Serbian metal four-piece Atomic Shadows are set to launch their full-length debut album entitled ‘Red’ later this year. The band has recently premiered a first single off of the album for the song “Hiraeth” which was a part of the Progotronics 15 sampler. Singer Dragisa Beric spoke for Prog Sphere.
Define the mission of Atomic Shadows.
Well our mission is to make the music that we enjoy playing and evolve over time, not losing the fun in the process. We hope to do this for a long time and experiment, trying not to be confined by any particular genre, and aim to make every new album different and exciting.
The first single titled “Hiraeth” from your upcoming album was a part of our recent Progotronics compilation. What can you tell me about the upcoming release, and how does “Hiraeth” fit into it?
Yes and we are very happy to be the part of your 15th Progotronics compilation. Our upcoming album will be the part of trilogy, so the next 3 albums are going to be connected with color themes as expression of emotions. So we will take this opportunity to announce the name of the first album, and it will be called “Red”. Red is stimulating and exciting colour and depending of the shades of red it can range from anger, wrath to heat, longing, lust and so on. So Hiraeth is more in a range of lust and longing emotionally.
Tell me about the creative process that informed your upcoming album and the themes it captures.
In the beginning we just started working on new songs, and as we’ve progressed the material started unfolding into a theme, for which the idea for trilogy album came out. Inspiration and work ethic are working well for us, because by just playing the ideas emerge spontaneously.
What is the message you are trying to give with “Hiraeth”?
We’re not really trying to give any particular message with this song. Hiraeth is concepted so that the listener can interpret and connect in his own way with the song, as most of our songs. As we’ve said before, this song is lyrically and musically in a range of lust and longing emotion, like the title of the song says. The word cannot be completely translated, meaning more than just “missing something”.
How did you document the music while it was being formulated?
We record every rehearsal and listen to it later. For us this is the very important step, because it drives new ideas while listening. Also because the lyrics usually come after the music is done, it allows us to feel the emotion of the music, and blend the lyrics theme easier with the music.
Describe the approach to recording the album.
By the time we are ready to enter the studio, we have a general view on how the songs should sound like. However, we always leave some room for creative process to happen in the studio as well. We don’t try to control the things to much, because that’s the right way to let the magic happen. Also our producer Milos Mihajlovic is very helpful in this process by trying to make the most out of each take.
Which bands or artists influenced your work on the release?
Well we can name the bands that influenced us generally, like from Led Zeppelin, The Stooges, Joy Division, to Faith No More, Tool,Porcupine Tree, Deftones, Pantera, Down, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, The Melvins, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Prodigy, Black Flag, My Bloody Valentine etc.. However we can’t point out to any specific genre or bands that influenced this release, because it’s a blend of a lot of different influences.
What is your view on technology in music?
When used the right way the technology can be very well utilized . The most important thing is that it doesn’t sound too sterile, it needs to keep the natural sound and capture emotion in the right way.
Do you see your music as serving a purpose beyond music?
Depends on the perception of what could be beyond music. We are acting out all the possible emotions playing as well as listening to music, and it is definitely a big part of our lives.
What are your plans for the future?
Our plans are to release this album in the very near future, the songs are done and we’re just doing mixes right now. To present it in the best way that we can, by doing gigs and releasing more music videos. Also we are already doing some new songs.
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