1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
The name I record under for this project is 'Alone', and I'm based in the Toronto area. I'm not really part of any metal scene but I have both been playing music and a fan of extreme metal for a long time, so I guess I finally took it upon myself to just record the music I imagine in my head when someone is telling me a boring story.
2.Recently you have released an EP, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?
My favorite genre of metal would probably be black metal, and so that forms the core sonic influence. However I'm a bit 'impure' with my musical tastes, so as much as I admire those of the Trve Kvlt, I always end up pulling from other genres and trying to include interesting melodies and harmonies. As such, if someone asks what kind of metal I make I prefer to say it is Blackened Heavy Metal and play my part in the relentless march towards ever more annoying micro-genres.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
Well, lyrics are a strange thing to me. To my tastes they're often the worst part about a song but at the same time essential. It's rare that I like a song for the literal lyrical content - when I read the lyrics directly I usually find it pretty embarrassing. There are a few whose lyrics do make decent poetry or whatever, but I won't list them here because they are almost exclusively... not metal singers. To me it's more about catching the odd word or phrase that the listener can use to build a mood and fill in the blanks themselves. With the rare exceptions (like old Mercyful Fate, and just generally metal bands from the Early Age), I do not like clean singing in metal. I think we all have to accept the cheese inherent in metal, but it's just too much for me. Give me a sense of your lyrical journey, but no more please, I'm trying to enjoy myself here. That being said, to each his own, and being the hypocrite I am, I do have full lyrics for my songs. It's my hope that they are obscured enough by the production and singing style that only a fraction of them get through clearly to the listener so they can enjoy their own mood. As for content, I usually picture a shifting landscape and maybe a simple narrative to go with it. I find this provides enough ambience and movement for what I hope to be an effective vocal. The words are a mix of metaphorical and lyrical, and are chosen primarily to sound good with the music. But pretty much anything that conveys violence, power, isolation, and grief is welcome to join the party. My main vocal influence in this regard is that of the USBM band Weakling, I find John Gossard did a perfect job of conveying snippets of desperation. Anyway, I guess this is my way of saying, in too many words, that I don't like too many words.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Alone'?
Like many band names it ended up being like 'oh, I guess this is the band name now'. One unavoidable thing is trying to pick something that hasn't at least been used by a well known band. To this end, some bands pick longer names but that's not my style. The word 'alone' popped into my head when I was thinking about moods and themes for the project and I was very surprised to discover there is no Big Metal Band with this very simple and direct name. Later I did discover there are less-known bands who share the name but I'm not too concerned at this point, I'm barely known, and it's not like I named my project 'Metallica 2'. So once I sketched out a logo that I thought looked good, the name was pretty much set in stone, even though later I realized that people might think I called the project 'Alone' because it was a solo project I recorded... alone. Which is kind of corny, but who gives a shit.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
The logo I did by hand, just messing about. I knew I wanted to have that 'dripping' font style, but also wanted cleaner lines since I didn't want to convey too pure of a black metal vibe. When my wife found my sketches and was concerned about what 'these evil symbols laying about' were, I knew I had a winner. The background artwork I chose from some random internet image dump. I was just looking for a sea scene with a lonely vibe to suit the mood of the music, so I took the image and made it black and white. Nothing too complicated, I'm not a graphic designer and I didn't feel like collaborating with anyone on this project for various reasons. Also one of my best friends is into model ship building and so we like to drink beer, yell about how we think nautical themes are cool, and if the beer is strong enough I can convince him to put on some black metal. A bit of a tip of the hat to him I guess.
6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
Everything in this project was produced solely by myself. I can see myself maybe collaborating in the future, but for now the time I have for music is very irregular, which would make collaborations more difficult. Also, I don't want to reach out to others before I gain more confidence in my own abilities first. This is how I am with a lot of things in general, if I want someone else to be involved I need them to take me seriously. I think I'm at the point where I'm still doing a lot of sound exploration and the solo aspect allows me to fully pursue that. But I would be lying if I said I've never thought it would be nice to be part of something musically with other like-minded people. Even, dare I dream... a live gig.
7.You prefer to keep a low profile and make the project more anonymous, can you tell us a little bit more about this concept?
I wouldn't say there's a 'concept' behind my low profile, the main reason I prefer (at least for now) to remain anonymous is so I can feel free to make my music sound as extreme as I feel it needs to be. Of course a few select people who know me personally are aware, but in general there are various aspects of my regular life which I would find awkward if my friends, family, co-workers, etc. were to hear the music I make. They would definitely look at me strangely. I would love to say 'fuck it I don't care what they think' but the thing is that, however unfortunate, I know myself and what can completely kill my creativity. Maybe I'm just a huge pussy, but when making music I need to feel that the only judgement that exists in the world is my own. I am pretty sure though that as long as I keep producing work that I think is quality I'll be bolder about it. As with a lot of things in my life, when I first start out I don't like anyone knowing about it so I can feel free to make a fool of myself.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Not looking, no interest received. Big zero on all accounts.
9.On a worldwide level, how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black and extreme metal?
Oh I'm terrible at self-promotion, so I'm thrilled to have just the few positive responses I've received. I would like to say though, I'm interested in people's reviews of my work even if they hate it. At this early point any feedback is good and where this is all going is a complete mystery to me... I'm not part of any scene and I make music first to exercise my creativity. If I don't become well-known it's not a big deal, but I admit I'm interested to see who else out there is of a similar mind.
10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
My current record 'I-IV' is probably going to be the closest you get to a full-length for a while... I'll probably just release a string of singles. Nothing against full-lengths, I just don't have the time right now. But I have finished the instrumental track for a new single with the completely unpredictable name, 'V'. After doing vocals for that track I'm planning on spending some time improving my recording setup. I have some plans for automation of a number of recording processes using open-source software that I want to use to record a dungeon synth album this winter for me and friends. I'd also like to incorporate some dungeon synth elements into Alone, it's such a ridiculous genre but I love it. The online community for it is insane, there is a dungeon synth 'subgenre' for just about everything. Do you like cottages covered in snow? They got comfy-synth. Dinosaurs? Dino-synth. A true renaissance of human creativity.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
As I've mentioned before, black metal is a primary influence and to that end you can check off just about every major second-wave Norwegian band. Bathory is my favorite metal band, and is a huge influence. I've mentioned Weakling, and so along with that the atmospheric-depressive USBM scene in general. Inquisition for their interesting bluesy-riff influence. Candlemass, Celtic Frost, Neurosis, Pallbearer, Sleep/High on Fire for heavier/doomier stuff. Also thrash, so you got all the classic influences in there... you know who they are. Outside of metal, I would say my main influences are My Bloody Valentine (big surprise) for their wall of sound and Radiohead for their sophisticated melodic/harmonic sensibilities that pair nicely with depressing music. There are parts in my songs that have been pulled from a wide variety of stylistic sources. Nowadays, my listening habits have changed, probably due to the extreme access we now have to music streaming. I really like current music, but most of it is from black metal and dungeon synth playlists whose artists' names I have a hard time remembering. It's usually a few songs from each band. It's fine for now though, I'm at a point where I'm mostly interested in finding new sounds that fit in with the music I want to make. Dumal is probably the most recent group that I treated as a 'put the whole record on' band. This winter I would like to return to more of that kind of deeper-focus listening.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
To all the kids: play black metal, it keeps you on the straight and narrow.
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