The opening act for the 1st DeathDisco MiniFest this Saturday, November 11th, along with Pink Turns Blue & Hante., will be the Portuguese electronic/darkwave band by Pedro Code (The Dream Collision, Rainy Days Factory). This one was an interesting live chat with Pedro, and among others he’s revealing what will be performed by Iamtheshadow this “Sat”. Cool!
So Pedro. Welcome to Last Day Deaf! What lies behind Iamtheshadow enigmatic name? An introduction to your project for our readers please…
Hello Christos, our pleasure. The name Iamtheshadow came naturally when I finished doing the first song ‘Hurts And Takes‘. It was a difficult time for me. and I literally felt like a Shadow, so…
Iamtheshadow started when I did a darker and danceable song that did not fit in my other project The Dream Collision and I felt that something darker was coming.
How do you feel that you will be part of Death Disco’s first Minfest on November 11th, along with great names such as Pink Turns Blue and Hante.?
It’s an honour for us to be part of this, especially because since the beginning the Greek people always accepted us in a different way.. It’s difficult to explain, but I feel a bound. a link to you… For me, it will certainly be an intense experience to share Iamtheshadow with all of you and the other great bands.
So, what are you going to present to your Greek fans this Saturday?
We will present some songs from our first album, and our last vinyl. because time will be limited we cannot present all the songs we wanted, but for us we will present a great tracklist: ‘Intro‘, ‘Erosion (So Close)‘, ‘The Winter’s Long‘, ‘Hurts And Takes‘, ‘Everything In This Nothingness‘, ‘Tongueless‘, ‘Draw A Line‘, ‘This Violence‘ and ‘There Is Nothing More To See‘.
Fine! This is an exclusive! Lets go to your latest album, ‘All Our Demons‘ that was released this year. Are you satisfied with this? In what way do you think Iamtheshadow have evolved from last year’s ‘Everything In This Nothingness‘?
Yes, we are very satisfied with this. I think about it in a different perspective, more danceable, more electronic in a kind of way. I believe there is a natural evolution, especially because in this album I had Rui Geada (Herr G) and Vitor Moreira composing their parts with all the freedom. and that always gives a “different flavour” to Iamtheshadow.
What made you pick certain songs for videos from your latest release?
It always depended from our sweet friend and manager Nazaré Milheiro. Sometimes she “feels” that she wants to do a video for a certain song, and of course we accept this; But for me I wanted to do videos for all the tracks if I could. Especially ‘Erosion (So Close)‘.
Any special story behind ‘Erosion (So Close)’ then?
Yes.. My lyrics and songs are always about me, my demons, my hopes and fears. my dark and lights. ‘Erosion (So Close)‘ is about to feel dead inside. A hope for a spark.. To live, or to die.
How would you describe the Poruguese dark scene in general? Any similarities to the Italian one? Which other bands/acts should we take notice of?
It’s very small in Portugal, but we have some good bands to look for and we have so many people that love this kind of music here. Phantom Vision and She Pleasures Herself. I can’t find special similarities with the Italian scene, but the dark wave in general. All of us are influenced by the same bands, generally speaking.
And what about the excellent (now defunct) Joy Division-esque band Archétypo 120? Are you aware of them?
Oh yes! It’s a very good one and when I wrote the other two I didn’t remember this one. And there are so many more I like, The Dreams Never End, for example.
Getting a bit into politics now; But cannot avoid this one. How do you feel about the Spanish political condition at the moment, and about the Catalonian independence issue?
It’s a delicate matter and I never mix politics with music. even in my songs I don’t do it. I just can say in my own name and not talking in the name of Iamtheshadow, that all beings are free to choose. especially inside themselves. It’s a difficult thing to achieve “equilibrium” between freedom and law.
Fair enough Pedro! Plans for 2018?
We are having ideas for new songs, and some are almost finished. We want to complete the 3rd album in 2018 and we believe it will be a special year for concerts of Iamtheshadow.
Thank you for this one! A special message to Last Day Deaf readers from Iamtheshadow?
Music will be forever “Everything in this Nothingness“. Feel and live all.
Photo credits: Michael Atkinson
Christos Doukakis