written by Marko Jakob
Pix666: Hello guys. Thanks for your time. Please introduce your band to the readers in a few short sentences. What kind of music do you make?
Yu: Our project came to live a few months before covid-19 situation. Together with Ad-x we created two tracks “Happiness Imperative” and “Stalker Girl” and we came to conclusion that we really enjoyed it so we decided to start a band. Name for the band was in my head like from years, so I knew it will fit us well. Little bit later the same year Louve joined our project as a performer. Guitarist – Shai – is our latest band member. He joined us few months ago. We also got signed to a great label – darkTunes – which is taking care of our business and releases.
Ad-X: Our music is still evolving from electro to stronger rock sounds, but today I can name it as ‘dark electro-rock’ (labeling own music is hard :))
Pix666: What was the trigger or reason for you to want to become a musician?
Yu: I always felt that music is a part of me. Since I was a kid I liked singing and playing instruments so for me it was natural. I have written lyrics and composed music years before HER OWN WORLD just to put it in a drawer. Honestly, I can’t imagine my life without music.
Ad-X: When I was 8 I got my first Casio keys as a birthday present (I don’ remember the model). I learned to play them for several years, but when I went to high school I fell in love with the bass guitar, which I bought and for three years I gave up the keyboards for the above. In 2003 I discovered through a friend (metal head) dark electro. How you can deduce my love for bass guitar quickly ended and I returned to keyboards.
Pix666: About two years ago you released a great cover version of a Depeche Mode song. Is it the music of the 80s and 90s that is your musical influence? Who are your musical idols?
Yu: Well, I wouldn’t say that DM is a band that influenced me a lot. I like some songs of course and I understand why they are a living legend but I was always into metal and gothic music more so I’m under the spell of those genres. I’m also still discovering goth electronic scene. There is so much good music around in the dark scene that I even couldn’t decide which of the bands is my fav now.
Ad-X: From my youth, at my house, you could hear rock music (Polish rock and the better one from behind the iron curtain – of course, pirate “Polish quality” tapes were played 50 times, where you could hear more noise than, for example, the bass itself :D. Musically I listen to everything from good 80s pop, through electro, and industrial, to modern black metal 🙂
Pix666: At the beginning of 2022 you released your new EP ‘This Fire’ – how were the reactions to your new song and the remixes?
Yu: It was our first release in new label (darkTunes) and the premiere went surprisingly well. We showed something different from what we released so far and we were quite stressed about that people won’t like it. But audience picked it up immediately and we recieved so many great reviews. Also the remixes are really diverse on this release so everybody can find something for them.
Pix666: What inspires you to write your music and is there a sharing of tasks within the band for song writing?
Ad-X: In the band I am responsible for the music, let’s say, in 90%. As a rule, I make skeletons, than show it to Yu and she either adds something, corrects, or rejects and we start from the scratch. Fortunately, now I work on a tasks also with Shai (guitarist), who also does some compositions so now it is easier to correct material together. So far every single lyrics are written by Yu. She is the one which creates the stories. Sometimes she also adds her musical ideas and I’m giving final touch to the sound and choosing right instruments for each parts.
I am personally not inspired by i.e. politics, religion, nature, etc. If I have any melodies in my head and musical ideas I try to translate them into the piano immediately. If I’m somewhere outside I record such ideas by singing melodies to the phone (I wonder what people on the street think when looking at a black ram purring something to the phone :D)
Pix666: You have already released some great video clips. The video for the EP title track already has almost 50,000 views on YouTube – a really impressive number. Do you look at statistics like that and do you know, for example, where most of your listeners live?
Yu: I’m so glad you like our music videos! We put so much effort in making them professional and high quality. We have great respect for the listeners so we always try to give them the best we can. Our performer Louve is the person who is the most responsible for our looks both on stage and in music videos since she is also a fashion stylist. We also cooperate with talented film crews as ASPIX (production of ‘This Fire’, ‘Guarding Angel’ and music video which we will present in November’22 – ‘Jessie’) and CineMagic (production of ‘Stalker Girl’).
Sure, statistics are really important pieces of information for us. We always try to analyze statistics and draw conclusions from them for the future. We can reveal that the countries that listen to us the most are United States, Germany, Poland and Finland.
Pix666: Where did you shoot this clip and how long did it take? I hope you didn’t freeze to death – it looks pretty cold.
Yu: ‘This Fire’ was shot in the beautiful Wkrzańska Forest right outside our home town. It was a really quick decision to start filming cause the snow just appeared and, believe me, it would melt like in less than a few days since we have quite mild climate here in Stettin. We called ASPIX crew if they are free and we just acted. It was cold that day but there was no wind, there were some gentle snowflakes falling from the sky and magical squawk of the crow which started our video shooting as it was a film slap. We almost froze to death but it was totally worth it as you can see. We would definitely do it again.
Pix666: You have already played live at some cool events, for example at the Castle Party in your home country Poland, or recently at the Prague Gothic Treffen. Do you prefer playing festivals or in small clubs close to the fans?
Ad-X: We have no preferences I would say. We like to play in small clubs but also larger locations with more people. Each place has its own specific energy and we try to give the best show no matter if it’s a small venue or a big stage.
Pix666: Tell me a little bit about your dreams… In which locations or at which festivals would you like to perform and with which band(s) would you like to go on tour in the future?
Yu: It’s a hard question because we have so many dreams regarding our future career but I try to answer that one not writing a book, ha ha. I will start with dreams which had already came true. We played at the biggest gothic festival in Poland – Castle Party, and we made Goths jump at our gig at Prague Gothic Treffen. Next festivals which we would love to play would be any gothic festival abroad but the biggest dreams are: Wave-Gotik-Treffen, Amphi Festival, M’era Luna, Dark Malta. So, hey, if you are reading this organizer, just contact us, we will gladly come!
If it is about the dream band we could go on tour it would be Lord of the Lost, The Birthday Massacre, The 69 Eyes or DeathStars.
Pix666: You’ve been on the road with the band for about four years now, right? To what extent has the Corona Pandemic delayed or influenced your plans?
Yu: Actually, pandemics of Covid-19 delayed everything for us. We have just started a band and we couldn’t play concerts. Therefore, we lost 2 years. If not this covid years at the beginning of our career, maybe we would be more recognizable on goth scene now. But we have also learned so much in that time, we discovered that we can rely on each other, that we really are friends.
Pix666: As a musician, you surely spend most of your time creating music – but what else do you do in your free time when you want to distract yourself – are there any interesting hobbies you pursue?
Yu: That’s easy – I’m a gamer girl! If I’m not at work or singing parts to HOW, you can find me with my best buddy – PC. Sometimes I make photos. Back in the days I was obsessed with drawing and maybe someday I’ll will return to it.
Ad-X: I love civil aviation so I watch everything possible from Mayday series to Welcome to Dubai International airport series on NatGeo. And in my free time I’m playing Flight Simulator.
Pix666: Do you have any other news about HER OWN WORLD that you would like to share with the fans and where can the fans read current things about your band?
Yu: Yeah, I do have some news. On 4th of November we will release new single ‘Jessie’. The story is based on real events that were quite recent in one of Polish cities – Poznań. Crime? Suicide? That is still a mystery for us and for local authorities.
For fresh news regarding our concerts and released you can follow us on facebook.com/herownworldband or instagram.com/herownworld_official
Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting interview – see you in Vienna on 07 October – I’m already looking forward to your show.
Yu: Thank you, see you soon!
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photos © by Marek Cybulski, O_to_to_foto, Her Own Wold
