One moment she is Aqualyra, singer/songwriter, next time she’s the radio producer who was the first to grant A.S. Swanski airplay. In between she [...]]]> Wherever I hang out on the Net, I meet Dianne Murray. Well, not when I check my tax account or pay my bills, but apart from that, she’s always around.

One moment she is Aqualyra, singer/songwriter, next time she’s the radio producer who was the first to grant A.S. Swanski airplay. In between she sends emails with collections of interesting news about all kinds of topics. Her Social Digest, as it’s called.

Dianne actively promotes everything she likes and believes in, which is a great quality, and last month she was so kind to play a large part of my album Electro Noir in her radio show. And since her own music is rather special — folky tunes with angelic whispers and a simple bass line — I contacted her for an interview. Here it is….

A.S.: If someone asks you to describe Aqualyra and you have only a minute, what do you say?

Dianne: “I think I’ve boiled my elevator pitch down to gothic tango, enchanted caberet-inflected neo-folk & music for the baroqu’an hearted.  (laugh out loud) Not that I can remember to say any of that when someone asks!”

You perform your songs with a bass guitar only. This is very uncommon for a singer-songwriter. Was this a deliberate choice?

“More practical than deliberate.  I play several instruments, most of which I am rusty on. Bass is the only one really suited to playing at the same time as singing, as well as for writing.  I suppose if I owned a steel drum I could sing while playing.  But I don’t and I haven’t played in ages.  And I cannot imagine it would go well with the lyrical and emotional feeling of my music, even though it was the first instrument that I ever had lessons on when I was a kid.  Basically I am just working with what I have.  Singing and playing recorder at the same time, or singing with a viola under your chin seems a poor choice for sound quality as well! (smile) Since my guitar playing is almost non-existent, and my piano playing is really not good enough. That leaves the bass.  Plus I have always really loved the dark sound, as well.”

What did you do before you started recording as Aqualyra?

“All sorts of things. I have one of those writer’s resumes that reads like “jack of all trades , master of none”.  I used to cook and bake for a living at a bunch of places including a local folk club.  Then I became quite ill and after that I did a lot of science and broadcast work – producing and hosting a science, technology, and environment show on CKCU-FM and doing some science activist work around issues of habitat conservation.  I was also in a gigging alt rock band band back in the dim mists of time but that exploded due to the frontman and drummer being involved with the same woman.  After that I kind of went off in a bit of brain fog and ignored my musical muse for too long until I was blown away by the music of several European muses and got my lyrical and eventually songwriting groove back!”

If I read correctly, you have a background in science and biology. Does this influence your music or lyrics in any way, or generally, the way you approach things?

“My science background is in life sciences, especially behaviour, with a big focus on ecology.   I am not sure if my analytical geeky side really has much to do with the music.  The project started as an outlet for a burgeoning pile of lyrics for several muses. Maybe the psychology degree has influenced things in how I look at the world but I think my spiritual side and having my heart broken so often is more of an influence overall.  I am a big geek when it comes down to it but my heart is wildly romantic and irrational, like my imagination, and that is what drives the music.  Maybe the biology gave me some extra words for painting pictures with? (smile)”

Do you play live? If not, why?

“Not as Aqualyra, yet. I want to but I am trying to get over a crippling and annoying case of performance anxiety whenever I do solo and duet work.  It all goes back to several terrible experiences singing lead or playing in duets, which I’ve been trying to hypnotize myself out of. But I have in the past.  The old band I was in so long ago gigged a bit around town before we fell apart.   I played bass in that and also a bit of keyboard and I sang back up vocals as well. I’ve sung in school choirs and played French horn in band and orchestra back in the day.  So it’s not out of the question once I conquer this damned fear monster.  Hopefully.

I have a weird problem for a performer – I don’t like having people look at me and that isn’t helping, as you can imagine.  It was easier when I was doing talks about why we had to save the belugas of James Bay!  I didn’t mind doing public talks because it was for a greater cause, for someone else – for the belugas and the Crees of Quebec. But this is just me. I know that sounds ridiculous but that’s how it feels performing. I love singing and I adore music and writing it.  But performing feels weird.

