Anastasia Ligotskaya - Riverain
Interview By Connie Bach
I’ve always found bands that combine the raw power of metal with lush symphony to have the special ability to cast images in your mind. The sound of Riverain makes me think of the grand canyon. The flow of their sound reminds me of white water: fast, unrelenting, but still a steady flow, unbroken even as it circles rocks; the band’s layered sound reminds me of the balanced Hughes of different layers of rock in canyon walls.
Hi Anastasia and welcome.
Hi
To get started, when you were young, you received the choice of a musical education versus sports. From a Western perspective, unless an individual attends a school with a focus of either arts or athletics, it is rare that there is an option. How did your choice in education, and the influence of the society you lived in, put you on the path to being the frontwoman of a melodic death metal band?
Eventually I’ve chosen to become a designer and now I have already graduated the university and that’s what I’m going to do to gain living. And as for the music, though it plays a major role in my life, it is, and always will be just a hobby for me, in the sense that I don’t do that for money. Rather on the contrary, often I and the band members have to put our own money in it. It’s close to impossible to gain living by playing metal in Russia, even for the bands that are much more famous than we are. Everyone in the band has some occupation for money and the music will always stand apart of our jobs. We just enjoy playing and we love music deeply, that’s it.
And for the influence of society – well, there hardly was any. I myself have always wanted to play music and as soon as it became possible, I formed my own band. And it was far from melodic death back then, we began as a classic rock band, gradually shaping our style through heavy-progressive metal with clean voices to what we play now. And I guess this is what makes us a bit different than most of the modern MDM bands – we didn’t come up trying to copy something like Arch Enemy or In Flames. Our style was developed different way – gradually Melody, which has always been very important for us, merged with aggression and metal influences, and it’s still important for us to not be purely "metal" but also have a great deal of beauty and melodies in our songs.
Anastasia, Riverain has been in existence for seven years now, since you were a teenager. As a young woman, how much encouragement did you receive from your family, friends and the Anapa music scene?
Well, I have always been supported by my friends and parents. My father himself is rather an experienced musician and he has always been very supportive of my musical activity. Moreover, he owns the Seastar Studio where our album was recorded. As for the Anapa music scene, there hardly is any. Our city is not really a big one and there are quite a few bands here. But of course most of the musicians in our city know each other, and are more or less friendly. Anyway, all of the bands that existed here 7 years ago, are now gone, Riverain being the eldest in the city.
"Overstepping the Verge" is Riverain’s first full-length album, second release. In the song "Spirits of the Forest", you mention "passing round the bonfire seven times" when the character in your song summons these protective spirits that guide the weather. Did Russian mythology, or ancient religious beliefs, play a part in the theme behind the album?
No, actually not. The lines you’ve cited describe some heathen ritual but it’s not done so under the influence of any of the existing religions and beliefs – we stand apart of that. We aim to creating some fantasy, mystical atmosphere in our songs’ lyrics, without referring to anything "social".
Riverain contrasts orchestral influences with your intense vocal style and the melodic guitars quite well, keeping a smooth balance. On this album, you use both vocals resembling those of Angela Gossow and melodic vocals. Do you prefer using more extreme vocals, and why?
Melodic vocals that you can hear on the album are not sung by me: In "Madman" you can hear the voice of Liisa Lagoun (ex-Southwake) and in several songs there are vocoder lines, done mostly by our guitarist Daniel. And I prefer to focus on extreme vocals, because that’s what I’m really into.
How difficult was it to find the other members of Riverain, in order to create the band you envisioned?
That was really not that easy, because, as I’ve already mentioned, we live in quite a small city with very few musicians in it. Only I and Daniel are left from the first line-up and we were in search for the other guys for quite a long time. Many people came and went before we came to today’s line-up. And even still, our drummer is from another city and is only a session member of the band, because we failed to find one suitable in Anapa.
"Overstepping the Verge" has some fantasy themes running through it, as well as thoughtful, emotional ones. Overlaid is the concept of a dream. Chess is a game in which fantastic kingdoms are pitched against each other; these kingdoms are represented as good and evil by their respective colors. As chess is one of your interests, does the mythical battle of the game have any role in your lyrics, or in the stories behind them?
No, it certainly doesn’t. To me, chess is a game that demands you to be logical and keep clear mind. And I don’t connect it with any symbolism or myths.
For "Overstepping the Verge", how did the creative process get started? What caused you and your fellow band members to take all of your various influences and interests and come up with such a polished album?
Nothing "caused" us but our love to music and our need to express ourselves. We find a great joy in the process of creating something new. It’s a mystery of some sort – when songs that have not existed in this world become real, are given Birth. They are all like children for us – we cared for them, we shaped them into what they are and we let them free. And another thing about it that we enjoy as well is realizing that the songs that were born inside of our hearts and minds, now touch thousands of others’ hearts and minds, establishing some spiritual connection between its creators and the listeners.
Is the third track of the "Overstepping the Verge", "Breaking Test", referring to those who choose to live outside of the norms? Could you tell me more about where these lyrics came from?
Yes, this is the song about finding your own way, about confronting the norms of society and trying to understand who you really are. In short it says – "Take your life in your own hands, be yourself". This is what most of us, I suppose, have to learn sooner or later. The lyrics were inspired by a Russian poem by G. Slivankova, Daniel’s ex-girlfriend.
"Heart of Steel" is a song behind which stands a powerful emotional theme. What, if any, is the story behind this track?
No definite story behind the track, just a play of symbols. In the lyrics we created an image of some fantasy warrior, who is strong and powerful, he knows no regrets and no remorse but deep inside he fears what he has become and he’s longing to regain the light inside that he has lost. This "warrior" theme fits well with the music, and still, it touches the problem of emotions and searching for your own self.
