Featured on IDIOTEQ many times before, Lviv, Ukrain’e melodic hardcore band THE SUNSET SURVIVAL deserved a proper interview featureย a long time ago.ย Their atmospheric andย soaring melodic hardcore hooks and post-rock ambient passages reveal a solidย amount of determination that bleeds through on almost every note here.ย These guys’ short offerings recall some of your beloved modern post hardcore / melodic hardcore records and perfectly straddle the line between hooky,ย ambient rock and more edgy sound. Taste their powerful work, feel captivated by itsย lighter touches and see what they have to say about Ukraine, their local scene, their band and a couple more issues we have touched on in their first interview for IDIOTEQ!
Some live photos by Vadim Sapatrylo.
Hey guys! Thanks a lot for taking some time with my webzine! Whatโs up? How are you? Howโs Lviv?
Hey! Thanks a lot for having us! Weโre pretty excited, because this is our first interview to a foreign zine. Itโs cold and wet in Lviv, very typical)
Letโs start off with a couple of questions about the current status of the Ukrainian/Russian crisis, not making headlines anymore for some reason. Is the whole situation still widely discussed among your people in Lviv? Tell me a bit how it looks like from your point of view.
I donโt think that Ukraine has ever disappeared from the news, or doesnโt make headlines anymore, at least this is what I see when I check some international channels. Maybe itโs different in Poland. Of course the whole situation is always heavily discussed among everybody. After all itโs hard to ignore the fact that there is a war on the other side of your country. And yes, I personally call it a war โ we all can play conspiracy and think of different reasons why all of this has started, but there is a fact that no one can deny โ there is one country that sends people to kill people of other country and finances the bloodshed. Thatโs basically all you have to know.
How did this crisis affect young people and your local independent music scene in particular?
I think no one can deny that the crisis has affected more or less everyone. I know couple of guys from different bands who had to move from the occupied territories, and now they started a new life in different regions of Ukraine. As for those who live in safe areas, pretty much everybody has been touched by the crisis, but in different ways โ somebodyโs brother is in the military, somebody is a volunteer and tries to help as much as possible, somebody sings songs, somebody is an activist on social media, etc. There is definitely an impact, but itโs very different โ physical, mental, social, itโs different for everybody. Canโt tell whether this is good or bad, but there is one thing I know for sure โ people are never going to be the same after all of this.
Ok guys, so can you drop us a brief scene report on your local punk rock / hardcore scenes in other cities you feel you are confident to speak about?
There are so much great bands that honestly I even donโt know where to start) Iโm just going give you a short list from the top of my head)
LA BELLE VERTE from Kamianets-Podilโsky is an awesome band, and heavily overlooked in my opinion. They play a mix of screamo/spoken word hardcore with heavy post-rock influences. I think that most of their inspiration comes from CARAVELS) Weโve played a lot of shows together and became good friends.
ORPHA from Kiev is a great melodic hardcore band, weโve done some mini tours with them. Very emotional and energetic band.
WAYTAKER is cool 90โs influenced emo/punk-rock band. Part of the band is from Lviv and other part is from Mukachevo. Weโve released a split together not so long ago. Not sure, but I think theyโve played their last show last month.
I guess thereโs no need to introduce you to such beasts as BLUESBREAKER from Kiev) They are probably โheavyweight championsโ in Ukrainian hardcore scene) A huge inspiration for everybody and a good example of one of the first Ukrainian underground bands that toured Europe.
MALOI and DATE RAPE, also from Kiev are great. Definitely worth checking out.
I am sure that there are much more awesome bands, I just simply canโt remember all of them at the moment, and it will take a lot of time naming all of them) In any case you should check out Ukrainian scene, itโs amazing, and full of surprises, believe me.
Nice, thanks! How do you see Poland and the conditions of independent movements here? What are your associations with my country?
I think for us Poland has been something like a magical door to Europe and European scene. It has much more opportunities, and I think that overall cultural level is much higher, we still have to learn a lot from you guys. Every time when we go to Warsaw or Krakow to attend a cool show, we wonder if there is a way we can create the same โclimateโ here in Ukraine. For example, here in Lviv we donโt have a single venue that is willing to host a hardcore festival (ok, maybe one). Usually the owners/art directors aim for more commercial music, and are not supportive if you are from DIY scene. As far as I know Poland is different, and there are a lot of quality venues/clubs that are, letโs call it โunderground-friendlyโ.