A friend who is an excellent performer suggested I trying to just become the music – and so I am trying to find a way to just dissolve into the sing without having to get hammered on booze which I haven’t done in years.  I just care too darned much about people’s reactions. Even back in the gigging band I used to belt a beer or 2 very quickly so it hit me hard before I got up to play so I wouldn’t give a damn about the audience’s reaction.  It’s weird, I’ve done karaoke with no problem well with a few beer.

But my own music… it frightens me to think of choking again doing lead. And with my own stuff.  I’m trying to team up witha friend who plays ukelele and see if we can’t do that – she loves playing in front of people.”

How’s the music scene in Ottawa? And do you consider yourself part of any scene?

“Ottawa has a strong folk scene of long standing and a major folk festival.  My folk is darker and aside from a few artists here I don’t feel in harmony with that scene.   We have a really devoted metal and goth scene, not very large but quite committed and with some very talented artists.  I’m part of those as a radio producer, though – I try and support metal and gothic and hard rock and alternative artists here, as well as the metal community elsewhere.  But I don’t feel artistically part of the folk scene.   I’m pretty shy about my own music and find it easier to promote others music.”

You’re also a radio producer. What kind of show do you make and when (and where) can people listen to it?

“The show I am producing now is on CKCU-FM, 93.1 The show is a weekly 5 hour marathon lol devoted to a mix of music.  It breaks down to an hour of metal, one of goth-related genres, then one of new music, which programmed by my promoter friend in Nebraska, “Lady Death”. She shares my interest in Scandinavian, Finnish, European and upcoming bands. The last 2 hours have features including one on Finnish bands and one on steampunk “Sepiachord” bands, a morning weather report, and also some folk and other genres depending on what grabs me and Lady.  It’s called e.V.’s Underground and we webcast so people can tune in from wherever they are, pretty much. You can hear it live on Tuesdays between 2 am and 7 am Eastern North American time, at ckcufm.com. The station just got podcast capability but due to illness there is a double repeat show up. ”

Here is a link with time conversions for people in other time zones:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=e.V.%27s+Underground&iso=20110517T02&p1=188&ah=5

Your radio show features a lot of metal and goth music. How does this combine with the fragile folk of Aqualyra?

“Well, metal and goth are dark, as a rule. We metalheads and goths are unafraid to stare into the darkness to see what stares back.  It’s an inner state of being for many of us.  Some of us live in this dark due to mood disorders or dysfunctional backgrounds – and when you live in that sort of zone you tend to produce dark music. Often it’s a sort of catharsis.  So I would class my music as cathartic caberet-tinged folk noir, so I guess it goes together that way, in the noir end of things?

Also, there are some subgenres within metal and goth where some bands have explored a more folk inflected sound.   Opeth, for instance has a lot of folk influence to their sound as does Witchcraft, a Swedish doom metal band.   By folk, I mean old folk – almost a medieval troubadour kind of sound.  I have a couple of mixes that don’t sound that fragile but my voice is a lyric contralto with some mezzo  and I’m pretty much stuck with what sounds fragile, I guess.”

You pay much attention to Finnish music. This isn’t exactly obvious for a Canadian. Can you explain to me your relationship with Finland and its music?

“Haha! I’m not sure if I can.  I guess there is a rational part and an rational aesthetic reason.   I have had a strong affinity and interest in northern cultures since I was a kid. Other people dreamed of going to some tropical island.  But I hate the heat, warm is OK but heat makes me sick something I want to blame on my mainly Scottish roots – so I dreamed of the north.  I’ve been interested in Nordic and Finnish culture since I was about 11 or 12 years old when I would rummage through the library looking for cool new science books and cookbooks for different cuisines from around the world.  I stumbled upon Finnish and Scandinavian cuisines and kind of fell in love with that first.   Later on I fell for the music. There is something very haunting and melancholy about the music there.   Plus I love metal and in Finland, metal is mainstream. Here metal heads are thought of as some sort of weirdos.  Canada is largely a northern country. Ottawa’s temperature is comparable to Helsinki’s and inland central Sweden’s much of the time.  Sometimes it’s even colder here since we don’t have a large body of water to moderate things.  I also have had a couple of Finnish muses.”

