 How did the band come to be?
Well we met sometime around 2012 and we started making some music together in 2014, but we weren’t really a band until we rebranded in 2016 to what we now know as Sentinel Complex. We started out doing music and sfx for random indie game and film projects and slowly got a grip for things, and then eventually just said “we could do this for a band you know” to each other and now we are here! Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? For a start we are currently working on our newest project which we are really proud of, and we are going to be dropping singles on a regular basis this year and have a full EP planned too so keep your eyes out for that! There will also be a few collaborative songs coming out too later down the line and maybe even a few remixes! We like to switch up our release methods every now and again to keep people on their toes, so expect to see more of us later this year once we have these tracks nice and polished. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? As a new listener, we would love for people to see the striking imagery, hear the sounds we have created and hopefully have it stick with them. Sometimes it can be hard for people to really get into what we do and we appreciate that, especially if they are into only one of the genre types we like to write rather than multiple. But we’d love for people to at least think it's good music, regardless of the genre! With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? At the moment the fact that there are a bunch of artists and musical organizations that are doing charity livestreams of shows and events is really awesome. We watched one recently which was the Global Dance Festival that was killer, and all the proceeds were going towards Covid-19 research and prevention! What is your writing process like? Jamie: When it comes to the process, we both do all of the writing and it usually goes the way one of us will have an idea which will then be brought to the other, and then we’ll both sit down and see where we want the idea to go. At some point I’ll usually sit down with the end result and take it as far as I can go with it. Eventually we’ll end up with the final which we are both happy with, and we won’t release anything until we are both completely satisfied with it! To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? We both listen to two main genres primarily which are metal and the dirty industrial side of electronic music so we thought we would try and combine the two. Sprinkle on our two main interests outside of music which are cyberpunk and horror media and you have Sentinel Complex! We like to switch things up though for different songs, and you’ll find some are more horror inspired, some may be more metal etc but it's always a good mix! Any tours coming up soon? Unfortunately shows aren’t a thing we are doing at the moment, but it is something we want to do once we have enough material we deem worthy and once we get the rigs together! We would love to be able to pull off some crazy theatrics and have some audio-visual things going on in the background to really have the shows be as immersive as possible! Anything you would like to tell our readers? Stay safe and thanks for reading! We hope you like what we do and stick around, we love interacting with people so get in touch if you like!
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 How did the band come to be?
Hi, Well, it all started as a single project of mine, I just stopped playing with my previous band (metal band), I had my first kid at that time also. So I was kind of band less and I started work on some softer material, rock music for fun. And very quickly I got some serious good songs and I missed being on stage so much, so I decided to make a new band. At first it was called Super heroes chronicles, and I changed during 2 years about 30 times of other musicians (very hard to find good bros..) and the name changed to H.E.R.O. Basically all the lyrics were about super heroes fighting super villains ah ah… and somehow, someday I found Raphael a very talented guitar player and he brought in his brother Alx behind the drum, Meumeu at the bass was already in the band HERO, and we renamed the band Cloudfalls. Then we started work on the first album Start over, made some videos, some gigs in France. Then the new album Ravens don’t fall came 2018. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? We are currently working on 2 new albums, a first one with new material and a second one as an orchestral version of some of our old songs (+ some new ones as a bonus). What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? I wish they can remember a good melody that will turn in their mind for a while. I also wish they can feel the passion and fun we have to do our music and share it with them. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Right now the big problem is that the “artistic” industry almost completely stopped in France and in most of the countries, we are not considered as “essential” to life. I wish we are considered more and we can get more help from the government. In France, a few years ago they made the room requirement so hard that most small venues have closed because they couldn’t pay for the upgrade. What is your writing process like? I 100% write at home on my home studio, my memory suck like hell ! I can’t rely on it, so I used to record everything I play. So when i write, I start my computer, open up cubase, Add a drum track very basic, I choose the tempo depending on what kind of track I want to compose. Then I record everything I play. I play some rhythm for hours and keep what is nice, then I try some melodies, and I build a song step by step. It’s very random and completely by luck :) It’s very rare when I already know exactly how the melody will be. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Pretty much anything, I’m really inspired by the moment. Suddenly, I know I must take my guitar and play. Something will come out. My state of mind at this moment is a big influence. I also think about people when I compose, good memories, bad memories, they are triggering my inspiration. Any tours coming up soon? Well because of the virus :( Unfortunately we have more cancelling than new dates. So far 2 dates cancelled. We have plans for September in France. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Thanks for reading this interview, and we hope it can make you curious about our rock music. You can enjoy it in almost any current media, feel free to give it a try and comment!  How did the band come to be?
