1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
'We should play music to which people would want to hang themselves' - these words were said when we first decided to start a band. It happened in April 2014, after Amenra and Cult of Luna played their shows in Warsaw, Poland. The same words were repeated many times during long evenings spent in the basements of local Warsaw pubs, where ROSK was being created and shaped. The sole reason for starting this band was a need for creating music that we ourselves would enjoy, music that would stand no compromise and would be completely honest. It is dark. And quite sad.
2. So far you have released one ep and one full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?
We are not really capable of describing the sound of the records. It had been such a long process with various inspirations crossing our way that the final outcome is just what it is. We started off inspired by post-metal music, but that is not what we would call it nowadays, it was more of an impulse. The aim was always to create a dense atmosphere, to go on a musical journey and to lose ourselves in the ritual.
What can be said about the two records, however, is that they already show a change of the sound. We had been working on the DEMO EP remotely, recording everything separately at homes, and meeting only to talk and discuss the themes and ideas. Three out of four tracks on our full-length album MIASMA are the same tracks that were on the demo, but with the influence of rehearsing and modifying them together with the full band. The music immediately started to evolve, mature and improve. The final track, over 20-minute-long Beneath the Light was almost entirely created while jamming in our rehearsal place.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
The concept of the album is based on the theme of the Black Death. It follows the journey of a plague doctor, both the physical journey through the empty and dead world and the journey within his own mind. However, the lyrics are also filled with emotional, personal elements. We do not want to explain it in much detail and want to leave some space for private interpretation. It should be a personal journey for the listener as well.
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Rosk'?
The name should actually be spelled with capital letters: ROSK, and it has no meaning at all. We consider ROSK a being of its own and didn’t want the name to represent anything other than what the band is. It is always a struggle - creating a band and choosing a word or a couple of words that will describe the band and its whole idea. We didn’t want this.
5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Our first show was an extraordinary experience, since it was the first opportunity to share our ritual with others. It took place in a club called Chmury (Clouds) in Warsaw and the other bands - Gnoza and Cétieu - helped to create an exceptional atmosphere. We also really enjoyed our gigs as supporting acts for Djevel and for Obscure Sphinx.
When it comes to the stage performance, we really feel it as a ritual. The most important things are probably the unity and the atmosphere. On the one hand in the very beginning we decided to perform with visuals played behind us as a form of a setting for the performance. On the other hand we are definitely not keen on performing statically, if everything feels right we experience the freedom to break our fears and leave our comfort zones. Our vocalists prefer to be offstage, close to the audience (if it’s possible). It blurs the division between the performers and the spectators.
6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are constantly looking for opportunities to play live. We already have a couple of shows in Poland scheduled for this spring, and there are definitely more to come. However, we can’t wait to start playing shows abroad as well. Hopefully it will happen this year.
7. Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We would very much appreciate the possibility of releasing our album on a vinyl or on a cassette. Apart from that we are not very fond of losing any control over our music both in the rights and in the distribution. We are quite happy releasing it on our own.
8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of post black metal?
The feedback has been surprisingly positive! We get messages from people all around the world saying that the music resonates with them. We did not see it coming and it feels great to know that someone, somewhere spent the time to listen to an unknown band from Poland and the music truly affected them in some way.
9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We don’t know and we have no way of planning that, really. We have MIASMA - the album which is a closed, complete concept. When the time comes, we will try to create something better and different in some way. We will use any means to make something that feels right and that we are happy with.
10. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
There is six of us, so obviously there is a huge amount of different inspirations. Providing the names of the bands would be almost impossible, since while creating our music we never really focused on what it might resemble or be inspired by. Post- metal or black metal are the more obvious musical styles which influenced the sound on MIASMA, but so did ambient music or nordic folk music. And quite possibly everything that we ever heard in our lives. We never had a style or a genre in mind, we simply knew what we wanted to feel while playing our music.
If we were to mention what all of us are listening to nowadays, you would probably get almost the whole spectrum of music. But some of the common elements at this point would be Amenra, Cult of Luna, which affected us to create this band and definitely polish Furia.
11. What are some of your non musical interests?
As with previous question the answer is pretty obvious - there is six of us. Each one has his own hobbies, interests and stuff he does in his free time and we try to keep it separate from the band. ROSK is strictly about music and art.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We would like to thank you very much for the interest in our music and for this interview. Take care!
Visit us on Facebook and Bandcamp:
https://www.facebook.com/roskband
https://roskband.bandcamp.com
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