Avrigus Interview

Avrigus

It might not be fair measuring every new goth metal record with Theatre of Tragedy's "Velvet Darkness They Fear". Do so and you'll end up being disappointed more times than euphoric. But you can't escape the fact that that record set a new standard for how goth metal should sound and be played, a standard many new bands have tried to measure up to and failed. So don't go expecting Australian Avrigus to be another new Theatre of Tragedy hopeful because they're not. We just have to face the truth. No record will ever measure up to "Velvet Darkness They Fear". Instead we have to judge the contending bands by a different scale. On that scale Avrigus fare pretty high for a newcomer. So much that an interview with them seemed appropriate. I got hold of the other half of Avrigus, Judy Chiara (keyboards, Piano, vocals and acoustic guitar), who kindly answered my questions.

-Anders Ekdahl

Since Avrigus is new to many I thought it appropriate to start with where the idea to form Avrigus did come from.
- Simon (Gruer, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and vocals) had the idea to form a recording project with a female vocalist before I actually came into the picture and he already had the name. At the same time, before I met Simon I was looking for someone in the metal genre to work with. We both had the same sort of idea as it turned out - to create a sound of our own incorporating all the sounds we loved, all the influences that we had loved and absorbed.

Did you have a clear vision of what you wanted to achieve from the beginning?
- Yes, we did. Of course we didn’t know how anything would turn out ‘til we got started and I think we were both surprised by our own sound when we finally got down to it. But it certainly is true to say that we both knew exactly where we wanted to go with it and except for a few minor details it came together very easily.
- The only things missing are just things we can’t afford, like a full orchestra for example, and choir; or at least violin and cello; and in my case a studio piano instead of having to use the keyboard piano. But as far as achieving what we set out to achieve in terms of sound and what everyone likes to refer to as the ‘concept’, we’re right on track.

I have in my mind made up images of what certain music needs in terms of lyrical ambience. Black metal should be about darker, anti Christian themes, death metal about the darker side of the human psyche and goth metal about the loss and reverence of human emotions. When you write your lyrics, do you look for a certain ambience?
- Well not exactly the ambience. The ambience is just naturally created along with the sentiments and the images that appear in the song. Usually I start with one idea that I like, then just let my imagination go to work on it. Sometimes I go hunting through bits and pieces of things I’ve written at other times until I find something that I think belongs with the new idea. I just allow myself to go as far as my associations will take me, then I go back and start to shape and sculpt the words and concepts ‘til I’m happy with them. And voila! The ambience just grows within the production.

Do the lyrics have to be about a specific subject?
- No, not really. I never start with an idea of ‘subject matter’. I would get nowhere if I did that, I think. As I said, I just have one small idea but if I really like that idea I will get right into it, even taking it to, possibly, quite ‘ridiculous’ lengths.

This might be a cliché, that goth metal in particular are more prone to certain literate periods. Is there one that is more influential than others to you?
- I suppose I’d have to say give me Shakespeare, any day. Give me the three hundred years from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. And mostly, forget the rest.

When I listen to certain parts of the album I can’t help thinking that somewhere there’s a classical schooling. Have any of you taken classical lessons?
- Yes, I have. Ten years of piano and theory of music. Five years of singing training.

You hear about how isolated Australia is from the rest of the world when it comes to making it worldwide in music. Do you think you’d benefited from having been stationed in Europe?
-Yes, in every aspect. From the purely practical point of view for a start, just think about how much further it is from Australia to send anything anywhere and consequently how much more expensive. Add to that the fact that there is a far larger number of people living in Europe and, dare I say it, a much greater degree of appreciation for music like Avrigus.

Do you feel that you as an Australian band is viewed by non Australians with more suspicion, that you’re more likely to jump on the bandwagon, than an European or American band?
-What bandwagon are you talking about? We’re about as far as you could get from any sort of bandwagon, I would have thought. And it would be a mighty leap for us to land on any of the current bandwagons. There are plenty of American and European bands jumping onto them, that's for sure. Any suspicion we’re regarded with is just the kind of prejudice you’d expect from people who’ve had to endure the likes of Kylie Minogue and INXS. Do you judge the worth of Swedish bands against the standard of their national embarrassment, Abba?

Do you ever feel that you fall between two stools being neither full on metal nor full on goth?
-Yes, we do. And it’s a yawning abyss for the truly imaginative to leap over, a huge cavernous world of secret tunnels and lofty ledges to leap from and test their wings; high turrets with vast views for those who dare to venture from their familiar dungeons. There is, after all, something for both these genres, and more.

Since Australia pretty much is AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Silverfish to most outside people, what can you tell us about the Australian independent, underground scene?
- Sorry, I can’t really tell you much about it. I have only time to make brief visits into it a few times a year. I usually go to see Psychrist, a Canberra death metal band when they play here. Otherwise, I’m just totally busy with writing new material, etc.

