interview with Hagalaz
Have any of you played in other bands? yes, I have and still do. I have played in a number of metal/rock bands, and currently play in a rock and roll/hardcore/black metal band called 237, and a improv metal act called voidgod, along with two other growing projects.
How is it that you started playing music? I started playing at a very young age, my mother taught me piano and singing when I was about 5, and pretty much continued from there.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? my name is Duff, I play all of the instruments in the music, and am 27 years old.
Did you make music even when you were young? yes since I first learned, though it wasn't until I was about 10 and picked up the guitar that I really began to focus on writing my own music.
Where are you from? I am originally from a small village called Becket, in the state if Massachusetts in the USA, but I currently live in Boston, Massachusetts in the USA.
What year did the band form? I think it was around 2007 that I began really focusing on writing solo music and started forming what Hagalaz is today
What's your style of genre? I guess I'd call it dark, ancient folk
What inspires you? nature, the sounds you hear when you are alone out in it and the feelings that it can create.
How often and where do you reherse? I create my own schedule, I practice and write in my own home, and while it varies I usually try to play my guitar at least 5 days a week
How have you developed since you started with the music? I'd say my style has become more cohesive, when I was younger I wanted to add more and more and different styles, but it created a bit of a disjointed feel. it wasn't until I was really able to start putting those other ideas into other musical projects that I was able to get to the source and really hone in on what the true sound and style is today
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? yes, I paint and draw, both for my music, other bands, and for my own personal works. I enjoy building effects pedals for my guitar, and carpentry.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? I am very open to the idea, for scheduling is not my strong suit, and for doing all the writing, recording, playing, and artwork for my music over the years it doesn't leave a lot left for the patience of booking.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? I am also open to the idea, though haven't actively pursued it over the years, I wouldn't really want a label that would try to influence my writing or style too much.
What made you decide to make this music? I have always loved folk music, and classical music, and that feeling you can get from that kind of sparse sound, and space in a song. I have a deep love for rock and roll, but I think I came to a point where I wanted to write music that expressed a particular feeling or personality of myself that came from a more sombre, and melancholy place.
What are your songs about? nature, it's beauty, its intensity, that feeling of emptiness, really they are songs of isolation
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? I compose and write all the lyrics, though for the time being most of my released works are instrumental.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? I start with the music definitely, the general theme of the lyrics comes about halfway through, and after the song is all done the lyrics are flushed out.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? before living in the city I used to bring my guitar out into the woods and play there, I think that's really what helped create the sound and tone. now that I live in the city I try to create a space in my home that I get the closest to that feeling again.
What language do you sing in? English
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? I have had anywhere from 20 to 150
What ages are most of your concert attendants? I'd say from 18 to 65
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? For the most part I play the same ones, I'll leave a couple out, add a couple in, sometimes when I'm working on one I'll try jamming on it live to see how it feels
Do you have a regular place you play live often? I'd say the most regular place I've played is a venue friends and I have put together in our neighborhood in Boston, I usually play there a couple times a year.
What was your first gig like? it was amazing, I played a festival a bunch of my friends and community put on and played in the woods to a large audience behind a 30 foot long wall of fire
What was your latest gig? I played the same festival this past summer solstice, new location though so sadly...no wall of fire.
Where have you played live this year? around the Boston area mostly this year
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? who knows, definitely in Boston, and Massachusetts in general, but I'd love to take it to some new places as well.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? For now I have a small ep of early works up, free for the time being. I've actually have yet to make merchandise other than the music itself, but that's in the cards soon.
Where can people buy your merchandise? at this moment my music can be found on my bandcamp page.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? while I understand it for the time and way our societies run now a days, and am more than happy that someone is at the very least seeking out and finding a way to listen to music, I'm still a sucker for hard copies, I think you just retain and understand a record more by sitting down and throwing a vinyl on the turntable or a tape or CD in.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? most definitely, I think it's changed a lot because of this. I think it's kind of created even more levels of success for a band to be measured than there was before for better or worse. I think it's a lot harder to make a living off your music alone if you don't want to go the mainstream route, but in a way it's a nice challenge, a test of character and will if that makes sense.
