n-she-past-away-fantastique-night-xlv-t-a-g-brussels-belgium-marquis-pi-x-815-13

It was in 2012 when She Past Away released their first LP ‘Belirdi Gece’, that made an enormous impact in the underground, especially regarding the dark wave fans, that gave few inspired songs that already became…”classics”: ‘Sanri’, ‘Ruh’, ‘Rituel’, ‘Kasvetli Kutlama’ are among the gems in the dj’s quiver, and later in May 2015 they let out the second ‘Narin Yalnizlik’ LP including few more wave “classics”: ‘Soluk’, ‘Asimilasyon’, ‘Narin’…, ‘Katarsis’. Original talents in the genre that led them gain most of the appreciation, that…sent them to the airport, invited to perform all over the world. I’ve once experienced them performing live, (where else?) at Death Disco, Athens and I can assure you that the band from Turkey can really make excellent gigs, so once they released the latest official video ‘Katarsis’ earlier in October, we decided in Last Day Deaf that now is the perfect timing to reach them, and we offered an interview which they kindly accepted…so, press play and support the global underground!

How come a band from Turkey, performing that astonishing goth wave music?

This is purely related with our musical taste. It doesn’t relate to where we live.

I always wanted to ask you about the titles of your songs and their lyrics. Why have you chosen singing in Turkish language and which are the stories you sing?

Singing in our mother language feels more real, it is the language in which we think and speak. It is easier to transfer emotions. Lyrics mostly reflect the negative side of life. One song is about the religious repression and the next may be about completely personal issues. For instance, ‘Bozbuanık’ is about losing the will to live, ‘Ruh’ and ‘Monoton’ are about post-death experiences. ‘Sanrı’ and ‘Asimilasyon’ are rebellions against the concept of religion. ‘Uzakta’ speaks about the story of a couple who commit suicide on the same bridge a year apart. I wrote the song deriving from a story in the newspaper.

Where do you obtain your inspiration, regarding your art?

Events in life, a book, a movie. We are fed by the dark side of life. Solitary, tragedy, disappointments, they are all inspirational ferries for us.

Since the first ‘Belirdi Gece’ release (February 2012), you have amazed the fans following the genre, offering few “classic” songs on the dance floor (‘Sanri’, ‘Ruh’, ‘Katarsis’ among others), that actually set the interest in you, being invited to dedicated scenes and festivals. Is there any secret in your success?

We make the music we like. We are not purely gothic or post-punk. We kinda cover the whole misty and dark area in the 80’s. Doing this first in Turkish makes us unique.

Listening to your music I figure out that it is all arranged as a gothic rock band, but you are only 2 persons involved in performing live. Why did you decide to appear in that minimal sense? Are there any thoughts about adding more members?

The number of members is important if you want to stand as an underground band. Especially, if you are touring so many countries. If conditions change in the future, we may reconsider new people but we never envision a large format band.

You are currently on a big tour, what are the future plans? A new release maybe?

Finishing and releasing the third album is the priority. We are designing a better show in terms of visuals for the next year.

You are involved in gothic rock and with a certain approach in post-punk too. What other forms of music may inspire you or are you keen on?

80’s dark music in general. Coldwave, darkwave primarily. Minimal wave deathrock, italo, disco, post punk. If we go even deeper in the past, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Suicide, Bowie

Could you share with us your current playlists, artists you are fond of and comfort your mood?

Recently listening: Sol Invictus – ‘Against The Modern World’, Marc Almond – ‘Trials Of Eyeliner – The Anthology 1979/2016’.

New music is coming out of Turkey, like She Past Away, Bewitched As Dark, Reptilians From Andromeda to name a few. Can you share with our readers a few thoughts on the conditions in the underground scene in Turkey, since excellent musicians are emerging who try to spread their art in public?

Turkish underground has been calmer recently, it was better in the 90’s. If you like psychedelic, post rock , there is more of a movement. I can relate to a few bands, RFA, Robotat, Ugly Shadows, Rhythm O

Thank you very much SPA for the interview, last words on you!

Thank you for the wonderful questions.

Photo credits: Xavier Marquis

Mike Dimitriou