Almost four years have passed since Persefone unleashed their highly-acclaimed album “Spiritual Migration”. An impressive tour-de-force of insanely great musicianship that took both the press and the listeners by storm (1,4 million views on YouTube). With a new guitarist and a new drummer Persefone have now taken their music to the next level and are ready to release their brand-new album “Aathma” to set the standard for progressive metal in 2017!
Interview with Persefone
– What’s new in the life of Persefone?
Hi! Maybe the most obvious thing is our new album “Aathma”. We have just released it and we are really happy with media and our fans reaction to it. Also, not that new, but important as well is that some band members have changed. Marc Mas left the drums and Sergi “Bobby” Verdeguer took his place. Also Jordi Gorgues, founder member of the band left and Filipe took the guitar on his place.
– How was it recording and writing the album Aathma?
We have a tendency to suffer when it comes to write and record an album. It’s always a huge investment of time and economical resources, so it’s easy to say that it wasn’t easy. We started writing material about a year and half ago, but wasn’t until last summer that we didn’t start finishing songs. By September we started recording drums in our rehearsal room. Since we are not living of the band, the usual schedule was from 9 am to the time we have to go to work, in the afternoon, and then from 22:00 to 3:00 am. Then again the next day, and this for three months. Needless to say that we have suffered a lot of sleep issues. But in the end the album has been done and we are proud of it.
– Where did you find the inspiration for the artwork?
As musicians we like to get inspiration from a wide variety of places, from music itself, to other arts like films, pictures, drawings… It all helps to create a mental image that helps us putting in music our inspiration.
– Will there be any promo videos for the album?
We have already release an animation video for Prison Skin. We wanted to dig on that kind of videos and we are really happy with the result, as we like to let artists do their work with basic guidelines from us. Soon we will deliver a second video clip for Living Waves.
– Any gigs and tours coming up this summer for Persefone?
Yes! We are preparing our first headliner tour in Europe. The tour will take place in Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, England, Copenhagen and Germany. Also we have been confirmed by now at Metaldays in Slovenia and TechFest in UK. Some other festivals might appear overtime.
– Are you a fan of Spotify and similar streaming services? What are your thoughts on this?
Sure! I use it every day and I think it’s really amazing to be able to listen to everything from a single web / app. It’s also really cool to see which is the country who stream more your songs or the related artist……
As a musician, we are always concerned about the illegal downloads but you cannot stop it and also it’s the perfect way to discover new bands and then, if you like them, attend to their gigs or buy some merch. I also have to say that we have a really lovely fan base, really supportive, and they always try to buy the cd’s so, we cannot complain at all.
– Do you find that the main source of fan engagement now comes from Facebook?
Definitely… It’s really easy to be in touch with your friends or a band that you like. We get a lot of messages from Facebook, and we always take the time to answer them. A few years before it would be impossible to get an answer from your favorite band or whatever and Facebook is the perfect tool to keep everyone updated and being in touch in the most personal way possible, even if it’s through a screen of course. We feel really blessed because a lot of those messages are from people thanking us for the music we make, for all the positive message we try to express and that our music touches them deeply…
– What could we find interesting in your personal music collection?
I actually buy a lot of music, in physical format, so lots of things. I really love to be part of the record, take a look to the lyrics, design, etc… I’m more into vinyls and wasting time looking for stuff in Discogs, haha. In my personal music collection you’ll find 35 singles of Biffy Clyro, everything from the French screamo band Daïtro, Aenima of Tool, a first press of Pearl Jam’s Ten or the Traced in Air box from Cynic among other things! EndFragment
– What words of wisdom could you share with us?
Let’s go with a positive thought. Whenever you are out there, try to do something nice for someone near you, just give a nice smile, a “good morning” greet to that guy who never says it back, because someday, he will. If we all try to improve our direct action environment, the world will be a nice place to live in.
Moe
To check Persefone online http://www.persefone.com/