Melanholična black metal simbioza SOJOURNER je razkrila novo umetniško delo, himno ‘Perennial’, pri kateri prvič sodeluje vokalistka Lucia Amelia Emmanueli.
Pesem je bila v juniju izdana na vinilu, skupaj s čudovito skladbo ‘Relics of the Natural Realm’, nadaljevanjem bendove prve pesmi ‘Heritage of the Natural Realm’, s katero so zajeli identiteto divjine, preneseno v prečudovite melodije s čarobnimi glasovi (naroči TUKAJ).
Zasedba je znana po tem, da združuje glasbeno črnino z atmosferičnimi zvočnimi pokrajinami, praviloma pa poskrbijo tudi za vizualno izjemne videospote, ki podprejo slišano in skladbe dvignjeno na še višji nivo.
Najnovejša izdaja je prišla izpod okrilja Napalm Records. Za Rocker.si pa je spregovoril vokalist Emilio Crespo.
ROCKER.SI: Lep pozdrav, Emilio. Upam da si dobro, tukaj v Sloveniji uživamo v poletju. Glede na to, da ste Sojourner mednarodna zasedba, začniva z vprašanjem, od kod prihajate njeni člani in kako se združite skupaj? Kakšna je dinamika skupine?
SOJOURNER: Člane imamo iz Nove Zelandije, Škotske, Italije in Velike Britanije. Zelo smo razpršeni, ampak s pomočjo spleta je danes dokaj enostavno, da smo lahko združeni kot zasedba in neprekinjeno snemamo glasbo. Mike skrbi za glasbo, snemanje, produciranje, itn. Jaz snemam vokale in pišem besedila. Midva sva jedro zasedbe, ampak vsak opravi svoj del. Ko je skladba enkrat pripravljena, si razdelimo delo in vsak pridoda svoje.
ROCKER.SI: Melanholični black metal vam pristoji, ampak dobim občutek, da ne gre zgolj za poslovno odločitev. Ali vsi prihajate iz različnih glasbenih ozadij?
SOJOURNER: Sami raje rečemo, da igramo atmosferični metal, saj na ta način nismo omejeni in lahko v našo glasbo vključujemo različne aspekte žanrov, ki so nam blizu. Nisem oseba, ki bi poslušala zgolj en žanr. Rad imam metal, ampak poslušam tudi elektronsko glasbo, filmsko glasbo in starošolski hip hop.
ROCKER.SI: Svoje potovanje ste začeli leta 2015, drži? Kako bi povzel vsa ta leta? Izdali ste kar nekaj singlov in tri albume, ampak letos ste se odločili za izdajo prav posebnega EP-ja. Kaj lahko slišimo na plošči? Prebral sem, da se bo prodajala ekskluzivno na vinilu?
SOJOURNER: Res je, bila je neverjetna vožnja. Mike in jaz sva zelo dobra ekipa, in ko pride do Sojourner, si ne morem predstavljati, da ne bi bila skupaj kot jedro zasedbe. To potem ne bi bila več skupina Sojourner, omenjeno še posebej velja zanj. Naš zvok pozna bolje kot kdorkoli drug. Kar pa se tiče EP-ja, na plošči boste lahko slišali vrnitev “starih” Sojourner, ampak z evolucijo, po kateri smo dobro poznani. Plošča se bo prodajala zgolj na vinilu, ker smo že od nekdaj oboževalci fizičnih izdaj, tako da digitalna izdaja ni prišla v poštev. Prav tako se nam ne bi izplačalo tiskati CD-jev.
ROCKER.SI: Strinjam se z izjavo, da vaše skladbe zajamejo identiteto divjine s čudovitimi melodijami. Glede besedil pa si povedal, da se boste dotaknili vaših korenin. Lahko pojasniš?
SOJOURNER: Začeli smo peti o fantazijah in naravi, in čeprav čutim, da smo naredili korak naprej od fantazijskih tekstov, je narava še vedno močno prisotna v naših besedilih. To je tematika, o kateri še vedno pišem z veliko strastjo. Na tej plošči smo se vrnili h koreninam, čutili smo, da lahko tematsko nadaljujemo, kjer smo končali z ‘Empires of Ash’.
