THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: ‘Albumi so kot časovne kapsule’

The Devil Wears Prada zasedba, na katero se lahko vedno zanesemo, ko pride do postavljanja novih mejnikov z njihovo glasbo. Njihov najnovejši EP z naslovom ‘ZII’ je bil izdan 21. maja letos pri Solid State Records. Gre za dokaj neharmonično in disonantno vajo v izvrstnosti. Z nami je govoril vokalist in kitarist Jeremy DePoyster.

Band je v sredini maja priredil live stream koncert, na katerem so v celoti odigrali EP ‘ZII’. Album lahko naročite TUKAJ. O petih skladbah so zapisali: “Prej je bilo pet skladb o tem, kako preprečiti apokalipso, zdaj pa je pet skladb o tem, kako smo izgubili upanje proti hordi.”

Zasedbo sestavljajo Mike Hranica [vokal], Jeremy DePoyster [vokal, kitara], Mason Nagy [bas], Kyle Sipress [kitara], Jonathan Gering [klaviature] in Giuseppe Capolupo [bobni].

Originalni ‘Zombie’ EP je izšel avgusta 2010 in je še danes eden njihovih najboljših produktov, zato nič čudnega, da je dobil svoje nadaljevanje. “Obup je primarna tema za ‘ZII’,” je dodal Hranica.

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The Devil Wears Prada so se ponovno prerodili. Po njihovem izbruhu na glasbeno sceno leta 2005 so nekaj let kasneje ponudili kritično dobro sprejet album ‘With Roots Above and Branches Below’. EP-ja ‘Zombie’ (2010) in ‘Dead Throne’ (2011) sta se oba uvrstila med TOP na Billboard TOP 200. Nato je sledil še en krasen album ‘8:18’ (2013), kasneje pa še EP ‘Space’ (2015) in albuma ‘Transit Blues’ (2016) ter ‘The Act’ (2019). Nove izdaje ponovno obračajo ušesa, saj so glasbeno stopili še korak naprej. Glasbeniki so nastopali z mnogimi hard rock velikani, med drugim tudi s Slipknot in Slayer.

Diskografija

ROCKER.SI: Pozdravljen, Jeremy! Kako je v Ohiu? Si tam trenutno?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Ne boš verjel, ampak nihče ne živi več v Ohiu! Pišem ti iz North Caroline, ostali pa so v Kansas Cityju in Wisconsinu.

ROCKER.SI: Od EP izida ‘Zombie’ mineva enajst let in zdaj ste dobili drugo poglavje! Lahko spregovoriš malo o povezavi med dvema EP-jema?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Povezava je večinoma zgolj v konceptu, saj je Mike tokrat izbral drugačen pristop za svežo novo zgodbo. Ta EP ima nove lirične vsebine in ideje. Tonsko smo želeli zajeti bes in agresijo originalnega EP-ja, ampak bolj v sodobnem zvoku, zato smo posegli po tistih disonantnih akordih in riffih, da se album sliši modernejši. Namesto, da bi se samo nanašali na zadnji EP!

ROCKER.SI: Kako ste ohranili moč zadnje leto? Se je vaš pristop spremenil po letih ustvarjanja?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Iskreno povedano smo bili zelo utrujeni od tega, da smo obtičali doma. Nismo mogli igrati koncertov, zato nam še toliko več pomeni, da smo imeli možnost novega glasbenega projekta. Internet nam je omogočil, da smo si pošiljali ideje sem ter tja, Kyle in Jon pa tako ali tako živita v istem mestu in ni bilo problema. Kadarkoli sta se lahko priklopila na kitare in druge inštrumente. Radi preskočimo korake od originalne ideje do končnega produkta in to je bil najlažji način.

ROCKER.SI: Vodi me skozi proces snemanja, je bilo tokrat kaj drugače? Ali je vsakič zgodba zase, ko se odpravite v studio? Gre za drugačen občutek za vsak posamezen EP ali album?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Vsakič je malo drugače, zaradi kateregakoli razloga! Spremenijo se okoliščine, ideje, filozofija, pesmi, vse našteto, in tokrat ni bilo nič drugače! Spomnim se, da sem se počutil drugače za vsak album posebej, za celoten proces v resnici, a zaradi tega je zabavno. Albumi so kot časovne kapsule tega, kar so posamezniki in okoliščine ustvarili skupaj. Na koncu dneva moraš pač izdati nekaj in se podpisati ter se predati procesu. Vedno čutim zadovoljstvo od tistega trenutka, ko material predam za miks in rečem človeku: “Daj si duška!”

