The Agonist está a unos cuantos días del lanzamiento de su nuevo álbum de estudio, ‘Orphans’ por lo que tuvimos la oportunidad de platicar con su vocalista, Vicky Psarakis about the challenges that I present this new material and to her in a particular way.
His new album ‘Orphans’ estará disponible a partir del 20 de septiembre…
We have already released some singles from the album and I can tell you that it is a very dark album, very heavy as you might have noticed in the first songs. Maybe we could talk about our heaviest album to date, which fits perfectly with me and makes it my favorite. I hope everyone else can hear it and we'll see if they agree with me.
The issue of making an album darker than your previous works, was it a conscious decision of the band or is it something that was happening?
Si te soy realmente sincera, no creo que haya sido algo que decidimos. Me refiero a que no fue intencional, pues la forma en que la banda trabaja cuando estamos componiendo una canción es simplemente dejarnos llevar por lo que sentimos en ese momento, que nos inspira y cómo convertimos esa energía en música. Por eso creo que hemos sido tan innovadores en nuestros discos y canciones, pues por ejemplo a veces nos sentimos más inspirados por un sentimiento especifico y ahora todos estábamos en una especie de cuarto oscuro y por eso supongo era natural para nosotros dejar salir esa oscuridad a través de la composición de nuestra música. De repente ya teníamos 3 o 4 canciones escritas y pues simplemente nos dejamos guiar en esa dirección…
This is your third album as part of The Agonist, how has your life changed compared to when you entered 2015?
Phew! My life has changed a lot, because before joining the band I lived in Greece and the only thing I did in the world of music were some covers. Then came the opportunity to be a part of The Agonist, which is amazing, which made me have to move all my life to Montreal which is, well, at the time it was the other side of the world. So it was not just joining a band, but a complete turnaround in my life.
Fortunately I have family in Chicago that is relatively close to Montreal. But imagine what it means to leave the place where you grew up, to be super far away, to leave behind all your friends, your family, just to be able to reach your goals. I don't know many people who do that and are really happy about it. Obviously it is difficult to adjust to the changes, I did. Five years have passed, we have already made three albums. And yes, it was a huge change but to improve.
What plans does The Agonist have after the release of the new album?
For now we are going to use the next few months to do everything in our power to promote the album, maybe we will film a documentary or things like that, you know. Then we will go on tour, we still do not have anything definitive for now we are already planning the American tour, of course in Europe too, and of course in Mexico and South America at some point.
Toda esa oscuridad que describes, ¿es un reflejo claro de los tiempos en los que vivimos? Violencia, malas noticias todo el tiempo…
Ahm… honestamente, no creo que el mundo esté tan mal en comparación con el pasado. Lo que tenemos es los recursos, como internet y eso, lo cual nos permite enterarnos de absolutamente todas las cosas malas que pasan, ¡pero son cosas que siempre han pasado! Pero por ejemplo, si tú vives en México y algo malo pasaba en Europa, era muy difícil que te enteraras antes de que inventaran el internet.
My point is that right now, where information abounds and we get all those negative things happening on the planet, people are focusing only on that, the negative things. And apparently people like it. Or I don't know, but they worry and that's how they live, worried all the time. There have always been bad things in the world, we just didn't hear about them. So they say ignorance is a blessing, right? You just should not let these types of situations affect you too much and focus on your things, the people around you, where you live, try to make your life better and so we would be much happier.
“Hay que saber que es realmente importante y que debemos dejar pasar.”
vicky psarakis, the agonist – 2019
So the oversaturation of information provided by the internet is also a disadvantage for people?
Creo que hay una confusión de conceptos en el mundo. Como ya dije, “la ignorancia es una bendición”. Hay ocasiones en que no saber que algo ocurrió, nos hará vivir más felices. Por ejemplo, cuando estás en una relación con alguien y esa persona te engaña. En la teoría es algo que querrías saber, pero en el momento en que te enteras piensas “demonios, preferiría no haberme enterado” (risas). Es algo así.
It is not that the information is not positive, but there is so much abundance of it, that many people are not able to filter what comes to them and then they live eternally distressed by everything bad that happens in the world. You have to know that it is really important and that we must let go. It is important to be vigilant, of course, but there is an important difference between being vigilant and being in constant shock, worried and frustrated by everything. Well, at the end of the day, they are things that are out of our control and we must learn to differentiate them.
Can and should we change the world by doing something for our own environment?
I absolutely think so. If you want to change the world you have to first change yourself. What I believe is that if each one focused on their own life and stopped meddling in that of their family, their friends and all those around them, and did their own things in the best possible way, for them and their environment, the world would be a better place.
Of course, it is a utopia because everyone decides what to do with their own lives, but if we all did it and we all set a goal as people. Especially the people who are in the public eye have some influence on people that we do not even know.
As an artist and as a public person, do you think you have a certain responsibility towards the people who follow you?
(Laughter) It is kind of crazy just thinking about it and when you said it it gave me a little laugh because I don't see myself as someone famous or something like that. For me, I'm just a person who makes music and sings, you know? There are days when I receive messages from people who tell me that I am a kind of inspiration for them, for their band. That they started singing thanks to my work. It is really motivating for me to realize that there really are people out there who are affected by my actions and my words.
I think in reality we are all responsible for everyone. We all look for external sources where we can find motivation, inspiration, something to forget the negative and leave it behind.
