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Christos Antoniou (CHAOSTAR): Music is my life

Christos Antoniou (CHAOSTAR): Music is my life
BANDS : Chaostar





Metalfan: Hello Christos and welcome to Metalfan.ro. This is the first time we meet and we are about to talk about your first ever Romanian concert, so how would you introduce Chaostar to our readers?
Hello and thank you. We are really glad that we visit Romania and we are waiting patiently for the day of the live show. I believe that Romania will have the chance to see a new face of Chaostar and the most solid up to date. Chaostar is the band where I experiment with controversial and classical music elements, the field I am actually interested a lot. The band counts already more than a decade of existence and I had till today a very good correspondence by the audience who was interested in ethnic, classical, avant-garde and experimental music. I hope that from now on that audience will become bigger and that we are going to give ore interesting music to people. We would like to thank your country for the invite and I truly believe that our friends will enjoy the night of the show.  

Metalfan: You have released your new album last month so allow me first to congratulate you for Anomima. I think you succeeded in bringing to life an amazing album, rich in dynamics and emotions.
Thank you. "Anomima" has been my strong declaration regarding my future intentions. After indulging myself more and more into Classical music and working on the symphonic parts on Septicflesh ,I know exactly what I want to present and expose through my music ,thus Chaostar for me is different than other times. It has been 10 years since the last album and things have changed, to the better, until today. I don't want to compose easy listening songs or only ambient music that would fit anyone's taste. From that point I begin with Chaostar a journey through music, hwe ther would be no boundaries and no restrictions. That is the interesting part for me and I believe that "Anomima" really have it. As you said there is a variety of dynamics and emotions, something that we will keep on working also in the future albums.

Metalfan: By now, you should have a clear picture about the way Anomima was received by fans and media. Are you satisfied with the feedback so far?
I am very satisfied with the feedback not only because I see that people correspond positively to "Anomima" ,but also that even the people who are not  great fans of "Anomima" realize the enormous work and effort put on this album. People react in the same way, on the first hand they say that the work done must have demanded from the band many many hours of work and that is true. After that I am glad to see that   many of them "stay" on the final result and declare that they find "Anomima" great, however others may stay sceptical over it. Don't forget it is my most dynamic album with Chaostar and it has vast different to all the previous works ,so I know how that sounds to many friends and I respect it. However it is my determination that the extent of our effort is really appreciated by the majority and also by the press.




Metalfan: 
It’s been six years since Chaostar released an album, why did you take such a long period to work on this record?
Actually it is almost 10 ,because the last album was a complitaion.
The reason it took me so long was the fact that I was still putting my life in order. I had a pause with Septicflesh back then, then I was working in England, I came back to Greece ,after that I had to find a new singer...Many things that didn't allow me to express the way I wanted. The good thing is that the last 4 years I have a hard schedule and that helped me to "persuade" in a way myself to re-born Chaostar.

Metalfan: Why is the album called Anomima? Please tell us about the symbolism and the messages hidden behind the lyrics? What’s the great message of Anomima?
"Anomima" indeed hides a powerful meaning. We really wanted to have an inspiration for that album that would trigger feelings and thoughts. All the members found interesting the idea of focusing on a specific subject. The central pole around which the album is circulated is the personal strength and power one can have in order to fight for an idea or to protect his beliefs. We are excited by personalities of Antiquity ,even from nowadays simple heroes that stand up to the established ideas and make the difference. A small idea that can grow inside us and becomes the wall to protect us against the arrows of the enemy. That has been the root of my inspiration .Now let's get to “Anomima”.”Anomima” in Greek means “sin”.There are several other words in Greek that explain the word “Anomima”, but f we want to describe it in a few words it refers to the “non-accepted action”, the “provocative action”.The personalities we are inspired by on that album did ,that kind of “Anomima” .The theme we are inspired by is any kind of “Anomima” we have to go through if we want to make history, if want to success ,if we want to fight for our moral values.Galileo Galilei said his “Anomima” :”the earth moves around its on axis and turns around the sun”... What better definition for Anomima? Against the Inquisition that doomed the humanity in darkness and superstition, Galileo facing death raised his loud voice and wrote in golden letters his personal “Anomima”.
 
