PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
We are a Russian band, Lunar Woods. I think the band name characterizes our sound best: arcane, mysterious, while somewhat romantic music. It is difficult to think in terms of genres, but we are often described as Post-Metal/Stoner/Post-Grunge. The influence of such bands as Deftones, Tool, Alice in Chains, and other Desert music scene bands is often pointed out too.
It may sound naïve, but we really do not look up to someone and do not seek inclusion with some style. Therefore, we are in a permanent perplexity to define the genre – everyone speaks of our sound widely different (chuckles).
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
The band has been out there for several years, but we had a break due to difficulties with member musicians. Now we are four in the band, and we eventually succeeded to attain that magiс ‘chemistry’ which we decided to embody into new material. In recent months we released 4 singles, and we are about to release a new album.
The new album, PAIN NO MORE, is a fundamental work we dedicated almost two years to. 70 minutes of sound, 13 tracks. We were experimenting a lot and polishing the sound. And we are greatly satisfied with the result.
WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?
As mentioned before, it was a relentless craving for creative work that inspired the album. The band with new members wanted to create new music. Of course, we listen to a lot of music, from rock to extreme genres of metal. In this or that way, all this impacts our sound. Apart from that, don’t forget that we live in Russia, and the environment significantly affects your mood. I think listeners from other countries will find a lot of originality in our sound. Speaking about lyrics, this is a very important side for us too: we are up for the meaningful and deep lyrics encapsulating our real live feelings and experience. Music must be honest in every sense!
CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?
The album turned to be grown-up and multifaceted. This is a real journey where we lead the listener through a great many various emotions and sentiments. I would say this is the landmark event over the last, say, ten years. I am not speaking about music only. Seriously, we gave it 200 percent.
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
Each of us has a bit different musical taste. But what we have in common is love for Deftones, Tool, Slipknot, and Korn. All the guys share the opinion that each earlier album of Slipknot was an important milestone in their life. Simply, life is divided into ‘before’ and ‘after’. One more event like this is the album Diamond Eyes by Deftones.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
At this point, the band has few music videos. We believe it makes no sense to film videos for no special reason. The video must give a bit more than just a visual backdrop to a song. Therefore, recently we have filmed our rehearsal in good quality: all songs were played in one shot and filmed in one shot. It turned to be way cool since the final video authentically conveys how Lunar Woods sound live. This is not just another music video with overheated production – this is a very honest piece of work. You feel present in our rehearsal room. We recommend starting with watching the music video for ‘Dead End’ – one of the last singles by Lunar Woods. You can find it on our official YouTube channel. Shortly, there you will also find live videos of the new songs. It is worth following us not to miss anything out!
Speaking about videos of other musicians, among the recent significant pieces I would highlight the works of RED FANG. We always have a great pleasure watching their works, the video for ‘Arrows’ turned to be epic. We watched it together several times! Funny and not vulgar. Not just a picture for the song, but an independently valuable creative work!
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
For that, you should better follow us on social media. Instagram, first. This is where we publish our musical and extra-musical life. The guys from Lunar Woods are friends; therefore, we spend our leisure time together.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
Everyone works with nervousness in his own way, but we love performing very much. We just get dissolved on the stage. In case of Lunar Woods, the main worry is to make sure the equipment does not let you down. We have a lot of various effects and tools, therefore there are a lot of potential issues.
The best way to relieve stress is to make sure that everything is under control. And for that, you need a well-managed process to prepare for the stage, to secure all the cables and to put the equipment to order.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
Ilya and Alexey got acquainted at the university. They were playing in another band for some time, but with time they realized that it is interesting for them to create other music. This is how Lunar Woods appeared. For a long time, the project existed as a studio band.
Recently, Rafa, the drummer, and Andrey, the guitar, joined the band. Before them, several other guys passed through the band, but the cosmic ‘chemistry’ did not happen to be born. The current members of Lunar Woods are the power we believe in. And this is what moves us forward.
HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER?
The main author of the songs is Ilya, our headliner. He composes most of the sketches. Then, the entire team gets involved. Eventually, the result may be totally different from the initial sketch. This is a product of the whole team. Yes, all together we elaborate parts of all instruments in the studio. We record pieces, listen and polish. The guitarists are involved in the drum parts creation process, and the drummer takes care of harmonies and arrangements. The songs of Lunar Woods are a collective work.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Music. This is most important. Music gives us an opportunity to travel in any world, in any emotion. This is a kind of concentrated human experience. We have a band, write songs and give this interview because we love music very much. And our task is to make a decent contribution to the world’s musical heritage.
WHAT IS NEXT?
We have a lot of surprises ahead. We worked a lot to present our creative work to the world. Shortly we will release the album, PAIN NO MORE, and several music videos. I hope soon we will announce the dates of tours to support new material. But so far, with the lockdown, we cannot plan anything. Probably the band will play a big online gig. We will see. And yeah, now we are working on the acoustic EP album.
There are lots of events! To make sure you doon not miss them, follow us on social media.