. I saw that your country has 203 bands into the metal style. How is the extreme and metal movement in Lithuania? and are there festivals that support bands of the extreme music? o Is it a sector more inclined to the underground?
ERDVE: It's funny that you mentioned Metal-Archives, because they have actually blacklisted us as strictly not metal, it was like they were almost offended by what we do somehow. So we are not added there. (laughts).
I'd say our local scene is pretty stale now, not so many good new bands coming up and most of the older ones are giving up playing or are not very active. We have two summer festivals focusing on metal and sometimes some very small ones come up occasionally. I'd say young people are not that interested so the scene lacks ''fuel'' for the lack of a better word, but maybe after the pandemic we shall see a new wave of demand coming up so there would be more incentive for the organizers to do more shows or open new places for gigs. But I'd say it's definitely very underground and will stay like this for sure, but that's not a bad thing.
DARGEDIK: I was listening to "Vaitojimas" (2018) and this "Savigaila" for several days. And the number of musical styles found in both is wonderful. Tell me, why does the band keep experimenting with new environments on this new album? Also, what do you feel when you write these new environments?
ERDVE: I'd say the feeling is similar as to exploring different things in life for any other person. There's this initial excitement when you try out something new, or go to an adventure, or find new friends. We, as humans, always crave for novelty and being able to try different things in music is very similar to anything else that you diversify in your life to refrain from stagnation. No one wants to do the same thing all over again, eat the same food, do the same job or whatever, so when you change as a person, your creativity also changes and this actually is what we are about. I guess you could expect even more different musical environments so to speak, yet I am sure we will find a unifying ground for any creative things we do, it might be a main message of the narrative, or a certain aesthetic that we would consistently maintain even if the sound would change.
DARGEDIK: Speaking of the styles of the band, like Sludge in one hand and in the other you have Hardcore with a touch of metal elements. Do you think that at some point after continuing with this kind of experimentation album after album with this new album and upcoming more, the Metal influence will no longer be part of Erdve?
ERDVE: I think the metal influence will always be there, even if the music might not sound as ''metal''. But to be honest even if we like to experiment with things, the one thing that really gives us goosebumps is when we create a brick-wall of pounding noise, so I am sure this element will not go away any time soon, whether that's metal - I do not know.
DARGEDIK: Listening to your two productions like "Vaitojimas" (2018) and "Savigaila". All the letters were made in Lithuanian. Therefore, why did you decide to make lyrics in your language? And does it have something to do with nationalist ideas to in your language?
ERDVE: Singing in our mother tongue just feels more natural, authentic, honest. I've been singing in English with my previous band, it was alright, but I kinda felt awkward doing that, like being another cliche trying to do metal. So I guess I was kinda inspired by Icelandic bands where using their own language seems to work for their advantage. I guess I'm fluent enough in English to be able to express the narrative, but I'm wondering what would be the purpose of that, perhaps that would make the music more user-friendly I guess. Our aim is to express a natural emotion, be as honest as possible with our music, right now I really don't Erdve's music in English, but are not disregarding this in the future. Maybe do a hybrid? This is getting popular these days. (laughts).
DARGEDIK: Speaking of this lyric subject in the band. In "Vaitojimas" (2018), you expressed things like domestic violence, utmost disgusting behavior, crimes against humanity and extremism. And now with this "Savigaila" the lyrics are focused on regret, envy, self-regard, love, care and togetherness. So, do you think that they are values are lacking in humanity nowadays? And where does the christian concept fit into these aforementioned themes? Could these topics be related to the 7 deadly sins of that christian religion?
ERDVE: This album focuses on the inner conflict, rather than an outside influence. We are trying to convey a positive message this time, about finding your own meaning, developing reasonable expectations, reflecting upon yourself and how are you perceived by others, being a better person and finding enjoyble things in life. Christian concept in our art is mostly used as an example of a dogmatic system of society where meaning of life is already created for you, but with the decline of religion, our relationship with our own upcoming death is being avoided and followed by anxiety, therefore we find consolance in pleasure mostly. So since the modern life doesn't create the meaning for you, if you create that meaning yourself, instead of engaging in self-pity, you might find direction in life.
DARGEDIK: Another big hit from Erdve career. It is that you are in one of the most recognized labels into extreme metal such as Season of Mist. How does it feel to belong to a label like them? And before Season of Mist, did you have any other proposals?
