Interviews

Unreqvited Interview

Hi, I’m really excited to interview you! How are your days going lately?

I’m doing very well, thank you. Keeping very busy with tons of new music in the works.

You live in the very remote Canada. I use to find interesting bands from that part of the world. I have quite a few favorite bands from Quebec as well! Please, introduce Unreqvited’s music!

Quebec has definitely birthed some incredible metal bands over the years. Especially black metal. Unreqvited is a post-black metal/post-rock solo project of mine that began back in 2016 with my debut record “Disquiet”. The debut album was heavily influenced by depressive black metal, but throughout the years I have branched out and included lots of new influences of mine into the music. All of my albums tend to have their own sound and theme; Stars Wept to the Sea was heavily orchestral, Mosaic I was very light and post-rock inspired, and Mosaic II is the darkest Unreqvited album. I like to describe my music as “depressive & uplifting”, due to the dichotomy of these two feelings that are often present in my music.

You have constantly improved yourself, as we can see from the evolution of albums. Where did you start and where do you currently stand in terms of level of development? How do you think you will be going in 5 years time?

Thank you, I’m glad you feel that way. Well, I had always played in bands growing up, but as I mentioned, Disquiet is the first thing I ever tried writing and recording entirely by myself. I like having creative control over everything that I make, so it is likely something I will continue to do for a very long time. Hopefully in 5 years my songwriting and production will continue to improve, so I can deliver the best product I possibly can to my audience. I’m already finishing up the album that will come out after Mosaic II, and it has some new elements that haven’t been featured in Unreqvited’s music before. I hope I can continue to push the boundaries of what Unreqvited can sound like, while still sounding like Unreqvited.

It’s clearly metal music, but I prefer to call your music art now. We get and hear a lot when listening to Unreqvited. How does a song come about? How do you assemble and polish it to perfection?

It really depends. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes it takes weeks. I pretty much only write at night because that’s when I tend to be inspired. I operate on a nocturnal sleeping schedule, so that I can write as much music as I possibly can. Every song tends to have its own little story attached to it, and that’s typically how I get through writing a piece of music. I also usually have an idea of what I want the album to be about/what I want it to sound like before I start writing songs for it. The songwriting is very quick for me, but the production always tends to take quite some time.

Years passed and the albums came. As a follow-up to the previously released “Mosaic I”, “Mosaic II” will be released in January. I can only say good about it. It’s a real hit with me. I think Unreqvited stands out from the high musical average. Please, talk about the new album!

This means a lot, I appreciate it. I think the inclusion of all my musical influences into my music definitely makes it stand out among the “post black metal” scene. I try to make every album I release a little bit different from the last, and Mosaic II is no exception. It is the second part of a therapy experiment that I created for myself in 2018. Throughout the course of the year, I put all of the joy/love/euphoria I felt into Mosaic I, and all of the anger/sadness/depression I felt into Mosaic II. Basically, my mood would dictate what album I worked on. As a result of this, Mosaic II was born out of some very dark places. This is also the album where I experimented the most with different sounds/genres, some that may be a little shocking to people.

So, a good album is going to be released, at a good publisher! Prophecy supports and moves underground music very well. To get started, previous releases will be re-tuned. Do you think it’s a great pleasure for you? What would you add to the reissues and opportunities?

I’m very excited to be partnered up with Prophecy for these releases. They have a massive reach, and will surely get my music out to some brand new potential listeners. It’s very exciting to be re-releasing the album that started this all for me. Disquiet was the very first piece of music I ever tried recording myself in my bedroom, so it holds a very special place in my heart. It also has a bonus track that was written and recorded very early-on as well, around the time when Stars Wept to the Sea came out.

Your music is mostly characterized by anxiety, anger and despair. Most people turn away from you when they hear this, even though this phenomenon is constantly present in people’s lives. In my opinion, such music can help a lot. How do you feel about this? Why did you choose that kind of music back then?

I need an outlet for all of these emotions, otherwise I would probably lose my mind. It is an outsider form of art, so I completely understand why someone wouldn’t want to listen to distorted guitars and wailing vocals. It is however, very cathartic for those of us that understand it. I have had many people tell me that my music has introduced them to the genre, and that feels really incredible to know. I don’t know why exactly I chose this genre of music to create, I think I just naturally gravitated towards it.

Post-Black Metal is perhaps one of the most popular sub-types of dark music. There is quite a lot to fit into this style, for example it operates with elements that are not completely to be called “metal”. How do you think advanced music can be called such a style? How much artistic spirit does the musician have and how much musical skill should he have?

I think this stuff is all very subjective. Firstly, I really don’t try to make any of my music fit within any kind of genre boundaries. I’m not making a conscious effort to make “post black metal”, that just happens to be the umbrella term that it all loosely fits under. I think anyone that is a musician should create whatever they want to create, as long as it’s true to their own artistic vision. Being a skilled musician certainly helps, but I think anyone can do it if they’re passionate about it.

Would you say a few words about yourself? What kind of person should we imagine? How far is the “average” label from you :)?

For the most part, I’m a very quiet, anxious person. I keep to myself as much as I can. Writing music is what I spend probably 75% of my time doing. I prefer to keep Unreqvited about the music instead of the person behind it, though, so I don’t reveal much information about myself.

As for the future, what do you want to accomplish, yet? What can we expect from you?

I have so much music in the works right now, 2020 is going to be a very busy year for releases. I’m not planning too far ahead, so I don’t necessarily know what the future holds for me. All I know is that right now I want to release as much music as possible, so that is something you can certainly expect from me. I’ll also be releasing some new formats of my previous albums that haven’t been available before.

Thank you for your valuable minutes. I was happy for your answers. Good luck!

It’s my pleasure. Thank you for giving me a platform to talk about the album, I really appreciate it. Take care!

WEB: https://www.facebook.com/unreqvited

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