What do you think of my work? I think this was a very insightful, but digestable interview, all around great job.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I think/know that getting my voice out to a broader crowd, that I don't have the means to reach on my own is a wonderful thing, and in the music business that's one of the biggest forms of help you can get, is your voice and your sound being expanded out to the rest of the world farther than your voice can carry on it's own.
Do you have any role models or idols? I think I'd have to say jimmy page of led zeppelin
Why do you think that they exist? I think he approached music in a very loving and passionate way, the guy could play any style he set out to beautiful, took wild risks and had a big hand in shaping modern music to what it is today, and played any style/song with pure heart and otherworldly passion. there may have been and are better guitar players then and now, but nobody had the magic he had.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I think it's a bit of both, on one hand it's easier to get it from older bands, because I know them, love them, and they were the ones that showed me how to play, what really created my style in its formative years. you have to look a lot harder I think among new bands to find a really new, great, inspirational thing, but when you do it's usually something you'd never have imagined being inspired by, and that can be equally if not more valuable at times.
What have been your biggest obstacles? honestly being a solo project, it's a lot harder to do everything on your own. when you work with other you can play off each other's strengths, people will make you think and create in a way you might not have without them that is invaluable, when you do everything yourself at the end of the day, your strengths and weaknesses are all your own and up to you to work through.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? get weird, love what you do, be afraid, but do it anyway and push through it, and don't ever stop playing, even If you're the last creature on earth
How do you get psyched for a gig? honestly I wouldn't say I get psyched, it's more a meditation, I get in my head, go outside, have a drink, a cigarette, breath, stop thinking and just get into a zone where my thoughts are all the notes and sounds that come out of the guitar.
Do you have any new material? yes, I am working on a lot of new material, to hopefully have a full length release in the near future.
What are your web sites? at the moment my websites are my Facebook page (hagalaz) and my bandcamp https://hagalaz1.bandcamp.com
How can people reach you? the most reliable way is probably my Facebook page
What are your plans for the future? the plan is to keep writing and flush everything out for a large release, and just take it as it comes
Do you have something to add? I want to thank you for this interview, keep up the great work, and I hope anyone that reads enjoys the music, thank you for reading, listening, writing, creating
How is it that you started playing music? I started playing at a very young age, my mother taught me piano and singing when I was about 5, and pretty much continued from there.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? my name is Duff, I play all of the instruments in the music, and am 27 years old.
Did you make music even when you were young? yes since I first learned, though it wasn't until I was about 10 and picked up the guitar that I really began to focus on writing my own music.
Where are you from? I am originally from a small village called Becket, in the state if Massachusetts in the USA, but I currently live in Boston, Massachusetts in the USA.
What year did the band form? I think it was around 2007 that I began really focusing on writing solo music and started forming what Hagalaz is today
What's your style of genre? I guess I'd call it dark, ancient folk
What inspires you? nature, the sounds you hear when you are alone out in it and the feelings that it can create.
How often and where do you reherse? I create my own schedule, I practice and write in my own home, and while it varies I usually try to play my guitar at least 5 days a week
How have you developed since you started with the music? I'd say my style has become more cohesive, when I was younger I wanted to add more and more and different styles, but it created a bit of a disjointed feel. it wasn't until I was really able to start putting those other ideas into other musical projects that I was able to get to the source and really hone in on what the true sound and style is today
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? yes, I paint and draw, both for my music, other bands, and for my own personal works. I enjoy building effects pedals for my guitar, and carpentry.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? I am very open to the idea, for scheduling is not my strong suit, and for doing all the writing, recording, playing, and artwork for my music over the years it doesn't leave a lot left for the patience of booking.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? I am also open to the idea, though haven't actively pursued it over the years, I wouldn't really want a label that would try to influence my writing or style too much.
What made you decide to make this music? I have always loved folk music, and classical music, and that feeling you can get from that kind of sparse sound, and space in a song. I have a deep love for rock and roll, but I think I came to a point where I wanted to write music that expressed a particular feeling or personality of myself that came from a more sombre, and melancholy place.
What are your songs about? nature, it's beauty, its intensity, that feeling of emptiness, really they are songs of isolation
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? I compose and write all the lyrics, though for the time being most of my released works are instrumental.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? I start with the music definitely, the general theme of the lyrics comes about halfway through, and after the song is all done the lyrics are flushed out.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? before living in the city I used to bring my guitar out into the woods and play there, I think that's really what helped create the sound and tone. now that I live in the city I try to create a space in my home that I get the closest to that feeling again.
What language do you sing in? English
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? I have had anywhere from 20 to 150
What ages are most of your concert attendants? I'd say from 18 to 65
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? For the most part I play the same ones, I'll leave a couple out, add a couple in, sometimes when I'm working on one I'll try jamming on it live to see how it feels
Do you have a regular place you play live often? I'd say the most regular place I've played is a venue friends and I have put together in our neighborhood in Boston, I usually play there a couple times a year.
What was your first gig like? it was amazing, I played a festival a bunch of my friends and community put on and played in the woods to a large audience behind a 30 foot long wall of fire
What was your latest gig? I played the same festival this past summer solstice, new location though so sadly...no wall of fire.
Where have you played live this year? around the Boston area mostly this year
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? who knows, definitely in Boston, and Massachusetts in general, but I'd love to take it to some new places as well.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? For now I have a small ep of early works up, free for the time being. I've actually have yet to make merchandise other than the music itself, but that's in the cards soon.
Where can people buy your merchandise? at this moment my music can be found on my bandcamp page.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? while I understand it for the time and way our societies run now a days, and am more than happy that someone is at the very least seeking out and finding a way to listen to music, I'm still a sucker for hard copies, I think you just retain and understand a record more by sitting down and throwing a vinyl on the turntable or a tape or CD in.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? most definitely, I think it's changed a lot because of this. I think it's kind of created even more levels of success for a band to be measured than there was before for better or worse. I think it's a lot harder to make a living off your music alone if you don't want to go the mainstream route, but in a way it's a nice challenge, a test of character and will if that makes sense.
What do you think of my work? I think this was a very insightful, but digestable interview, all around great job.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I think/know that getting my voice out to a broader crowd, that I don't have the means to reach on my own is a wonderful thing, and in the music business that's one of the biggest forms of help you can get, is your voice and your sound being expanded out to the rest of the world farther than your voice can carry on it's own.
Do you have any role models or idols? I think I'd have to say jimmy page of led zeppelin
Why do you think that they exist? I think he approached music in a very loving and passionate way, the guy could play any style he set out to beautiful, took wild risks and had a big hand in shaping modern music to what it is today, and played any style/song with pure heart and otherworldly passion. there may have been and are better guitar players then and now, but nobody had the magic he had.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I think it's a bit of both, on one hand it's easier to get it from older bands, because I know them, love them, and they were the ones that showed me how to play, what really created my style in its formative years. you have to look a lot harder I think among new bands to find a really new, great, inspirational thing, but when you do it's usually something you'd never have imagined being inspired by, and that can be equally if not more valuable at times.
What have been your biggest obstacles? honestly being a solo project, it's a lot harder to do everything on your own. when you work with other you can play off each other's strengths, people will make you think and create in a way you might not have without them that is invaluable, when you do everything yourself at the end of the day, your strengths and weaknesses are all your own and up to you to work through.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? get weird, love what you do, be afraid, but do it anyway and push through it, and don't ever stop playing, even If you're the last creature on earth
How do you get psyched for a gig? honestly I wouldn't say I get psyched, it's more a meditation, I get in my head, go outside, have a drink, a cigarette, breath, stop thinking and just get into a zone where my thoughts are all the notes and sounds that come out of the guitar.
Do you have any new material? yes, I am working on a lot of new material, to hopefully have a full length release in the near future.
What are your web sites? at the moment my websites are my Facebook page (hagalaz) and my bandcamp https://hagalaz1.bandcamp.com
How can people reach you? the most reliable way is probably my Facebook page
What are your plans for the future? the plan is to keep writing and flush everything out for a large release, and just take it as it comes
Do you have something to add? I want to thank you for this interview, keep up the great work, and I hope anyone that reads enjoys the music, thank you for reading, listening, writing, creating
Great interview!