Interview mit 鬼 von Unreqvited

The sound of UNREQVITED has changed a lot from album to album. Looking back, are you still completely satisfied with all your releases up until now or would you do something different in retrospect?
I think there’s always going to be things looking back that I wish I’d done differently. There’s a saying that goes: “you never truly finish an album; you only abandon it”. I think this holds true with almost all of my releases. I used to sit there and modify/perfect parts of a song until the whole thing became completely different from my original vision. I try not to go overboard with my perfectionism nowadays and just let things be “finished” when it feels right.

Your project has become quite popular and you are now with Prophecy Productions, a very renowned label. This of course means that there’s more and more expectations to live up to. Do you sometimes feel a bit put under pressure from that?
Occasionally, when time sensitive things come up. In general, I welcome any pressure as long as the music is being heard by new listeners. That’s what’s most important to me. I generally don’t do well under pressure, but I’m willing to sacrifice my well-being every now and again as long as the project is thriving.

Your last three albums have all been released through different labels. Do you think you will take to another label again soon or do you plan on staying with Prophecy for now?
I like to change it up each time. I’m not certain, but the next record will likely be released under a different label. I want to start releasing albums even more frequently than I already do, so it’s a lot easier to work with different labels for each release. Labels don’t typically want to release multiple albums per year by the same artist.

In the past you have already mentioned that creating music has a cathartic effect on you. As far as I know, you also maintain a pretty close contact with your fans via the internet. Do you think that this also contributes to your mental well-being?
Yes, absolutely. The music I make and the people that listen to it are two of the biggest things that keep me going every day. Receiving messages about how my music has impacted someone’s life in a positive way truly warms my heart every time. I try to stay as close with these fans as I can. I also try to check up on them every now and again to make sure they’re doing okay.

In UNREQVITED you occasionally throw in some screams, however, you don’t use them to transport any lyrics. Why do you think that there’s no need for words in your songs?
I’m better at communicating through music than I am through words. I’m a quiet person, so I prefer to express myself this way. I do enjoy writing lyrics occasionally, but I’ve saved that for other projects. The music I write for UNREQVITED tells a story that can be interpreted in a multitude of different ways to a listener. Lyrics can sometimes ruin the meaning that an individual has associated to the music if they find out a song isn’t about what they thought it was.

Recently you released your fourth album in five years titled „Mosaic II: La Déteste Et La Détresse“. Has regularly releasing new records already become a kind of routine for you?
Well I started UNREQVITED halfway through 2016, so the project has only been around for roughly 3 and a half years, almost 4. I hope I can keep releasing music as frequently as I do. I’m planning on amping it up and releasing 2 albums every year with UNREQVITED, plus whatever I plan on doing with my side projects. I’m currently sitting on quite a lot of unreleased content.

In our last interview you mentioned that production always causes you the biggest difficulties when creating an album. Would you say that the two „Mosaic“ albums have helped you gain more self-confidence in this respect?
Actually, I think the following album after „Mosaic II“ has helped build my confidence as a producer. I’m getting a little better with every release, but I think LP 5’s production is a significant improvement. I spent almost all of 2019 putting it together, so I’m very very excited to release that soon.

You already announced „Mosaic II“ at the time of the release of the previous album and described it as darker and more experimental. To what extent was the album already finished at that time? Also, I have the impression that „Mosaic II“ is much more eclectic than its more homogeneous predecessor. Was this intended and if so, why?
They were both written together, so I don’t really remember when exactly they were both finished. I believe „Mosaic II“ was finished a little bit after „Mosaic I“, but for the most part they were started and finished simultaneously. „Mosaic I“ all sounds very cohesive because it was all written in some sort of elated state of mind. Love, happiness, euphoria. These emotions all came out sounding very similar. „Mosaic II“ on the other hand is all over the place because my mind goes to all kinds of dark places when I’m feeling negative emotions. Anxiety has its own sound, as does depression, as does anger.