ROCKER.SI: ‘ZII’ je agresiven EP, bi se strinjal s tem? Izšel je 21. maja pri Solid Sate Records, čestitke! Kako ste praznovali in ali ste bili skupaj, ko je album odšel v svet, točno ob polnoči?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Najlepša hvala! Nismo bili skupaj, ker smo iz različnih mest, ampak smo pa imeli zabavo in smo si vmes pisali ter imeli video klice, da smo lahko praznovali. To je velik dosežek, da smo posneli nadaljevanje tistega EP-ja, ki je našim poslušalcem tako blizu in je bil tako dobro sprejet. Nismo mogli verjeti odzivu. Radi imamo naše poslušalce, hvaležni smo jim za zaupanje, ki so nam ga dali za drugi poskus pri ‘Zombie’ EP-ju. Se pa dobimo naslednji teden in bomo takrat praznovali!

ROCKER.SI: Ali misliš, da je EP agresivnejši zaradi časov, v katerih živimo?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Pandemija je nedvomno prinesela določeno nostalgijo, ker smo bili prisiljeni sedeti doma in poslušati svoje najljubše albume. Vem, da nam je dovolila refleksijo naše nore kariere. Postavili smo si vprašanje, kako bomo nadaljevali. Kako bomo ohranili pri življenju energijo? Težka in agresivna glasba je bila prava vstopnica za to predstavo!

ROCKER.SI: ‘Zombie’ je govoril o tem, kako preprečiti apokalipso, ZII pa govori o tem, kako smo izgubili upanje proti hordi, tako ste zapisali – ali to pomeni, da ste izgubili upanje? Upam, da ne.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Težko govorim za druge, ampak jaz verjamem v to, da si sam ustvarja lastno upanje. Če se pripraviš, trdo delaš in počneš vse s strastjo, je lahko rezultat strašljivo dober. Tako da sem nenehno poln upanja za tisto, kar šele prihaja.

ROCKER.SI: Kje in kdaj se počutiš najbolj kreativnega? In če obtičiš, kako najdeš način ven, da ponovno začneš ustvarjati nekaj dobrega?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Odvisno je od posamezne osebe, ampak prihaja v valovih. Vem, da kadar delam različne zadeve za skupino, naj bodo to skladbe, video vsebina, promocija, ideje za spletno stran, koncept za turnejo, vse to pride v valovih, ampak starejši kot smo, več discipline imamo, da delujemo tudi, če se ne počutimo posebej kreativni.

ROCKER.SI: Kdo je tisti, ki vam daje najboljši odziv na skladbe, poleg rednih poslušalcev?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Verjetno naši vrstniki. Vsi naši prijatelji v ostalih skupinah so nas obsuli s pozitivnimi sporočili o albumu in to je res laskajoče. Zadovoljni smo, ko so oboževalci zadovoljni, ampak prav tako lepo pa je, ko je album všeč tudi našim vrstnikom.

ROCKER.SI: Kako je šel “undeadstream” 15. maja? To je bila nekaj novega za vas. Bi si lahko zamislil takšne koncerte še za naslednjih nekaj let?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Bilo je tako boleče naporno, da smo sploh prišli do te točke! Veliko je bilo vloženega dela in načrtovanja, ampak ko smo videli rezultat, je bilo vse vredno. Odlično smo se počutili, ko smo ponovno igrali skupaj in celotna izkušnja nas je le še dodatno motivirala za prave nastope. Streami se bodo pa nadaljevali, takšen imam občutek, ker lahko dosežeš ljudi po celem svetu z zgolj enim samim koncertom.

ROCKER.SI: To bo vaša prva izdaja z basistom Masonom Nagyjem. Kakšna je energija v zasedbi?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Neverjetna, dejansko. Zdi semi, da smo čisto nov band v marsikaterem pogledu. Mason je zelo talentiran basist, mlad in zagnan. Želi si na oder in igrati, njegova energija pa vleče naprej tudi ostale. Vsi se počutimo enako!

ROCKER.SI: Kaj bo naslednje poglavje? So se spremembe zgodile tudi v vašem privatnem življenju in ali takšne spremembe pomenijo drugačno glasbo?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Naslednje poglavje bo govorilo o tem, kako bi čim bolj promovirali ‘ZII’ in o vsem tistem, kar pride s tem. Do kamor nam seže pogled. Vse drugo kot preveč samozadovoljni smo, hočemo naprej in pripravljeni smo, da ponesemo skladbe po vsem svetu, takoj ko bo to mogoče. Hvaležni smo za priložnosti, ki jih dobimo. V sebi imamo vsaj še eno desetletje razbijanja!

ROCKER.SI: Hvala za tvoj čas! Vse dobro in upam, da se vidimo kdaj v Sloveniji!

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Hvala tebi! Z veseljem pridemo!

