Descendants Of Cain |
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(November 2002) |
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1. So tell us about the new album, 'BRIAH', and how does it differ, if at all to ‘Atziluth’? Darryl: Musically Briah: Of Man and Magician is a much moodier and deeper insight into the atmospheres found in ATzILUTH as well as into usas musicians. As a concept, it portrays and challenges the two sides of being human, whereas the first is more concerned with setting the scene and asking the initial questions. 2. Has it been more of a challenge to produce this album than your first one? Some bands say that the second album is usually more difficult…. D: I would have to say yes. A lot more time and care has been put into the creation of Briah than ATzILUTH. The art work and music have been developing for the last two years and it has endured a few changes in sound and appearance until we were happy with the final result. But generally it’s been a lot more work to produce. 3. What was the ‘spark’ that inspired the creation of DOC? Had the concept of this band been around for some time before it came into being? D: DOC has existed in concept since 1993 when I first came up with the name. It seemed to sum up a lot of philosophical concepts and ideas that had haunted me since I first found out who Cain was, and the implications behind his mythology. But the band was officially formed in April 1999 when Philippa and I met Iain. 4. What about musical ‘training’? Have you all come from musical backgrounds, or are your talents self taught? D: I've been singing since I was very young but on our instruments we're all pretty much self taught. 5. Where do you draw your musical influences from, and what inspires the lyrics? D: Our influences are many (from Mozart to Bjork) and the lyrics are inspired by what I see in the world around me. 6. How did a change in sound engineer effect the band? D: Well at first we thought it was a desperate blow to what we had strived so hard to achieve in the first year. But once Hosanna began working with us we quickly saw that we had stumbled upon the perfect person for the job. It has indeed been a change but a change that well suits our evolution. 7. How much time and effort goes into live rehearsals? D: We generally practice three times a week, and did so for a year before we started performing live. 8. Was the response to ‘Atziluth ‘enough to make you want to get ‘Briah’ completed and out sooner than you would have liked, or were you more concerned with getting the new album right before releasing it, even if it meant that publicity for the band may have faded over the intervening months? D: Getting the album out really has been a secondary concern during the creation of Briah. We have been working with one goal in mind: to release it when it was truly finished and not before. If it took another year then we would have done it. I’m glad it didn’t though. As for waning interest, we have found that our fanbase has grown steadily through out the last two years, I’m happy to say. I think the live performances have created a fair amount of curiosity as to what the newalbum is going to be like. 9. Where do you see DOC with regards to a Goth scene full of Neph’/Mission/Sisters clones? D: We have never gone out of our way to fit any single style or sound. Everyone has their influences and they are often easily spotted. But our sound is our own and I hope that given a few more years of exposure it will be recognised as that. I think bands like us, The Faces of Sarah, Waterglass, The Order of Azrael, Seventh Harmonic and other new groups have our work cut out for us. The audiences here have high expectations and its difficult to impress people when bands like The Nephilim and Sisters have set the standards. This is definitely a good thing for music as it forces us to work hard at producing quality. 10. What do you say to people who may (unfairly) label you as another Nephilim clone? D: What can I say…I don’t agree, but people must make up their ownminds. 11. What plans do you have to promote the new album (gigs etc.)? D:Well the album launch is on the 8th of December and we will be following that up with as many gigs, reviews and interviews as we can. And thanks to Resurrection Records it will receive global distribution. 12. The early tracks I heard from ‘Briah’ were without doubt, outstanding. How do you maintain such a high quality throughout your work, and where does all that passion come from? D: We just work to our own standards. I think our expectations become higher with each new song. As for passion, we just truly love what we do. 13. What is your take on the UK Goth scene today? Has it become diluted by far too many EBM influenced bands? D: The UK Goth scene has been an interesting discovery to us. It has its good points as well as bad but generally the people we meet at gigs and clubs are very nice. EBM however is something of a mystery to me. I do not like it nor understand the attraction. I’m not against electronic or real industrial music but I just get the feeling that not much thought goes into some of these dance songs. Most of them just sound the same to me. But hey…if it makes people happy then so be it. 14. When will we see DOC at Whitby festival? D: Well as soon as we are asked to play. 15. What are you reading right now? D: To be honest I haven’t found the time of late to do much reading. Too busy writing I’m afraid. 16. When not listening to your own material, what do you (and other members of the band) like to chill out to? D: Film or game soundtracks. Myst 3’s “Exile” soundtrack has been in Philippa and my CD player for the last year. 17. What do you all do for day jobs? Surely there must be money coming from somewhere to finance the band…? D: Iain works with computers at a local college, Philippa is a game artist and I’m a bum who they took pity on and feed occasionally. 18. What influence does religion (in any shape or form) have on DOC’s songs? D: It serves as inspiration and frustration. 19. Finally, anything else you’d like to say? D: Yes…thanks to everyone who has helped us get this album finished. It is very greatly appreciated. |