eNTRaDaS PaRa La HiSTeRia

viernes, 27 de enero de 2017

Human Tetris - River Pt 1 (2016). Entrevista a Arvid Kriger y Maxim Zaytsev


Pocas bandas en la actualidad pueden alcanzar un estilo propio, más si abarcan un género en particular, y que tuvo su apogeo a finales de los 70s y principios de los 80s.

Estoy de hablando de Human Tetris es una banda oriunda de Moscú, Rusia. El cuarteto de se formó en el 2008  por Arvir Kriger (voz y guitarra), Maxim Keller (guitarra), Maxim Zaytsev (bajo), y Sasha Kondyr (batería).

La historia de la formación de la banda formula en amigos que se juntan para hacer música, basando en una decisión principal en el hecho de no compartir intereses musicales entre ellos, para no experimentar con los géneros.

HUMAN TETRIS
Ruver Pt 1 (2016)

Uno se da cuenta que Human Tetris suenan a Human Tetris, lejos de las comparaciones, por las creaciones de sus piezas o por la voz parecida a los pioneros del post- punk. Con el riesgo latente de caerse en la monotonía, pero ellos han sabido mantenerse y colocar muchas canciones en la necesidad de las exigencias que este estilo genera. Me gusta el sonido a viejo y a nuevo que transmiten, atemporal, dándole el revival a esa complejidad de géneros oscuros que dejaron de sonar a mediados de los 80s, no porque no era bueno, sino porque no estábamos preparados, y los pocos que vivieron esa época, son nuestros maestros que con añoranza nos relatan los pasajes mágicos. 
   
“Human Tetris“ (2009), y desde que la primera canción suena “People” entras en una atmosfera diferente que cada banda te reserva, recorriendo las 5 canciones del EP homónimo, descubres que el trance no se puede quedar a medias, que necesitas vida en sus acordes, que necesitas hacer camino en cada letra de canción construida. Parece una promesa que tal vez se cumpla, solo falta esperar el siguiente material para confirmarlo. No tuvimos que esperar demasiado, en el 2010 “Soldiers” un segundo EP salió a la luz otras 5 canciones con notoriedad de semblanza “Machine”, “Kings & Queens”, “Soldiers” son temas que sobresalen y nos dicen que Human Tetris va a dejar una historia digna.

En el 2012 es un álbum de larga duración “Happy Way In The Maze Of Rebirth” un disco memorable desde “Summer in Crimea”, tema que nos remonta en la inspiración y la melodía pausada con destellos de relajación. “Cold Wind” es otra canción que contiene emoción contenida, una pieza mental digerible como telekinesis, puedes abandonar el cuerpo mientras tu mente viaja entre los espacios más recónditos, lo mismo “Angel”, “Insanity” con guitarras y batería aludiendo a tiempos paralelos que te dejan satisfecho y sabes vivir entre los mundos que te generan sus canciones.
Ahora esperamos la primera visita a España y la presentación del nuevo  Ep “River Pt 1“.  para no decir que eso fue todo. Human Tetris por primera vez en España.


THE INTERVIEW

The songs of Human Tetris sounds like an elegant Pop and Rock where I can detect Post Punk and bit of New Wave. A mix of styles that results on the personal and beautiful sound of your music. But, what are really your musical influences?
MAX: We've been listening to a whole lot of different pop music throughout the years, and we stopped labeling it a long time ago. It might be a disappointing answer, cause you were probably looking for some band namedropping with this question, but we really just dont categorize music anymore. The only two things we're looking for in music now are clear thought and originality, no matter the genre.

ARVID: Cant say better. The only thing that we are looking for now is original thinking in any genres.

Next year will mark 10 years since you formed in 2008 and almost 8 from you edited your first album named Human Tetris. What is the difference between the music of Human Tetris today and your music 10 years ago?
MAX: HT is the first band Arvid and I have ever played in, we hardly had any skills playing our instruments back then, let alone writing songs and working with sound. We were also highly entranced by post-punk back then, which resulted in a kind of a simulated sound. It was a naive time, yet we were very honest with our songs, they were all lived through, which is why a number of these songs still resonate with us. This honesty started to fail us in time, which was one of the main reasons we went on hiatus. Now we've matured a little, both musically and personally, and found new ways to look at things, new ways to be honest and enjoy ourselves while making music, which is the cornerstone in this process to us. For better or worse, were way more deliberate now, than we were when we started.

