Davon Van Dave & Eduarda Soeiro

Glasya

The ones who fight for the right thing, for the sake of those that will continue their path in the future, a form of sacrifice that unquestionable. The message doesn't have to suit fathers, or sons, it can relate to anyone out there that has that special someone that cares for him / her. If there is the willing to fight for that person, that is something. Listening to the sophomore production of the Portuguese Glasya has it to make one understand the importance of being there for others, to be their shield if need, put loved one's lives first. Shipping out their adventurous creation to date, "Attarghan", there is a story to tell, and a deep peak into how cinematics influenced Metal music. Steinmetal had a good talk with Keyboardist Davon Van Dave, and vocalist Eduarda Soeiro, about this rather huge step taken by the band, and its outcome.

By Lior "Steinmetal" Stein

• March 7, 2022

Glasya's Davon Van Dave: "Attarghan is not about war

Hi guys, it is a pleasure for me to have you for this interview for Metal Temple online Magazine, how have you been?

Hi Lior, thank you so much for having us, it's a great pleasure talking to you! We feel great, with a lot of good vibes around us and optimistic about the future.

In times of desperation, whether in fiction or reality, there is no better time to raise a hero, or for a person to take that responsibility to become that hero. Since the last two years have been a challenging period for mankind, who are the heroes in your view that did everything they can for their surroundings?

The world has gladly many heroes, most of them unknown and doing the right thing without wanting the attention to them, doing good only for the sake of helping others. Those people are the real heroes, what mankind should be to one another. I praise those who volunteer to go to distant and poor countries to give to helpless ones some life conditions, love, respect and care. The people who dignify the life of others. When health it's the greater good now-a-days, I truly respect those who do everything they can to ensure the health of the disadvantaged.

Glasya hasn't been on the market for that long, and after its debut, "Heaven's Demise", it appears that a change of perception of the band's identity was made. I will ask bluntly, what weren't you satisfied with during the period of the debut album, mainly after its release?

I think it's not about dissatisfaction; it's more about evolution, and what you can offer to the ones who listen to you. I'm a soundtrack aficionado and I always wanted to do something like this as we did in "Attarghan", a soundtrack of a story written by me, a symbiosis between music and narrative. Not only a concept album, but to create a story and bringing it to life with music, where the story and the music have the same importance.

So "Heaven's Demise" was a learning stage of what the band could deliver, "Attarghan" it's the logic step that was only possible because of that first record.

That change that we talked about, also led you to a new label, Scarlet Records, how do you view this signing? How do you find it as the next step in the band's evolutionary stage? How does this move serve your purpose for the future?

Having Scarlet Records as our partner was one of our main goals in this record, we know they work very well and we knew that with them Glasya could take that step forward, Scarlet Records it's among several things, a stamp of quality, people who love what they do and know what they want and what they can give to you.

Glasya is a band that wants to grow, wants to do more, be more ambitious, conquer a place of its own and we only can do that with someone who believes in us and give us enough support to go further.

For your sophomore album, as mentioned, you took a major step forward, some might argue that you made at least two or even three steps. Titled "Attarghan", you created a scenery, a theatrical, movie like, concept, dating to pre-Persian empire. I have to admit that I got a bit perplexed about your chosen era to base your story on. With the Roman Empire being the ultra-sexy theme to count on, you chose differently. What inspired you about that Persian era, which is no less than Roman times?

Thank you so much for your words! They show that our goal was achieved and that makes me really happy.

I always wanted to explore the ancient Persian culture, not only because I think it has not been explored enough in all kinds of art, but it's a fascination I have since a young boy. It was not something that I created strategically, it was only an old passion inspiring me. It's easier to you to feel something and bring it to life when that belongs to your childhood imagination.

Starring as the major role is the warrior, military commander, Attarghan. The strong psychological battle within had him turn on his leader, and rebel against the empire. When you view Attarghan, as a freedom fighter, which individual, or an idea, of the present do you find comparison with?

