In Conversation with

 

 

In conversation with

 

Diafanes

 

 

A little background:

 

 

What I always love about the interviews in particular I first got ‘Setting Sun’ going is the discovery of new music from all over the world. Although so far a lot of my interviews have being with acts from mostly England or America (all of which I dearly love) – I always have a little space in my heart for acts that I  discover that from other countries.

 

Take the Brazillian act ‘Diafanes’. I discovered I think

recently flicking through the friends of my pal Jessica’s band ‘Submerged’ who I recently interviewed and I went through another act, then another before stumbling upon ‘Diafanes’ who certainly play a very powerful alternative metal fronted by some excellent female vocals, who also play some very unusual instruments for example as discussed in the interview like 'snujs',  'castanets', 'theremin' and 'derbake' being just four examples.

 

‘Setting Sun’ being ‘Setting Sun’ is always a big fan of

contacting acts that try something different, so I dropped them a line and their vocalist ‘Lorena’ contacted me almost

straight away and the interview was sorted out shortly after.

 

A special thank you to Lorena for the interview.

Reading from the interview myself, it is great to see

you are touring America! Hopefully next us folks in the

United Kingdom will get to experience you next!

 

For more information please go to http://www.myspace.com/diafanes

 

Cheers

 

AEN

 

Setting Sun:

1. How are tricks and what are you doing at the moment?

 

 

Diafanes:

At the moment we are doing the pre-production of our new album "Obviously Clear". We are going to start recording 12 new songs in late February. We are really excited about this new album, we are going to use lots of different instruments like the koto (japanese harp) and different sonorities. We are also working on our new video for "Unity", one of the new songs. We expect to release the new album with the video in June along with a US tour.

Setting Sun:

Next, can you tell us a little bit about the history of ' Diafanes ' - How you all met etc or as I like to soemtimes say 'fired the starting
pistol?'

Diafanes:

 

We all met at the conservatory where I used to study. Ciro teaches guitar, harmony and counterpoint there, I used to take singing lessons and Rafael used to take drumming lessons there. I always wanted to be in a band, and that´s why I started to learn how to play the guitar and to sing. After I started writing some songs I invited some friends from a cover band I used to have to work on some of my songs. One of those friends was Rafael and we started rehearsing and doing arrangements for my songs. 6 months later the band already had a name, some songs and had played a few shows, but the guitar player left the band and we had no bass player, so I invited Ciro and Pietro to join the band and the band was complete finally. In 2006 Pietro left the band and was replaced by Samuel.

Setting Sun:

What are your influences (music wise) and what are you listening to at the moment?

Diafanes:

 

Ciro and I are really into Radiohead and Thom Yorke´s solo album at the moment. We are the two composers of the band so I think that Radiohead is the band that influences Diafanes the most. But I think one of the principal things that we learn from them is that a band has to find its own identity. And that´s what we are looking for, that's the kind of influence we get. Our first album was only a first step and now I think the band is more mature and we are going to show that with our new album. We are very ecletic and I think we are influenced by music from different countries and styles as well. I listen to rock bands, classical music, bossa nova, japanese music,
arab music, etc.

Setting Sun:

I have been listening to your songs on myspace.com a fair bit recently, and of course have being really being impressed by your alternative rock sound but also interested by your ability to put in some more  unusual instruments into your sound for example 'snujs', 'castanets', 'theremin' and 'derbake' being just four examples which I think really add something to your sound - can you tell us a little bit more about why you chose to add these unusual isntruments to your sound.

 

Diafanes:

 

Different instruments add a lot to our music cause we like to experiment a lot, we like to mix different sonorities with rock. And there´s no better way to do that than really using instruments that are typically used for a determined sonority. For example, when we were working on "Inside Me" we wanted to explore better the flamenco sonority it already had. So I thought of the castanets and decided to give it a try and we loved the result. "Shrub" was an anti-war song and we wanted it to have an Arab sound, so we used snujs (finger cymbals that are also used in belly dance) and derbake. The theremin is often used by rock bands cause it gives a bizarre climate, and climate is very important to our music. The new CD will have more different instruments and sonorities, Ciro will play lapsteel and I´ll play instrumens like koto, cuíca and triangle that will enhance some Brazilian and Japanese sonorities.

Setting Sun:

 Do you play concerts also? If so, how do they compare to your albums or if you don't - do you have any idea how you would approach these?

Diafanes:

 

We play concerts and we love it! It´s really different from the album cause there aren´t so many effects on the voice, all the production, etc. But on the other hand there is a different vibe, it´s a very strong energy that makes all the big album production left aside. I think playing concerts is where the band shows its real face, in the studio it´s much easier. That´s why we work hard to be as good on stage as we are on the album.

Setting Sun:

Probably my favourite song on your myspace.com is 'Inside me' - can you tell us a little bit more about this song?

Diafanes:

 

I think "Inside Me" is a very strong song cause it has a heavy emotional charge into it. And I think musically the band expressed it perfecty. That´s why there are so many contrasts and the voice sometimes sounds like whisper and sometimes like a desperate cry. It really is a very special song for us and we worked hard when we were doing the arrangements cause we wanted all the parts to be perfect. Ciro wrote beautiful vocal lines in the middle part and I played castanets, it gives a different climate that usually is not used in rock music.

Setting Sun:

I know already from having a friend who is from Cyprus and has taught me some greek that 'Diafanes' is a greek word but what drew you to wanting this to be the name of your band?

Diafanes:

 

The band was named after one of our songs:"See-thru", the first track of our first album. I really liked the idea of naming the band something related to transparency cause that´s what the idea was all about. To say that things should be more clear, more honest, because ignorance is the worse thing. The big corporations want to keep the people ignorant because it´s easier to control them that way.

Setting Sun:

What's next for 'Diafanes' - do you have any more releases / concerts planned?

Diafanes:

 

We are planning a tour of our new album in the USA in June/July. We have some gigs booked here in Brazil but we really wanted to play out of Brazil for the first time.

Setting Sun:

Anyway, a few more lighter questions to finish off with - firstly, I know already you are from Sao Paulo in Brazil (A city I know well from past experiences). What's the music scene like there nowadays? Have you been to any concerts recently?

Diafanes:

 

Here in São Paulo the music scene is very diverse. I don't think the rock scene is as good as it is in the United States. But on the other hand there are great artists with other styles, like Karnak, Chico Buarque, Mutantes and Barbatuques. I always go to their concerts when I can. I think Sepultura is a great band from Brazil too, I saw them live once.

Setting Sun:

What would you like to be doing when you are 60?

 

Diafanes:

I hope the band is still active when I'm 60. Still playing concerts and all.

Setting Sun:

 

Lastly, what will you be doing when you beare 60?

 

Diafanes:

 

I will be living in a high city that will still exist cause it wasn't affected by the flood, in a house with a strong air conditioner so I won't die from the heat.