Have you noticed that it is harder to be accepted by the public if you don’t play “mainstream” extreme music like death metal, black metal, pagan metal etc?
- Hasn’t it always been the case that the public is slow to accept anything a little different? It’s just the herd mentality of human beings who seem to be a little like sheep on the evolutionary scale of things. However, there’s one thing I’ve found and that is that good melodies win hearts very fast. And that only the most grimly determined manage to cling to just one plank when there’s a life raft coming over the next wave. It may take a little longer to establish something that crosses the genres but in the end I believe The Secret Kingdom will claim a much wider realm than some of these ‘mainstream extreme metal ‘ - such a curious term - bands you’re talking about. The reason is that, whilst a lot of this music is very exciting live, Avrigus is the kind of band that caters specifically to the ears of those who love their heavy sounds but sometimes want something else that will take their minds into a wonderful fantasy realm and set their imaginations free. And that’s actually quite a lot of people!

Dead Can Dance is band that is quite often mentioned in connection with bands that play music of a more goth oriented nature and so many seem to be influenced by them. They're also mentioned in connection with your name. What is it that makes them so special?
- They’re so atmospheric. Their music can be taken into far wider realms and performs beautifully in its function of changing the environment into an exotic and evocative place.

From what I’ve read it took almost a year to finish the recording of the “The Secret Kingdom Of Avrigus” album. Was it a hard one to make or were there any other reasons it took so long?
- It took more than a year, more like two years. Halfway through we switched from digital 8-track to computer. There was a learning curve for Simon and everything had to be re-recorded. Plus he didn’t really have much time he could devote to it.

You're signed to a European label. What made you go with Well Of Urd/Hammerheart?
- I went to Europe a year ago to look for a deal for the album. I had a journalist friend, Uwe Schmidt from the German magazine Oblivion , scouting around for me before I got there. Hammerheart came with by far the highest recommendation all around. When I met them I felt sure they were the right people. I like Well of Urd. I think it’s interesting and innovative.

Do you think it’d have been possible for you to spread the word about the band worldwide on your own?
- NO. They’ve definitely been doing a great job of the promotion.
Internet is by now nothing new but still there are more and more people who discover it each day that pass. You have your own web site, which makes me wonder what part Internet has played in getting the band known.
- We’d already been getting a reasonable profile thanks to the net, but it’s not the same as getting your promos out to all the magazines, etc. There are still a great many people who are not on the net and don’t necessarily ever want to be either. And a lot of them are passionately devoted music fans who must be reached by other means.

Something that I’ve been wondering is how do you go about making people aware of your presence on the Internet when nobody knows of you, how do you let them know that the band is out on the web?
-It’s just luck to begin with I think. Then, if enough people like you they start swapping your mp3s and so on and so on. But I think you probably have to be really offering something reasonably special.

What do you expect to come out of Avrigus?
- More and more Avrigus.


	..........

