Oct 102024
 

(Today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Evgeny Semenov, founder and principal of the Russian funeral doom band Intaglio (whose latest album we premiered and reviewed here) and a founder and owner of Solitude Productions. The interview focuses on both of those subjects, and more.)

Intaglio is one of very first funeral doom bands founded in Russia. They and Comatose Vigil released debut albums in 2005, and only Вой / Voy could challenge their birthright, but its demo recorded in 1991 wasn’t officially published until 2012.

Although Intaglio’s self-titled first album was almost unnoticed in the world underground, it was also one of the releases by Solitude Productions, the Russian doom-oriented label which has gained its reputation with years of fair and selfless work in the name of Doom. By accident, Evgeny Semenov, one of Intaglio’s founders, who performs guitars, bass, and programming, also is one of Solitude’s owners.

As everything about funeral doom is damn slow, here we are to discuss with Evgeny the band’s latest album II, released in 2021.

Hi Evgeny! How are you? What’s going on in Intaglio’s side?

Hi! I must say that nothing special is happening now. We did a big job making and releasing the album. The release of the vinyl version almost coincided with the February 2022 events. As a result, the release campaign wasn’t properly executed due to sanctions and a lack of payment instruments. We also lost the ability to sell music abroad. There was an idea to release a 7” EP with outtakes from the album (all music was recorded during the II sessions), but we’re unable to do this at the moment.

 

Wouldn’t it be more efficient to develop this material to the size of the full-length album then?

I don’t think so. The idea was to fully realize all existing work so it wouldn’t hold us back. Additionally, the material has already been recorded, mixed, and mastered along with the album. I think many bands record b-sides for this reason – to logically conclude a certain period. How they’ll be released, whether as an EP, single, or bonus tracks, is a separate question. I don’t think material that didn’t make it onto the album is a good start for something new.

 

The band was formed in 2004, twenty years ago. It makes Intaglio one of the very first Russian funeral bands, or rather first if we won’t take into account Voy. How was the band born? What drove you to start working in this deeply underground genre?

I was young, and at that time, I was deeply passionate about the funeral doom metal genre. The number of musical albums in this genre could be counted on one’s fingers, and of course, I wanted to create something of my own. Intaglio wasn’t the first band; in the same year, 2005, Comatose Vigil also released their debut album. We had different technical capabilities and approaches, but we were all united by our love for this type of music. It was a great time when music could captivate people so strongly.

 

 

What formed your perception of funeral doom? How did you shape the form of your debut album Инталия / Intaglio?

For the debut album, we used the instruments that were available to us. The main ‘trick’ of the album was that all lead parts were played on a distorted bass guitar. Many listeners, of course, didn’t delve into such technical details, but this allowed us to create our own original sound. As a result, the album turned out to be unique in its own way, rather than a clone of some well-known band.

 

As I understand, the reaction on this release was… below average, though doom fans appreciated it. How do you value this material today? Were you satisfied back then with the result of your efforts?

Of course, the album didn’t fit into the conventional understanding of the doom metal genre in the post-Soviet space. The main criticism was that everything was very slow, ‘one beat per minute,’ but for those who were ‘in the know,’ this was more of an advertisement. Certainly, this album, like many others in this genre, has a certain monotony to it, but those who immersed themselves in the atmosphere highly appreciated the album (and still do to this day).

As you probably know, in 2020 we released a remixed edition of the album, recorded live drums, and improved what was technically impossible in 2005. Those familiar with the material highly praised this work. In general, I’ve noticed that many things need to stand the test of time, and this album has passed that test.

 

Metal-Archives says that “the new version contains parts and sounds that were not included in the original version of the album.” What does that mean?

There aren’t actually that many changes, mainly concerning the instrumental breaks. Some sounds were added in places, for example, bells that were in the original demo but didn’t make it to the album for various reasons, and small guitar embellishments. Also, for the vinyl release of the album, we had to slightly rearrange the track order. An interlude appeared, which was something like a hidden track in the album. The most significant addition is the live-recorded drum parts.

 

Why did you disband Intaglio in 2005 after just one year of existence?