My name is Katya Richardson, and I’m a composer and producer based in Los Angeles. I first got into music via piano lessons, and have been writing my own music since before high school. I studied composition and film-scoring at the University of Southern California, and now work as a freelance film composer and multi-disciplinary artist. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? Yes! I released my debut electro jazz EP, Left From Write, in April. It’s a sonic reinterpretation of dyslexia and features electronic grooves, jazzy saxophone, and looping vocal textures. It was originally written as part of a collaboration with a choreographer, lighting designer, and animator and dancers from the Norwegian National Ballet. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? Music transports and connects us in unspoken ways, and I think the most timeless art is the kind that is reactive and questioning. My music is very cinematic, and as a storyteller, my most important goal is to channel that innate part of humanity, which is communication. I want to move and inspire people in a genuine way. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? I am particularly passionate about equality within the music industry, specifically educating and encouraging young women to pursue careers as composers and musicians. What is your writing process like? I am very tactile when writing, so I usually start by improvising at a piano or playing with different sounds and instruments in my studio. I generally approach each project - whether it be a film score or a song - as its own entity, so the process is a little different each time. I would say that most of my music is naturally cinematic and emotive, and I like focusing on certain elements for each piece. I’m super into minimalist textures and vocal loops, and sometimes a whole piece is about exploring that. Other times, my jazz piano background kicks in and I find myself prioritizing melody and harmony. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Classically, I’m influenced by minimalist composers like John Adams and Phillip Glass, and the electronic aspects of my music are largely inspired by the jazz fusion of Flying Lotus and dance composer, Son Lux. In terms of current muses, I really look up to the work of Isobel Waller-Bridge; there aren’t many female film composers out there, and I love how her recent score to Vita and Virginia (2018) showcases grungy electronics and traditional strings to both romanticize and modernize the 1920s. I think it’s super cool when genres collide and something traditional, like a film score, can still be innovative and genuine. Any tours coming up soon? None planned yet! Most of the music I write is recorded and produced beforehand, but I would like to put together a live synth and vocal set soon. Anything you would like to tell our readers? You can check out my newest EP on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/album/0KNJa0wQm7ezIkgPmASCHY And if you’d like to stay up to date with my latest projects & see footage from the EP release, give me a follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katya.richardson/?hl=en Thanks for having me!  How did the band come to be?