		Avrigus It might not be fair measuring every new goth metal record with Theatre of Tragedy's "Velvet Darkness They Fear". Do so and you'll end up being disappointed more times than euphoric. But you can't escape the fact that that record set a new standard for how goth metal should sound and be played, a standard many new bands have tried to measure up to and failed. So don't go expecting Australian Avrigus to be another new Theatre of Tragedy hopeful because they're not. We just have to face the truth. No record will ever measure up to "Velvet Darkness They Fear". Instead we have to judge the contending bands by a different scale. On that scale Avrigus fare pretty high for a newcomer. So much that an interview with them seemed appropriate. I got hold of the other half of Avrigus, Judy Chiara (keyboards, Piano, vocals and acoustic guitar), who kindly answered my questions. -Anders Ekdahl Since Avrigus is new to many I thought it appropriate to start with where the idea to form Avrigus did come from. - Simon (Gruer, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and vocals) had the idea to form a recording project with a female vocalist before I actually came into the picture and he already had the name. At the same time, before I met Simon I was looking for someone in the metal genre to work with. We both had the same sort of idea as it turned out - to create a sound of our own incorporating all the sounds we loved, all the influences that we had loved and absorbed. Did you have a clear vision of what you wanted to achieve from the beginning? - Yes, we did. Of course we didn’t know how anything would turn out ‘til we got started and I think we were both surprised by our own sound when we finally got down to it. But it certainly is true to say that we both knew exactly where we wanted to go with it and except for a few minor details it came together very easily. - The only things missing are just things we can’t afford, like a full orchestra for example, and choir; or at least violin and cello; and in my case a studio piano instead of having to use the keyboard piano. But as far as achieving what we set out to achieve in terms of sound and what everyone likes to refer to as the ‘concept’, we’re right on track. I have in my mind made up images of what certain music needs in terms of lyrical ambience. Black metal should be about darker, anti Christian themes, death metal about the darker side of the human psyche and goth metal about the loss and reverence of human emotions. When you write your lyrics, do you look for a certain ambience? - Well not exactly the ambience. The ambience is just naturally created along with the sentiments and the images that appear in the song. Usually I start with one idea that I like, then just let my imagination go to work on it. Sometimes I go hunting through bits and pieces of things I’ve written at other times until I find something that I think belongs with the new idea. I just allow myself to go as far as my associations will take me, then I go back and start to shape and sculpt the words and concepts ‘til I’m happy with them. And voila! The ambience just grows within the production. Do the lyrics have to be about a specific subject? - No, not really. I never start with an idea of ‘subject matter’. I would get nowhere if I did that, I think. As I said, I just have one small idea but if I really like that idea I will get right into it, even taking it to, possibly, quite ‘ridiculous’ lengths. This might be a cliché, that goth metal in particular are more prone to certain literate periods. Is there one that is more influential than others to you? - I suppose I’d have to say give me Shakespeare, any day. Give me the three hundred years from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. And mostly, forget the rest. When I listen to certain parts of the album I can’t help thinking that somewhere there’s a classical schooling. Have any of you taken classical lessons? - Yes, I have. Ten years of piano and theory of music. Five years of singing training. You hear about how isolated Australia is from the rest of the world when it comes to making it worldwide in music. Do you think you’d benefited from having been stationed in Europe? -Yes, in every aspect. From the purely practical point of view for a start, just think about how much further it is from Australia to send anything anywhere and consequently how much more expensive. Add to that the fact that there is a far larger number of people living in Europe and, dare I say it, a much greater degree of appreciation for music like Avrigus. Do you feel that you as an Australian band is viewed by non Australians with more suspicion, that you’re more likely to jump on the bandwagon, than an European or American band? -What bandwagon are you talking about? We’re about as far as you could get from any sort of bandwagon, I would have thought. And it would be a mighty leap for us to land on any of the current bandwagons. There are plenty of American and European bands jumping onto them, that's for sure. Any suspicion we’re regarded with is just the kind of prejudice you’d expect from people who’ve had to endure the likes of Kylie Minogue and INXS. Do you judge the worth of Swedish bands against the standard of their national embarrassment, Abba? Do you ever feel that you fall between two stools being neither full on metal nor full on goth? -Yes, we do. And it’s a yawning abyss for the truly imaginative to leap over, a huge cavernous world of secret tunnels and lofty ledges to leap from and test their wings; high turrets with vast views for those who dare to venture from their familiar dungeons. There is, after all, something for both these genres, and more. Since Australia pretty much is AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, Silverfish to most outside people, what can you tell us about the Australian independent, underground scene? - Sorry, I can’t really tell you much about it. I have only time to make brief visits into it a few times a year. I usually go to see Psychrist, a Canberra death metal band when they play here. Otherwise, I’m just totally busy with writing new material, etc. Have you noticed that it is harder to be accepted by the public if you don’t play “mainstream” extreme music like death metal, black metal, pagan metal etc? - Hasn’t it always been the case that the public is slow to accept anything a little different? It’s just the herd mentality of human beings who seem to be a little like sheep on the evolutionary scale of things. However, there’s one thing I’ve found and that is that good melodies win hearts very fast. And that only the most grimly determined manage to cling to just one plank when there’s a life raft coming over the next wave. It may take a little longer to establish something that crosses the genres but in the end I believe The Secret Kingdom will claim a much wider realm than some of these ‘mainstream extreme metal ‘ - such a curious term - bands you’re talking about. The reason is that, whilst a lot of this music is very exciting live, Avrigus is the kind of band that caters specifically to the ears of those who love their heavy sounds but sometimes want something else that will take their minds into a wonderful fantasy realm and set their imaginations free. And that’s actually quite a lot of people! Dead Can Dance is band that is quite often mentioned in connection with bands that play music of a more goth oriented nature and so many seem to be influenced by them. They're also mentioned in connection with your name. What is it that makes them so special? - They’re so atmospheric. Their music can be taken into far wider realms and performs beautifully in its function of changing the environment into an exotic and evocative place. From what I’ve read it took almost a year to finish the recording of the “The Secret Kingdom Of Avrigus” album. Was it a hard one to make or were there any other reasons it took so long? - It took more than a year, more like two years. Halfway through we switched from digital 8-track to computer. There was a learning curve for Simon and everything had to be re-recorded. Plus he didn’t really have much time he could devote to it. You're signed to a European label. What made you go with Well Of Urd/Hammerheart? - I went to Europe a year ago to look for a deal for the album. I had a journalist friend, Uwe Schmidt from the German magazine Oblivion , scouting around for me before I got there. Hammerheart came with by far the highest recommendation all around. When I met them I felt sure they were the right people. I like Well of Urd. I think it’s interesting and innovative. Do you think it’d have been possible for you to spread the word about the band worldwide on your own? - NO. They’ve definitely been doing a great job of the promotion. Internet is by now nothing new but still there are more and more people who discover it each day that pass. You have your own web site, which makes me wonder what part Internet has played in getting the band known. - We’d already been getting a reasonable profile thanks to the net, but it’s not the same as getting your promos out to all the magazines, etc. There are still a great many people who are not on the net and don’t necessarily ever want to be either. And a lot of them are passionately devoted music fans who must be reached by other means. Something that I’ve been wondering is how do you go about making people aware of your presence on the Internet when nobody knows of you, how do you let them know that the band is out on the web? -It’s just luck to begin with I think. Then, if enough people like you they start swapping your mp3s and so on and so on. But I think you probably have to be really offering something reasonably special. What do you expect to come out of Avrigus? - More and more Avrigus.