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Hello Ewian. "Of Those Who Drown To Live" -
To answer your question I have to go into detail a bit. I already mentioned in a former interview for another magazine that the story of 'Of Those Who Drown to Live' is based on a book of mine. It is a modern fairy tale that I wrote a long time ago and it is still unfinished. The book has strong autobiographical parts and the album is shaped in the same way. At this moment I assume that my book will never be released, so I can reveal the contents here. ‘Of Ewian who drowned’ is told from the perspective of a young adult (Mateusz), whose friend Elias falls into a kind of vegetative coma. All attempts to free him of this state keep failing. Both Mateusz and the doctors have no idea that Elias is not in an ordinary coma. People all over the world are affected by the same phenomenon and are entering a kind of virtual ether in which they are connected. There they create their own cosmos with physical laws that differ from those known to us. The creative possibilities seem almost infinite. Leaving this ether is only possible through one thing alone: knowledge – the knowledge that both worlds are mere virtual constructs. In the midst of this cosmos lies a city that is split by a river. Only drowning in this river opens a pathway for return – and thus awakening form the coma. Elias finally arrives at this knowledge and takes action. Back to the question -
It is the fourth Ewian album and compared to its predecessors it seems a little calmer, more thoughtful and musically more experimental. Was it a conscious decision to do something more ‘demanding’ after the more catchy ‘Heart Crash Boom Bang’?
I always try to give every work a distinct touch. So yes, it was a conscious decision. While developing the concept, the high level of ambition regarding the album took shape more and more. The idea was in the air long before the release of "Heart Crash Boom Bang". In fact this is a defining feature of the album’s creation. I shot the videos for the songs 'The Sweet Ones, the Evil Ones' and VAST in 2016 already. Right after the release of "Heart Crash Boom Bang" I started fine-
A fairytale that is very personal though...
Yes, that's true. I decided to give my own biography more prominence this time, which runs through all the songs. The most personal tracks are 'The Sweet Ones the Evil Ones', VAST, 'Box of Pandora', 'Paradise Lost' and 'Drown to Live' -"See You In Heaven" at the end of the album seems like the artistic processing of a personal stroke of fate...
No. It's a hopeful prospect for what might come after death.
The album comes together with an elaborate video essay: For each song exists a clip that tells a complete story. What gave you this idea?
Quite simply: I always wanted to produce an album with a music video for each song. At some point during the development of the concept of ‘Of Those Who Drown to Live’ it became clear to me, that this album will have to serve this purpose. It literally screams for a video story.
Generally asked: How important are optics and acoustics in combination?
This is a double-
Four albums in less than four years sounds very time-
Starting with the release of 'Of Those Who Drown to Live' I won’t produce any album for at least 3 years. That’ll be June 2021. I don't know if other artists can just decide to be less active, but I have defined a working mode for myself: I dictate every pop-
Is there something you might want to do in your Ewian-
Buy an old VW bus to drive around aimlessly. Let's see if this works out!
|| INTERVIEW: DANIEL DRESSLER | DATE: 04/16/19 | CONTACT | READ IN GERMAN ||
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PHOTOGRAPHY © NATALY ZIBERT
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