Sarkh | Interview | Exclusive Video Premiere of ‘Ackerland’
As an ode to Mother Nature’s vast range between sublime beauty and cruelty, Sarkh presents to you their musical interpretation of nature’s soul.
They are painting aural pictures with their intense, in-your-face instrumental post-rock / post-metal. Nowadays, there’s not much thought on what it once meant to prepare the soil for being fertile.’ Completely different is the picture that emerges when you look back to the past. So that’s what the song is about. The heavy exertions and toil in the face of the threatening loss of the sown seeds, the grown harvest, of one’s own life.
“We move between spheric acoustic fragments and contrary designed hard passages”
What’s the concept behind Sarkh?
Our concept is instrumental music without voices, to paint aural pictures with it. We associate our music with all facets of nature and the mutual understanding of it within our souls. It’s the
soundtrack between raging storms and tender waves, the tingling of the leaves in the wind and the harsh silence in the rough wild… The line between peace and rage… The eternal cycle of arise and elapse. The range of beauty to cruelty. The states between peace and violence…
Would you like to talk a bit about your background?
Sarkh were grown out of the Doom Metal Band “Hessaja” in 2017. The drummer and the guitarist were supposed to go on as duo in the beginning, but then realising quickly, that this music is not whole without the sound of a bass. That’s why we found the final line-up as a trio in 2018.
How would you describe your sound?
We move between spheric acoustic fragments and contrary designed hard passages. If you’d compare our music with the rise of a painting, the guitar would be the brush and the hand of the painter. The drums and the bass are the canvas and the frame, within the painting can unfold freely. The listener then, is kind of the beholder of the finished painting, and can dive into and walk through it. The magic of aural painting is, that everyone has his own picture then.
Are any of you involved in any other bands or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?
Falko (bassist) plays also drums in Teuer (a post-punk-NDW band). He is also soundman of the Vortex Surfer music club and has a DIY music studio, where we also recorded our album, which he produced. Johannes (guitar) is the first fourth member in Electric Moon since April 2020 and plays the second guitar. And together with Lulu of Electric Moon, he freshly founded a pop/drone duo project named “G:ʤi:“, soon to arise, so stay tuned
What does the name “Sarkh” refer to in the context of the band name?
Sarkh means something like “shout” in Arabic, which is really appropriate for an instrumental band.
“There are no borders”
How do you usually approach music making?
Johannes (guitar) writes the songs, mostly alone at home on his guitar. Those ideas get then elaborated together with the drummer in the rehearsal room, and brought to shape. On ‘Kaskade’, two of the songs developed in cooperation in a threesome. But there is no fix concept for the songwriting.
Can you share some further details how your latest album ‘Kaskade’ was recorded?
Kaskade was recorded, mixed and mastered by Falko (bass) at his “Institut für angewandten Krach” between October 2017 and May 2019.
How pleased were you with the sound of the album?
We are very happy with the sound of our debut. Since it was recorded and produced totally autonomously, we are really happy with the result. Of course, there are no borders to the top, so after it is ready, you always find something you think you could have done better. But this is a natural process of growing, I guess.
How are you coping with the current world situation? What are some future plans?
Of course, the current situation is very burdensome for musicians. Most concerts got cancelled and the future is unsure for the next times. It would have been really important for us, to promote our album on tours and concerts, when it came out, to spread it to the people. We hope the situation will calm down soon so that we can play gigs again, soon, …
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
People, you should definitely listen to the band Charivari! Their debut was released also through our label Worst Bassist Records!
Klemen Breznikar
Sarkh Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
Worst Bassist Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
