SOURCE – Solitary is your debut album. Is there anything you feel particularly proud of accomplishing with it?
Britta Görtz (Vocals) – We are super happy with the album and very grateful that we have received such an overwhelmingly positive feedback so far. It is a great feeling to being able to bring joy to other people’s life though music. I think we can be proud of ourselves and our work ethics in these difficult times during the pandemic. Every band member has worked by themself an with a pretty tight schedule for finishing the songwriting and the recordings.
SOURCE – Beyond your influences including Scandinavian melodic death metal artists, what qualities do you believe Hiraes possesses to make yourselves different and unique from others acts in this genre?
Lukas Kerk (Guitars) – I think there are many aspects that make us different and unique from other acts in this genre. First of all, our songs combine elemts, which are actually opposite. In our music you can find fast guitar riffs and blast beat within songs that also have slower and melodic elements. We also have a lot of (subtle) melancholy in our songs, that one might not find in other bands. In addition our songs are very catchy and by this they have the power to stay in the listener’s mind. One other thing is our band name: it derives from the Welsh word ‘hiraeth’, which stands for the nostalgia and yearning for lost places of the past or a home that maybe never was. So even our band name is unique and has never been used by anyone before. I could continue this list almost endlessly, haha. All in all I would say that HIRAES is definitely a unique package with a lot of different features and trademarks.
SOURCE – Is there anything that you hope people will take away from Solitary when they hear it?
Britta Görtz (Vocals) – I hope the album brings something positive into their lives, that it may be a reminder of their own strength.
Lukas Kerk (Guitars) – It would be great to touch the listeners of our album emotionally. Solitary is really full of various emotions and as music is in my opinion the best medium to transport emotions, we hope that the fans out there also feel what we invested into this album.
SOURCE – How do you feel about the work of Napalm Records in promoting and pushing Hiraes through their distribution channels, not only within Germany/mainland Europe but on an international level? Do you believe they possess a solid staff and understanding of how to create interest and sales for the band?
Lukas Kerk (Guitars) – With Napalm Records we really have a strong and competent partner on our side and we are more than happy about the collaboration. I do really have no doubts that they are giving their best to promote us and our music. One evidenve for this is that we get a lot of positive feedback to our music from all over the world – althougho we have only released two singles of our upcoming album Solitary.
SOURCE – What makes the scene in Germany special to you?
Britta Görtz (Vocals) – The metal scene in Germany is very supportive and loyal – to bands, to metal clubs, among themselves. But that is probably the same all across the globe – metalheads are a species that flourishes in many countries of this planet. It’s probably an advantage in Germany that the country itself is not very big. There are many metal concerts and festivals all across Germany and as a metalhead you can be lucky I guess to be born in a country where there are so many possibilities to find fellow musicians and metal fans.
Lukas Kerk (Guitars) – I completely agree with Britta. Germany is one of the most important, if not THE most important metal country in Europe. Many big festivals, like Wacken or Summer Breeze are based here and in non-pandemic times there are a lot of concerts. The metal community in Germany is simply great!
SOURCE – Is there something, outside of music, that you are really passionate about?
Britta Görtz (Vocals) – Oh yeah, I am very passionate about riding my motorcycle. Even though it has gotten better over the years, I tend to overthink. Playing music and riding my motorcycle are the two things that free my head and let me be very much in the moment.
SOURCE – What concerns you most about the world that we live in today – outside of COVID and the pandemic? Where do you think people in general need to put more of their time and energy into to make the world a better place for us and future generations to treasure?
Britta Görtz (Vocals) – Whoa that is a big and very good question. Not easy to answer. The first thing that comes to my head is to take responsibility for yourself. Be it self acceptance, making peace with yourself and understand that we are all a part of a big whole world. What we do has consequences – for ourselves and how we treat ourselves, as well as for our immediate environment but also for the whole system we and everyone else is living in.
SOURCE – What else is going on with Hiraes?
Lukas Kerk (Guitars) – Although our debut album has not been released yet, we already started to work on new material for the next album. In addition we are preparing for the first live shows. There is a lot of planning going on in the background at the moment. If you like to, you can check out our social media channels for updates and news on a regular basis. Horns up and regards!
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