From solo project to full band, Desoluna are today’s Band of the Day…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Patrick: Malmö, Sweden. Across the bridge from Copenhagen.
Nadia: Olle is from Halmstad.
How did you meet?
Patrick: Desoluna started as a solo project by me (Patrick Shadowland) here in Malmö , Sweden and Nadia Montes joined on lead vocals in 2013. We met at a rock club called Deep. We played with several different line-ups, making us a band, before we found the last and longest lasting line-up with Olle Andreasson on drums and Michael Levin on bass. We met Olle through a guy who played rhythm guitar for a short period and Michael through an ad. Unfortunately Michael moved to Spain and since then we are on hold. We have recorded the demo The Desolate Years with songs from my old band in 2013, the full-length album Fortitude in 2014 and have just released the new EP Rejection of Rejoice in 2019.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Nadia: We have been a band for five years but have been on a break for the last year.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Patrick: Des stands for “Desolate” from my first band from the 90s/early 2000s that Desoluna plays some of the songs from (two from the new EP), Sol and Luna means sun and moon in latin. Lun is also part of my real last name.
What are your influences?
Patrick: We all listen to different kinds of band, but as the main song writer I have been heavily influenced by the music I used to listen to in the 90s, gothic metal bands as Paradise Lost, Theatre of Tragedy and My Dying Bride but also progressive metal as Dream Theater and Opeth and thrash metal. Gothic rock like Sisters of Mercy, and then we have Pink Floyd, Fields of Nephilim, Joy Division.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Patrick: We play dark, doomy music but with both heaviness and melody. The vocals are not the typical operatic and angelic, they have more of a rock edge as Linda Perry for example, while the guitars and my vocals are more like early 90s Paradise Lost. But we have our own style and we are one of the few band that still are deeply influenced by the early 90s gothic style. For example we use a lot of chorus and delay on the lead guitars. However, we are not a 100% gothic band, doom band or metal band, we mix a lot of styles and incorporate them into our own music. Unlike other gothic metal bands we have lots of riff based songs, that create a more heavy edge to it, as well as progressive parts. The only thing I can promise is that we will never write a happy song!
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Patrick: Darkness, melancholy and all other miserable things in life that we take out in our music instead of going around frustrated. So it is kind of a catharsis effect.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Patrick: We have played 13 concerts so far, all in southern Sweden where we live. Malmö, Lund, Hässleholm, Halmstad. But we would love to play abroad of course. Copenhagen is really close but it is really hard to get into the Danish music scene if you are not Danish. Even if we are not a speed metal band and play a lot of slower songs, we put a lot of energy into our shows. For example when we play our most popular song, “Wanton Water”, the fastest ones, it really makes people headbang! Or well…at least the audience and the other band members since I got tired of my long hair and cut it off this year.
Right now we have kind of a well deserved break, after years of recording and trouble with producers, technical issues etc. Our last gig was also our best so far, in Halmstad May 2018.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Patrick: My main guitar is a sunburst Ibanez SZ320 that sound really good both with heavy distortion and clean sound. I also have a black seven string Jackson and a black Fender acoustic guitar,and a ESP and my first electric guitar ever, a home made model that I bought when I was a teen, not functioning anymore. But compared to other guitarist that is of course not many guitars, but you can still only play at one at a time so who cares?
What are your plans for 2019?
Nadia: We finally released our EP, Rejection of Rejoice which was awesome. As mentioned before, we are on a break at the moment but we do have plans to write some new songs and record sooner or later. A big bonus would be to find a new bass player so we could come out and play live again but that is not going to happen this year. We will however play an acoustic show and Olle is going to play with his other band, Inställt, both of them at my wedding.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Nadia: My husband-to-be is in a really awesome punk band, Helvetet, so of course I would love to tour with them. Any Visual Kei-band would be fun to tour with because we would sit there and not understand each other one bit and then we would watch the bands use tons of makeup and hairspray. I sure could use some advice on that. My dream bill however would be to open up for either Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride and let Helvetet open up for us.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jwjwBo1LGc
