Интервю с Atlas – (VORGA)

Interview with Atlas – (VORGA)

Satania: Hello, Atlas! First tell me more about how the band was found. UK, Germany, Bulgaria… how did you find each other and how did you decide to start a band?

Atlas: Hi Milena/Satania,
I started working on the music initially while I was living in Scotland. At the time I was hoping to form the band there but due to a change of circumstances I had to move to Germany and once there, started looking for new members to help complete the vision.
The band started coming together as a live unit once I met Jervas, our drummer and our original vocalist, Schynderhannes. Initially Пешо Спейса was recruited to fill in the vocal duty after things didn’t work out with our previous vocalist but we also needed a bassist to play live and he was happy to fill that role too. Volker was known by Jervas and recruited fairly quickly into the band too.

S.: What does Vorga mean and why did you pick that name?

A.: The name comes from the book ‘The stars my destination’. It is the name of a spacecraft in the book. It felt like a fitting name due to the role it plays in the story, how it fuels one mans desire for revenge. The revenge however is based on misconceptions and misunderstandings. The idea of man fighting and killing for things it doesn’t fully comprehend I find to be a good statement of the state of chaos we live in and the search for truth and meaning in our lives.

Also all the other good names were taken 😉

S.: What messages do you want to send to your audience through your music?

A.: The music is written as a reminder of the insignificance of our lives and our struggles, and the meaninglessness of it all. For me at least there is some solace in being reminded of that, and choosing to beleive in nothing gives me a greater sense of harmony than struggling to find meaning where I feel there is none.

S.: Tell us about your debut EP. How much did it take you to compose and record? Where did you record it?

A.: It’s hard to be specific about how long it took to record as I’ve been writing for a few years and there’s a lot of material that didn’t go into the record. Once the right material was chosen and the band was prepared we got it all recorded within a few months. Most of it was recorded at our own studio except from the drums which needed a more professional touch and so were recorded at Tidalwave Studio nearby. It took us a while to find the right mix engineer as I knew I wanted something quite modern sounding while also being quite atmospheric. Fortunately, Black Art Audio were a good match for us and they did a great job of mixing the music.

S.: Is there a concept in it? What for you is the ‘Radiant Gloom’ and how does it affect us?

A.: The title was chosen as it helps reflect my feelings on nihilism and the intent of the emotions I wanted to convey in the music.
Beleiving in that we have no purpose, that we’re an insignificant species on a planet spinning through infinite space can help give perspective. It can be a dark or melancholic thought but to me there is also radiance to that and a sense of beauty and freedom that shines through the gloom.

S.: The cover art is quite impressive and very impactful. What is the message in it? Tell us more about its creator.

A.: With the art I wanted something that would reflect on the topics mentioned, a reminder of things that exist beyond our lives lived here. The art was very well executed by Georgi Georgev, a Bulgarian no less. We are constantly getting praise for the great artwork he did. He runs Moonring design and I can only reccomend him.

S.: Where should listeners look for the „cosmic“ in the album and Vorga in general?

A.: To me the cosmic element of the music is in the atmospheric influences heard within the sound. Within the lyrics and message it’s also heard. We hope to escape planet earth a little further with our next release.

S.: Are there any groups or performers which have influenced you or inspired you? Who are they?

A.: So much music over the years has influenced me, but the ones that have truly inspired me in this endeavour are: <code>, Aborym, Dodheimsgard, mgla, Khonsu, Arcturus – I could go on and on but that’s a good idea of some bands that I have a huge respect for and have certainly inspired my writing.

S.: Do you have any favorite bands from the German Black Metal scene that inspire you in some way?

A.: It’s funny that we often get called „German Black Metal“ when to me it’s just a location I happened to end up in more than anything else! The Ruins of Beverast are definitely one of my top bands from Germany. Der Weg einer Freiheit are also fantastic. The best thing about Germany however is the huge underground scenes that exist here. For every well-known German metal acts there’s scores of underground metal bands also doing fantastic things.

S.: Have you played in any other projects before Vorga and if so, which are they?

A.: No. The rest of the band have some great names behind them though. Geäst, Aaskereia, Vrani Volosa to name a few.

S.: In the preliminary press release you mentioned, that you’re working on a second EP. What can we expect from it and is there a planned date for its release?

A.: For better or for worse this is no longer true. Due to signing (details of that in the future) it no longer makes sense for us to release a second EP. What I can tell you though is that there will more music to listen to within the next couple of months.

S.: Are you working on material for a full-length album?

A.: All my spare time right now is spent writing the material for a full length release. Most of it is written now, I hope we can present it to the world before too long but we have no release date right now.

S.: Are you planning concerts with Vorga and will we get the chance to see you in Bulgaria too?

A.: We’re currently trying to book as many gigs as possible. This year isn’t looking the busiest but I hope that the second half of the year and 2020 we’ll have many more gigs in Germany and beyond. Given that our vocalist is Bulgarian it would be an honor to play over there. If a festival or venue would have us we’d be there, no question.

S.: Thank you for your time, Atlas! Your message to the fans.

A.: Thank you too Milena/Satania! Thanks to all the fans for their support since we’ve arrived on the scene. We hope to see you at a concert soon!