Unto Ashes Interview

presents

"Waiting for the Unknown"

Unto Ashes verbinden jede Menge Musikstile miteinander. Das deutsche Label Kalinkaland beschreibt das aktuelle Album Grave Blessings wie folgt:
"Ihre Kombination aus erhabenen Gesangsharmonien und charakteristisch, unorthodoxer Instrumentierung bringt Lieder hervor, gesungen in Altfranzösisch und Japanisch, oder präsentiert uns clubtauglichen Electrowave, der Gotham City zum Beben bringen würde, und führt uns auf die musikalischen Pfade des 13. Jahrhunderts, verführerisch und mystisch."
Ganz klar: Die Musik der US-amerikanischen Band ist etwas ganz besonderen. Wir freuen uns, dass sich Unto Ashes den Fragen des Hörspiegels gestellt haben.

Nico Steckelberg (Der Hörspiegel): Hello! How do you do?
Michael Laird: Greetings - we are doing well thank you; we have had a lot of activity after a long duration of recording and a tour with Jarboe (of Swans); now we are catching up with our personal lives and it feels pretty great. Natalia and Mariko, what do you think?
Natalia Lincoln: It does feel pretty great. I finally have time to work on my second novel, ride my bike, hang out with my husband, and play the piano.
Mariko: Recording and touring was crazy! Especially since it was about the same time as my finals and juries at school. Right now I’m working on a rock oratorio called „Justine’s Red“ and working. It’s pretty nice to just have a breather, but I have a feeling things are going to pick up again with the release of the album.
„Grave Blessings“ is the name of your latest album. How did you start working on that one? Did you begin somehow different than the times before?
Michael Laird: For "Grave Blessings" we had recorded a few songs by the time we arrived on the title for the album -- Natalia actually came up with the name. What usually happens is that we make up a song that we feel is really good, and it inspires us to make up more songs; after awhile we might have a group of maybe four songs that we've recorded and that we are completely happy with; so at that point we realize that we have to get serious about making an album. The process of creating "Grave Blessings" was no different, it's just that the very first track that we wrote and recorded was "Winter Born" and that song, in our opinion, set an extremely high standard for the rest of the album, in terms of quality, performance, and production.
Mariko: And note that „Winter Born“ was written in the SUMMER of 2004...I find that extremely amusing! ?
You start the German version of the Album with „In Memory of D'Drennan“, a very dark, moody, but also electronic song. A style you could imagine to prefer in future?
Michael Laird: We don't limit ourselves to particular "styles" or even the instruments we use to make music: we try to make good music that we like. Furthermore, even since our first album we have used electronic instruments because it can make the music so wonderfully cold; it just depends on the song and how we want it to sound like. "In Memory of D'Drennan" is the first song on the German version of "Grave Blessings" but on the U.S. version it's actually fourth. It wasn't a "statement" about our future, it's just that Kalinkaland (our German label) felt that the song was so "captivating" that it should be right up front and not buried anywhere within the album itself.
Mariko: It’s such a great and interesting sound. I’d love to try to explore it more...the beat is just awesome.
Natalia Lincoln: Likewise -- I love the change in tone, the slick modern darkness of the music.
If you could choose one single place in the whole world that matches perfectly to „Grave Blessings“, which one would that be and why?
Michael Laird: This is a very good question, and I don't know the answer, except to say that many "places" come to mind, not just one. Speaking only for myself, songs like "Winter Born" inspire thoughts of the cold North country (especially Norway, the land of True Black Metal!); and for me, "In Memory of D'Drennan" will always be about New York City for me, because D'Drennan lived here up until the day he died; and finally, "If I Come to You" sounds very much like a Southern swamp, inhabited by witches and fireflies!
Natalia Lincoln: I'll always think of this album in connection with the Völkerschlachtdenkmal in Leipzig. The spirit of the place just seems to match the title, and we were very much involved in the writing and recording of it then, and the soberness of the music reflects it too.
Mariko: That’s very tough since I have been to a very limited number of places...I guess if I had to pick one it would probably be Germany just because the album, like the country beautifully blends the ancient with the modern. That was what struck me the most about Leipzig when we were there. There was so much history in a present day place. One of the disadvantages of living in America is that we are a young country and don’t have the rich history that countries on other continents have.
Who is the author inspiring your music the most?
Michael Laird: Unto Ashes is inspired by many different literary sources from many different cultures and eras -- for instance, Mariko discovered three ancient Japanese authors whose poetry forms the exact basis of our song "Three Haiku" on the new album.
Natalia Lincoln: If you have a look at our site, UntoAshes.com, we list all our artistic, literary, and musical influences in our pages.
Your music is a very spiritual experience. What will be the next level in this spirituality after „Grave Blessings“?
Michael Laird: Another excellent question, and once again I don't know the answer. Our future is not known: we could all perish -- that's certainly a very real possibility. Everyone in Unto Ashes lives in New York City, which is a definite target for terrorists all over the world. For some of us here in New York, our "spirituality" is strongly linked to our attempt to live each day as best as we can, as if it was the last day on Earth. We lived through September 11th, 2001, and we're still here. We changed as people. I know I did. I don't think about "forever" anymore, and that's an important development in my own spirituality and my own way of life.
Mariko: I would like to see us move spiritually toward a stronger political stance in our music. We hinted at it with tracks like „Way of the World“ and „4 More Years“. The world is in such turmoil right now and our government is certainly not helping. It would be a different way to express our political views since our music is so different.

