Line Up:
Alone-All Instruments
Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
We speak again of our editorial office, where in a little while, we will have in all its emotions, the interview 165 of the Aristocracy.This time, we caught up with a Canadian band that takes a totally orthodox and melancholy approach to old school black metal.Besides, of course, an amazing aura with many gradual progressions. We're talking about the band Alone. Let's go to a song by them so we can start this interview. Before that, a thank you to Alone who is responsible for the band and our Italian brother Davide Pulitto.Now, on to what matters to all of us.
A1:Hi there! Let’s start from talking about the songwriting of your single “V (The Village)”?
Alone:Well, as in most of my songs it comes from a mixture of my favourite musical ideas that are currently in my head and an image/photo which complements them. Basically there are three main musical themes which I try to patch together in a way that makes sense. For example, the chords at the beginning of the clean section which bridges the first and second themes forms the basis for the third section, hopefully forming an organic envelope for the second theme, if that makes any sense. The second theme is probably the first musical idea I had for the song, which is nice to have as its "centrepiece". I could go on,but I'll be merciful and stop haha. For the lyrics, they mainly come from the photo/image I choose for the
song, and are written typically after the music. I don't like to say too much about the lyrics as for this type of music I greatly prefer vocals which leave a lot for the listener to fill in themselves and are spared from any of my "poetry" haha.
A2:I admit I like your edgy songs, but why are they so edgy?
Alone:I just like extreme music, so my own music is going to be pretty edgy,I suppose.Also, my normal life is very different from my musical project, I'm not really part of any scene. So my music serves a little as a vehicle for me to express myself in ways that I would like to keep separate from my responsibilities in the adult world, if you know what I mean. I've had enough happen in my life to provide with lots of ugly feelings to express, and my music is an ideal place to keep my demons in chains.
A3:How to give sensitive progressions to the track?
Alone:I talked a bit about this in my first response, but my general method is to basically imaging two or three different musical themes or "sound islands" which all serve to complement a mental image or photo.Then I try to find ways to bridge them together coherently. One of my favourite methods is to re-cycle parts from each theme inside of the other themes, sort of a "cross-pollenation" which function as a sort of musical reminder to the listener that they are indeed listening to the same song of which these islands are a part.
A4:Some literature or film inspire you?
Alone:I'd say Russian Literature and depressing black and white foreign films.
A5:Does Solitude help your compositions to be better?
Alone:At this point, yes, because I don't have contact with many other musicians which share my musical tastes. In these early stages of this project I have yet to have a great deal of confidence so it helps that I have complete control. Maybe someday in the future I'll find people to collaborate with.
A6:What ́s the idea behind the artwork?
Alone:The artwork for my latest single is just a photo that seemed to capture the essence of musical ideas that
I was playing around with at the time. It's hard to describe how I choose the artwork, it's really by feeling.I also think it benefits from less explanation, to be honest. I like to leave a lot to the listener's imagination and generally stay away from trying to convey some "message".
A7:Why does your project have this name?
Alone:A lot of my musical themes are about isolation, and also I record everything.Alone haha. So, it seemed to fit. Also for such a simple, short word it doesn't seem to be popular for bands to name themselves "Alone" so it seemed like it was available to use. Seemed like a bargain. Oh, and the letters in "Alone" flow together really well for a logo of my design.
A8:Not that I'm against it, but why is there an orthodox feel to your work?
Alone:Probably because a lot of my favourte bands are from the 80s and 90s. Also, I just like the idea of introducing progressive and modern elements to an old-school sounds. Somehow that actually feels new" to me. Maybe I'm just too obsessed with Bathory, I don't know.
A9:Isolation/struggle narrative: how to put the into songs?
Alone:That's a hard question, the best I can say is that you include aggressive musical themes, together with softer but sad musical themes.
A10:What kind of subject doesn ́t deserve to be in Alone song?
Alone:Things that are explicitly political or moral.
A11:Which bands influence you?
Alone:Bathory, Weakling, Inquisition, High on Fire, Bell Witch, Immortal.
A12:How emerged the idea of creating haunting melodies?
Alone:I think some of what I have already said touches on this, but I'm also a fan of many other genres of music other than metal. A big one being Radiohead, they have certain songs that have incredibly beautiful and haunting melodies and themes.
A13:Is this single conceptual?
Alone:There is a concept, but that is only for me to know and to help me write lyrics.Ideally, the lyrics are only half understood by the listener and the rest they can fill in with their imagination.
A14:I don't believe in hell, I believe we created our own hell.Does your music have this idea too?
Alone:The idea of us creating our own hell is very much a central idea, yes.I don't believe that an actuall Hell in the religious sense exists, but my songs don't really deal with saying that There Is No Hell. I only really get involved with the idea of the creation of our own hell.
A15:It is clear that the Evil exists. What we must question is whether there is good?
Alone:If you have ever felt good, then there is Good. It's just whether it will be safe from Evil.
A16:What would today's Alone tell to Alone about the day before he arrived to rehearse the first song in his life?
Alone:Don't even think about being a perfectionist before you actually complete some songs. Just... complete something. You learn a lot just by that process. Later you can maybe think about being a perfectionist but even that is probably a dangerous path.