Interviews - RIVERSIDE PART ONE (June 2006)

INTERVIEW RIVERSIDE

(By Erik Neuteboom)

A few months after the release of the debut CD Out Of Myself by Polish progrock band Riverside, a fellow proghead advised me to give this album a listening session because of my appreciation for bands like Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree. Well, I was blown away by their compelling, often very emotional sound. I got the same kind of goose bumps as when I listened for the first time to Spanish Triana, Canadian Rush and Swedish Anekdoten! Soon I discovered that I shared these exciting feelings with many progheads on Prog Archives and I am very pleased that their second studio album Out Of Myself is so highly rated in the Top 100 (#18 on May 12^th). Because Riverside fully deserves this if you read all those positive reviews of the albums Out Of Myself and Second Life Syndrome. The influences are obvious (from Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree to Pain Of Salvation, Opeth and Anathema) but the band is praised by its original blend of skills and emotion, its melodic and dynamic sound and the high level of all musicians. The atmosphere on Second Life Syndrome is a bit more dark and the sound is a bit more heavy but it’s obvious that Riverside convinced the progrock world with their new album, the expectations were high! Last year I interviewed the band just before SLS for Dutch Background Magazine, I have up-dated that interview with some additional questions just after their European tour. Due to a long planned holiday I missed the Holland concert but fortunately I witnessed Riverside last year, what a mindblowing experience!

1) What are the roots from Riverside?

The band was created pretty accidentally. At the beginning it was to be just a side project, a form of escape from our regular bands, but it has quickly become a priority and one of the most important things in life. The idea itself emerged while listening to Marillion during my meeting with Piotr (drums) in his car. After about a year later we started to turn our words into action and thus Riverside was created.

2) How did you get in touch with the known USA progrock label The Laser’s Edge?

In fact, we were about to sign up with a different company when we got a word from Ken of Laser's Edge who also offered us a contract. The conditions were really interesting for a debuting band. Laser's Edge is a well known company in the progressive rock world and they have good distribution, which allowed us to hope that we'd reach different parts of the world with our album. Besides, Ken himself is a very reliable man so we didn't hesitate too long.

3) How did the press react on your debut-CD?

From what we can find on the Internet and the information we get from our fans, we could say that the album was very enthusiastically received, both in Poland and in the world. The reactions are presented in the reviews you can read on our website, http://www.riverside.art.pl/ - www.riverside.art.pl . Riverside was mentioned in many summaries of 2004 among some really famous bands, which was a huge surprise for us.

4) Can you tell something about the dark and a bit scary cover art from the debut CD Out Of Myself?

I'm not sure if you're asking about the artwork of the Polish release of "Out Of Myself" or the Laser's Edge one. The Polish cover was designed by our friend, Pjepsh, who is also the webmaster of our website; the cover for the worldwide issue was prepared by Travis Smith, who is known for creating the artwork for Anathema, Opeth, Katatonia or Devin Townsend. In both cases the authors were artistically independent and they themselves interpreted the title and the emotions connected with our music. We didn't suggest anything, as this is what art is all about… about conveying your own emotions. And we're really happy with both covers.

5) What are the main influences for the music of Riverside?

The most important influences are our own emotions which we're trying to convey through our music. Despite the fact that each of us is different, that each of us has different musical and social background, there is a common denominator which joins us and that's a really fascinating thing. We spend a lot of time together working on the music and planning the future of the band, and such mutual goal really connects people. So let me say that again, those are emotions that exert the most important influence on our music J

6) The title track is a very powerful and emotional song, what can you tell us about the lyrics and the way you created this song musically? And what about the other songs and music, there is a lot of expression and emotion and also admiration for David Gilmour and Steve Wilson?

As I've said, emotions play a key role in our music. We're trying to create music which, in spite of being labelled as progressive rock, will reach all the sensitive people, not only those who listen to so called prog rock. Anyway, we're trying to make everything connected with Riverside credible – the sounds, the lyrics, the artwork and, in the future, the clips and other things.

"Out Of Myself" is a very honest album and I think people have noticed that, despite its imperfections. I don't want to sound conceited – it's just a conclusion based on what has been happening around the band for over a year.

Mariusz wrote truly great, personal lyrics, which perfectly match the atmosphere we created on "OOM," and the title track sort of sums up the contents of the album, that's why it's so powerful.

7) How about the second CD, what was the reason to release this kind of mini-CD? And why such a weird title as Dna ts. Rednum or F. Raf?

"Voices In My Head" was recorded mainly for the Polish fans, because here "OOM" was released in December 2003 and we wanted to while away the time of waiting for the second full album. At the same time, we wanted to show a different side of the band, the fact that we can play different kinds of music and still retain our style. Initially, it was meant to be a limited release and it is so in the case of the digipack edition. But there was such a great interest in the mini album that it was reissued in Poland by Mystic Production on June 20^th and we hope to release it soon also worldwide.

And the title you ask about is in fact very simple. It's included in the track's lyrics. You just have to read it backwards… J

8) The music on the second second is more laidback, do you agree?

Yes, indeed the music is more mellow, more spatial, a bit trance-like. Such was the idea behind this EP, especially that the second LP is going to be heavier and darker. We don't want to record similar albums, we're still searching and at the same time trying to retain our style.

9) What was the reason for another keyboardplayer?

Well, while we were recording "Out Of Myself," it turned out that Jacek had different priorities than the band and there were a lot of misunderstandings, so we decided to find a different keyboardist. Michał is a great musician and we understand each other perfectly. Right now, Riverside play in the optimal line-up.

10) How is the situation for progrock in Poland?

Progressive rock has its faithful group of fans in Poland, but it's not the music from the front pages of magazines. Recently, I've noticed more and more bands that play progressive rock. So I think I can say that it is getting better.

11) Can you compare the situation before and after The Wall was destroyed or are you all too young?

Poland is a strange country because of the influence of not only the recent 20, but 200 years had on it. In fact, most of that time we were under someone else's rule, be it Russian or German, and we were constantly fighting for our freedom. Now, when we theoretically have it, we don't always know how to cope with it. Of course, the difference in the situation before and after the destruction of the Berlin wall is huge. We can say we are free and we have much greater possibilities, but it's a long way yet before we reach Europe J

12) How was your first European tour and what can you tell about the concert in De Boerderij in The Netherlands ( a triple-concert with Dutch Knight Area and Italian Moongarden)?

From our point of view, the European tour was a tremendous success. We received a warm welcome everywhere we played. There's no denying that Holland was the best, and I'm not saying this because you are carrying out this interview. Most of all, it's about people, about their attitude, involvement and spontaneity. De Boerderij was our first concert on the tour, we were a bit tense about our lateness and the fact that because of it we couldn't rehearse and familiarize ourselves with the stage. But, all in all, it wasn't that bad, was it? J

End of Part One.