Paraline- Interview " "Sound Weapon" is not the end, it's just the beginning."
Interview by Anselm Anderson
Please introduce yourself to the readers?
My name is Leo “Light” Andersen, and I am the band's leader.
Congratulations on the release of Sound Weapon, what has the response to the EP been like?
Thank you, and we haven't had a chance to fully gauge the response yet. We've been too busy with producing a new music video to evaluate the results. But our manager says the support from the audience has been overwhelming and that's all I need to know right now.
The album is quite varied with heavy tracks mixed with lighter ones. How would you describe the EP yourself?
This EP is the culmination of years of hard work and exploration, coming together into a cohesive whole. I would describe it as the result of five years of work and band development in terms of sonic diversity.
My favourite track on the EP was “Icarus” because it is an anthemic track I felt would sound great at a festival. What can you tell me about the song and video?
You're spot on! "Icarus" has indeed been highlighted as an anthemic, stadium-worthy song. It's the most life-affirming song on our album - we've received numerous messages from people saying it helped them get through tough times! But at the same time, both the song and the video were incredibly challenging and almost extreme to create. We recorded the song while on the move between concerts in our tour bus, making it very difficult in terms of sound engineering. And the video was shot on location inspired by the Polar Station Zebra - we were freezing cold. Few people noticed, but in the video, we played in the middle of a frozen lake, and there was supposed to be a scene where we fell under the ice. We had to abandon that idea due to extremely tight deadlines, which was both a relief and a slight disappointment.
Another track I enjoyed was “Hyperdynamic” because, ironically, it is a dynamic track between lighter, electronic stuff and heavier, aggressive chorus. What can you tell me about the track and how it fits in with the EP overall?
"Hyperdynamic" is the main track of the EP, defining the sound of the entire recording, a sort of band mantra. Essentially, everything related to this album started from this track. So, it can be considered the foundation of the project in the form you see it now.
What can you tell me about the recording and writing process behind the release?
Well, since we don't have the capability to write and instantly release songs and because we're a young band, the recording consists of tracks that have been developed over a long period. This time it was the first time we recorded everything at once.
As for the recording process - it was madness. We locked ourselves in a small apartment high in the mountains, where it was 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and -10 at night. There were only five hundred people in the town, and we didn't know anyone. We only left this apartment to go to the neighbouring country to give a concert - the rest of the time we recorded and mixed music. No one knew what the future held because of the war. We didn't hope for anything and didn't dream of anything. There was no Eclipse or other prospects, we just made music. The hardest period of our collective’s life. We recorded drums in the basement and vocals in the car.
Most of the songs were written before this - by me and my brother, but I always write the initial version of the song somewhere remote from people or the city, occasionally at home. Some songs come very easily, almost accidentally, while others are a complex, deliberate, and lengthy writing process.
Could you tell me about the journey behind Paraline?
Paraline is a complex project, and that's partly why it's so interesting to pursue. At every stage of the journey, we encounter resistance from friends, obstacles from authorities and institutions, and for lack of a better word, the world. We sing in an unfriendly language in our country (another iron curtain falls), while we observe the bands around us - the presence of a scene, of an industry, of transparent promotion tools, platforms, specialists, open communication - all these things are unavailable to us. So, we had to become experts in specialities we never even thought about. Pyrotechnician, stuntman, SMM manager, we "built" the whole movie studio for making our own music videos... essentially carving our own path to the listener, and that's why the people who eventually find us are so precious. Looking at many of our peers, I realize that comfort is a slow death and even though we chose the path of madmen, the path has been chosen, and let the one who walks it overcome.
As for the musical project itself, it is built on the concept of diversity and opposition between my brother and me (hence the logo and the name of the band). We clash musically, philosophically and stylistically, but “truth is born of arguments”, you know?
What does the title Sound Weapon mean?
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the terms "Havana syndrome" or "Moscow Signal", but in short, it's a form of sonic weapon allegedly used against American diplomats by KGB and FSB in Havana and Moscow (just kidding). The name "sound weapon" came from the very harsh sound of the song "Hyperdynamic", which, as mentioned earlier, is the title track and, as we were told, sounds like a machine gun. We initially thought of naming the song “Hyperdynamic Sound Weapon”, but decided that name was too long and shortened it. However, as we began travelling from country to country, giving concerts and recording this album, because Russia invaded Ukraine and we no longer wanted to be in Russia, we were forced to often cross borders of different small countries. We travelled in our little tour bus, filled to the brim with equipment. And we took with us a small military green-coloured box, full of wires, and it served as a stand for our American coffee maker. Imagine a tour bus like a Dodge Van loaded with cases, trunks, and other bulky items to the roof. Plus a huge amount of bags and personal belongings. At every border, the police and military were persistently interested only in this green wooden crate. Just a box painted with some technical inscriptions. None of us even remembers where we got it. So at every border, we were asked "What's in the box, is it a weapon?" Tired of answering this question from border to border, we started answering, "It's a sound weapon." The Armenian FBI even detained us and questioned us because of this box. Although again it's still just a small wooden box with wires. That's why we named the album that way and put this box on its cover.
What do you feel signing with a record company like Eclipse Records does for an upcoming act like yourselves?
I feel immense pride that a person like Chris Poland chose us to work with despite everything. This is the best company and person a band could wish for on the road to success. He is the best professional we've encountered so far and a true American in the best sense of the word. I've already said that we've met a few good people doing music and that each of them is worth a lot. But Chris Poland, the head of Eclipse Records, is the most valuable of them all.
Certainly, it was a gamble on his part, as we are not very similar to other bands on the label - as if we are too experimental/ our genre is too ambiguous. But Eclipse has an incredibly welcoming audience, and many of their listeners and bands have greeted us very warmly. Thanks to them, “Sound Weapon” has already been heard by tens of thousands of people worldwide, and it's nice to know that we're not working in vain!
Also, when we started working with Eclipse, there was an annular solar eclipse, and almost immediately after the album was released - a total solar eclipse, so in a sense, fate itself marked us to work with Chris Poland and Eclipse.
The band had its struggles to begin with, namely the Covid pandemic and ongoing wars, how were you able to keep your minds sane, and persevere with getting the record out?
Only thanks to this recording did we not go crazy. Everything we went through is captured there. Creating music was undoubtedly therapeutic for us as it was an attempt to offer solace to our listeners too.
One of the things I mentioned in my review was I thought the EP would sound good as a full-length album because it had a lot of ideas and songwriting to pique the listener’s interests. Do you plan on releasing an LP in the future?
Absolutely yes. We will definitely release an LP in the near future with a more complete picture and more vivid colours than "Sound Weapon". We are already working on it.
Finally, what are the future goals and aspirations for Paraline?
"Sound Weapon" is not the end, it's just the beginning. Our plans definitely include recording an LP, experiencing a real tour in a genuine musical environment, and glorifying the band’s name worldwide through good deeds. We want to demonstrate that even when you lose yourself in pursuit of your dreams, you can still achieve them. It doesn't matter where or when you were born, what matters is what you’re making.
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