ROCKER.SI: Se ti zdi, da s(m)o ljudje izgubili stik z naravo?
SOJOURNER: Veliko ljudi je izgubilo stik, nedvomno. To se kaže v vsakodnevnih dejanjih in celo v dejanjih, za katera ne bi mislil, da negativno vplivajo na naravo. Izgubili smo povezavo in se počutimo že skoraj nad naravo. Kot da je zgolj tam. Narava še vedno vlada in nas lahko v trenutku izbriše, če bomo šli predaleč. Tehnološki napredki ne pomenijo prav ničesar, če nimamo prostora za življenje.
ROCKER.SI: Dodali ste dva nova člana, kakšna je trenutna postava?
SOJOURNER: Lucy in Tom sta nova člana, ki sta se nam pridrućila, pa tudi Scotty je od zdaj naprej naš redni basist. Prej je z nami nastopal le na koncertih. Torej oni trije, jaz in Mike, ter naš bobnar Riccardo, ki je z nami od daljnega leta 2017.
ROCKER.SI: Pri skladbi ‘Relics of the Natural Realm’ ste prvič imeli samo en sam čisti moški vokal. Zakaj ta sprememba na “čiste vokale”? Boste nadaljevali v tej smeri?
SOJOURNER: Vse se je poklopilo. Tom ima odličen glas in vedno smo si želeli imeti čiste moške vokale. Del skladbe je kar klical po tem in Tom je dostavil. Vsekakor lahko računate na več takšnih vokalov!
ROCKER.SI: Spotify je vašo skladbe dodal na seznam predvajanja “Northern Spirits”. Res se čuti, da v sebi skrivati severne duhove, kar verjetno pride z black metalom in čudovito naravo? Nekateri člani prihajte iz Švedske, drži? Koliko ste nastopali po Severni Evropi?
SOJOURNER: Na Švedskem živim že več kot deset let in na tej točki lahko rečem, da ne vidim nikakršne možnosti, da bi se preselil kam drugam. Tukaj še nismo nastopali, smo pa imeli koncert v Copenghagnu na Danskem. Ampak smo se počutili kot doma. Tam imam službo in skoraj vsak dan obiščem mesto.
ROCKER.SI: Kakšen vpliv je imela na vas Covid-19 situacija, če sploh?
SOJOURNER: Vsi hodimo v službe, tako da finančno karantena na nas ni imela vpliva, so nam pa odpadli koncerti po Evropi. Tudi nekaj festivalov. Upam, da bomo leta 2021 že v polnem pogonu.
ROCKER.SI: Čestitke za singel ‘Perennial’, zveni čudovito, enako izjemna pa je video podoba. Kaj mi lahko poveš o snemanju? Čuti se, kot da gre za naslednje poglavje v vaši zgodbi. Kako je ta projekt vplival na vas osebno?
SOJOURNER: Pravzaprav gre za serijo visokokvalitetnih arhivskih posnetkov, ki so prosti za uporabo. Pandemija nam je onemogočila snemanje in nismo imeli proračuna za snemanje. Znati smo se morali drugače. Posnetki so skrbno izbrani in vsak odsek ima svoj namen. Vsekakor gre za novo poglavje v zgodbi Sojourner. Ponovno rojstvo, bi lahko temu rekli. Pripravljeni smo na novo prihodnost!
*Angleška verzija intervjuja
ROCKER.SI: Hello, I hope you’re doing great, here in Slovenia we are happy that the summer is here. As Sojourner is an international band, let’s start with the question – where do you all come from and how do you all come together? What is the dinamics of the group?
SOJOURNER: We have members in New Zealand, Sweden, Scotland, Italy and England. We’re quite spread out but with the Internet it’s quite easy to be in a band and record. Mike takes care of the music, recording, producing etc. I do vocals and lyrics. The core of the band is the both of us but then the others do their parts once all is ready to go in a semi-final form.