If you had to give me an album as a birthday present, which would I get? And why?

“Since I don’t know what is in your collection already but it seems to me that you have an affinity for Portishead, and on your birthday I would want to get you something you enjoy – so I think I would get you something by them because Beth Gibbons voice probably appeals to you.  Except probably you already have the complete works – so instead I would give you friend Marie Josee Houle’s first album “Our Lady of Broken Souls”. Why? Because I think you would enjoy her vocals and the lyrical content. I only hope you also enjoy accordion! (laugh out loud)”

And is there any chance people will be able to buy an Aqualyra album one day?

“I very much hope so – I am working on a pile of songs still.  I was thinking I’d start with a single and work my way up to an EP. I kind of have a couple mapped out, I have names and everything anda backlog of about 20 more tunes, and always writing more – but the big bad anxiety monster is blocking me getting better recordings.   Perhaps I shall have to take up drinking again to get past it.  A couple of really talented artists have offered to help out -  people should check their music because they are so awesome!  I despair they may give up on me before I get past this.  Stephane Beauchamp-Kiss whose project is Audible Obsession, and Jospen whose project is Almas Liquidas both offered to help produce and play some of the songs. I am struggling to get the vocals recorded separately from the bass part.  Music production is a whole lot harder than radio production!”

Don’t tell me! Thanks!

Listen to Aqualyra here.

Swedish blog MusicStage.se was the first stating that Electro Noir was one of 2012′s most interesting albums so far (read more here) and [...]]]> The A.S. Swanski album Electro Noir has yet to become a millionseller, but it did get some excellent reviews so far.

Swedish blog MusicStage.se was the first stating that Electro Noir was one of 2012′s most interesting albums so far (read more here) and was followed by another Swedish site, the famous MeadowMusic. Their reviewer, Pär Berglund, wrote that the album “feels like a dark journey through gloomy, hard cities with Orwellian undertones, but also with spots of beauty here and there. A really good and well-made thematic album, which feels filmic and full of images.”

Our local newspaper Barometern came down to my house and wrote a full page about me (see pic), explaining its readers that “Swanski invites his listeners into a different world of sound and sonic imagery.”

Expressions like “different world”, “cinematic” and “journey” were common in most of the reviews the album got. On his I Still Sing A Long blog, Andrea Caccese said my music was “behaving so much like a movie soundtrack, with really strong cinematic power to it.” Caccese described my style as a “fresh and really personal interpretation of electronic music, adding a sharp noir vibe to it, with enigmatic lyrics and fascinating dark melodies”.

James Moore from the popular Independent Music Promotions blog gave Electro Noir 4 out of 5 stars. Its “dark electronic music asks questions of its listeners rather than simply delivering ear candy, which it also does in spades”, Moore wrote. “What perhaps sets Swanski’s work apart from his contemporaries is his minimalist approach and sense of space.”

He even dared to compare my stuff with the work of Jim Thirlwell (Foetus a.o.) and Portishead which is a hell of a compliment, I think.

While Moore – who has an excellent reputation in the music business – gave me a top rating for innovation, the Belgian RifRaf magazine didn’t hear anything special in what I did. They focused on the fact that I used to write for RifRaf’s biggest competitor in the tiny Flemish media world and I had the impression that this more or less killed my chances for a good review.

The reviewer suggested that former music journalists are rarely good musicians. History tells a different story – just think of people like David Thomas (Pere Ubu), Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders), Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys) and house innovator Gert van Veen (Quazar). All rock journalists in an earlier life. And you may hate their songs, but they are pretty brilliant at what they do.