Nobody disbanded. Immediately after working on the debut, I started the songwriting session for the second album, but I set the bar higher. During the process, it became clear that for a qualitative leap, we needed studio equipment, different instruments, corresponding knowledge, and so on. The deeper I delved into this topic, the more I realized that without these things, I couldn’t create anything worthy.

Moreover, the general requirements for quality began to change. If the sound of the debut album was decent for 2005, now it can be perceived at best as a demo recording. All of this pushed back the realization of ideas. As it is, some parts of the second album were conceived back in 2005-2006.

 

Then the band appeared in the Doom-Art.ru Compilation 2005. Didn’t this postmortem release (the CD was released in 2006) motivate you to return Intaglio back from the grave?

No, of course not. The compilation used the short version of one of the album’s compositions. The main purpose of the compilation was to introduce music lovers to domestic bands, and I think the idea was successful. It was a completely different time back then. There wasn’t such an accessible internet as now (I’ve had a dial-up connection until 2007), we didn’t download music. You could read reviews, share opinions, but to listen to something, you had to purchase a physical medium. And the disc was a kind of report for 2005, where you could listen to compositions from new albums and buy what you liked.

 

How did it happen that you resurrected Intaglio in 2019 with the new lineup? What was your impulse to start everything anew?

As I mentioned before, ideas for the second album started to emerge quite a long time ago. Starting from 2016, I began actively composing and recording various demo tracks. In fact, one of these demos can be heard in the welcome video on the Solitude Productions YouTube channel. During the composition process, new technologies were explored, and new sounds and approaches were tried. Overall, it was a full-fledged creative process.

In 2019, the musical part of the album was completely composed, and I decided to make a single from the demo recording that existed at that time. So there were no sudden movements. As for the new lineup, the project was realized with those people who were around and had the time to engage in this.

 

 

How did you manage to gather all new members and didn’t you try to get in touch with Intaglio’s original vocalist Maxim Mazin, if it made any sense of course?

Actually, Maxim did participate in the project, and the unreleased EP is a kind of link between the first and second albums. This is because the vocal parts there are performed exclusively by Maxim.

The idea of having two diverse vocalists emerged a long time ago. Evander Sinque agreed to do the growl parts, while all other parts were supposed to be performed by Maxim. However, due to the lack of sufficient time and his involvement in his main project Autumn Woods, Maxim was forced to leave. I hope that someday we will release that EP, and everything will fall into place.

 

There is this kind of neoclassic vibe in II. Did you want the cello in new songs from the start or was it a coincidence?

No, there were no such ideas initially. During that period, I was playing guitar in a non-metal project, and the musicians helped me complete the writing of the material. I mainly came up with parts on the guitar, and in some cases, I couldn’t achieve the sound I wanted. After trying to replace the lead guitar parts with string instruments once, I realized that this was exactly what was needed.

In fact, such a palette of live instruments had not been used in any doom project before. Yes, of course, many bands have used violins, but using instruments that belong to the bass group in a symphony orchestra for melodic parts had not been done before. I think it all turned out quite fresh and cool. We are all proud of the result.

 

What kind of feedback did you receive for the album? Do you plan to keep Intaglio alive further or was the reunion just a project of one album?

I certainly expected a bit more feedback from the album, but as I mentioned earlier, the album’s promotional campaign was halted at the most inopportune time, and the album simply didn’t reach many people. Nowadays, information flows have become very large, and it’s very difficult to deliver information to interested listeners. Those who knew the band listened to it. Of course, there was a lot of surprise at the changes that occurred musically. In general, it would be strange if a band released virtually the same album after 20 years.

As usual, it takes more time for opinions to settle. I know from personal experience that when a new album comes out from an artist I’m interested in, even small changes in style can make the first impression more negative. But then, when you understand what’s what, everything falls into place. Overall, the album turned out the way I consider this style relevant as of 2021.

As for further continuation, it’s difficult to predict anything. When enough material accumulates to say something new, then we can talk about it.

 

Did your old contacts abroad remain working still and help to promote the album in some way?

Of course, the fact that this is the second album of an existing project played a certain role. Actually, when I was conceiving such grand changes in style, I wasn’t sure whether to release it under the name Intaglio or to make it as some new project. My colleagues convinced me that it’s better to use the existing name.

As for promotion, everyone did what they could, but the main promotional actions always remain the responsibility of the musicians themselves. Now the album is available through Ardua Music, and David has done a great deal to support this project.

