Incomer members tried their hands in different genres, under different names, changing sound form and outlook. What once began as more classic rock music has developed into a new project, built on sound samples and synthesized sounds. The rock basis has organically mixed with electronic music and created its own unique cinematic atmosphere. Incomer, as a band, has grown into a project that combines not only specific sound, but also futuristic flow. And the term "Incomer" is interpreted as a phenomenon of transforming sound vibrations into musical stories, which recognize real global problems by telling a listener interesting legends of fiction worlds.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
What first got you into music?
Hlib: One day, all of a sudden (for himself and for me), my classmate brought a guitar and gave it to me to try playing. This is where my journey as a musician began. Earlier, back in school, I was interested in alternative music, my first tape was Linkin Park’s - “Reanimation”. For a long time I thought that the songs on this tape were original versions, and when I heard the originals I thought they were remixes)))
Alexander: My dad was a musician. Friends, who were interested in playing in a band, asked me:
- You seem to have a bass guitar at home? So I ended up in a group.
Danylo: Music captured me through movies. And my first instrument was the mouth harmonica. I bought it right after listening to soundtracks for the Cowboy Bebop animation. But out of love for Sci-Fi movies, I still had to buy a synthesizer.
Describe your favorite and least favorite part about being a musician.
Hlib: My favorite moment is the process of writing a song, while the ideas are still completely fresh, while they “hold” me strongly. I also like to perform, but only when I feel feedback from the audience. And the most difficult thing in the field of modern music is to find a stable niche and a permanent audience, not to get lost in the flow of information. Especially with a rather niche style, like ours. Also it’s hard for me to sit still and not to distract when I spend hours technically “polishing” mixes.
Alexander: I like to discuss and work on ideas, I like live communication with people when ideas turn into sound.. When it comes to social media (I'm probably old-fashioned), it's hard for me to communicate with people, especially on Instagram. There is no sincerity or sense of organicity in all of this.
Danylo: What I like the most is the process of creating musical compositions, both studio and live. I mean what music is straight away. And the least I like is the stuff that serves this all. All this eternal work on technical problems and routine processes. However, thanks to them, the result becomes more valuable.
Your latest song is 'WARFARE'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
Hlib: Definitely the background is the war in my country. All thoughts now are about it and it flows in musical ideas. I wanted to make this song more aggressive, because this is the exact emotion right now despite how calm I try to be. It is impossible to observe this pain and cruelty, but to write about something ordinary. As for unusual things, during this period everything is unusual, but I really want to return to normality.
Alexander: A month since the beginning of the war, we did not know what to do, the music was paused. Everything we did lost any meaning. But emotions must find a way out in creativity. Hlib sent a demo of this song in the chat and everything “spun”. This song showed that, despite all the circumstances, the creative process can move on.
Danylo: This composition is the sound of what we see. We still managed to open up to creativity. Because at first it seemed that we could not concentrate on creating something.
It is a very difficult time for Ukraine at the moment. What emotions are accompanying you?
Hlib: For some reason, injustice hurts me the most. I do not understand why some people have decided that they have the right to do such evil to others. And the unspeakable anger is that in the flow of continuous lies they make us guilty and the information is distorted.
Alexander: The feeling of surrealism of everything that happens around doesn’t go away. Now I understand that it’s better to read history than to be a direct participant of history being written.
Danylo: It all evokes complex emotions. I would describe them after 2 months: powerful but not loud. Because you understand that it’s all up to endurance and it’s no longer possible to react roughly. The bright shock turns into another powerful emotion of counteraction.
Do you think Poland is helping you in this hard time?
Hlib: It is difficult to overestimate the help from Poland, the Polish people have accepted an incredible number of refugees and are extremely helpful to Ukraine in all areas, especially humanitarian. Now there is a quantum transition, it is felt in the actions and words of people. And world society is now more united than ever, and stands on one front. Poles, as our neighbors, understand the importance of helping us, and we are hugely grateful to them.
Danylo: It is said that this war is a war of the rears. And not to say just about visible help, but purely emotionally it’s very supportive to have a “covered” back. It is calmer to sleep when at least ⅕ of border neighbors are friendly and rush to rescue almost immediately without hesitation.
Where are you currently staying? Are you free to record tracks?
Hlib: From the beginning of the war we all stayed in our hometown of Lviv. This is the west of Ukraine, it is relatively calm here. Yes, we have the opportunity to record and compose songs, because we do the whole process from the demo to the finished "master" with our hands.
Alexander: The war is making adjustments, but as long as we stay in our city and have laptops on hand, musical work continues.
How do you nurture your own creativity?
Hlib: Personally, I use various available methods when creating songs. I often combine these methods, or even fragments from different sketches. In general, I try to constantly create new "demos", realizing that not all of them will be released. But with each sketch created, I understand better what I want and how to achieve it.
Alexander: I love our “live” format, it is technically limited and it encourages creativity and bold ideas during improvisations. They give birth to ideas that you can't come up with just by looking at the monitor.
Danylo: As for me, it is a meditative process of experimentation and design. So long as there is some valuable element (motive or texture, beat), anything that gives bright emotions, we look for ways to “wrap it up”.
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
Hlib: My dream is to perform with A Perfect Circle, I have been a fan of them for a long time. Our new songs would go well with the Crosses repertoire. As for more realistic options, this is a concert with Phantogram.
Alexander: I would like to fall into the underground "party" with the first lineup of the band “Scriabin”, it seems to me that our music resonates with their early art. The only thing that it would be in the mid-90's, we were seven or six years old then)))
Danylo: I agree with aforesaid and will add NIN and Moderat bands to the geography.
Who's your ideal musician to collaborate with and why?
Hlib: It would be very interesting to listen to our “feat” with Apashe or Lorn :) They are at the forefront of electronics, and they have very cool bass synthesizers and drums, "juicy" and "elastic". We also love such sound design, and often use similar textures when improvising.
What are your plans for the future?
Hlib: In the current circumstances, long-term plans are not very meaningful, so I focus on short-term goals. The first is regularity in live-streaming, which we started recently on Twitch, Youtube and Sessions. Second is to regularly release fresh songs and play them live.
Danylo: We actually had plans for the year. Therefore, to implement most of the plans will be great for beginning.