Interview mit Ryanne van Dorst und Nick Polak von Dool

DOOL is dutch and means „wander“, the imperative of the verb „wandering“. What’s the meaning behind this request?
N: As a band and as individuals, both musically and personally we feel as if we are wanderers. Musically because we’re attracted by so many different styles of music and because we try to find our own place within that. As an individual I can only speak for myself and I think everyone in the band would have their own take on this. For myself however, I don’t feel that I address to a certain norm in a meaningless society, which I feel is only concerned about economic growth. I try to find meaning within this throughout music.

You play mostly dark rock, but also include elements of other genres. How would you describe your music?
N: As you’ve said we draw influences of a whole variety of genres and bands and thus I myself find it hard to categorize our music, which I find to be a good thing. Every song on the album varies and speaks for itself but they’re also a part of a whole. It’s a dynamic whole, both in intention as in atmosphere. Furthermore I think that everyone should find out for themselves.

All of you have already played and still play in other bands. So, for what reason did you create dool? What was your vision for the band?
N: DOOL actually kind of emerged out of Ryanne’s solo project Elle Bandita. Reinier [Vermeulen; Gitarre] and Micha [Haring; Schlagzeug] already played with her since 2008. Then later on, when Ryanne decided to take a pause Micha joined The Devil’s Blood. When The Devil’s Blood came to a halt Micha rejoined Ryanne and brought along Job [van de Zande; Bass]. Around this time energies started to change and things felt more like a “band”. That was also when I joined them, I was already around a lot and we were making music together quite often, so that felt like the natural thing to do. We didn’t really have a vision of what DOOL should sound like. Ryanne brought structures for the songs to the rehearsal room, and we kind of ‘found’ our sound whilst repeating the parts and riffs.

You are mostly influenced by The Sisters Of Mercy and Sonic Youth. What exactly fascinates you about their music and are there other bands that had an impact on you?
R: The Sisters Of Mercy to me, apart from the overall atmosphere, have such amazing vocal hooks, which really stick to your head and don’t let go. As for other bands that inspire us, I think some sort of common ground in the band would be for instance Type O Negative, David Bowie and Black Sabbath.

Your debut „Here Now, There Then“ sometimes sounds a little bit like „Sun“ by Secrets Of The Moon, which was released via a sublabel of Prophecy Productions. Do you know this album and if so, what do you think of it?
N: I’m not familiar with the album, no, so I couldn’t say if I could hear similarities. I however saw Secrets Of The Moon’s show at the Prophecy Festival last year and found it to be one of the most memorable peformances on the festival. Their show, combined with the visuals and of course the venue was quite magical.

How was the general feedback to „Here Now, There Then“?
N: Up until now it has been incredibly postive. We were already proud of the record without reading the opinions of others, but it’s a good feeling to unleash the album unto the world and that others like it as well.

Which song on „Here Now, There Then“ is the most important to you and why?
N: As I said before, every song is a piece of the puzzle which is „Here Now, There Then“. I think that every song has its charm and so it’s kind of hard to answer that. If I would really have to name one though, I’d say „The Alpha“, because of the longer history of the song. But every song is important in it’s own way.

In some songs you make use of interesting musical details like the toy piano at the beginning of „In Her Darkest Hour“. It kind of reminds me of the films of Tim Burton. Would you agree? And what is the song about?
R: The toy piano is actually a celeste. The intro and outro of the song have been recorded in a church, with big timpani and an actual organ. I felt that we needed a dramatic prelude to „Darkest Hour“, because of the melancholic nature of the lyrics, in which the protagonist is in love with Death and wishes nothing more than to be together.

The violin on „Oweynagat“ sounds a little bit like My Dying Bride, I think. What’s the meaning of the song’s title and why did you include a violin on the track?
R: „Oweynagat“ is inspired by a cave in Ireland which goes by that name. It is common and ancient belief that the cave serves as some kind of gateway to the Netherworld, and opens up around October 31st, to give passage into this world to all sorts of spirits, demons and souls of ancestors. The violin represents this. The moment the cave ‘opens up’ in the song, the violin channels the spirits from the cave, in some sort of hysterical crescendo towards the end.

Even tough „Here Now, There Then“ is your debut, you already got a contract with the well-known label Prophecy Productions. How did you manage to get in touch with the label?
N: They actually contacted us! I think it was around the time when we released the video for „Oweynagat“ when they sent us an e-mail that they were really enthusiastic and if we would be interested in working together. We had contact with different labels but eventually chose to work with Prophecy, since we felt they were very sincere and honest.

How did you experience working with the label? Do you maybe even feel pressured to please the label and the listeners?
N: They’re great genuine people that work in the music-industy because of their heart for the music. That became obvious since the first contact we’ve had with them. We’ve never felt pressured because, like I said, they contacted us. They really liked our music and thus wanted to work with us. Furthermore, I think you should never let expectations of others stand in the way of your artistic freedom.

The title of the album „Here Now, There Then“ seems to be headed towards the future. What can you tell us about the lyrics and their connection to the title?
R: The title is open to interpretation. Each individual band member has their own idea to it. There’s no way to define either of the four words mentioned. Where is Here? When is Then? To me personally, it has to do with dreaming, and indeed, achieving goals.

The music and the lyrics of the track „The Alpha“ seem to have some kind of connection to the occult. What is your opinion on occultism?
R: I wouldn’t want to define DOOL as an occult band, as you’re trying to do here, since most of our songs deal with emotion and self-reflection. Neither is „The Alpha“ leaning solely on occult themes. It is actually a very personal song. However, anything in this world that offers a different truth has my interest.

On the artwork we can see a white horse above a black background. What has the artwork got to do with the lyrics and what else can you tell us about the picture?
R: We stumbled upon this horse by accident, when we were actually setting up for a totally different picture, with photographer Pim Top. A horse had just died near our shoot location that night, and when we went to look at it, we all felt this weird sense of… well… I don’t know what to call it. The horse looked so lively and yet serene, as if it were still alive. We knew we had to drop our initial plan, and went on photographing the dead horse. In the end, it turned out beautifully, and actually fits way better to the music and title.

What are your next plans for DOOL?
N: At the moment we’re mostly busy playing shows and planning new ones, of which most will be announced in the near future.

Well then, we are nearing the end of this interview. At last, I would like to do our traditional Metal1.Info-Brainstorming with you. Please tell us your thoughts on the following terms:
Gothic: R: Edgar Allan Poe.
The Netherlands: N: With extensive touring through Europe, meeting other people and seeing other places and faces, hopefully a place where I won’t have to stay forever. I certainly don’t feel the need to do so anyway, except for DOOL of course. So I hope: a place that I’ll one day move away from.
DOOL in five years: N: Hard to say, we try to take things one step at the time.
Favorite band at Prophecy: N: Alcest
Love: R: Underrated.
Winter: R: Part of a cycle.

Alright, thanks again for this interview.

Publiziert am 6. März 2017 von Stephan Rajchl