 

Инталия / Intaglio was the second release for your label Solitude Productions. Since then the label has proved its position with a good number of releases and gained a fair reputation among doom fans all over the world. And it’s known that the label gave a great impulse to a lot of local bands. How many bands from Solitude were able to use this chance and move further?

Yes, the emergence of a thematic label activated many artists. In fact, a huge number of releases that the label published were made with our financial and technical support. Even a certain phenomenon of post-Soviet groups and doom labels appeared, which were inspired by what we were doing, and that’s really cool.

Many of our groups are now collaborating with modern European labels, and we can confidently say that the efforts the label spent on promotion were not in vain. We never considered Solitude Productions a commercial label; all activities were aimed at developing the genre, and we believe that this was quite successful.

 

Which releases really did benefit the label’s position in the early years? I remember that reissue of Evoken’s Embrace the Emptiness was something really big back then. Also, Ea and Comatose Vigil… Who else?

We love all our releases, and even now it’s difficult to single out any particular ones. Yes, there were those that sold better, others worse, but there’s no point in comparing sales of, let’s say, more melodic releases and funeral doom. Within the style, there are fans for different subgenres, and we worked in all directions here.

It’s also important to understand what time period we’re talking about. Even the now-cult Ea didn’t make a big impression on Western listeners in 2006, but when the band’s third album appeared, it was already something of an event. And there are quite a few such cases. Unfortunately, the problem of timely recognition existed and still exists today, and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

 

Did the promotion from the label’s side work well without involving the bands in the process? I know that some bands (both Russian and foreign) don’t give a damn about such things, and it’s difficult to get from them a proper interview or even photos for the publication.

In general, musicians play a very important role in promotional campaigns. The role of labels has significantly decreased now, and in some cases, fans prefer to buy products directly from bands, which of course supports the musicians, and this is generally good. Those bands that interact with their fan base are usually in a better position than those who believe that labels should exclusively handle all of this.

Regarding materials like photographs, this can indeed be a problem. I thought for a long time about how to make some kind of official photo for the second album, but couldn’t come up with anything. The project has never gathered in a full line-up. There are simply no photos, and that’s it. After all, this is a studio project, not a full-fledged band.

 

Despite all odds, Solitude Productions were able to release Cultus Sanguine’s album Dust Once Alive. Are there any plans for further releases in 2024?

The new Cultus Sanguine album was planned before February 2022, and after the events, we thought the release wouldn’t happen, but the band wanted us specifically to release the album, so it did come out. New albums from Mesmur, Wine from Tears, Mare Infinitum, and Who Dies in Siberian Slush were also released.

And yes, there are plans for some more, including new names. We consciously put the label into an almost frozen state because we understand that it’s not possible to do the same work we did before, and of course, we understand those groups that have moved to other labels. But we will definitely continue to do everything in our power aimed at implementing the main mission of the label – promoting doom metal to the masses.

 

You released Eyeless in Gaza’s new EP digitally. Do you see this kind of release as a solution to prevent the label’s further stagnation? I guess this instrument could be efficient regarding the label’s reputation that may add an extra push to the band.

Digital releases are easier to make now. Many people have switched to digital streaming services and are not interested in physical media. We’ve done such single releases before (and then released 4-in-1 compilations as part of the Solitude Vaults series, timed to coincide with the label’s birthday). So there’s no hidden meaning here. The musician prepared a single, and we released it. In 2024, it’s unlikely that anyone will buy a CD for just one track.

In general, I think the model of digital releases preceding physical media releases will become increasingly popular, as it will allow more music to be published and CDs or vinyl to be printed only in the necessary quantities. Let’s say if only 50 people want to buy a CD, then the release won’t happen, but if 100 do, then a small limited edition can be made.

 

Okay, thanks for the interview Evgeny! Let’s sum up – what can we expect from Solitude Productions in 2024? As I got you, Intaglio will stay silent for some period of time.

Solitude Productions is generally on hiatus but can make a few releases per year and has some already scheduled. As for Intaglio, I hope that there’ll be some good ideas that will drive me to start something new and current at some point in the future.

Thanks for the interview!

https://intaglio.bandcamp.com/album/ii

https://solitude-prod.com/

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