The beginning of the track "Madman" reminds me of the last song of the movie, "Twister", from 1996. This was a lovely surprise. The meaning of the song "Madman" seems to discuss our need for life and material possessions, symbolized by the man driven over the edge by these needs. He fears death so can not find rest. Would you explain the metaphor of the rivers? Also, I’m just curious why you chose to use melodic vocals for this track?
We send no "messages" through our songs – we don’t think we have a right to teach somebody something. All the metaphors that can be found in our songs don’t point to something certain, they leave you the chance to find your own meaning in them. So everyone can explain these lyrics the way one feels it, and they don’t necessarily have to mean to you the same things they mean to us. And the river – well, it symbolizes something cleansing, powerful, ever flowing and ever unchanging. Something that lasts long after the disappearance of the madman and is untouched by human passions and vexations. The metaphor of rivers is such a powerful and a complex and a beautiful one, you could even notice that it is reflected in our band’s name. And as for melodic vocals – well, can you imagine me screaming or growling in such a song? I cannot. Everything should be in its place – and this song is not the place for extreme vocals of any kind.
You have a wide range of tastes within the metal "super-genre" from Arch Enemy to Nightwish, Porcupine Tree to Dream Theater. Some of these are quite distinctive in Riverain’s sound. With their variety of different styles, how did they help you become the metal vocalist you are? What about these bands, and similar artists, inspires you?
I love Music and the Music is what I like in all those and many other bands. Their songs touch me deeply, they resonate in my soul and leave an imprint on my personality, and they take part in making me what I am. And their influence on me and our music is as important as the influence of what you eat on your body.
From your experience, how difficult has it been to make yourself and your band visible in the Russian metal scene?
I believe that the "key to success" is rather simple – you just have to take seriously everything you’re doing, do everything with uncompromised quality – your music, arrangements, studio sessions, band image, album’s cover and artwork – everything must be flawless. And though this is all rather clear, it’s still a really, really hard and long work, which many just cannot do. We could cope with that, we realize the big responsibility that is taking the music seriously, and we do everything wholeheartedly. And that’s the way it is – if one is not ready to work hard, he gives up soon with no results.
Can you give me a sense, of what trying to record an album and being on tour, is like, in such a large country?
As for recording the album, there were no particular "country-dependent" difficulties. I guess, studio work is more or less the same in every corner of the world. Moreover, as I said, we’ve got the studio of our own and that helped us a lot. And touring… Well, you see, Russia is REALLY large. And to make a tour all over the country would be one highly expensive and long adventure. Only really big bands (and there are few of them in our country) can afford such a tour. And as for us, we usually do short tours, several cities at a row.
What is the most humorous thing that has happened on tour?
Always something extraordinary happens, sometimes funny, sometimes sad… For example one day when the gig has only just begun, some guy got sore because he couldn’t get a ticket. So he made a prank call that there is a bomb in the concert hall and then police came, everybody was driven out to the street and the show was cancelled. Not funny it seemed than but now all the situation seems to have been rather comic one.
And there was another time, when we came to play at an open air, that took place in the forest and it turned out that all the musicians played some sort of country. And we were absolutely different from all of them so the public just stood with their mouths open while we were playing – nobody was prepared there for a good deal of melodic death metal.
What would you say, is the one thing that connects all the members of Riverain with one another? What are relationships amongst all the band members like?
Our sincere love to Music is the main thing that bundles us together. And, thanks to it, we are all good friends and have really warm feelings towards each other. And we try to keep our company not only when rehearsing or playing live, we also go to trips together, all the celebrations we spend together as well.
Turning to a broader issue, there are many female artists in the musical industry. There are several angles from which they work to gain fame and a following. How do you feel about the double-edged sword that is the sexual appeal for female musicians?
I fell quite well about that – it has never caused me any problems and if somebody gets attracted not only by music but also by my appearance – that’s perfectly OK. Of course, being a front-woman, especially in MDM band, is quite a responsibility and it also draws additional attention to the band. But I have no problems coping with that.
Whether or not you remain a metal vocalist as a long-term career choice, how much have you learned from your experiences with Riverain and what will you do with that experience in the future?
As I have already mentioned, being a metal vocalist is not a "career" to me – I do it for pleasure, not for money. Nevertheless, I take this hobby even more seriously than my job and I hope this is just the beginning of Riverain’s life and you will hear of us many times more.
What I learned while playing in a band is that you should always stay yourself and do what your heart tells you is true. You shouldn’t be afraid to go against the stream if you feel you should. And I believe this will be helpful through all my life.
Through Riverain’s music, and the image you want to project, is there a message you want to send to your fans? In what way would you like to encourage them?
As I have already said, we are not "messengers" of any kind. Too many bands now seem to overestimate themselves and try to teach others their way of living. But all we want is to create beautiful and quality music and to promote it to the people who’d like it. So you shouldn’t search for some extra-deep thoughts in our works. Let the music speak for itself.
Finally, is there anything you would like to add, on behalf of your fellow band members?
All of them are important in the band in their own way, they are all talented and kind-hearted guys, true friends and skillful musicians. I am happy that we’ve found each other and became such a good friends and I hope that we’ll stay this way for a long-long time.
Thanks, Anastasia. It is always a great opportunity to discover new bands and then learn something about them. The music is deeply thoughtful and intelligent, and I look forward to one day seeing Riverain in the U.S.
Thanks to you for the interview. It was a great pleasure talking to you. And probably we really meet one day, who can tell. Good luck to you and femmemetal.net
Links
Please retweet and share this article if you found it interesting