Fox Violet like most things in my life came to me in some kind of dream. I was inspired to make music that felt like you were stuck inside a dream, one that felt extremely real but one which you still knew you were dreaming. I don't really have any ambition to get there but I want to go on that transcendental journey when I make music. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? I just released, “I’ll take your pain,” which is really a commentary on not only the state of the world right now, but the dissolution of relationships. I wrote this song before the pandemic hit. I have always had a morose perception of world events, and I wanted to create a song that moved through the sensory experience of loss and a nostalgic reflection of times past. That is a current theme in my work. When the pandemic hit I had to reflect on that song, but I hope that it is cathartic to some. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? I don’t want to prescribe any emotional experience to my songs, but I do hope with each new song they gain a sense of no holds barred real commentary, one that does not shy away from dark emotions, but instead lets them out to breathe. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Thank you *so* much for asking this question. I am passionate about @nokidhungry they are working tirelessly to provide food to children all over the world. This is not just countries in the developing world, but right in the USA too. When schools closed, children who came to rely upon those hot meals of the day suddenly had nowhere to turn. That’s completely unacceptable to me. I would like to fund raise for this organization if possible. I am also very passionate about trying to fund raise for international aid. I am very saddened by the looming potential extra disaster that could occur in the developing worlds as a result of crucial aid services being ground to a halt as a result of the pandemic. There are so many organizations we can and should support if we can. My heart goes out to the front line health care workers tirelessly keeping our world together right now too. What is your writing process like? It’s very personal. I need to be alone, and to be really in a state of deep reflection. I usually have an idea for a song that then comes into life when I hear a few notes, and then it takes it’s own journey visually. It might take me one night or a few months to write something. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? So many things inspire me. Sadness inspires me, melancholia. I have always been motivated by an exploration of that. I know it’s dark but I just believe that sadness is this participant of our human existence and we shouldn’t shy away from it. I’ve tried to form this into a more nostalgic experience so that we really feel like we are walking through our sad experiences together, in one collective dream. I never want to write something so personal that people can’t relate. I am more interested in collective emotions. Any tours coming up soon? I’ve postponed all tours right now and I am just focused on writing, recording and trying to keep my loved ones well. Anything you would like to tell our readers? I hope that anyone reading this is well and is keeping safe. Thanks for listening. Links: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4GkvtpqQgkSPCt7aXEes9r www.instagram.com/fox_violets  How did the band come to be?
JC used to play keys for an artist called Ella Eyre, and wrote a bunch of songs while on the road touring with her. After she heard the tracks for the first time she asked if he’d want to be the support act on her next tour, which meant that he had to form a band! JC knew Huss (drums) from growing up in Huddersfield, and I shared a mutual friend who recommended me for the project. It was a bit of a whirlwind start, and we’re all super grateful to Ella for the opportunity she gave us as such a young band. Any advice on new skills to learn during for people with free time on their hands just now? We’re so lucky to have resources like YouTube, it’s basically a free university! There are so many good tutorials for anything from playing an instrument to cooking. We’ve all been developing our music production skills during this period, and I’d say patience and discipline are both really key when learning something new. Favorite video games to play / or favorite book to read right now? We played way too much Mario kart on our last tour.. that game never gets old! I’m currently reading a book called ‘Shoe Dog’ which is all about the story behind Nike. It’s an interesting read and shows that hard work and dedication can pay off! Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? We’re actually about to release a bunch of acoustic versions of songs from ‘Highlights’. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Head over to our social media pages to find out how we’re spending our time at the moment and for announcements about new releases and gigs! @flawes http://www.flawes.com/  How did the band come to be?
Band has been around since 2014. It began as a muck about with mates just wanting to enjoy playing music. Badly. Very, very badly. We became serious with it in 2018. So the band has been about for 6 or 7 years. The current line up is Finlay Cardno, James Riddoch, Corey Finnie and Myself has been since late 2018. It was Finlay and I who began the band in 2014 with our mates. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? Our main goal for this year is to release as many demo’s as we can and hopefully have an EP to share with everyone by the end of the year. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? One of the biggest goals as a band musically is if someone has a deep connection with our songs after listening to us. That would be one of the greatest feelings. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? When the world has been turned upside down there is always one organization that does all it can to stand tall and pull us through a time of crisis. Our NHS is one of the greatest organisations. They get dismantled and sold for scraps and they still do all they can to save lives. What is your writing process like? The majority of our songs have been written by our lead singer Eddie Flinn. He normally brings some songs to us at band practice and if we like them we start practicing and tweaking them. As a band we do have some songs in the pipeline that we came up with together. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Because most of our songs are written by Eddie. We have a very east bay punk sound; quite similar to Green Day back in the 90s. They were one of his biggest influences Any tours coming up soon? Not as yet has anything been confirmed but we do have many projects lined up with other bands so hopefully in the faint future we will have some exciting news. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Please love us and follow us. It would mean the world; without you guys we could not do anything so lots of love is appreciated. As well as you sharing us with your friends. Love you all.  How did the band come to be?