Attarghan is the personification of the ideal of righteousness, being fair to ourselves and to others. We all make mistakes, but we can always undo them, doing the right thing after.

There are several kinds of freedom fighters in the present days, politics, activists, animal advocates, nature defenders, doctors and medical assistants, soldiers…. We owe a lot to these people, and as I said before, the unknown ones, those who are behind the spotlights, they are the ones who really make the difference.

Attarghan wasn't just born out of nothing, as his image, and character, was probably based on a historical person, a leader, or even a freedom fighter on his own accord. Unless I was mistaken, who is that individual? Who is our world's Attarghan?

Whom that listened to the album carefully, knows that the story it's being told by Attarghan's son and even the tale it's sung by the voice of his lover and mother of his son. So, Attarghan it's mostly about family, about the bond between a son and his father and how he's grateful and proud of his father's actions that could leave him a peaceful world to live in. Attarghan is not about war, it's about fighting, fighting for the right cause, fighting for our sons, for our families. Attarghan it's the paradigm of what I would like to be to my son and the way he sees me and think of me one day. Attarghan are all the fathers who fight for the future of their sons.

Were there any deliberations on perhaps making the story of Attarghan as a tragedy? Even though he died at the end, yet he did win and take his place as the savior

Attarghan didn't fight to make a better place for himself, it was to give back the dignity of others…. In the story, when he dies, he gives to everyone the propose to live in peace…. Probably if he survived, people wanted him to be a ruler of the new world, Attarghan didn't want that, so, was better this way, he became a legend and an ideal to follow.

As a matter of personal belief, "Attarghan" as a concept, comes to show that human values are sacred, and they could blast through in such power that could influence many. In light of the album, and the message it shares, what do you believe in when it comes to relations between people and the social order?

If we can influence someone to do the right thing, be honest and give a meaning to his own life and to the ones who surround him, our live was not empty and pointless. I believe in the chain of goodness, if you do something good to someone, that someone will do something good for another person and so on. If we spread positive energy, a smile, a helping hand, other people will spread it too and influence their pairs to feel that way too.

It's not about having power by influencing others, it's about living among people that understand that best way to live with one another, it's to accept everyone and try to be helpful and let others help you.

Along with the challenging storytelling, there is the musical end of "Attarghan". Usually we are bound by labels, yet I believe that this album simply denies this option. Within Metal, and cinematics, and I might even raise the Rock element, there is multi-direction in order to grant the listener the experience of being part of a play, or a movie. How do you find this rather intense development of the band's music?

In "Attarghan" the story and the music have the same importance, the story was written first, we divided it in chapters and then we started to create the songs for each chapter. When we started to compose each song, we already knew the exact moment it would be, so we focused in that specific feeling and let our inspiration flow. If it was about fighting, it would be strong, epic, if it was for happiness, it would have a beautiful and serene melody, if it was about a journey, it would have a rhythm that took the listener to that voyage… the musical part would be the image of the words, so the mood had to be the proper one. We were mainly focused about telling the story, so the songs are not just music, are a virtual screen of our minds showing the scenery we imagined. Was a great achievement to us as musicians to be able to give every song the right mood.

The album is rendered as a soundtrack, which could have easily been the landscape for movies of the genre. Davon what can you tell about the orchestrations, and also the influences that inspired you while writing such bombastic atmospheres?

I love composing, I love to turn on my workstations and start to create, it's to me the most gratifying moment of all the process. I collect a lot of original soundtracks and musicals, I listen to them a lot, sometimes I know the soundtrack by heart before even watching the movie. So, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Harry Gregson-Williams, Klaus Badelt, are composers that I listen almost every day. When you listen so often great composers like them, it's normal to get influenced by them and easier to express emotions through music because it's what they do best. I can't explain how I have the ideas, but being in front of a keyboard and start playing makes me so happy and that joy it's reflected on the music that I create on that moment.

