Unreqvited Interview
Sorrowful, painful, taking you down, drowning. Grieving. Mesmerizing. Fragile. Uplifting. Absolutely beautiful. This is Unreqvited, Canada’s finest way to gaze into black nothingness. Blessed Altar Zine have already reviewed for you band’s magnificent new album “Stars Wept To The Sea” (Please check our review here) which was officially out in April. I evoked 鬼 (ghost) – Unrevqited’s mastermind, to come up from the dark mournful corners of the Other side, and share with us some thoughts on the band and the new record.
Hello, 鬼! So the ghosts do exist?
Greetings. We do exist, and we are many.
Tell us more about Unreqvited – the whole idea about the project…
Unreqvited began as a coping mechanism; a cathartic release of emotions that I otherwise had no other way of expressing. I would say that has always (and will always) be the “idea” behind Unreqvited, because ultimately I’m writing music for myself. Happily, it’s blossomed into something that others seem to relate to as well.
How would you describe Unreqvited?
A juxtaposition of depressive and uplifting melodies. Something I’ve always been fascinated with.
You have two impressive albums now, so much blackgazing! Is everything so cold, false, lost and unrequited?
It’s not all bad. I’m in a better place than I was for the first album. Very excited to start working on the third LP and see where that takes me.
I have always found a lot of inspiration for myself and uplifting mood in the saddest melodies, they are touching me the strongest. Is this your understanding as well?
Absolutely. I’ve always enjoyed the dichotomy of music that is both depressive and uplifting. It’s cathartic, both to the listener and the creator. I think it’s human nature.
Where can we see the stars weeping?
This is something that is only visible from the other side. In time you will see what I see.
Tell us more about this new gorgeous record. You write, compose, play, produce everything…
This record covers some new ground for Unreqvited. I got to incorporate a lot of my favourite musical elements into this record, the biggest one being the cinematic/orchestral sound. I also tried to take some time to get a little bit better at production, since the first record “Disquiet” was the first thing I had ever recorded/produced so I really didn’t know what I was doing.
What is different now in “Stars” in comparison with your previous record?
I think it’s much bigger sounding, there’s a lot more going on arrangement-wise. The production is a little better, and I think there’s an improvement in my songwriting as well. I explored more territory, and I think I’ve started to pave my own path in terms of the sound I want to continue to create. I want every record to be a little different, but I think with this record I’ve really nailed the core sound that I want to keep building upon.
How much does it take to record an album by yourself? And how difficult is it?
I think it’s getting easier. I’ve been composing since I was a kid, so I mostly struggle with the production side of things. It’s always a daunting task for me. I love writing music, but I never feel like I can get it sounding exactly how I envision it production-wise. I hope to keep improving with every release.
Lots of different instruments and styles beautifully combined there. From where do you find so much inspiration? It’s a real fire in the soul there!
Thank you. I really love film scores, New Age music, and other things of that nature. I love grandiose cinematic compositions, but I also love ambient meditative music. I’m trying to combine those two things into the “post-black metal” sound and create the music that I want to hear as a listener.
There is a lot of influence by the Asian culture and beliefs…
I’m huge into Japanese culture for sure. I’ve always been fascinated by their art and aesthetics. I’ve begun learning the language and hope to visit sometime in the near future.
What are the initial responses to the record so far?
Far better than expected. To me it seems like quite the deviation from the first record, but people seem to be taking it really well. Everyone says it sounds far more mature and evolved. I hope the positive feedback persists throughout future releases like it has with this one.
What is ahead of Unreqvited? Is there a chance to see a ghost live maybe?
Unfortunately not in the foreseeable future. But never say never.
Would you invite more ghosts to howl the studio with in the future?Perhaps. On the new record I collaborated with a singer from western Canada named Arctica. She sings in the outro to “Stardust”. I have some ideas for people I want to work with in the near future, but I think they will be rather unexpected collaborations.
Thank you very much for your time and for accepting my invitation for this interview! We’ll be looking closely on Unreqvited! Is there anything else you would like to add or let our readers know?
It’s my pleasure. To those of you who haven’t heard it yet, my brand new record Stars Wept to the Sea is out now on all online music platforms. To those of you that have already picked it up, I appreciate you more than you know. Thank you for this interview. Until next time.
And after this reply 鬼 suddenly, almost like in a dream, just gently disappeared in the surrounding fog towards the distant cold worlds and stars, haunted by the longing sad spirits…I left gazing in to the dark…
Interview by Count Vlad