What's your inspiration when making your songs?
ARVID: Inspiration comes from everything and long before you can filter it into something. I remember a lot of good and bad things that inspired me somehow but I dont remember moments when I wrote songs that were inspired by those events.

MAX: Its more of an Arvid question, but as for me, its about active reflection and ceaseless work. However, theres always an element of spontaneity in arranging a song, like, we never examine too many options of an instrumental part before we pick one, if a melody works to us, it works. We never go all analytical there.

Are you completed your expectations with your last album River Pt1? What do you expect from this album?
MAX: We love the new songs, obviously, otherwise we wouldnt have released them. We found a very organic way for HT sound to evolve, and there are no expectations regarding it really, we just feel happy every time we play them live, and we are very grateful for an opportunity to do so regularly. Also, we are really looking forward to start working on the second part of the album, because lately we havent had an opportunity to plunge into this work.

ARVID: I dont think we really expected that much to happen. Sometimes spontaneous things work out good. 

What do we will see and enjoy in your live concerts?
MAX: We came to really enjoy playing live just recently, so we hope it's gonna be great. Expect a crazy lazer show, a gospel choir and a dozen go-go dancers.

ARVID: Amen!

This is not your first time in Spain. What do you think about the Spanish crowd? What do expect from them, this time?
MAX: This is actually our first time playing in Spain. We've visited your country a couple of times though, and there's a lot to love in terms of youth culture, the way you guys are open to intercommunication, and food, of course. We're looking forward to a warm, energetic show!

ARVID: Well I expect a lot of fun and nice weather.


What are your plans for next year 2017? We assume that you will touring around clubs and festivals. Can you advance anything to us? Any important event?
MAX: We have a lot of tour plans for 2017, but the biggest plan of all is to get River Pt. 2 done. We have a very good feeling about it.

Do you think the digital world will end with music as we know it today? What do you think is the future of music?
MAX: The access to making and distributing music is getting easier every day, which is a two-sided thing, where there is an opportunity to find some real gems in a huge pile of garbage. I think music world will keep getting more and more scattered, strutified, as smaller groups of people will keep gathering around particular artists that suit their tastes perfectly. I believe the era of huge bands, like U2 or Coldplay, will be over pretty soon.

ARVID: For sure! No more rock stars or shit like this. Things getting easier with internet that is what matters! We are not living in the future, we are living now and I am fully satisfied.

What is your best memory about music?
MAX: Listening to Kino for the first time at the age of five.
ARVID: Watching Queen – Breakthru video for the first time.

How is a normal day in the life of a member of Human Tetris?
MAX: It varies from member to member — some of us have a day job, some don't, some are busy raising kids, some are crazy good at Tinder game, some work out, some shoot heroin in parks. We're a pretty mixed group of people.

What do you think about the current economic and social situation in Spain, Europe and in the World in general?
MAX: Wow, that's a big question! Don't know much about it, to be honest, but president Trump seems like a very perilous omen to me. Ignorance is taking control on a global scale.

ARVID: I feel like I'm getting used, robbed spiritually, controlledShit is driving me crazy. That's a huge question and a really sad situation.

HUMAN TETRIS
Last forever (2016)


MISCELLANY
(let's do it in a form of quick answers)

Could you tell us about...

... A book?:
MAX: Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
ARVID: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

... A movie?:
MAX: Du levande by Roy Andersson
ARVID: 5 Centimeters Per Second by Makoto Shinkai

... A song?:  
MAX: Champagne Coast by Blood Orange
Arvid: Real Estate–Darling

... An album?:
MAX: Doolittle by Pixies
ARVID: «Как я стал предателем» by АукцЫон

... A group or soloist?:
MAX: Milk Music
ARVID: Morrissey

... A hobby?:
MAX: Shooting heroin in parks
ARVID: «Hot» water drink lifting

Thank you very much. Best wishes from Spain, and congratulations for your music.
MAX & ARVID: Thank you very much for an amazing interview, Josechu!

1 comentario: