Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? Michal: I played in accordion orchestra, sang in the choir and played in several local rock bands before The Rising Sign. Our bass player also played in several local bands.

How is it that you started playing music?

Michal: I started to attend art school and play accordion when I was nine. But I am really into the rock and metal music. I wanted to play the keyboard because I love those symphonic parts in this kind of music. And here we are.

Adam: Me and Martin, we were “Hey, I like you. Let’s play music.”.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? Michal: My name is Michal and I play the keyboard. Adam and Martin are forming members. Adam plays the guitar and he is a singer. Martin plays drums. Juraj is our bass player. The youngest of us is 20 yo and the oldest is 40.

Have you had other previous members?

Michal: As I have mentioned, Martin and Adam were the ones who started the band. After recording their first album, Juraj, me and the guitar player Jaro, started to play with the band as its live members firstly. We became regular members but we split our ways with Jaro in 2017.

Adam: There were a few people forming the band way before 2015, but it was more like come-and-go type of people.

Did you make music even when you were young? Michal: We are still young and we are still making music. J

Where are you from? Michal: We are from Slovakia.

What year did the band form? Adam: Martin and myself, we started back in 2012.

What's your style of genre? 

Michal: It is quite tricky question because it is hard to say what genre we are playing. Let’s say it is indie/art rock.

Adam: I’d say it’s mostly rock with addition of various genres.

What inspires you?

Adam: For me as a writer/composer, the inspiration comes in many forms, I’m fascinated how music is everywhere around us, being unnoticed for most of the time. The natural flow of things in the universe and them all colliding separately in one’s life in particular ways, that’s inspiring. And being able to illustrate those ways musically, that’s the most ambitious challenge for me.

Michal: We are all listening different kinds of music. And I think that this is one of the main reasons why is our music diverse. We love metal, funk, jazz, blues, rock… In case of music the inspiration subconsciously comes from everything we listen to, I think.

How often and where do you rehearse? Michal: It is usually once a week.

How have you developed since you started with the music?

Michal: I think we have developed as musicians but also as human beings and our music reflects it.

Adam: It’s all about redefining ourselves musically what keeps us going.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Michal: Outside the band we are quite normal guys. I am the primary school teacher and rock music journalist for Slovak webzine. Martin and Adam are students and Juraj is locksmith with interest in medicine and healthy lifestyle.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Michal: No, we are not.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? Michal: We signed with Austrian label Mai Lei Bel in 2017.

What made you decide to make this music?

Adam: I really have no idea. It’s the way we feel the music and the way we’re able to reinterpret its meaning into the sound. We are doing our best to keep things natural and honest.

Michal: Why I have decided to make this kind of music? I got to know great musicians and really good friends in this band. It is pleasure to make music with them.

What are your songs about? Adam: Mostly about relationships. That’s what I believe. No matter what relationships. You can basically get it different ways, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the way things are between people in general.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Michal: Music is composed by all of us. Lyrics by Adam.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Adam: Depends on the song. There are plenty songs that started with a musical idea, but also plenty that started with strictly lyrical meaning. When I’ve been thinking about an issue and I was like “I’m gonna put that one into a song.”

Do you compose in a certain environment?

Michal: We usually compose at our homes and in the garage where we are rehearsing.

Adam: Scented candles, hazelnuts, red wine and dark chocolate help a lot.

Have you done any covers live? Michal: In our very first shows we played covers of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blur, etc. Now we are playing just our own songs.

What language do you sing in? Michal: All of our lyrics are in English.

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Michal: I cannot tell you the exact number of the most people who attended our show, but I think it was festival audience. But once there was only one person in the club when we were playing. Anyway – it always has been a good experience.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary?

Michal: We do not play the same set every time. We vary songs and also their order.

Adam: The set depends on our mood. We like trying new things, new arrangements, different order of songs, etc. We basically don’t play the set twice the same way.

Do you have a regular place you play live often? Michal: No.

What was your first gig like? Michal: It was quite good. Our first gig with these members was in our capital city. It was big thing for us. There were quite a lot of people and we enjoyed it.

What was your latest gig? Michal: Our latest gig took place at a beer festival. Despite the rain there were quite a lot of people.

Have you had to cancel a gig? Michal: Not yet.

Where have you played live this year? Michal: We have booked four festivals this summer in Slovakia and Austria. We do not play a lot this year because we are working on our new album.

Where do you plan to gig the coming year? Michal: We have come plans. We will see.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale?

Michal: We have started last year with the t-shirts. But this autumn are coming CDs and vinyl.

Adam: We have an album scheduled for release, so you can expect all the stuff connected with it to be out there to get.

Where can people buy your merchandise?

Michal: You can contact us via our FB fan page.

Adam: Also you may want to check our label’s website in a while.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records nowadays?

Michal: I do not know. If they do not download it illegally, it is their own choice. I prefer buying records. I collect CDs and also vinyl.

Adam: I like the opportunity to have a choice. Spotify has been my very close friend last few years, but when I like an album, I definitely am getting a physical copy. People downloading music illegally, despite liking the music, it feels like betrayal towards the artist.

What do you think of my work?

Michal: I have never heard about you before, but I appreciate your interest in bands from around the world. Thank you.

Adam: It’s an opportunity for the bands to talk freely about the things they want to talk about. And giving the people opportunity to read about those things. Thank you for that, indeed.

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Michal: We will see J

Do you have any role models or idols? Michal: For me it is Henrik Klingenberg of Sonata Arctica.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today?

Michal: It is not hard to find inspiration anywhere. It is hard to do things that no one has done before.

Adam: Agree, 100%.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Adam: The lack of confidence, in the very beginning of that journey. But I’ve always wanted something more from myself. And so I never, ever, thought about giving up. That’s the thing I would never been able to forgive myself.

What advice would you give other bands or artists?

Michal: Just make music which you enjoy and people will enjoy it too one day.

Adam: Play. Play how you like it, how you feel it. And don’t let anyone tell you you’re not enough.

How do you get psyched for a gig?

Michal: I enjoy being on stage. Do not need prepare myself before it psychically.

Adam: How would you prepare for a free fall? I hold my breath and enjoy every second of it.

Do you have any new material?

Michal: Yes, we have. As I have mentioned, we are working on our new album FRAGMENTS which is about to be released in late October/November 2019.