Interview with Roman Grabar (vocals, composing) from CRAZY JULIET & solo project EVADAM
EVADAM is a solo music project of an artist, writer, singer and musician from Odessa Roman Grabar, vocalist of rock band CRAZY JULIET, playing so-called “fairy wave”, which has already become known in some Eastern European countries. The music of EVADAM miraculously combines such styles as rock, metal, electronic, and includes even ballads. The main focus of compositions is based on such topics as history, science, esotericism, spiritual search.
Talented people are talented in everything. And as time passes, it makes such people examine new levels of introspection, provides motivation to new discoveries, it makes them always move forward. We talked to Roman about his internal changes, views on art and creative plans for the near future. Aesthetic and enjoyable reading to you!
Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: What changes have occurred in your life lately? If we compare your work in CJ (CRAZY JULIET) and EVADAM, can you say that you are now far from the past, both in sound and in the external style? Did many things change for you?
Roman: There was a quantum leap in my understanding of the world order, which led me to new mysteries, all of this was certainly reflected in creativity in general. In some sense I overcame with Solomon’s sadness, because from that multiplying knowledge I gained sadness, joy and compassion, but in somewhat deep-sacral sense.
RoD: Do you have a musical education? Did you finished music school of singing or guitar playing? Or are you self-taught?
Roman: I attended a conservatory, went to the courses, but I was self-taught from childhood. I was influenced a lot by my teacher - Andrey Chernyy, composer and conductor from Odessa, he taught me the basics of playing the piano and singing.
RoD: Do you remember your first live performance? How was it and where? What emotions overwhelmed you then?
Roman: I could hear a knock of my teeth on a microphone, and shortness of breath as in Hitchcock's movies - it was the second performance of CRAZY JULIET at the festival "Children of the Night" in Kiev in 2007. Despite the full profanity, which we had onstage, we have gained the status "Discovery of the Year".
RoD: How important is it for you to meet the tastes of modern audience? Do opinions of others influence on what you are doing? Roman: Many people are expecting from me to be the same as I used to be long time ago, but I have actually changed very much, “transgressed” so to say.
RoD: How do you feel about the experiments in music? For example, Elvis Presley mixed bravely country music and blues. And modern technologies currently allow us to manipulate sounds.
Roman: Today it won’t surprise anyone. As a rule, these experiments are considered to be avant-garde, but I was influenced by such bands as WALTARI and MALICE MIZER, who combined in their creative work a whole myriad of styles. For such diverse performers it’s usually difficult to find their audience. People like uniqueness.
RoD: Compilation of set-list for a show, is it a difficult task?
Roman: This is a very unpleasant task! It seems that you compose a “Stalin’s shooting list”
RoD: It is known that you travel a lot, you visited different countries. What is your favourite place? In which city you feel like at home? Or is not worth to attach such concept as a home?
Roman: Home it’s a place, where comes the realization of Here and Now. You can be like a snail in a metaphorical sense - your house is always with you. I like countries, which have kept their distinctive traditions, where the least you can see the influence of modern western themes, where you can feel archaic nature and culture. Now I'm starting to come back to travel. My favourite cities are Lviv, Granada, and Lisbon.
RoD: Do you see the difference between the mentality of the Europeans and the Ukrainians? If yes, then in what?
Roman: According to the mentality and architecture Western Ukraine is similar to Europe, as for the other part of Ukraine, it is not much different from the former Soviet Union. I would like to see the flowering of "Plato's Republic", but eventually there flowers wild grass of "Leviathan" by John Milton and Zvyagintsev.
RoD: If you had a choice in what historical period to be born and to live, what period would you choose?
Roman: In the first place the Stone Age when everything was easier: you could feel yourself like a bridge between primates and homo erectus. Then many problems could have been resolved with a club! In the second place it is ancient Persia during the times of government of Cyrus II, in the third it’s the Japanese renaissance in the Edo’s period, in the fourth it is "Golden Age" of Islam in Baghdad since the middle of VIII to the middle of the XIII century. This is in contrast to the aesthetics of the Celts, Vikings, Slavs and other banalities to which gravitate fantasy lovers.
RoD: Besides the fact that you write music and sing songs, you also draw. What genre of visual art is closest to you? Roman: Graphic etching. Actually now I sublimate arts in short videos. It's one of my goals - to open up myself as a film director. This is not a caprice, because since my childhood I filmed small movies, all of them are available on the Internet. In the style I would call a "metaphysical nonsense”, as I see the deepest poetic expression in the absurdity.
