SOURCE – Your latest album Apple Of Discord is a fantastic album. For those who are new to Ghost Iris’ sound, are there similarities and differences between Apple Of Discord and your previous work?
Sebastian (Drums) – Thank you very much! Of course there are similarities and you can definitely tell that it’s the same people who has been involved in it, but Apple of Discord is a whole other entity than our previous albums. It’s much more focused and wholesome. You can definitely tell that Apple of Discord wasn’t written as fast as Anecdotes or Blind World (our previous albums). Apple of Discord is also heavier and more in-your-face than previous releases, while not losing touch with the melodic side.
SOURCE – Cross-breeding various styles within rock is nothing new, but your combination is unique and sometimes hard to describe. Do you see that as an advantage or a disadvantage?
Sebastian (Drums) – Definitely an advantage. By combining a vast array of genres into our music we don’t limit ourselves to just one type of fanbase, but we can hit multiple fans of very different types of music at once. I think that is truly a result of the music we listen to individually. Our music tastes ranges from slam to 80s funk and pop.
SOURCE – Apple Of Discord conveys a wide array of emotions, but you never overdo anything. Is that on purpose? Or, just a natural occurrence?
Sebastian (Drums) – Both, actually. It’s very natural for us to write music like that, but there were a couple of specific emotions that we really wanted to hit with this record. You might hear those emotions differently than me, but that’s the beauty of art – it’s up to the listener/viewer how they want to perceive what they see or listen to.
SOURCE – Where do you see the state of heavy metal today in comparison to say twenty to thirty years ago? With social media and the Internet replacing snail mail and tape trading, has that made the scene stronger or weaker in your opinion?
Sebastian (Drums) – I’d like to have witnessed how it was back in the day. It’s harder to breakthrough in this age because the market is so oversaturated with thousands of bands. You have to work much harder to make it, and that’s what really separates the sheep from the goats – who’s really willing to make the sacrifices it takes to get where you want to be.
SOURCE – How would you describe the band chemistry and relationships at this point? Are you able to share the workload when it comes to the administrative/ business activities as you are able to when it comes to the music portion?
Sebastian (Drums) – We’ve known each other for a good amount of years and know how to give each other space. We love each other and have a blast together. The workload is obviously getting bigger and bigger, but it kind of falls naturally into place as to who does what. Everybody is in charge of handling some aspect of the business activities.
SOURCE – Are you satisfied with the support you get from fans, especially when it comes to buying merch and CDs? Do you notice the difference between support you’re getting from local fans and fans from other countries?
Sebastian (Drums) – Very much so. People are very generous and supportive. I’d say no matter where we play a good amount of people are buying merchandise and CDs. And that is totally awesome, because that keeps us going when we are on the road. Love the support we get from people.
SOURCE – What do the band members like to do in their free time as far as hobbies, activities, and interests when they are away from music? And how do you handle the challenge of pursuing a band while also having full-time jobs and families/friends to balance out?
Sebastian (Drums) – Most of our free time is invested in this band, honestly! But we like to work out, chill out, watch movies, go to shows. Stuff like that. We all have either full-time jobs or go to school, so when the band stuff is over at the end of the day you really just want to chill out.
We are all always thinking about the next move. The band is constantly in our minds. At times it can be very difficult pursuing the band dream while keeping down the full-time jobs or going to school and has actually been the cause of multiple firings and quit educations for all of us. We just keep going, keep pursuing the dream. This is what we love to do.
SOURCE – Finally, what’s on your agenda for the rest of 2019?
Sebastian (Drums) – Playing lots of shows! We are supporting Soen March 12-April 6 in Europe, which we are really excited about. Working on stuff for the remainder of the year also – playing shows, shows, shows is the agenda.
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