Giannis Koutsousimos and Rock Overdose contacted Dejan Zivkovic, bassist from Orcus Chylde, for an interview around the very good debut and around the movement for the return of the '70s music. Read below...
Rockoverdose: Hello Dejan, I welcome you to Rock Overdose.gr. How are you?
Dejan: Hello everybody, it’s snowing here and I like this time of the year a lot, so I’m fantastic, thank you!
Rockoverdose: First of all would you like to present us the band?
Dejan: We are six guys in the band. Me, Tobias (vocals), Nico (guitar) and Lukas (guitar) have started the band in fall 2009. Our current drummer David and our organ player Felix have joined us in February 2011.
Rockoverdose: How do you feel now that your debut has been released?
Dejan: Quite good actually. The record has been well embraced by most of the followers, we are receiving a lot of positive feedback and the sales are quite good for an underground band like us.
Rockoverdose: The days of the recordings were full of anxiety as you had to do with a debut? Or were you thinking that by the time you love what you do, you would be alright no matter what the result would be?
Dejan: Well, we had only one week of recording time. For most of us it was the first studio experience ever, so we didn’t know what to do or to expect. All of the recordings were done live, which demands highest concentration and discipline and we had none of that, haha. There are of course some things that we feel like we could have done better or wish we had more time for it, but what’s done is done. Overall we are satisfied with the record, but our next approach will be more professional and we will definitely take more time for it.
Rockoverdose: What are you planning right now? Any scheduled tour or just some live shows around Germany?
Dejan: We have toured recently around Austria and Germany with our mates Noctum from Sweden. Right after that we played a few bigger shows, like Hammer Of Doom festival for example. Right now it’s only occasional gigs since we are concentrating mainly on the songwriting.
Rockoverdose: What are the influences in the band’s music? Some people say Witchcraft, others Graveyard or at least are there any psychedelic/kraut rock bands from the underground scene of Germany?
Dejan: Witchcraft and Graveyard are both great bands, but we are not influenced by those bands. The truth is, all of us togehter are listening to everything from heavy rock, psych, doom, prog, metal, jazz, punk, folk and what not... I guess all of these sounds have shaped us through the years and we are not afraid to bring these influences into the band. And that exactly was the thing with all these krautrock bands from back in the day. They were experimenting with all the sounds that they liked: electronic, jazz, psych, oriental music...Hell, I even hear a lot of funk by listening to bands like Can and such. I guess our approach to the music is very similar so I think you can say we are influenced by the krautrock. And I really think that this is some of the best music ever recorded. Concerning the scene in Germany: Yes , there are some bands worth mentioning. There are bands like Kadavar , Heat and Samsara Blues Experiment from Berlin, My Sleeping Karma hailing from our hometown Aschaffenburg and some other bands that are only on the demo level by now, but they definitely have the potential to make some noise in the future.
Rockoverdose: A lot of bands including Orcus Chylde have opened the music cupboard of the ‘70s and wear the clothes of that decade but their music is always being played under their personal sign. What do you think of that movement? Also do you think that it’s too artistic and spiritual to call it music fashion?
Dejan: There were always bands who played this kind of music, just like there were always bands that play in the vein of 60’s garage rock, 80’s heavy metal, 90’s death metal and so on. The only reason that retro rock is getting so much attention now is the major success of the bands like Graveyard, Witchcraft etc. I’m sure this kind of music is going to survive much longer than the hype that is surrounding it right now.
Rockoverdose: Are you in a place to tell us your favorite top – 5 albums from the last two decades that carry the spirit of the ‘70s?
Dejan: Sure thing , there are quite a few great records from that era. I obviously have to mention Witchcraft- Witchcraft (2004) and Graveyard- Graveyard (2007), those are definitely responsible for the popularity of the genre right now. Our friends Kadavar have released their magnificent self-titled debut early 2012 and they are rightfully receiving a lot of attention lately. When it comes to the psychedelic side, there is definitely Astra- The Weirding from 2009 , such a great psych/prog in the vein of Pink Floyd and such. And I have to mention Danava from the States, they definitely deserve more attention here in Europe. Their second album Unonou is my favorite one. There is a lot more of course, but since I have to choose, let’s leave it like this.
Rockoverdose: Back to the band. Whose idea was the name Orcus Chylde? Orcus used to be regarded the God of the underworld, but what does it mean Chylde?
Dejan: Our guitarist Lukas came up with the name. In Roman mythology Orcus was not only the God of the underworld, but the underworld itself as well. Chylde is just the old English word for child, so Orcus Chylde could be translated as a “Child of the Underworld” or as we like to call it “Reject From Hell” hahaha.
Rockoverdose: Who is responsible for the lyrics? They are really deep, especially “Cold Man”.
Dejan: “Cold Man” was written by our vocalist Tobias and the song “Orcus Chylde” was written by both of us together. The rest of the lyrics are handled by me. Yes, they are all very deep, dark and personal. We like it that way.
Rockoverdose: Orcus Chylde’s music and the general music must be heard through Vinyls and CDs, but the world has learnt to hear music through mp3 and other digital platforms. Do you think that Vinyls and CDs will survive?
Dejan: If there was no underground, all of the physical formats would be dead by now, since we all know the majors were trying to kill the vinyl in the 90’s and they are trying to kill the cd’s now, but thankfully there are enough dedicated labels, bands and followers who are not letting this happen. Even the tapes are still alive and doing well, so yes, the physical music formats will survive!
Rockoverdose: Well Dejan, thank you very much for this interview! I wish good luck to you and the band and I hope to see you someday on stage! The last words are yours. Share any message or anything else…
Dejan: Giannis, thank YOU and the whole Rock Overdose team. Also, I would like to thank all our supporters from Hellas. We are receiving a lot of love from there, which is really great! Hopefully we will be able to pay you a visit soon. Love and worship. Cheers from Orcus!
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