Todd interviews Zuberoa from Diabulus In Musica.
Toddstar: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule for The Rockpit.
Zuberoa: It’s a pleasure! Thank you for the questions and interest!
Toddstar: If it is okay, I would love to jump right into discussing your latest release, The Wanderer. What can you tell us about that CD?
Zuberoa: The wanderer is a concept album and musically a very eclectic album plenty of different feelings and emotions. The story talks about a girl who has something ‘special’, ‘different’, ‘spiritual’ and somehow feels isolated. She wanders searching for a place where she can finally be accepted.
The whole concept is an allegory of Mother Earth, Humanity and Corruption and the shock between people who stays ‘pure’ (and linked with nature) and modern society. It is not easy to reconcile this way of being with all the changes that society is suffering, and above all, with human corruption. All these ‘special’ people are unfortunately starting to disappear and in my view, they are the last hope to change the World. It is so sad that human beings are forgetting where we come from!
Toddstar: Your debut, Secrets, was a strong debut. How does The Wanderer vary from the debut? What elements did you intentionally carry over to the new disc? What elements did you want to leave behind?
Zuberoa: The process was very natural, I mean, we didn’t decide consciously to leave or not elements from or previous release. We only knew that we wanted to improve some elements and for that we decided to write a conceptual album, just to try a different way of working that we found could be more interesting and give us more fields to explore.
Being a conceptual album, the way we worked was totally different from what we had done before. It was much more challenging and I think we really achieved what we were looking for. We wanted something more like a soundtrack. Music had to fit what we wanted to tell in each song, it had to recreate the atmosphere we had in mind in each ‘scene’.
I think ‘The Wanderer’ is a very passionate album. All the feelings are perfectly captured. I would say that ‘The Wanderer’ is denser, more bombastic… but also more refined than ‘Secrets’. The arrangements play a very important role in all this, so we paid special attention to them and I think the result has been great!
I would say that this album is more eclectic, the orchestra and the choir are bigger, the guitars are harder and there are new instruments (lute, flutes, percussions, acoustic guitars…). We tried to give space to each section in order to be heard in the right moment and let sound the other instruments when needed.
Toddstar: There are several songs are very strong from the new disc. Are there any favorites of yours that you find yourself going back to? Any you wish came out sounding different?
Zuberoa: I wouldn’t change anything sound-wise, I’m very happy with the result. It’s very difficult to mix so many elements and achieve a powerful and clear sound; Jacob Hansen did a great job. I’m also very happy with the songs musically-wise. We worked a lot on the arrangements and did all the production of the songs by ourselves, I’m proud that we achieved the target we had in mind working the five of us hand in hand.
As for my favorite songs… wow it’s really difficult to choose; I like the whole album a lot! It also depends on my mood, I can tell you one favorite today and change it tomorrow hehe
Toddstar: Regarding The Wanderer, are any of the songs being better received than others? I know the critics and reviewers speak of their favorites, but what are the fans and live crowds reacting positively to?
Zuberoa: I’ve read and listened to comments for all the tastes. I guess all the songs are the favorite of someone; there is not a clear winner. Live, people react very well to Blazing a Trail, Shadow of the Throne… I think they are quite fun live.
Toddstar: How do you describe the difference in sound, sonically, in the band between the two releases?
Zuberoa: The new release is much powerful. The album is more extreme in general, I don’t mean heavier or more aggressive, but more extreme on feelings: the hard parts are harder and the soft softer, so we needed a more aggressive sound to emphasize the important sections in each song. I would say that maybe ‘Secrets’ is more ‘self-controlled’ sound-wise.
Toddstar: Any plans to tour the United States any time soon? Are there any other countries you specifically would like to tour and make aware of Diabulus In Musica?
Zuberoa: Oh that would be more than awesome! I’ve never been there yet and I would really love to hit the States! I love traveling and know other cultures, so there is no country I wouldn’t like to go hehe.
Unfortunately this doesn’t depend on us, so I really hope that people get to know and like our music and that the promoters from the World are interested in taking us to their countries! 😉
Toddstar: Since the release of the new disc, do you find that you mix the material evenly from your two albums during your live show, or do you tend to play more of the newer material? Are there any songs from your first releases that you feel will always be a part of your live show?
Zuberoa: We are focusing more on the new songs because the new album has just been released, but we have also kept some songs of Secrets in our set lists. Most of the times we play New Era, Ishtar and Nocturnal Flowers as we think they are the ones that the audience enjoys the most, also St. Michaels Nightmare is cool, but maybe it’s too long so it depends a bit on the time we have for each show. I would add that it is very important to perceive the feedback from the audience to choose the repertory, so we will see what people ask for!
Toddstar: What is next for Diabulus In Musica?
Zuberoa: We will go for our first European tour as headliners in May. In October we will support DELAIN in their European tour and finish at MFVF the 21st October. We are working on more dates, so stay tuned! 😉
Toddstar: Do you find any of the other arts affect your music or the way you approach writing, recording, or playing live with Diabulus In Musica?
Zuberoa: Not really, but I suppose that all our background affects us somehow. I studied History and Archaeology at University, then I’m interested in ancient cultures and that it inspires me sometimes… There can be also some books or films that inspire me and then a song or some lyrics come, but not generally. It’s so subjective that it’s difficult to say…
Toddstar: Are there any bands that are currently releasing music or touring that influence you personally or professionally? What is the last CD/mp3 album you listened to?
Zuberoa: I wouldn’t say so. I’m more focused in my classical singing now, so I would say that my main influence is my singing teacher haha. What I listen to the most is also classical or early music, World music… Regarding the metal bands nowadays one of the bands I like the most is for example Eluveitie, but the style is totally different from ours, so I cannot say that they influence me. One thing is the music I like to listen to, and another one what I write… I haven’t listened to a full album lately, actually now I’m listening to my ipod in ‘aleatory’ so just now Edita Gruverova is singing in my room 😉
Toddstar: Thanks again for taking the time and we look forward to 2012 and more Diabulus In Musica!!
Zuberoa: Thank you so much!!
