written by Marko Jakob | 12.02.2022 |
Pix666: Hello Soph, hey Stuart. Thanks for taking the time for the interview. How are you doing?
Soph: Thank you for taking the time to interview us! I’m good, thank you!
Stuart: I’m doing great, thanks for having us!
Pix666: Your band is still quite new, you just formed ATHƎNA a few months ago. Please tell the readers how it all started and what kind of music you make.
Soph: The rest of the guys were already pretty solid and I was asked to be the resident vocalist around this time last year. We then re-wrote the melody and lyrics, jumped in the studio to record and filmed the video. I think our genre is interpretative to the listener. Personally, I think it’s quite a unique mix and I hope we’ll solidify our own genre at some point in the future.
Stuart: The idea for ATHƎNA was conceived back in 2019 with the idea to launch in 2020, but the pandemic pushed things back a few years. Launching this band has consumed my life over the last few years so I’m very happy to have finally released music. I guess at this time we’re alternative rock but more specifically we occupy somewhere between post-hardcore and melodic hardcore.
Pix666: Have you been involved in other bands or projects before?
Soph: There’s been a few that have failed to launch previously but working with the lads in ATHƎNA and Wailing Banshee has been an amazing journey so far and I can’t wait to see where things lead.
Stuart: I’ve been involved in a few projects over the years but nothing that really went anywhere.
Pix666: How did you come up with your band name and the special feature of the mirrored Ǝ?
Soph: ATHƎNA has been a deity that I have adored since first learning about Greek mythology when I was young so the name has always been close to my heart. The mirrored Ǝ was added for the aesthetic affect as I think it’s important to have some kind of branding within a band name for easy recognition and memorability.
Stuart: Soph came up with the name. The mirrored Ǝ makes the name stand out I think.
Pix666: The Ǝ is a really cool idea and especially on shirts or something it has a high recognition value. On the other hand, this fact might make it more difficult to find your band on the internet, right?
Soph: As the title of the song is quite unique, fortunately it’s not been a problem so far but it is something we are looking into for future reference.
Stuart: Yeah we’ve had that issue where it was hard to find us if you just searched our name, but the song is easy enough to find.
Pix666: Some weeks ago your debut single ‘Shift Your Focus’ was released. How have the reactions to the song been so far?
Soph: There’s been so much positive feedback, it’s been really heartwarming to see how well received the single has been especially for a debut. We’ve honestly all been so dazed since the release.
Stuart: I’ve been blown away by the reception and I wasn’t expecting it to be as positively or as widely received as it has. We’ve all been obsessively checking the video.
Pix666: What is the story behind the song and how and where did you shoot the video? Were there some funny moments during the video shooting?
Soph: There’s so many draft versions of the lyrics it’s ridiculous but they all come from the same themes of inner turmoil and despair. I’ve struggled with my mental health for most of my life and being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder last year was really consuming. The lyrics are kind of like my final chapter of my downward spiral into my own personal hell. It really helped me get out of a vicious cycle; I’m hoping it can help others too.
Stuart: I wrote the music back in 2019 so the song was kicking around for a while before Soph joined the band and added the lyrics. We shot the video at Atlas Studios. I can’t remember anything specifically funny on my end, but it was very cold and we all had a great time.
Pix666: The clip now has almost 50,000 views on YouTube – a really impressive number. Do you look at the statistics on YouTube and Spotify, e.g. do you know where your listeners live?
Soph: We were all shell shocked when it got to 10k within the first day and can’t believe that it’s still climbing as rapidly as it is! I’m constantly checking stats on every app I can. I love being able to see where all our listeners are from in particular. It’s crazy to me that our music is already on the other side of the world.
Stuart: Yeah I’m blown away by how many views the video has amassed already and I’m very grateful for it. We’ve got listeners all over the world and I think that’s amazing.
Pix666: How far has the work on further songs progressed? Can fans look forward to an album from you in 2022?
Soph: We’re hoping to have a handful of songs out by the end of the year. No plans for an EP or an album as of yet but you never know.
Stuart: We have a new song debuting in a few months, with a few more throughout 2022. We’re always writing so there’s no shortage of material. There’s no plans for an EP or album at this stage.
Pix666: Another question… are there any big problems for British artists after the UK leaves the EU? At least I can imagine that it won’t be as easy as before to deliver merch to the rest of Europe.
Soph: We haven’t experienced any difficulties so far from this but we’re only just starting out in the industry, I can imagine we’ve got some hurdles to jump through, Brexit being a big one. Generally, it’s going to be a struggle for us to support the ever increasing finances it takes to tour and support ourselves as musicians but we’ve got enough fight to make it work.
Stuart: Yeah it’s a shame because Europe is a great market for heavy music and Brexit has made it so much harder financially for artists, especially on our level, to get out to those people.
Pix666: Are there already plans for live performances by ATHƎNA?
Soph: 10000% we’re all raring to go, we’re unable to reveal anything until a later date but follow us on social media to keep up to date with events, releases and more!
Stuart: Yes and we can’t wait!
Pix666: Do you have any other news about ATHƎNA or some interesting personal things about you that you would like to share with the fans?
Soph: We have another single coming out soon which we are all very excited to release. More importantly we all want to thank all our fans for the support, it means more than you could ever know.
Stuart: Look out for our next single in the coming months, and thank you to everyone that has embraced Shift Your Focus so far, I’m eternally grateful.
Pix666: Thanks for the interview, good luck for the future – and above all, stay healthy.
https://www.facebook.com/Athenaukband/
https://www.instagram.com/athenaukband/
photos © by ATHƎNA & Blackboxphotoco