The problem with many music journalists is that they often listen more to other journalists than to musicians. It’s what you notice when you check music blogs and try to make their writers listen to your music. My stats tell me that 9 out of 10 do not bother to listen to my music for even one second, even if I kindly ask them, explain that what I do bears similarities to what they like and tell them that they are the greatest guys in the world (most are guys, unfortunately).

I know they’re busy, but when I wrote reviews I listened to every album I received, despite the fact that there was no time or space to review them all. But only if you listen, you find something new and interesting.

It’s not surprising that musicians form their own communities. I joined one on Facebook, called Square Peg in a Round Hole, where a bunch of musicians and radio makers meet, mostly explorers of the more extreme corners of the musical spectrum. With a bit of luck, Dark Essence Radio on 4zzzFM (Brisbane, Australia) will play some A.S. Swanski music next Monday.

If you want to know if it’s worth it, buy Electro Noir here.

The track features Russian singer La Gouzel as well as a belly dance scene shot at a Russian wedding party. And yes, Swanski’s there as well. But feel free to ignore him.

Like Moscow Hearts? Give yourself a present [...]]]> Here’s the video for Moscow Hearts, the first single of A.S. Swanski‘s album Electro Noir.

The track features Russian singer La Gouzel as well as a belly dance scene shot at a Russian wedding party. And yes, Swanski’s there as well. But feel free to ignore him.

Like Moscow Hearts? Give yourself a present and buy Electro Noir. It’s the price of two coffees, but as I said before, it tastes better and lasts longer.

“Behind the name of A.S. Swanski hides an experienced Belgian musician who has been [...]]]> Musicstage.se, one of Sweden’s most popular music blogs, published a review of my new album Electro Noir today, written by Annika Torstensson. It’s in Swedish, so I’m giving an English translation below. Click here for the original Swedish version.

“Behind the name of A.S. Swanski hides an experienced Belgian musician who has been living in Sweden for a couple of years. Aside of Russian singer La Gouzel, who contributes vocals to three tracks, A.S. Swanski is almost a one-man project.

The landscape of sounds that meets us has a near cinematic expression and the title of the cd adequately describes what the listener can expect: dark electro with a touch of industry. One can notice influences from Kraftwerk and the early British 1980s like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle.

The first two songs on the cd are also the most accessible, most likely thanks to La Gouzel’s dramatic and melancholic singing. Other tracks like l’Etranger come close to the early work of The Residents, while Freedom partly reminds us of Devo and Talking Heads.

A.S. Swanski excellently succeeds in turning his different influences into a homogenous experience, and after a few times listening it feels like all tracks form a unity. Which is certainly not common nowadays when most albums contain a few “hits” while the rest are fillers.

The last track, Noir, with its dramatic narration and metallic sounds, forms a logic and strong ending of something that feels like a well thought through piece of work. Without a doubt, this is one of the most interesting records so far this year, and those who take the time to listen (the 10 tracks last a total of 59 minutes) are offered a fascinating journey through a very different world.”

That’s it. Needless to say, I’m happy with this review. Want to listen yourself? Here is Electro Noir. And buy the damn thing if you want to support me! It’s the price of two Lattes at your local coffee shop (and my album tastes better and longer).

Well, obviously, the word “electro” already indicates that it’s not jazz music. The word “noir” [...]]]> When I hear the word “noir”, I think of black and white gangster movies and smoky jazz music, a friend of my recently said. A.S. Swanski doesn’t exactly play smoky jazz music, so why is his album called Electro Noir?

Well, obviously, the word “electro” already indicates that it’s not jazz music. The word “noir” can be interpreted a lot broader, even if you think of the film noir genre.

Film noir is a cinematic term that was defined in retrospect for a series of black and white Hollywood movies from the 1940s and 1950s. At the time Hollywood made these films no one actually used the term. And while it is now mostly associated with cynical gangster movies, there are also film noirs that are best described as romantic dramas or discuss social issues.

