Sanctuary.cz: Hello from the Czech Republic! Although you might get this question a lot, I have to ask anyway - why do you have a Polish name even though there’s not one Polish person in your group? 🙂
Devi: When Edu & I first formed the band we had a Polish guitarist. He came up with the name, which means “thorn”. When he left we decided to continue with the band and use the name because we had already built up a bit of a following by then. Seemed a shame to lose such a great name. Yes, the accent over the N is important for the polish pronunciation.
Sanctuary.cz: Nevertheless, there are different nationalities in your group. How did you actually meet? Was it online or live at concerts?
Devi: I meet Edu in October 2019 at our first practise together. He’s a great friend now and very supportive. Grateful to have met him. Justin and I met each other through a mutual friend some years before that. He’s a riot and good fun to be around. Always making us laugh. Juan I met via the band network in Berlin I think in 2021? At the time he was playing with Naturata Brutalismus and we had a common friend here. He had been helping us out live for a couple of years, and now he’s a part of the band family.
Sanctuary.cz: Do you have any funny story about meeting each other and regarding the different origins?
Devi: I have one about Justin. I think I had met him only once and then some months later he popped up in my dream. In my dream we were talking about starting a DJ event together and he thought it was a great idea. When I woke up the next day I wrote him to tell him, and we had a laugh, but thought anything’s possible. Then we were meeting to celebrate Yule and we got to talking about the current issues with my band (he wasn’t a part of it…yet). I played him some songs and he said, “Yeah, I could do some Christian Death sounding guitars in there”. I replied: “Did you just join my band?” And that was that. My dream predicted DJing… but this was even better.
Sanctuary.cz: How do you like it in Berlin? Is it a big change compared to your previous homelands? What are the main differences?
Devi: I’ve been living in Berlin for 14 years now. I feel in love when I first moved here, but I have watched the face of Berlin change over the years because of gentrification. It’s actually quite sad. I was such a mecca for artists and musicians, still is in some ways, but it’s not the same. It’s not as free as it once was. In any case, Vancouver has it’s own set of problems, cost of living is outrageous and the housing crisis is appalling. I miss my home, but I am happy here.
Sanctuary.cz: Your first EP “The Box” is very well made and it’s apparent that you’re not complete beginners. Did you play in other bands before Ciern which are worth mentioning to your fans?
Devi: CIERŃ is my first band, besides in high school.
CIERŃ ~ The Box
Sanctuary.cz: Since the beginning, there is a combination of social criticism and folklore themes in your lyrics. Is it right to assume that these are the two biggest interests of Devi who writes your lyrics? Are there any connections to be found between those two topics?
Devi: I think we all come from places where there is rich folklore, our at least in our ancestry. Since we take a strong political front, I do try to connect political themes with the folklore, since most folklore teaches us some kind of life lesson. I feel the two themes go well hand-in-hand.
Sanctuary.cz: The album “The Emperor Rx” was released not long after your first EP. This time, you worked with Woodraf from Bat-Cave Productions. Was he the only one who contacted you or did he have to fight for you?
Devi: Tomasz actually also released “The Box” on CD for us as well. He’s been helping us since the beginning. There are some other people in the US asking us to release on cassette, which we are looking into.
Sanctuary.cz: How do you find your debut retrospectively?
Devi: Two of my favourite songs are on “The Box” - Let Go and Rusałka. We play them often. Let Go was the first song we ever wrote, so it has a special place in my heart for sure. I still like the raw, punkness of it. I think we still tap into that from time to time, but we are always evolving.
Sanctuary.cz: Recently, it’s been an issue that when we share some news about a band with a political view, some readers mind that we post these things. They say that music and politics don’t go hand in hand. Then, they proceed to proclaim their own political views. What message would you send to these people and what is your opinion about the connection between music and politics?
Devi - Politics definitely aren’t black and white, and not everyone will always see eye to eye, but the way I see it, writing, singing and being on stage gives musicians the platform to raise their voices to many likeminded people, to reach out to those that maybe feel misrepresented or not seen. I’ve always felt that the punk / post punk / goth scene was a safe place for anyone feeling misunderstood, but as we also see, it isn’t always that way. I find that sad. Everyone is free to speak their mind, and we are always open for a conversation when someone has questions.
Sanctuary.cz: The first time I listened to the EP “Flawless”, I immediately noticed the better sound. Eventually, I found out that it was recorded by Boris Wilsdorf from Einstürzende Neubauten. How did this collaboration happen?
Devi: He was recommended to Edu as a person to work with. Some of us a big fans of EN so we thought this would be a great opportunity for experimentation.
Sanctuary.cz: How different was it to work with such a personality? What are the pros and potential cons of such collaboration? How was this recording session different from the previous ones?
Devi: He was quite fun and funny actually. It was great to work with him and he gave us some great ideas. Each person that records us has their own special flare. “The Box” and “The Emperor Rx” were recorded by Kinski Noize and we loved his approach to our sound as well. With “Flawless” we were unable to work with him again, so we started looking for someone new.
CIERŃ - Puppets
Sanctuary.cz: In “Flawlesss”, you take a closer look at the same topics and you also approach the global issues from an individual perspective and more personally. Why this change?
Devi: It feels like the world is getting more and more isolated and people are becoming more disconnected from each other, but Edu will have something to say about this.
Sanctuary.cz: I like the EP very much, is there any chance it could be available also on vinyl?
Devi: Unfortunately then costs are too high to produce a 4 track EP on vinyl. Our next release will be longer and will be on vinyl.
Sanctuary.cz: On the album cover, all of you are looking in the broken mirrors. Do you feel that people stopped caring that they sometimes can’t even look into their own eyes?
Devi: The idea with the cover was to show our own flaws, that we aren’t perfect and it’s okay not to be. Our flaws are part of us, our character and who we are or will become. We can embrace our flaws because they are beautiful.
Sanctuary.cz: What can the fans in Prague expect from you and what do you expect from your first visit to Prague? We are looking forward to seeing you!
Devi: We love to perform and we have a lot of energy on stage. We hope that everyone will enjoy what we offer! I can’t wait to play in Prague! One of my favourite cities on earth!
Přidat komentář
Vzhledem ke zvýšenému množství spamu je diskuse moderována. Schválení vašeho komentáře může trvat až 48 hodin.