Believe it or not, the host of the Rock N Worship Festival in Dalton, MA, walked up to me (Meredith… the gal with green hair!). For some unknown reason he was like “hey! I want you to come sing!”. I was playing electric guitar for my church’s youth band (needless to say, it was a less-than-stellar performance). So, I went. I had just turned 14. There were all ages and genres at the Rock N Worship Fest; from metal to reggae to gospel. Something clicked. These people were like me! I asked my younger brother (a rockin’ drummer) on the 4-hour ride home to start a band, and he said yes! We met bassist Ian through mutual friends. (Truthfully, he literally fell -he says he jumped- out of a tree. But I guess there’s worse ways to meet people!) We played under the banner ‘Undefeated’ for the first time August 5th, 2017 on the lawn of a bookstore. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? We’ve just put out the music video for our second single, Where Are You (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrXWbsn9Ey3ft62D4zVSStA). We have 3 more songs to follow this year to complete our first EP! We had to postpone studio time for a new song that we are really excited about. It melds punk and metal into our current sound. We feel very locked into this direction! What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? You know the movie where the guy finally finds his courage, grabs his sword, and steps toward the enemy? We want you to feel like that. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Clean water and food. Our family has sponsored through Food for the Hungry, and Water for Life with James Robison. What is your writing process like? I (Meredith… the girl with the green hair!) write the initial lyrics/melodies, and we all collab on the instrumentation. I have a notebook titled “Ridiculously Good Ideas”, so obviously ridiculously good ideas happen there. It’s filled with all sorts of poems and lyric ideas and songs. It’s a 5-subject notebook lol…and I’m on my fourth one. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Let me tell ya how we come together. Our drummer (Christian) is a die-hard djent/metal/screamo fan. Ian’s (bassist) heart was born and raised in classic rock. You know, The Beatles, Zeppelin, the whole thing. Then there’s me. I LOVE to sing. You can’t take a singer and stick her in one genre. The trick is melding these three sounds without losing what God gave each one. The whole is greater than the piece. Personally, I’ve also really been loving all of Lacey Sturm’s stuff! Killer lyrics, music, the whole thing. Any tours coming up soon? There’s a lot going on in the world with the COVID-19 virus. It has reached every corner. Due to this, all of our shows March through May are on hold. We were booked in New Jersey, Maine, and locally. So, looking forward to rescheduling those! We can’t wait to tour. Christian (drummer) has two years of high school left. But, we’re ready to try our hand at short tours (3 weeks to 3 months!)! Anything you would like to tell our readers? If you have a passion for music and the mainstream isn’t filling it; don’t just listen, share and promote! Connect with us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/undefeatedofficialmusic/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/undefeated_official/?hl=en Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrXWbsn9Ey3ft62D4zVSStA Come say hi!  How did the band come to be?
Broken Lines was formed in 2014. We are a 3 piece band playing unique and original music from Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Our emphasis is to create upbeat and energetic music with punk, rock, psychedelic and just about anything else that influences us! We play for the love and enjoyment of music and aim to portray that in our songs and performances. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow and serene, but always refreshing and uniquely our own. Strong beats and growling bass punctuated with searing guitar and a vocal performance to match! Delivering an experience that is intense, exciting and emotionally charged. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? In the new year? 2020 or 2021? ! We released our debut album “Liberation” at the start of 2020. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? A feeling of absolute satisfaction. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? Class War and equality. The haves have had it good for too long! What is your writing process like? To date, Dave writes most of the lyrics and then we all work on the structure and sounds until we are happy and can truly feel it. We all have full involvement in the process as each of us has so much to offer. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? For me, Mark, it’s a powerful bass sound delivered ferociously :) As a band it’s about aiming to create a unique experience for the listener. Any tours coming up soon? We were in the middle of one when the coronavirus hit so we are currently on hold until it’s gone. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Yes, I am the Duke of Kidderminster! (Mark) Above all listen to our music, it’s like nothing else you’ve heard for a long time…! https://www.facebook.com/brokenlinesuk https://twitter.com/brokenlinesuk https://www.instagram.com/ukbrokenlines https://brokenlinesuk.bandcamp.com/ https://soundcloud.com/brokenlinesuk https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC6Yejfsxv7JRRjeFbdT2vQ  How did the band come to be?