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*Angleška verzija intervjuja

ROCKER.SI: Hello guys, how is life in Ohio? Is that where you’re staying at the moment?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Crazy enough, none of us actually live in Ohio anymore! I’m writing to you from North Carolina, and the rest of the guys are in Kansas City and Wisconsin.

ROCKER.SI: It’s been 11 years from the release of the EP Zombie, and now you have a second chapter! Can you talk about the connection of these two EP’s?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: The connection is pretty much just in concept, as Mike chose to approach a new storyline for the EP with new lyrical content and ideas. Tonally, we really wanted to capture the fury and agression from the original EP but in a more contemporary sound, so while we did reach back for those dissonant chords and riffs, it feels current rather than just leaning on the last EP!

ROCKER.SI: What kept you strong and working in the last year or so? After so many years of creating music is there that has changed in your approach?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: We were so tired of being stuck at home and not able to play shows that having a musical project to pour ourselves into was huge. The internet made it easy to send ideas back and forth, and with Kyle and Jon (on guitar and keyboards / producer of the EP) living in the same city, they could literally punch guitars and other parts in whenever they wanted. We love to cut out as many steps between our ideas and the finished product as possible and this was the easiest way to do that!

ROCKER.SI: What was the process of recording like this time around? And is it different each time you go to the studio? Do you remember a different feeling for each EP or album?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Every time is totally different, for whatever reason! I think the circumstances change, the ideas, the philosophy, the songs, all of it, and this time was no exception! I do remember feeling differently about every album and the process, but I think that’s what makes it fun, they’re like little time capsules of what those individuals and circumstances created together. At the end of the day, you just have to print something and commit to it, so there’s a satisfaction from that moment when you hand it over to the mixer and say »Go to town!«

ROCKER.SI: ZII is very agressive, so I’ve read and heard, it came out today on 21st of May via Solid State Records! Congrats! How did you celebrate? Were you together when the EP dropped?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Thank you so much! We were not together as we live in different areas, but we were all partying and texting and Facetiming each other to celebrate. It’s such a huge accomplishment to make a follow up to an EP that fans love so much and have it be so well received, so we were over the moon at the reception! We love our fans, we’re so grateful that they trusted us to give it another go on the Zombie EP concept, and we’re actually meeting up together again next week to get going on more stuff and we’ll celebrate more then!

ROCKER.SI: Do you think that the EP is more agressive because of the times we’re living in? Does this metalcore madness comes from that?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: I think there is a certain amount of nostalgia that the pandemic brought out, being forced to sit at home and listen back to your favorite records. I know for us, it’s allowed us to reflect on what an insane career we’ve had and to say, »How do we keep going? How can we keep this energy alive?« And heavy, agressive music seems to be just the ticket!

ROCKER.SI: Zombie was about how to fend off the apocalypse, ZII will be about hopelessness against the hoard, you’ve said, does that mean you’ve lost all hope? I hope not.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: I can’t speak for anyone else, but I believe in making your own hope. If you prepare, work hard, and do everything with passion, the results can be insane, so I’m constantly full of hope for what’s next!

ROCKER.SI: Where and when do you feel most creative musically? And if you get stuck, how do you find a way out to create something good?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: I think it depends on the person, but it comes in waves. I know when I’m working on stuff for the band, whether it’s songs, video content, branding, website ideas, tour concepts, it just comes in waves, but as we get older the discipline to work even when you’re not feeling especially creative gets better.

ROCKER.SI: Who is the one that gives you the best feedback on the songs, besides your fans?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Probably our peers. All of our friends in other groups have been blowing up our DM’s about the album and that is so flattering. You love when the fans love it, but you love it just as much when your peers do as well.

ROCKER.SI: How did the undeadstream go on 15h of May? Can you imagine this kind of concerts for the next couple of years?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: It was such a pain to get to that point, tons of work and planning, but so satisfying when everyone loved the result. It felt great to play together again and just made us even more amped for the real thing. I do think bands will continue to stream, as it can reach far more people around the world at once than any concert!

ROCKER.SI: This is first release with bassist Mason Nagy, what’s the energy like in the band?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: It’s incredible actually. We feel like a brand new band in a lot of ways. Mason is such a talented bass player, and he’s young and eager to get out there and play, so that energy is just pulsing through all of us now!

ROCKER.SI: What’s this new chapter for the band?

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: The new chapter is all about pushing ZII and everything that comes next as far as it can go. We are feeling anything but complacent, and ready to take these songs around the world as soon as humanly possible. We feel grateful for the opportunity we’ve been given and are ready to shred it for another decade to start!

ROCKER.SI: All the best and I hope we get to see you someday live in Slovenia!

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Thank you! We’d love to come!!!