Eduarda, your voice is simply divine on the record, aspiring the record into becoming a dramatic opera. How do you view your part in the story? How do you find the dramatic intensity of the songs in light of your vocal duties?

First of all, thank you so much for your compliment about my voice in the album. For me doing these dramatic voices was always a challenge, but in "Attarghan", I tried to be very dynamic in what was going on the story...

I always wanted to explore many styles with my voice, maybe not to bore the audience with the same vocal lines, but, being in a story like this, I could explore two very different vocal techniques. When I was doing the vocal lines I always though what was going on in that part of the story and besides that, it helped me, to study feelings and imagine pictures in my head. Even to sing softer notes in some parts, I had to feel it like I did in "Attarghan's" melody "We weren't meat to be". For me is the most difficult song I ever recorded and even today I am rehearsing it a lot for our live performance.

I have no doubt that this record's making, in particular in a day and age where it is nearly impossible to properly meetup, at least that was a year ago, what can you tell of the challenges that came over the band as "Attarghan" was in process?

The real challenge in "Attarghan" was to make it "organic" and turn its concept credible. We talked every single day online to exchange ideas, to record, show, discuss, change, improve…. and going to studio, recording everything without even playing a single song together and make it sound cohesive, was impressive. We had 9 guests on the album, to schedule the recordings with everyone was not easy, especially during the lock down period, even being with the producer was difficult… with all the obstacles we had, I still can't believe how well the result of this record was. We are very grateful for the dedication of everyone to make this possible, band members, friends and guests.

What can you tell about the songwriting process of the album, which I can assume was quite draining after a while? What did that process teach you as musicians and songwriters?

We started to compose and structure the idea days before people start talking about the virus. In the moment of the lock down we had enough time to think in all details of "Attarghan" and the songs started to flow because the theme of each one was already created, so, was turning that moment into music.

The most valuable lesson we had as musicians, it's that we can do what we propose to ourselves to do, even when everything around it's odd and difficult. If we could make "Attarghan" with such difficulties, we can do even more in the future!

Which lessons of the past did you put in motion within "Attarghan", stuff that you realized that could have made the debut better and to be taken into account in the future?

The first lesson we learned was to work more and more as a team, if everyone of us takes his role on the composition, the result will be more diverse and richer. The second lesson was to open our horizons, if we want to have a space of our own, we need to be ambitious in what we do. Ambition will always be present in Glasya future works.

We talked about drainage, did you feel that you needed to take a rest after the completion of the record?

Indeed, the process was long and exhausting, was a big challenge to us because of the lack of resources and small knowledge how to do this kind of work. I needed to enjoy the final result without thinking about anything else.

When you listened to the entire record yourself, what sort of spiritual journey did it take you? On what did it make you think about song after song?

Because we listened to the record so many times along the process, the pre-production, recordings, production, mixes, mastering…. When we received the final master from Darius, I spent a week without listening to it. When I decided to put the phones and press play, I immediately felt a huge sense of pride. of accomplishment. I felt shivers along all the listening and since them I put the album in constant repeat. I felt that all made sense as a whole and we made something special.

Soon it would be possible to get back out there and perform, I wonder, what are your plans for a stage act, have you already considered such a suitable set?

We are very visual, in our live acts has always a strong visual presence, in the interrupted "Heaven's Demise" tour, we adorned the stage with columns, flame lights, our clothes…. We'll keep to have that concern of having a strong visual presence on stage and in "Attarghan" that concern will be bigger in several aspects. We already have a stage design suitable to the story we are telling, we are working on it right on.

Will there be a next chapter of "Attarghan", perhaps a second generation of the legend that died?

The story of "Attarghan" ends here, we want that every album brings something new and unexpected, so we have already a new story with a new theme and a new way of storytelling, even more ambitious. But for now, our focus is "Attarghan".

Guys, I wish to thank you for your time for this interview, I found the record quite inspiring, certainly you have a lot to show for. All the best

We thank you for having us, and for your interesting questions, was really a great pleasure to answer them! Cheers!