We come from Aberdeenshire in the North of Scotland, which is a pretty remote area. There’s a limited number of like-minded musicians with the necessary talent, energy and ambition available – and a lot of them are already in other bands. It’s not like London, where there are thousands of other musicians around you can potentially work with. Pete (rhythm guitar) and Davie (bass) worked together previously in a Punk revival tribute band. But both of them are songwriters and had plenty of original material of their own. And they thought that the material they were writing was as good as anything they were hearing around them, so they started looking around for like-minded souls. It took a while to find Jed (drummer), Richard (lead guitar) and Chloe (vocals), but since we started working together, progress has been pretty swift. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? We do! We have a new single, “hot knife" coming out on the 26th April. Well worth a listen! It’s quite different to the 2 we have released already. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? I think collectively as a band, we just want people to enjoy our music. We'd like for people to be able to make up their own minds about what our songs “mean". We are passionate about what we do. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? As a band, we are passionate about supporting other local bands. Aberdeen is quite a rural area, it can't be difficult for bands to “get out there" as it were. So we like being a part of organising gigs that give bands that opportunity. Our guitarist Richard took the time to make a Spotify playlist, full of great local bands! Go check it out! It’s called Aberdeen/shire rocks! Now, we are also passionate about the work that our amazing NHS staff do. ESPECIALLY at the moment, but, even before all of this. If not for them, some of us could have lost people very dear to us. They keep the country going really! Their work is outstanding. What is your writing process like? We tend to write songs separately. One of us will have sat at home, and written either lyrics, or a riff maybe. And then we take what we have to band practice. Sometimes, a band member will write a riff and it just so happens to go with the lyrics someone else has written! So our songs have a little bit of everyone in them! To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? We each have out own inspirations. Bands such as motorhead, killing joke, in this moment, blondie, joan Jett, sex pistols, ac/dc, dead Kennedys, all inspiration to us. We are very inspired by bands who “enjoy” playing what they have written. The stage is a release for some of us, so it has to be an enjoyable experience! Any tours coming up soon? Due to all of this mess going on in the world right now, gigs have had to be cancelled, or postponed. We have a few coming up in the Aberdeen area, and a gig down south in England that is currently being rearranged! It’s tough for love bands at the moment, but we will get back into it and continue to kick ass as soon as we possibly can. Anything you would like to tell our readers? Check out our singles “just so you know" and “pink speed and tequila", keep your eyes and ears peeled for our new release this month, drink beer, dance like nobody’s watching, scream and shout along to our songs, and if you do, SEND US A RECORDING! Hahaha .Most importantly, keep it UGLY!! Whatever that may mean to you!  Boston-based alternative group Major Moment have released a new single “May Leave Scars”. Andrey Borzykin and Sasha Razumova had a little Zoom meeting with me to discuss world events, music, influences and the legacy of Chester Bennington.