ROCKER.SI: Melancholic black metal really suits but I get the feeling it is not just a business choice, do you come from different musical background?
SOJOURNER: Emilio: We prefer to just call ourselves atmospheric metal as it allows us to not be pigeonholed and we can include all the different aspects of genres we love. I definitely am not a person that listens to only one thing. I love metal mainly but also enjoy some electronic music, movie soundtracks, old school hip hop etc.
ROCKER.SI: You started your journey in 2015, right? How would you describe these six years? You released a couple of singles and three full albums if I’m not mistaken, lots of music, but in 2021 you decided to release a very special LP. What will we hear on the record, that came out in the beggining of June? I’ve read that it will be sold exclusively on vinyl?
SOJOURNER: Indeed. It’s been an amazing ride. Mike and I are such a good team and when it comes to Sojourner, I can’t imagine the band not having both of us together at its core. It just wouldn’t feel like Sojourner and that is even more true in terms of Mike. He knows the Sojourner sound better than anyone. In terms of the EP, you’ll hear a return to the “old” Sojourner but still retaining that evolution we’re known for. It is only on vinyl because we always love to have physical editions so digital only was not an option. It would have been a waste to do a CD run so a collectors vinyl was the best option.
ROCKER.SI: Your songs really capture the identity of wilderness with beautiful melodies. For the lyrics you said that you wanted to tap into your roots. What does that mean?
SOJOURNER: We started singing about fantasy and nature and while I feel I’ve moved on from fantasy lyrics, nature is a topic that I’m still extremely passionate about. With returning to our roots on this EP it felt fitting to continue the topic directly from where it left off on “Empires of Ash”.
ROCKER.SI: Do you feel that the people lost touch with the nature?
SOJOURNER: A great number of people, for sure. It shows in actions everyday and even in actions you wouldn’t think affect nature in a negative way. We’ve lost touch so much that we feel almost above it and like it’s just there. Well… nature reigns supreme and can eliminate us in a heartbeat if we push it too far. Our advancements mean shit if we don’t have a place to live and thrive.
ROCKER.SI: Who are your two new members and what is the current lineup?
SOJOURNER: Lucy and Tom are the two new members that joined as well as Scotty being our full on bassist now and not just live. So it’s them, Mike and I at the core and our drummer Riccardo who has been with us since 2017.
ROCKER.SI: ‘Relics of the Natural Realm’ is the first time you’ve ever had an only male clean vocal section. Why this change to »clean vocals«?
SOJOURNER: It fit well. Tom has a great voice and we’ve always wanted to have some male cleans as well. The part just called for it and Tom delivered. There will definitely be more of it as well!
ROCKER.SI: Spotify had added your songs on “Northern Spirits” playlist. You do seem to have northern spirits, it must come with black metal and beautiful nature. Some members also come from Sweden, right? Did you perform already in Sweden and other countries in Northern Europe?
SOJOURNER: I’ve been in Sweden for over ten years at this point and love it. I don’t see myself moving for the time being. We haven’t performed here yet but we did do a show in Copenhagen, Denmark. It did kinda feel like a hometown show for me in a way since I’ve worked in Copenhagen for 10 years now and am there almost every day.
ROCKER.SI: How did Covid-19 situation affect you, or did it?
SOJOURNER: We all still work for a living so it didn’t affect us financially but we did have a European tour and festivals cancelled. Hopefully 2022 is when we’re back at full force.
ROCKER.SI: Congrats on the ‘Perennial’ singel, it sounds and looks great, what can you tell me about the video, do you have some anectode from the filming? I feels like the next chapter in your story … How did this latest project impacted you personally?
SOJOURNER: It’s actually high quality stock footage (copyright free). With the pandemic we couldn’t just fly and film together and we also didn’t have the budget for a video this time around anyway. The footage was still chosen meticulously and each clip has its purpose. This is definitely a new chapter for us. A revitalization, you could say. We’re super excited and ready for our future!