What do you think about the fact that some people might think the album is not consistent enough because of that variety?
I think people know at this point that with UNREQVITED you’re always going to get something a little different. If some people only like the first record or the first two records or whatever, that’s completely fine. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes. To be fair, „Mosaic I“ and „II“ were both pretty experimental records, so I completely understand if fans of the first two records don’t enjoy them. They were a therapy experiment for myself, and were not composed how I usually would. This experiment did help me, but I probably won’t do something like this again. The next record is closer in sound to the first two albums.

Especially the final three ambient tracks certainly didn’t win everyone’s approval. What was your idea behind closing the album this way?
Every album of mine is meant to end in death. It’s more obvious on some albums („Disquiet“) but that’s generally the theme behind all of my music. Sometimes death sounds beautiful, and sometimes it doesn’t. Since „Mosaic II“ is an album about depression, anxiety, etc. it ends quite uncomfortably. To be blunt, the death in this case is a suicide.

While the album starts and ends rather darkly, the two tracks in the middle, „Pale“ and „Disorder“, sound a bit more hopeful to my ears. What is the deal with this beam of light in the midst of the otherwise so oppressive album?
„Pale“ was written towards the end of this dark time in my life, when I was getting better. It still has a melancholic vibe to it, but it’s hopeful. I was hopeful at that point that what I was going through was coming to an end. „Disorder“ isn’t a very hopeful song, the “happier” sounding section in the beginning that repeats in the bridge is meant to be more unsettling and strangely placed among the dark heavy riffs. I’ve heard this song described by fans as “bi-polar”.

You also partnered up with Sylvaine to release a split titled „Time Without End“ the same day. How did it come to your collaboration?
I simply reached out to her with the idea of collaborating and she seemed interested right away. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to work with her, she’s an incredible singer and songwriter. I’ve been listening to her music for years.

On „Interwoven“ there are also guest vocals from Sylvaine to be heard. Do you consider including more guest musicians in your songs in the future or should UNREQVITED rather be left to you alone?
These are usually impulse decisions. I don’t normally plan out guest features. This is only the second time I’ve featured somebody else on an UNREQVITED song, and both times they’ve been female singers. I think female vocals fit my music very well.

The two songs that you contributed to the split sound almost joyful compared to Sylvaine’s songs and especially in contrast to „Mosaic II“. Where does this euphoria come from?
I think after writing „Mosaic II“ it felt natural to write something a little more uplifting. I was actually planning on writing two more melancholic tracks to fit with hers, but this is how they came out. I think they helped turn this EP into more of a journey for the listener to experience.

What about the future of UNREQVITED? Do you already have an idea in which direction you want to go on the next album?
Yes, the next album is pretty much finished. It’s a big record, I spent a lot of time on it. I’ve incorporated some new elements that I haven’t experimented with before; one of these things being my clean vocals. There are also lots of symphonic elements. The album will be highly reminiscent of 2018’s „Stars Wept To The Sea“.

As usual with us on Metal1.info I would like to finish this interview with a short brainstorming. What do you think about the following terms?
Folk music: I prefer folk music from other countries over what we call “folk music” here in North America. I really enjoy artists like Fauna if you would call that folk music.
Kitsch: I had to Google this, and I still don’t quite understand what it is (laughs).
Opeth: I’ve only gotten into Opeth within the past two years or so, but I absolutely love it.
Loneliness: Too much of it can be detrimental, but for the most part it’s important that I spend lots of time alone so I can create.
Experimental music: I love experimentation in music. I think every artists needs to experiment with their craft and create something unique.
Songwriter’s block: My worst enemy. I try to push through it and force myself to write when this happens, but sometimes I just have to put everything down for a few days and seek inspiration elsewhere.

Thanks again for your answers. I’d like to leave the last words to you:
Thanks so much for having me again. I always appreciate being given a platform to talk about my music. Thank you to everyone that has supported UNREQVITED throughout the past few years. You all have made this an incredible journey for me. „Mosaic II“ is out now, please go check it out if you haven’t yet.

Publiziert am 19. Februar 2020 von Stephan Rajchl