Amy: So first off, thank you. I appreciate you guys meeting with me, I really do. You know, I guess the most obvious question right now is, how are you guys holding up with all that’s going on? Andrey Borzykin: Haha, we’re holding up... Sasha Razumova : We are! Well, a lot of the work we do for Major Moment can still be done from home. Regardless of the situation, there are a ton of things that we can do, whether it’s promoting our existing material or writing new songs. But yeah, this whole situation with the pandemic is horrible. We've got a couple of shows canceled or postponed, and still have some scheduled for later this year, so hopefully they can still happen. Amy: You totally have to come down to Florida. Andrey Borzykin: Oh yeah, we really want to come to Florida! We have a couple of our die hard fans out there, and they've been asking us to come play a show there for quite some time. Florida is definitely one of the top destinations for us to play in the near future… whenever that’s going to be possible again. Amy: Listening to everything that you have, which I've been doing a lot, you are actually in a really heavy rotation in my house right now, and I noticed that you seem to draw a lot of inspiration from your environment and what's going on around you. And with everything that's going on right now, you know, the pandemic and the election year, how do you think that's going to affect you? Andrey Borzykin: It's a great question! We actually just finished recording four new songs that we started writing a year ago, literally days before the pandemic unfolded. And while you could predict some events like, you know, an election that's coming up, nobody saw this pandemic coming, right? It has never happened before in history, at least not at this scale. And, funny enough, one of the songs that we wrote was legit about the world needing to take a break. So we kinda jinxed that one. Amy: You were prophets, not a jinx. Andrey Borzykin: And now we're like, ok, people are gonna obviously think that this song was inspired by the pandemic. But the reality is, it just matched like that. It's one of our favorite songs to date and we're really excited to release it into the world later this year. So although this craziness affected us, we are trying our best to stay within the schedule for the release that has already been planned for months and months in advance. The only thing is, you know, the current situation is kind of preventing us from being able to play gigs, tour and rehearse together because some of our guys are currently in other states. So Eddie, our guitar player, is in Georgia right now with his family. He studies in Berklee, but all students had to leave the campus, and studies are now only conducted online. We miss our crew and miss rehearsing and playing together! But hopefully if things work out in the best way, we'll be able to play a couple real nice, really big gigs later this year. We're hoping for that. If not, I guess we'll have to, you know, stay home and do the online presence thing. Release songs, release music videos, release lyric videos, and whatever else is in the works. We already planned at least a couple of music videos for the songs we just finished recording, and then there are new songs to be written too. We haven't had a lot of time to write new songs lately, regardless of the current situation in the world, we still need to pay our bills. Both, myself and Sasha have been working, doing food deliveries. So we're kind of considered essential, you know, haha, trying to keep the food on the table for everybody and for ourselves as well. Sasha Razumova: And regarding the songs that were already released. You mentioned that we draw a lot of inspiration from current events, but even some of the songs we’ve released in the past, they stay relevant today, maybe more so than ever. One of the songs that still makes a lot of buzz is “Living Your Life Like This”, which just passed a 200K streams mark on Spotify. Amy: Nice! Sasha Razumova: People all around the world are texting us that it resonates with them a lot. So that's cool. Amy: I know you guys were really heavily influenced by Linkin Park. Your guys did a cover of “Leave Out All the Rest”, in which when that break comes in, it gets chilly. I mean it just does. You get the frezons (chills) as we call them in Cajun country. Andrey Borzykin: That's the goosebumps moment for us as well. Oh, yeah. Amy: But I'm just kind of wondering, his passing, how did that affect you guys, not just musically, but personally? Sasha Razumova: Yeah, well, that's how it all started - from the personal trauma. The pain was unbelievable. We couldn't do pretty much anything either musically or like, any work, it was affecting everything. It was impossible to even think straight, and we've never had anything like that affect us before, even though we personally didn't know Chester that much. We've met him a couple of times at the shows and during meet and greets, but that's about it. It's like he was such a strong character and through his music he spoke to so many people and helped so many people, you’d feel he knew you. He connected us both together. It's been tough. And this cover, I think, helped us grieve, too. It kind of transformed that