Despite the influence of Raymond Chandler and other hardboiled crime writers, most film noirs do not feature a whiskey drinking private detective nor a femme fatale, and while there is jazz in some them, most have soundtracks that hold not a trace of black music.

In fact, about the only thing that holds them together, according to film critics, is the visual approach with unbalanced compositions, restrained lightning and sharp contrasts, a style with European roots.

And here we are. Electro Noir features dark electronic music with European roots, with compositions and arrangements that try to go beyond the obvious. Some will add that a number of songs are quite cynical, just like many (but not all) film noirs. And yes, sex and social problems make an appearance as well.

The noir of A.S. Swanski’s Electro Noir als refers to the fact that quite many listeners call my music “cinematic”. And to go back to the film noir association, there is even one song on the album that was thought to be a soundtrack for a noirish movie. Its title? Noir. How predictable!

Initially it did have a jazzy beat… Again, how predictable! However, every time a song becomes a little too easy to categorize or even worse, predictable, I tend to change it. So I threw away the jazz, and left the noir.

Click here to listen to the full album. And buy if you dare.

I used the name for the first time in 1999, when I released my first solo album, Twist (don’t bother searching – it’s no longer available). I had played rock [...]]]> Where does this name, A.S. Swanski come from? Does it matter? Well, if someone asks you, it does. So, here’s the truth and nothing but the truth.

I used the name for the first time in 1999, when I released my first solo album, Twist (don’t bother searching – it’s no longer available). I had played rock music for many years, in various sub styles and bands, and Twist was a conscious attempt to write music that had NO connection with rock. Something that should feel like it was really my own stuff.

Since rock is Anglosaxon music, It was only logical to choose an artist name that did NOT sound English. After some brainstorming it became A.S. Swanski. Only later I found out that Swanski was a Polish name, though not very common.

I like the sound of “A.S. Swanski”: it has a raw edge (ski!), as well as a suggestion of grace (swan), and at the same time, a little distance and mystery (what does the abbreviation stand for?). It’s how my music is meant to sound: a strange symbiosis of creepiness and beauty, as one of my musician friends, Ergonormous, once put it.

If you have a minute (or 59) to spare, listen to my new album, Electro Noir, and see if my music fits this description:
http://asswanski.bandcamp.com/album/electro-noir

And of course, if you like the damn thing, buy it!

It’s about the price of a beer or two (one, if you live in Sweden), and if we met in a pub, you would certainly buy me so many.

Electro Noir – the result of two years of trial and error at uncomfortable hours – is available in a download version, and as a limited edition CD.

You can get the download through iTunes and other sites, but if it’s not too much of an effort, buy through the link above. Otherwise I have to give one of my beers to the shareholders of Apple, and frankly, they don’t care a shit about A.S. Swanski and will never bother to ask where the name comes from.

The album is the result of two years of hard work, trial and error at uncomfortable hours. Subscribers of my newsletter got a foretaste this week as I gave them a free [...]]]> Electro Noir, the new A.S. Swanski album, is now available through the store page on this site, set up in association with Bandcamp.

The album is the result of two years of hard work, trial and error at uncomfortable hours. Subscribers of my newsletter got a foretaste this week as I gave them a free copy of the opening track, Moscow Hearts. The first feedback I received was very positive – thanks!

If you want to enjoy Electro Noir in its full glory, head over to my store page.

You can choose between two formats:

• Download version. If ordered here you will get two bonuses: an ebook with lyrics and credits, as well as an ebook with flashes from Swanski’s Twitter account.
• Limited edtion CD. Only 50 copies have been printed. The CD is only available through this site and comes in a light weight durable box (low shipping rate). Buyers also get the download version and the bonuses. Listen while the CD is shipped!

You can set your own price, with a reasonable minimum to make sure my costs are covered. Prices are shown in Euro but the system converts to your currency if you live outside the euro zone.

The whole order process is smooth, secured and encrypted, and no one will see your payment details. It’s safer than the CIA.