RoD: Where do you usually work on creating of your own tracks? And what is the most important for you when you create a new song?
Roman: Where is a piano or a guitar. Dare not to take it too seriously, and you will dare to do more! It is important not to create excess potentials.
RoD: Who could you hold up as an example of the singer, which sings really well live?
Roman: In the USSR there were no vocal rock schools, so most cult artists sang in a domestic manner, based on the lyrics. That is the whole problem of Russian rock. I like soul- and rock vocals schools, like the voices of black, rough female voices and harsh in vocals. I could mark out perhaps, Mamonov, his voice scares pleasantly.
RoD: You have a lot of tattoos on your body. What do they mean to you?
Roman: On a tattooed person it can be seen if their tattoos were accurately thought and deliberated with the time, or if they were applied en masse in the fastest possible way according to the fashion trend. Most often demonstrate girls and boys a kitsch truism. It’s sad to observe the actualization of sacral symbols in the trendy tattoos, in this way they make this theme without sacral. However in all postmodern there can be seen the unification of the sacral in some consumer goods.
RoD: What place in your life does sport take? Is it important to maintain yourself physically fit when you perform in public?
Roman: Since my childhood my father made me do push-ups a hundred times without a pause for every bad evaluation, standing over me with a belt! As a result, I was a loser with strong hands. I always keep my body in form like a Spartan.
RoD: Have you thought about the old age? Can you imagine yourself in 70-80 years? What would you do? Would you continue to write music?
Roman: I think I would open for myself smoking, alcohol and drugs ;). With old age, like with childhood, you can justify your actions, old people and children get away with everything. Actually, as I say "old age is just a symptom of an unhealthy lifestyle, if it’s noticed until fifty." Moderation in everything, clean air, water, thoughts, live food, and sleep - that's all.
RoD: What would you like to achieve in the music and creative sense? What are your goals in life?
Roman: One of the goals is to have more friends around the planet and to be a welcome guest in every country, the most open and not restrict in creative expression, to see that people feel the same as you.
RoD: Do you believe that our thoughts are material? Roman: In fact it is misinterpreted observations of physicist Max Planck, distorted by New Age trends: the observer directly influenced the element, but with the fundamental side any thought and any stuff are not material, as demonstrates quantum physics. Influence of thought on wave or element were detected only in small quantities, this corpuscular wave phenomenon did not extend to our three-dimensional everydayness. Although I see the fruits of positive thinking and affirmations, I have been watching a long time synchronicity according to my mood and many other wonders of matches. "Poetry of the reality," - as says Richard Dawkins!
RoD: What can instantly evoke you smile and cheer you up?
Roman: That is what borders with fear. Death and laughter are two relatives. I like much a black humour.
RoD: What qualities do you most appreciate in people?
Roman: First of all, kindness, and then the liveliness and humour. I love people endowed with pneumatic, entelechy, integral and delicately rough with multiplex thinking, different Homo Pluralis. In fact, I love everyone and everything!
RoD: What would you not able to forgive the person dear to you?
Roman: Human can be forgiven for everything except bad taste. Even if he is a criminal, but he reads the ancient literature, loves movies of Bresson and Bergman, hears Pergolesi and Mussorgsky, dressed like a dandy, then he can be forgiven!
RoD: Where do you get inspiration most often?
Roman: From the world of "Jungian’s unconscious" or from the gutter. "If only you knew from what rubbish grow poems" as A. Akhmatova said. Earlier I was guided by the escapist views à la hebephrenia, antics etc. But these intentions were sincere, naive and beautiful. Perhaps in the near future I will make a reduction to these images, hehe, I also like to use scientific terminology, I like rare words. As said Vitginshtein: "The borders of my speech point to borders of my world."
RoD: What are your creative plans for 2016? New songs? Tour?
Roman: Yes, definitely! This will apply to my personal project, under my name and surname according to the pass.
RoD: Tell, please, a few warm words for your fans and our readers.
Roman: I love you, though I rage at it,
Though it is shame and toil misguided,
And to my folly self-derided
Here at your feet I will admit!
It ill befits my years, my station,
Good sense has long been overdue! (Alexandr Pushkin “Confession”, 1828, Translated by Katharena Eiermann)
Written by Iryna Kalenska, Daria Tessa and Nataly Night (Ukrainian Gothic Portal). The Russian version of the article is available at http://gothic.com.ua/Interviews/3178.html.
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