energy into something positive. Andrey Borzykin: We definitely needed an outlet. After this tragedy happened, I remember I was just sitting at work, crying my eyes out, and I couldn't do anything for several days. One wave after another was hitting me and, you know, even though Linkin Park’s lyrics aren’t the most cheerful and positive ones sometimes, they're full of, you know, mixed feelings and depression and heartbreaks and all of that. And still, there are people who were his close friends and family, and they too say that nobody saw it coming. So it was very tough for us. We already had kind of a personal connection with Chester because me and Sasha are together because of his music. A mutual friend of ours who runs a Linkin Park fan club in Russia introduced us to each other. And, you know, our personal relationship started from that. So we kind of owe that to Chester's music. Now we're married and make music together. So it's obvious you’d feel the connection to that person. We both felt like we knew him, and we both felt like he was our friend. So besides the fact we felt doing the cover was kind of a necessity for us to honor his memory, I guess another way in the bigger scheme of things was to keep doing what he loved doing, what he was doing his whole life. Making music that has a positive impact on people. You know? That helps people go through dark times, good times, whatever times. And that's what we do now. And I think we keep his legacy alive by doing this. Amy: Most definitely. Yeah, I remember seeing them years ago. I have to say, I've seen a lot of bands and he was genuine, like when he’d say “it was a good night”, he really meant that. Not like, “Ok, thanks everybody for coming”. Genuine “Thank you”. Like he was surprised that he filled up a stadium, you know. He was a very down to earth person for sure. Andrey Borzykin: Yeah, we met him a couple times, super humble, super down to the ground guy. And it was such a pleasure meeting him even for a few moments. Yeah. He always took his time to shake hands with everybody, hug them, talk for a couple minutes, sign whatever. Treated every fan like family… Amy: Are you doing that too? Being kind to continue that legacy? How do you want to add to that specialness that he could put out there, and you felt like you were just in that little warm embrace he offered to everybody? Andrey Borzykin: Yeah, I think that it’s definitely something that we see ourselves doing as well, staying close with our fans. We're always chatting with them. Obviously, the majority of that is happening online right now through our Instagram and Facebook. We get messages daily. We thank new followers for joining us. We make sure to greet everybody and say, welcome to the family, you guys. Thank you for supporting us. And if they respond back, we have a conversation going on and on. You know, we don't just say thank you, we also try to see who is our fan base, you know, who is our audience? Like, what kind of people are they? What do they like, how they react to events in the world, what songs resonate with them, are they troubled by something? Maybe we can help them out. I always try to listen to their stories or take a look at their art and music. It helps us to keep engaged and connected with each other, you know? Amy: Yeah. And then you were both born in Russia, right? When did you come to America? Andrey Borzykin: I think it’s been about 14 years for me and 6 years for Sasha. Amy: Do you think your heritage influences your style and if so, in which way? Songwriting? Music? Sasha Razumova: It definitely is, it affects our music and our songwriting. We like meaningful lyrics. I feel like Russians are very thoughtful people and.. Andrey Borzykin: dark, moody people. Sasha Razumova: Haha, yeah, if you want to say it that way, all right. But we also have other band members from different parts of the world. So that's a very interesting combination. Very nice mix. Andrey Borzykin: A bit of a melting pot here. That's what America is about after all, right? Combining different cultures and trying to make it our own. And that's what we do as well. I feel like you could definitely hear some influences from Eastern cultures. And also from the Western culture as well, because even though we grew up in Russia, and people would probably assume we grew up listening to Russian music mainly, I switched to listening to mostly Western music right around 2000s when I was about 14-16 years old. I started listening to bands like Metallica, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Rammstein. Before that I think I was listening to some Russian music, but right now, if you ask me, I'm probably listening to maybe one Russian artist, two at most... Sasha Razumova: ...and not very often. All these aspects are very important here because, yeah, Russian language is very full. You can describe things in so many different ways, dozens, sometimes hundreds variations, you can also place words in different spots in a sentence and not only it will make sense, it might change the meaning, the mood because of it. I think this creative thinking helps us to write better lyrics. Andrey Borzykin: I think we have definitely tried some unorthodox approaches to writing lyrics and writing songs. And, you