Interview with
Erk Aicrag of Rabia Sorda
The side project of the HOCICO front man Erk Aicrag had its latest release in 2012 with a new single/ EP, 'Eye M The Blacksheep'. There is no new album out right now, but the band played a few festivals this summer. During their show at Deti Nochi (Children on the Night) festival in Kiev we had the chance for a short interview with Erk Aicrag.
Reflections of Darkness (RoD): One says that latest releases or projects are always the preferred ones. Is it for you the same with RABIA SORDA? How differs the work from HOCICO? With which of those projects are you feeling better?
Erk: RABIA SORDA allows me the freedom to write songs just the way I want and I really enjoy that freedom to the maximum. Writing songs for both bands are just different experiences but they both give me great joy. Both projects give me different emotions, different kicks but they both make me feel complete. I think the main difference between RABIA SORDA and HOCICO is that HOCICO is all about evil and the negative side of humans and life and RABIA SORDA is more open to experiment with different life experiences, music elements and instruments.
RoD: Talking about lyrics, would you say that you put more effort into the lyrics with RABIA SORDA?
Erk: I would say the lyrics for RABIA SORDA are more of a personal nature, rather than the 
hateful lyrics of HOCICO. With RABIA SORDA I get the chance to tell so much more about myself, I feel more naked.
RoD: Do you like experimenting in music? Are experiments important to get the attention of your audience?
Erk: Experimenting is a good thing in every aspect of life, not only in music or art, it too keeps things interesting. As a musician I want to face new challenges by exploring new ground in every new album, that is the spirit of RABIA SORDA. I try to keep things fresh and relevant to my ears, if people like it or not that is secondary.
RoD: In your songs, you melt aggression, melancholy and the energy of freedom. How do you manage to combine everything so harmonically?
Erk: There's no real answer to that because the process to create a good song is partially magic. I love what I do and I remain honest to my feelings and that can never.
RoD: RABIA SORDA started as solo project, but live on stage you are usually a trio. Are the other two taking part in the creative process of making music or is this only your task?
Erk: I write the songs myself, in the studio I just want to have it my way but presenting the songs on stage is more fun to do it as a band, that is where Jens, Grigory and now Marcus, our 
new guitar/ keyboard player, come in play. They are all fine musicians and they get lots of freedom to adapt the songs to their playing skills and likes, the important thing is that the live experience has to remain fun for us all, and so far is just working at its best.
RoD: Are there any other musical styles you like to experiment with?
Erk: Yes, there's really no restrictions when it comes to experimenting, I'm open for anything, I will try a bit of salsa or mariachi soon... ;-) well that might take a bit more time but in the time between in the upcoming album there's a wide range of music influences that will keep your ears interested all the way from the first play.
RoD: The artwork of your CDs often contains aliens. Do you believe they exist?
Erk: I believe aliens exist, we just have to find the way to make contact with them. I hope one day they come and fix the whole fucking mess on earth.
RoD: Do you believe in the interaction of energies? Do you feel something like this from the audience during your shows?
Erk: Oh yeah, a concert is all about the exchange of energy, it is like having good sex with all the audience, if we both feel the energy then the experience will be orgasmic!
RoD: How do your rest after a long tour or after hard work?
Erk: I try to the spend some days focused on family, reading, playing lots of chess, eating good and do some jogging.
RoD: What do you think about fantasy literature? Do you have any favourite artist of book in this genre?
Erk: I like reading fantastic literature, my two favourite works are ‘Rayuela’ from Julio Cortazar 
and ‘Pedro Paramo’ from Juan Rulfo.
RoD: Where do you take inspiration for your songs take from?
Erk: I find inspiration really on everything that I see, hear, breath, smell or taste, love or hate.
RoD: Your last EP ‘Eye M The Blacksheep’ contains remixes of Lord of the Lost, Pankow, Absolute Body Control, Kuroship and Officers. Why those bands? Are you planning collaboration with them in future?
Erk: I know most of them personally and as I enjoy their music I just asked them to work on ‘Eye M The Blacksheep’. I'm happy with the results so I'm open to collaborate with them again in the future or with other bands and musicians too.
RoD: The cover of JOY DIVISION’s ‘She’s lost control’ was a big surprise for me. Why exactly this song? Does it mean something special to you?
Erk: It is one of my favourite songs of all time and it was lots of fun to work on this version.
RoD: Who had the idea for the ‘Eye M The Blacksheep’ video? Please tell me a little more…
Erk: The concept was conceived by Ricardo Soto, the director, he wanted to submerged the viewers in a surrealist trip, we met to talk about it and I really liked his idea from the beginning, he had total freedom to create it was a pleasure to work with him.
RoD: When can we expect a new RABIA SORDA album? Will you present new songs during the festival here in Kiev? Have you prepared any surprises for the Ukrainian audience?
Erk: The new RABIA SORDA album it’s titled ‘Hotel Suicide’ and it will be out by early November 2013. This album is simply an orgy of energy and sound. I’m very proud of it because I had the 
chance to experiment much more and to take the band’s concept to a new level that remains relevant. We are going to present many new songs from it at the Deti Nochi Festival.
RoD: What do you know about Ukraine and what do you expect from the show?
Erk: I was once already in the Kiev and I really loved the warmth of the people, the borscht soup and a nice walk along the Dnieper river. I know Ukraine is a country that has suffered a lot from occupations in the past, but that now is a proud and free spirit in the world.
RoD: Some final words for the attendees of Deti Nochi festival?
Erk: See you soon, get ready for these wild animals.
Written by Iryna Kalenska and Daria Szegeda (Ukrainian Gothic Portal). Translations by Daniela Vorndran. The Russian version of the article is available here: http://www.gothic.com.ua/Interviews/interview_rabia_sorda_2013.html
All pictures by All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
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