Imagine you are painters. Can you paint a picture of your audience? How do these people look like when they listen to your music, how do they feel? Please describe what you see on that picture.
Natalia: Rows of still, pale faces, waiting for the unknown. Most are young but seem world-weary. The music lifts away cynicism; they are taken far away.
Mariko: I see people in silence taking in our music internally. For the most part, they do not move or dance, they simply become entranced and reflective. Most are exquisitely dressed. It’s an interesting audience to perform for, since the only visible reaction is the applause at the end of each song, but you know there is more going on inside of each person. Of course...if one felt inclined to dance, I would not discourage them. ?

Your new CD is licensed by Kalinkaland for Germany. Are you going to do a tour to promote that album in Germany or maybe in Europe?
Michael Laird: We very much hope so!! There have been ongoing discussions between Kalinkaland and at least one major tour production company in Germany; I truly hope that these discussions will be fruitful, because we REALLY want to play in Germany again! It was so special for us to perform at the Schauspielhaus Leipzig during the 2004 WGT. A tour throughout Germany would allow us the opportunity to perform in front of many other fans who couldn't see us at the Schauspielhaus, which was filled to capacity. We adore Germany because, for reasons we don't completely understand, German audiences seem to possess an almost automatic understanding of, and affinity with, our music. No other country has responded so enthusiastically to Unto Ashes like Germany has.
Natalia Lincoln: Germany feels like a second home to us, musically. We can't wait to return!
Mariko: Oh we REALLY want to come back to your beautiful country! You guys really rock!
Thank you for answering. The last words are up to you.
Michael Laird: Thanks to you and everyone else in Germany for your support of our music -- we really hope to be able to perform in Germany soon. Finally we invite everyone to visit our website at www.UntoAshes.com and listen to some of our songs -- let us know what you think by writing to us in German: deutschefans@untoashes.com -- and if you are a promotor and you like what you hear, please free to send an email to our German record label: info@kalinkaland.de -- tell them that you want to arrange an Unto Ashes performance in your area -- we would be most grateful!
Mariko: Thank you Germany! And hopefully the situation in the world will get better. Bravo to Berlin for their AWESOME Live 8 concert. We hope to be visiting Germany soon!
Natalia Lincoln: I echo the thank-yous, and hope to see you all in Germany.

www.UntoAshes.com
www.Kalinkaland.de