ERDVE: At first the band was setup for a DIY activity with the help of our local label GHIA. Although, we felt that the first album was important for us enough in order to actively pursue a decent release. Several months and hundreds of emails we got a response from Season of Mist with an offer. We were pleasantly surprised since we did not expect a reply from them, nor an offer. For us a mid-range metal/hardcore label would have been more than we asked for, but signing with Season of Mist was just overwhelming. We are very happy to work with them and have lot's of plans as well.
DARGEDIK: Beyond finding dark and gloomy sensations in this "Savigaila" or relating to style labels. We will talk about an abstract topic such as synesthesia. How would you describe the smells and flavors that the listener will find in this "Savigaila"? Coz for me there is that sour taste and smells of death.
ERDVE: Never tried describing it this way, but it's sounds fun. I'd say - the smell of cold concrete, oil paint and waves of alcohol infused bitterness. This is all being frequentlt countered by a taste of pleasant mint herbs that let you rest for a while before the next wave.
DARGEDIK: "Lavondėmės" and "Sugretinimas", as well as all the songs on "Savigaila" have that moldy smell dusted in many different things that can be seen in both videos of the two promotional songs. So, did the ideas for the videos come from that abstract concept? o Was it entirely the director's ideas for both videos?
ERDVE: We make our video's ourselves so I'd say they are very closely related to the concepts we explore in our lyrics, sound etc. Filming for us is another very exciting activity that we do as a band, that often is even more fun that playing music together. Everyone brings creative ideas to the table and we try to figure out what can we actually do. We have many plans with those visuals so you can expect much more in the future for us. Who knows how the band will evolve from now on since we almost act more as a small video production company than a band sometimes.
DARGEDIK: Now speaking of extreme music worldwide, it is denoted that this style is one that continues to grow more and more with new expressions that have nothing to do with the extreme music of the 80s and 90s. Why the extreme music keeps continues grow up with more creativity than old styles?
ERDVE: Well because extreme metal scene must be fueled by young people to survive, but younger audiences don't have the nostalgia for 80's/90's. It's difficult for them even to relate with that so each new generation creates their own sound, new ideas, and to be honest why would they care for preserving traditions of the previous generations? They will create their own things and will probably feel nostalgia for that in 10/20 years in the future. I think it's very natural and even 90's metal was seen as evolved so much from heavy metal.
Also, it's not only for metal, but music in general is competing with different forms of entertainment these days. Therefore, music has to push the limits in terms of creativity in order to attract attention. It has to offer something exciting to the audiences.
And the last reason is because people just get bored with seeing and hearing same things all over again. I mean art has a purpose for questioning things, changing perception, change the status quo etc. so basically, I think all forms of art are evolving a lot.
DARGEDIK: Into the matter of how an underground band and a conventional band was should be considered, there are patterns that more vinyl or cassette productions stick to the underground concept, and the CD only expanded the collections of the fans. What do you think are the factors for fans to stick to this underground metal concept? And where is located the digital platforms?
ERDVE: I think we first have to admit that digital platforms are the main thing for everyone to listen to music. Vinyls' etc are tangible items, where people are happy to ''own'' the copy. Tangible items are popular with all forms of art and entertainment, I mean you can see merch for all kind of things these days. So, I believe it's the same with vinyl’s and of course some people enjoy listening on their turntable, I don't think that's the main reason for buying them. People like having stuff that they have some kind of emotional attachment to it and I don't really think that's really an underground thing if you think from a wider perspective.
DARGEDIK: Other detail is about the listening methods of the fans, coz this new generation prefers to hear one or two songs into the digital platforms. What are you think about the albums doesn’t have the same impact in compare of the 80s or 90s? And what does bands need to do for improve the listening of all songs in albums?
ERDVE: We have to understand that the consumer behaviour is always changing and develop realistic expectations. I don't see anything wrong with releasing singles every few weeks all the time and later putting out the album with the same songs. These days, consistency is the key and the audience wants to be kept engaged with music or other content. The information flow is so vast that's why it's called the "attention economy''. If people don’t listen to your music, it doesn't mean it's bad, maybe your band is choosing wrong methods to reach the new audiences. We are also looking into all possible ways to distribute our music and I hope we can manage to engage our audience with everything that we do.
DARGEDIK: Well, Vaidotas Darulis, the sad time arrived at this interview, I hope you enjoy this one as I did and thank you very much for your time. The last album is a great one! Take care during this pandemic situation and our best wishes from this part of the world. Any last words for your new fans in Latin America and Dargedik readers?
ERDVE: Thanks a lot! I hope you will enjoy the new album and of course please send us feedback or any other thoughts you have after listening to the album. Cheers!