know, we sometimes come up with something that surprises our bandmates and our producer, Kevin. They'd be like, okay, that's interesting, I would have never thought of that, and vice versa. I guess we’re half-Americans and we still have some Russians left in us for sure. And, you know, it's interesting. We definitely approach writing lyrics slightly differently than we would have if we were born here and we were fully enclosed in this environment, because of what impact cultural differences make: history, literature, music, art, movies. That definitely helps to add some dimension, and a different perspective. You know, it might be hard to point the finger to it sometimes, but one good example is our upcoming single, which is called “The Flood”. And when we were writing the chorus to it, we were looking for a powerful phrase, a statement to put in the last line. Something to the extent of “we just don’t care”, but not as cheesy and overplayed. We were sitting on it for like an hour or something, tried different things, but nothing clicked. And then I remembered the phrase that I knew from Russian. Actually, the origin of the phrase is French. But we had a translation of it in Russian, and that's how I knew of it. And I started Googling to see if there's an analog for this phrase in English. Apparently there is, but it's not as well known. So the phrase is “After us, the flood”. For us, it was this a-ha moment. Kevin was like “Yeah, that's the thing! I don't know how you got it, but you got it!” And I'm like, does it even make sense? He's like “Yeah, it totally makes sense, it's amazing! You guys nailed it!”. We were thrilled he loved this line, this song means a lot. Sasha Razumova: It's the first song the two of us started writing lyrics together for. And that's what we came up with. So there's a piece of Russia in that song, for sure. Amy: As it should be. I mean you could always go full Rammstein and just sing entirely in Russian. I mean they are doing it and they've done quite well. Andrey Borzykin: It's such an interesting band. I totally agree. And I think they're a great band, great music. The fact that they can pull off such a level of success singing in their native language, it's amazing. You know, I was always a fan of English. So for me, I would not want to sing in Russian, or in German, for that matter. Amy: I hear all that industrial. For me growing up, it was always a lot of Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. Even now. And I also hear a bit of Depeche Mode, that melodic sound that they were so good at making, and I hear that in you guys and I'm kind of curious too, just reading what I have about you guys and knowing your influences. Is there anybody that's influenced you that maybe people would be kind of surprised by? Andrey Borzykin: You know, many names come to mind as far as myself personally, I don't know, Sasha? Do you have anybody you can name? Sasha Razumova: My influences? Amy: Yeah, of one that maybe people wouldn't have thought. Sasha Razumova: Sure! I would say Backstreet Boys would definitely be a surprise for many, but that's where my love of harmonies come from. Andrey Borzykin: I mean, for me you just nailed it. You named Nine Inch Nails, you named Depeche Mode, I would definitely throw in Duran Duran out there as well, The Prodigy. Even though they were all of slightly different genres, I think listening to them over and over on repeat, it certainly planted the seeds, and you know, something grew out of that, haha. Amy: That's how I learned German. I lived in Germany for two years and I would watch Saved by the Bell in German because I knew the words. Sasha Razumova: Cool, I also lived in Germany for a year and a half, on and off. But I couldn't imagine myself speaking German because it's quite harsh, haha… Even though Russian probably sounds similar to it, for the ones who don’t understand it, haha. Amy: What is the main thing that you would really like for people to take away from your music? Sasha Razumova: I want people to get motivated by our music to accomplish something in their lives. And finally, take this step towards pursuing their dreams. I think that would be great. Andrey Borzykin: Well, I have a different answer, to be honest with you. I think I'm in a slightly darker mood today, haha. I would say that I would like personally for people to be more humane and be nicer to each other, be nicer to themselves, be nicer to the planet, be nicer to animals, be nicer in general, you know? Be the best person that you can be today, and tomorrow be the best version that you can be tomorrow. And so on. That would be the number one thing. A lot of things that are happening in the world can get me very upset really quickly, and my mood goes down the drain very fast, like from reading the news or from just observing people, how they behave sometimes and what they do. You know, like hoarding toilet paper and groceries off the shelves is definitely not the way to go, people. You know, just don't do that. Be nice. Be respectful. Be thoughtful of other people that they might need something as well. You know, like people with disabilities, people that are more unfortunate than you are, homeless people… So I guess my message would be “just be nice”... |