How about the rest of European countries, the Western areas in particular? What are your thoughts when you look at Western society and its well-developed networks of bands and institutions, organizations and companies around them?
Honestly I really wish that we would have the same level of awareness and support from both people attending a show and fellow bands. Itโs pretty tough being a promoter for hardcore gigs. Donโt get me wrong, itโs not like we donโt have the scene, but I think that itโs just not that developed yet. But weโre on our way, and I believe one day weโll be there. Rome wasnโt built in a day, you know ) I think that the more Ukrainian bands are going to visit and play in Europe, the better it will affect our local scene. It is really important to bring that experience and culture to our country.
Ok guys, thanks a lot for your thoughts! Now, letโs dive into the bandโs work and learn a bit more about you :) Please tell us a bit about the story of THE SUNSET SURVIVAL. What is your musical background and how did you decide to form this pack?
Well, the band was formed I guess about 2-3 years ago.
Actually weโve been in the hardcore/punk-rock scene for quite a while, but in different bands.
I was a guitarist and a bass player in couple of hardcore and metal bands (RATBITE, ONE REASON LEFT). Bodya (guitars) and Arsen (drums) played together in an awesome punk-rock band called I GAVE BACK. Vasya (bass) played some experimental metal stuff in CALLMEUMBERTO, and Jim (guitars) was a guitarist for a melodic hardcore band HOME DESTINATIONS. We all knew each other before forming THE SUNSET SURVIVAL.
Once Bodya, our guitarist came up to me on a party and asked me if I ever wanted to sing in a โscreamoโ band ) By that time the band was almost formed, except the vocals. I had some experience screaming in other bands, so I thought โOk, why not, might give it a tryโ. So I came to the studio, and when I heard the very first song, I was impressed, and said that Iโm in, without hearing the rest, because the whole mood and atmosphere was really close to what I like. So basically thatโs how we started all of this.
Do you have a stable line-up or has it changed since day one?
The line-up is solid asa rock. And to tell you the truth I canโt even imagine it being changed, because everyone is a very special part of the band, and weโre all good friends.
How do you get in the mood for writing music? What inspires you lyrically?
Most of the riffs are written by our guitarists, so I canโt really answer for them. Speaking about lyrics, the inspiration might come from very different places. Some of the lyrics that I write are just pure fiction, which might be based on a dream, or I might get inspired by a movie, or even weather. Some of the lyrics are really personal, and based purely on my real life experience. And sometimes I can just listen to a riff for a long time and the words just pop-up on their own. Yeah, it happens sometimes. The inspiration is all around us.
After releasing one EP and a split record, is it the right time to ask about a full length? What are your recording plans?
Thatโs a tough question. Weโd like to make a full album, but something always gets in our way. Anyway I think that weโll deal with all the obstacles and make an album, no doubt, itโs just a matter of time ) Basically we are couple of songs away from LP, and to be honest we donโt want to rush things. Itโs really important that your first serious record is consistent, and has some message in it. The worst thing is when you release an album, itโs just a simple collection of tracks, kind of shallow.
How about touring? Most of the artists Iโve interviewed believe that touring is the ultimate test for every band and one of the most interesting aspects of running an independent punk rock band. Whatโs your view on that? Will you be hitting European roads big time this year?
Oh man, this is a dream for us :)
Weโve never played outside of Ukraine yet, and we wish we could go on a European tour, but itโs pretty hard to get out there, you know. Especially for a young unknown (abroad) band, with no contacts of promoters, venues, etc. But weโre working on it, so who knows, maybe next year weโll figure something out. Touring sure is challenging but I think it is totally worth the effort, because it makes you grow both as a person and as a musician. This experience is priceless.
Cool :) thanks buddies! What else? Would you like to add anything before we say goodbye? The final words are yours!
Thanks a lot for this interview opportunity, IDIOTEQ is great :) We really hope that weโll come to Poland next year and play couple of shows for you guys, so you can check out the atmosphere and energy that we bring ) Stay tuned for the updates!
Thanks a lot! Cheers from Warsaw and good luck with your future endeavors!
