1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
Hi! First of all thanks for this interview, it really means a lot for an upcoming artist.
I’m Alessandro, I’m from Italy and Sirens Bay is my solo project. I’ve been playing and making music in one form or another for years now, starting with my high school grindcore band and some electronic music I made along the way. I had put guitar - and music making in general - aside for a long time before I felt the need to start making music again.
Thus, this solo project. I wanted to incorporate different influences from many genres I listen to and that have shaped me both as a music fan and a musician. Ulver’s Bergtatt is my all time favorite album, and that’s the kind of atmosphere I’m going for. You can say my music is black metal, there’s blast beats and tremolo picking, but it’s not Burzum or Emperor. I don’t go for dissonance or dark atmospheres as much, for example, I try to take a more melodical and evocative approach.
2.So far you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?
As I was saying, my music is definitely rooted in black metal. I tried to stray away from traditional black metal though, both in composition and sound. I wanted the tracks to tell a story, to paint a picture. There’s atmosphere but there’s also aggressiveness, there are blast beats but there are more acoustic, mellow passages. There’s a bit of all my influences, from black metal, to post rock and post metal, but I strive to find my own voice.
I want my music to be “raw”, in the sense that it’s not too polished. There’s some mistakes here and there but I left them in because I think there’s beauty in imperfection. I wanted this EP to sound more like a live performance than a surgically crafted, perfectly produced record, and that’s why the majority of guitar parts you hear in the EP are first takes. I’m not a great musician, so going for feel over technical proficiency was my best bet, you could say. I really, really hope this comes across and that my music has something to tell.
3.So far all of the music has been instrumental, are you open to using vocals or lyrics on future releases?
I took this stylistic choice out of necessity: I’m not a good singer (or screamer, at that), so I thought I’d used this weakness to my advantage trying to be as evocative as possible with music alone. I have no plans to incorporate vocals in my next releases, but maybe that can change, who knows? For now, I want my tracks to be like postcards, a little picture that, along with the track titles, tries to share an image, or an emotion.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Siren's bay'?
The sea has been a big part of my life. We come from water, we’re actually made of water, and I’ve been fascinated by the sea for as long as I can remember. So of course my music also had to do with the sea! Sirens are mythological creatures known to entice men with their song, and that’s what I wanted my music to be: a bay, a little place where you could just sit on the sand, watch the tide rise and recede while the music takes you somewhere else.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?
The artwork is another thing I wanted to be different from other releases in the genre. I stumbled upon Joel Hedstrom’s profile on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sadboi_illustrations/) and his style really resonated with me, I knew THAT’s what I was going for. I wanted the siren to be represented not as a monster, but a weirdly fascinating creature whose song you cannot resist, and I think Joel absolutely nailed it.
6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
I’m in my thirties, I have a family and a very time consuming job: I barely have time for making music as it is, I wouldn’t really have time to work with other musicians, but that does not mean that I wouldn’t like it. Though, having complete freedom on my project creative choices is a very important part of why I prefer to work solo.
7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
I haven’t received any request (yet!) but after all the EP isn’t officially out until 31st October, so who knows. Im not actively looking for a label at the moment, but I’m not against it at all. Promotion and being able to provide physical media is something a solo artist usually has difficulties doing, and having someone help with that would be really great.
After the EP is out, I’ll probably reach out to some label and see if they’re interested in it, or in a future release. Fingers crossed!
8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal and blackgaze?
The EP has only been on Soundcloud now, so it didn’t have much exposure, but I’ve been sharing it with people and they seem to like it. I’ll try to promote it as best as I can and see if people enjoy it.
9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
I’m already working on the next release, which has been my dream project: a concept album based on The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge. It’s my favorite book and I will try to recreate it in music, though I know it’s been done before. I’ll try to do my best to convey the kind of atmosphere Coleridge manages to create.
The music will definitely be more complex: I will be adding more sounds than just guitar and ukulele, there’ll most likely be strings, piano and more synths. I hope I can make it work!
Don’t have a timeline yet, but a work so huge could easily take many months. I will keep you posted!
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?
I already cited Ulver as my main source of inspiration, but black metal has always been a huge part of my musical journey: from Emperor to Deathspell Omega, from Alcest to lesser known but incredibly talented artists like Unreqvited, whose music I love deeply. I grew up with progressive rock like Jethro Tull, metal and punk but I’ve also always listened to electronic music. I love acts like Boards of Canada, Tim Hecker and Rival Consoles, for example, even though you can’t hear it in my own music.
As of late I’m mostly listening to underground black metal and blackgaze, anything atmospheric is my bread and butter these days. Frostnatt, Grimoire, All the Cold… Lots of incredibly talented artists in the scene now, it’s very inspiring.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
My main other interest is reading: books, comics, everything. I’m big into fantasy and sci-fi, but I’ll gladly read a good crime novel. Though, I’m starting to fill every corner of the house with books, so I’ll probably have to use my Kindle more, or we’ll run out of space.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I would first of all like to thank you again for featuring me, it means the world for a new act like me, and being given a bit of space to chat and share opinions, along with music, is invaluable. I hope your readers get a chance to listen to the EP and they like it!
Cheers, stay safe and healthy everyone!
I would like to thank you AGAIN, you've been really kind to feature me like this. Hope the EP gets listened and people like it!
And I hope you'll be interested in reviewing my next release when it will be done :)
Alessandro
Instagram.com/sirensbaymusic
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