necessary number of songs. Many fans have asked us if we’d like to release our music on vinyl, but due to time, scheduling, and budget constraints, that hasn’t happened yet. However, releasing an album like ‘Memento’ on vinyl, as well as the ‘Memento remix’ album, is high on our wish list. The singles have made quite an impression. ‘Love Is Gonna Save Us’ and ‘Hope’ were very well received, and ‘Enough’ even became ‘Song of the Year’ on 3voor12 Tilburg. Did you expect these songs to catch on so quickly? We didn’t expect it, but we hoped for it. It remains difficult for a project like Darker, with dark electronic music, to gain the attention of national and international radio and media. A radio station like KINK – which we think is a perfect fit – doesn’t play our music because there aren’t enough guitars. We, of course, think that’s nonsense, because KINK does play our biggest influences and sources of inspiration, likeWhite Lies,Depeche Mode, Our main message is to bring light in dark times, a message that contains hope and love. and a whole bunch of other electronic music. Is there a fixed division of labor for song composition, for example, Jeps writing the music and Valerio the lyrics, or are you more of a collective where everyone contributes and democratically decides which elements are developed? Initially, I wrote both the music and the lyrics, but these days the others also have a say.Valerio and I get together more often and jam on vocal lines, synth riffs, and potential beats. Jurgen also mainly adds to and inspires our music live.We also enjoy occasionally playing a cover song that we then make ‘Darker.’ But everything often starts with a musical concept of my own, which I then present to the others with either that idea or the complete song. Your lyrics cover the entire spectrum, from personal relationships to social issues.What do you consider the elements of a good lyric? - 15 - Personally, I try to stay away from political topics. So, I draw inspiration for the songs from personal experiences, past or present. This can be about love, relationships, inner conflict, addiction, or personal suffering. I also love to mislead people with puns. ‘Bed Karma’ is a prime example. But a new song we’re working on, ‘D Is For Anger,’ also has a similar twist. Our main message is to bring light in dark times, a message that contains hope and love. As we mentioned at the beginning, you launched during the coronavirus pandemic. I know many bands saw the pandemic as a curse because they couldn’t rehearse or perform, but some musicians also saw it as a blessing because they could express their creativity without time restrictions, disconnected from the outside world. How do you view this? For us, it was a blessing. We suddenly had tons of time, without the pressures of the outside world or the distractions of our daily work. This allowed me to regularly retreat to the studio and, together with Evilien, lay a foundation that, supplemented with Valerio’s voice, would later lead to a whole bunch of demos, and even later, releases. It also gave us time to think about how we would present Darker to the world. When you play live, you also bring drummer Jurgen with you. I understand that performing is very important to you, and that you also have a good live reputation. What does an ideal Darker performance entail? In other words: what can we expect on October 24th at the Kinky Star? We spent a lot of time thinking about howwe wanted to present ourselves live. The most important thing for us was to distinguish ourselves from a lot of other bands in this genre and in other musical styles. We drew inspiration from the live shows of major artists like Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, and Massive Attack.That was the high bar we set for ourselves. We were also fortunate to receive a subsidy from the province of Brabant, which allowed us to invest a great deal of time and energy in equipment, collaborations with other artists, and mastering programs like Ableton, Arena, Final Cut Pro, and others we use to prepare our live shows. Those attending our show in Ghent will be pleasantly surprised by the audiovisual spectacle Darker will deliver live. Come see for yourself, enjoy, and discover the Darker sound. Xavier KRUTH www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be
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