EMQ’s With Arctic Dreams
EMQ’s With Arctic Dreams
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Russian Metal band, Arctic Dreams. Huge thanks to them for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Alex_Y: I’m Alex_Y, I’m vocalist, founder, sound producer, and author of all music and lyrics. Our band is called Arctic Dreams. The style that we play, we call “arctic-dreams-metal”. In fact, it’s a mixture of classical metal styles with electronic gothic and classical music. Our band was founded in 2009, but after a couple of years of activity there was a pause for many years. We came back to activity only in 2020. The result is our debut album “And The Agony has Started”.
Sydius: Sydius, I play guitars.
How did you come up with your band name?
Alex_Y: Well, there were two reasons why we came up with that name. The first is that we lived for a while near the legendary club “Arctica”, where many metal events were held at the time. The second reason was our love for the Scandinavian north.
Sydius: My part was easy. Asked Alex – he told me.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Alex_Y: We started out in Russia, in St. Petersburg. But, unfortunately, the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out and we had to leave that country. At the moment we live in different countries, but we can say that now we are based in Belgrade (except for Sydius, who lives in Berlin), in Serbia, that’s where our studio is. I can’t say anything about the current situation in the metal scene in Russia, but I can tell you about my impression of the local Serbian scene. I was surprised that there are very, very many high quality metal bands and the most important thing is that a lot of people go to the gigs here. It’s great.
Sydius: Born in Russia, Greek roots, residing in Germany. Though some musicians complain of capitalism leaving less and less space for the indie and underground scene, Germany has a huge tradition and very rich concert life. What is cool is that various niche styles can gather a lot of audience. And at the same time there are tons of concerts, jams, meet-ups, and presentations every day.
Glam_Dickens: I come from Kazakhstan and have lived in Russia for the last 20 years, and I am not sure where I will be in the next 20. There are many rock and metal bands, yep, but not many of them are quite famous.
What is your latest release?
Alex_Y: After moving to Serbia, we did two big releases. This is our first full-length album “And The Agony has Started” (November 2022):
https://links.freshtunes.com/BXcMu
And the first official video for the track “The City Built on Bones”:
Who have been your greatest influences?
Alex_Y: Metallica.
Sydius: Variety and diversity. I can make a list and it would be long – this makes the library to feed from forming your style. Glimpse into my list: from Offspring, Atheist and Devin Townsend to Chick Corea, Hiromi Uehara, Jesus Molina and Beethoven, Bach, Pergolesi, Poulenc…
Glam_Dickens: KISS.
What first got you into music?
Alex_Y: In my case it was the “Chaos A.D.” tape by Sepultura. I remember I was 10 years old and I swapped it for, I think, a Metallica ballad compilation.
Sydius: Listening to music. I always imagined myself composing. Then every acquantance with any tool connected with making sounds was inspiring.
Glam_Dickens: I heard about KISS, but didn’t listen to their music – it was difficult to find at that time. So, finally I got it. Anyway, I always wanted to become famous. The first was KISS, then I dived into rock and metal music.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Alex_Y: A. There’s a lot of people who can do that. I would like to work with Rammstein, Sabaton, Powerwolf, Peter Tagtgren.
Sydius: Dirty Loops, Grimes, Yuja Wang.
Glam_Dickens: I cannot say for sure, I didn’t think about it. There are a lot of them… with any of them. It always brings an experience.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Alex_Y: It would be Wacken Open Air and HellFest.
Sydius: Make a new intergalactic festival.
Glam_Dickens: Wacken maybe. Indeed, I am dreaming of playing at Madison Square Garden.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Alex_Y: No weird ones yet. Everything is as usual so far.
Sydius: Bed linen. Strange choice but practical. Better than flowers.
Glam_Dickens: I have not yet.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Alex_Y: Be true! Stay metal! Never surrender!
Sydius: Save it for an emergency.
Glam_Dickens: Chase the moment, live for today and don’t count on tomorrow, but be responsible fot your doings.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Alex_Y: There will be three of them: Lemmy Killmister, Peter Steele, Alexi Laiho.
Sydius: Mozart.
Glam_Dickens: It’s difficult to choose one, but let it be Freddie Mercury, my favourite vocalist.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Alex_Y: Creating music, of course! I don’t like doing promotions. But you can’t do it without it.
Sydius: Pros: you don’t need to work for 8 hours every day on an ordinary job. Cons: you need to work 24/7 on your career.
Glam_Dickens: Everything. I knew where I was heading to starting practicing, so now I just reap what I have sawn. I have no time to hate.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Alex_Y: I would like to make sure that physical media (tapes, CD’s, Vinyl’s) are as in demand as they were in the pre-digital era. I mean, I don’t want digital platforms to replace physical media. But I realize that this is utopian and that the progress of digital technology cannot be stopped.
Sydius: The size of the dressing room: how are you supposed to fit a rockstar ego into a closet-sized space?
Glam_Dickens: I am not into the industry, I cannot say for sure, I am not that businessman.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Alex_Y: Metallica – Black album (1991).
Sydius: Verdi’s Requiem.
Glam_Dickens: The WHO – “Tommy”
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
Alex_Y: Of course, vinyl! It’s the best physical embodiment of music.
Sydius: All of them when legally bought.
Glam_Dickens: All of them. Throughout the day I am listening to music on my smartphone, it’s comfortable. When I am home I like listening to vinyl – I have a great collection. CDs and cassettes I have too.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Alex_Y: We haven’t had any concerts yet, unfortunately, in our current lineup. We just haven’t had time to play them since the war started.
Sydius: Open-air dedicated to fried smelt. Who came up with that?!
Glam_Dickens: There was not yet. Each of them brought or will bring something new, and could be considered as the best.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Alex_Y: I think I would do video production.
Sydius: Math sounds entertaining and fun.
Glam_Dickens: Before KISS rushed into my life I wanted to be a wrestler, like on WCW Nitro.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Alex_Y: It will be the members of Arctic Dreams.
Sydius: John, Todd, Mary, Fred and Jane.
Glam_Dickens: A waiter, a bartender, a cook, a musician and a girl. Haha! I don’t know.
What’s next for the band?
Alex_Y: New album, new official video, gigs.
Sydius: Next 10 years awaiting an album. Kidding. Or not?
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Alex_Y: We have a number of resources on which we regularly update:
Official Website – https://arcticdreamsofficial.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/arcticdreamsofficial
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/arcticdreamsband
Bandcamp – https://arcticdreams.bandcamp.com
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzc764iZUHco-04wEQzPuXA
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/arctic-dreams
VK – https://vk.com/arcticdreams
Tiktok – https://www.tiktok.com/@arcticdreamsofficial
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Alex_Y: Ha-ha-ha! Very good question! It depends on the region of the United Kingdom. Each area has its own name. As far as I have studied, a bap or barm cake may be more commonly used in northern England, but a cob or roll may be more common in the Midlands.
Sydius: Was verstehen Sie am richtigen Brot!!
Glam_Dickens: Nice joke! I like it! There should be some in every nation.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Alex_Y: In addition, I would like to wish you all the best and prosperity for your project. Thank you for this interview!
Sydius: Our pleasure, thanks for having us! Nothing to add but take a logarithm.
