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Interview: 10 Questions with Morphide

I love discovering new bands that I really feel I can get behind. That feeling of finding a band that really speaks to you and brings emotions to the surface. That was the feeling I had when I first watched the video for "Enter The Storm" by the band Danish, progressive metal Morphide. I was immediately floored and really wanted to find out more about the band for myself and how they make music. I also wanted to know more about the video for "Enter The Storm" and how that was produced. So on this blog, I speak with Morphide's vocalist, Eissa Zhovnerchuk and guitarist, Chris Konovalovs about the band's music and their love of music.


Where do you think your passion for music came from?

Eissa: I think it was always there. This is something I was born with. Even from just listening to music I was getting so powerful emotions! No wonder that music became my addiction, and not only in terms of listening. At the age of 8 I was already attending singing and piano lessons, at the age of 11 started playing in an orchestra. My first band was created when I was 16. I was just constantly surrounded by music and, obviously, could not resist it.

 

What is your method for coming up with new songs?

Eissa: Our method of writing new songs reminds of a constructor Lego. Usually, it’s Chris who comes up with some kind of riff or idea for a song. Then he passes it to me and I give him my feedback. At this stage, we start jamming or discussing how we see this part. Then we come up with an agreement of how this part should sound and what should follow next. The same applies to how I write my vocals. I come up with some ideas, and Chris shares his opinion.


Who are your biggest influences?

Eissa: First bands that influenced us were Tool, Karnivool and Tesseract, however now we have expanded our list of favourite bands.

Chris: Some of the current influences are also Spiritbox and Northlane.



I really enjoyed the video for “Enter The Storm”, could you talk a bit about producing this video?

Eissa: “Enter The Storm” was shot on Møns Klint on South of Denmark. It’s a 70 million-year-old chalk cliff, 128 meters high and 7 km long. It was great fun driving hundreds of kilometres, waking up at 5am and climbing cliffs. The hardest role was given to Chris, who played the main character in our music video. He had to lie in a cold sea, cover himself in mud and freeze in a downpour.

Chris: But the result was worth it.




What is the one song you wish you had written?


Eissa: Meshuggah – Bleed. At least we would become worldwide famous *laughing* Just kidding. It would be Karnivool – New Day. It was the song that made us fall in love with progressive rock/metal.


Are there any bands/artists that you recommend that don’t get much attention?


Eissa: A perfect female-fronted, progressive metal band called Spiritbox. They are just too good! I have also recently found a band called Thornhill, which I really liked, so would definitely recommend them as well.

Chris: An unprocessed and very technical band, and their singer/guitar player is just insane! Also, David Maxim Micic deserves much more attention.



If there is one thing you would like to achieve in your career, what would it be?

Eissa: Make a living out of our music, so we could spend all our time doing that.


What is the best gig you have been to as a fan?

Eissa: We have recently been to Northlane and it was just crazy! My whole body was in pain afterwards, but it was definitely worth it! Also, the Twelve Foot Ninja show in Latvia was amazing! Every person attending that show was unstoppably dancing and moshing!

Chris: Also, Tesseract show in 2016 was truly magical. Really beautiful stage lighting and, of course, flawless performance.



What are your biggest interests away from music?

Eissa: I like drawing, which helps me a lot when making concept arts and storyboards for our music videos. Recently I have also realized that video editing is something that I appreciate as well.

Chris: I like making some DIY stuff, woodcarving. I have pieces of wood and multiple tools at my home.



What is the hardest thing you have had to overcome and how did you overcome it?

Eissa: I would say the hardest thing is the combination of many different, not easy things that lead to extreme lack of time. It was quite difficult to study in university, work, write music, shoot videos and prepare for the tour, all in once. We had a period when we were unable to rest for a couple of months, spending all our evenings after university and work and weekends to do other necessary music related things. 


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