You can also buy Electro Noir through other sites like iTunes, Amazon, JunoDownload etc. Feel free to order there if this is more convenient. However, note that these stores do not offer the bonuses and are more expensive. Also, when ordered through my Bandcamp store the major part of the profits on my music will go to me, and not to some venture capital firm on a Caribbean island.

So, don’t waste your time and order Electro Noir – the thing is worth a ton, yet cheaper than a few beers.

The song refers to a similarly titled crime novel I once published. [...]]]> Moscow Hearts is the title of the first single of Electro Noir, the new A.S. Swanski album. Well, it’s a little long for a single (over 7 minutes) but hey, I’m not here to compete with the Gagas and Adeles of this world.

The song refers to a similarly titled crime novel I once published. The book (only available in Dutch, my mother tongue) is about a woman who dreams of a better life but ends up selling a dream to others, and about men willing yet reluctant to buy this dream. But, as we know, the personal is political, so feel free to interpret differently.

*** IMPORTANT: You can get this track FREE if you enter your e-mail address in the right column of this page.***

As the title suggests, there is a link with Moscow. Russia has become more powerful in recent years and it can be felt in Europe that nowadays gets a lot of its energy from the Eastern European giant.

I visited Moscow a couple of times. Very strange city in a very strange country, fascinating in its ugliness, and ugly in its fascination. To say it’s different from Paris, Amsterdam or London is an understatement.

The song is also about contrasts. The lovely Russian singer who lent her voice to this track, works under the name of La Gouzel. I can’t thank her enough for her contribution to this track. She also sang on two other songs on Electro Noir. The album will be available through my site this week.

Moscow Hearts Reviews

The demo version of Moscow Hearts got great reviews from fellow musicians.

“Moscow Hearts is incredible!! The opening suspense is masterful… and the payoffs are perfect and full of shining surprises. “(Mike from RoboKitty)

“This gives the vision/feel of being in the snow or ice and part of an Espionage or Thriller film. Mysterious, ambient yet danceable atmosphere.” (Eva Evelina)

“Moscow Hearts: a triumphant dark march on the streets of a rainswept winter in Europe.” (Tim from Untermain)

“Beautiful piano work and the tension is immaculately stretched out.” (MikeWhitePresents)

So, does it matter that it’s over 7 minutes long? Does size matter after all?

Whatever, if you’re not yet on my mailing list, enter your e-mail address on the top right and you will get the song completely free.

The download version of Electro Noir will be available through iTunes, Amazon mp3 and a number of other online stores shortly. The CD will follow soon after that.

At the right [...]]]> I’m happy to present you more details about Electro Noir, the new A.S. Swanski album. The cover art is a tribute to Suicide.

The download version of Electro Noir will be available through iTunes, Amazon mp3 and a number of other online stores shortly. The CD will follow soon after that.

At the right you can see the front side of the CD art work. The design is inspired by the 1980 reissue of Suicide’s debut album.

Together with German pioneers like Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, New York-based Suicide laid the foundation of electronic music. The difference with their romantic and slightly dreamy European counterparts was that the music of Alan Vega and Martin Rev was raw, dark and realistic. See this cover as a tribute to Suicide.

Electro Noir contains ten tracks:

1. Moscow Hearts
2. Therapie (Tadada)
3. l’Etranger
4. Freedom
5. Kälte
6. dsk (You Bring Me Joy)
7. Wolfgang
8. Burn The Dutch
9. I Felt A Funeral In My Brain
10. Noir

Demo versions of Moscow Hearts and Kälte have been available as streaming audio for some time while l’Etranger and dsk (You Bring Me Joy) have been existing as videos but were remixed for the album. The playing time of the album is close to 59 minutes.

Subscribers of my newsletter will soon be able to download the album version of Moscow Hearts.

When this happens (could be any time…), The Assassination EP will no longer be free, so hurry and sign up if you haven’t downloaded it yet.

More news soon!