Metalfan: Anomima features the beautiful voice of Androniki Skoula. She also became a permanent member of your band. Where you met her, could you tell us something about her musical background.
Androniki is a very hard working person. That is the thing that I appreciate most and that is the thing that make her to stand out ,not only by getting the role of the singer on Chaostar but generally in her life. She studied classical singing for 10 years parallel to her studies in the University on Architecture and she never gave up. She insisted on the detail and she tried hard on classical song ,"suffering" of extreme and intense training form her teacher Effie Adeilini who is the Representative of the Royal Schools of Music of London in Greece. I am gald that you find her voice beautiful because I am very demanding with the field "voice" and I would have never tolerate "preimadonnas" with their brains over their head. I met Andro when she auditioned for the band and she left me satisfied. She has a strong mezzo-soprano's voice ,with extremely low register and also Strong and solid high notes ,thing that allows me to work easily with her. However the most striking with Androniki is her on stage appearance where she can convey emotions and feeling to the audience .She is very emotional and expressive on stage.

Metalfan: What are, in your opinion, Anomima strongest points? Can you pick a track from this record that you think it represents perfectly Chaostar in 2013?
Chaostar’s music has diversity. We are eager to explore to new paths in order to create a qualitative work. From the record I would pick the song Un penseiro per il destino. It covers from Operatic elements to soundtrack and even ethnic colors.

 


 
Metalfan: Your new album is not only very diverse musically, but you have used no less than five languages on this record. Can you explain why did you choose this multilingual approach? Was it hard to do it?
Yes the variety of languages is not there accidentally. As a matter of fact it has been very difficult to arrange songs with the different languages ,adding the fact that we had to keep the meaning of the lyrics intact. We put languages into experimentation and I can say sometimes we use them in an unconventional way. Even in that field I want to do a kind of testing. For me it is important to stretch the possible barriers of the structure of a song. Variety of languages shows that final results can take us to another dimension if they are constantly put into testing. Every country has a language that gives birth to a distinctive colourful music in our ears and that plays also a role when it come to the final result. Moreover some languages tend to be extremely beautiful when used to express specific feelings.
 
Metalfan: Listening to Anomima I’ve found some subtle resemblances to Elend and Dead Can Dance music. Are you familiar with their albums?
Of course I am. I am great fan of Dead Can Dance and I feel blessed for having the chance to act in the Athenian Rockwave festival the same day with them. From Elend I would say we are different. I respect them but I cant’s see any similarities.

Metalfan: Dave Vincent (Morbid Angel) and Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell) are invited on Anonima, both of them doing some vocal parts for two of the songs. How did you get in touch with them? 
Fernando is a friend for many many years so I just asked him to do it.I thank him for his cooperation and most of it I am happy that he liked the song very much.  and David Vincent congratulated me for the orchestras and the symphonic parts on the "Great Mass" before two years when I was touring with SF and from that moment and back we built a strong friendship.

Metalfan: As far as your songwriting process goes, is everything written by the time you get to the studio, or do you write anything there?
Absolutely not. I write whenever I am inspired and as far as Chaostar is concerned there is no possibility of writing the whole album before I get into studio. the thing is that Chaostar is a band when all the voices can be heard so every element of music that I bring to the studio triggers a new idea of another member of the band. That is the way that "Anomima" was born and that is the only way that Chaostar 's albums can be written. The truth is that there is no other way, because Chaostar is a child of orgasmic inspiration and it is not a matter of "fixing" 2-3 singles in a row. I mean that there is not a receipe for writing those kinds of albums and that makes it twice harder.

Metalfan: Do you first choose the title of the album or song and then compose the music? You need a clear concept before you start working or it is more like: "Let see what happens...."
In the case of "Anomima" we had a concept from the beginning to be honest, because as I told you we wanted to have an idea inside our hearts and heads that would inspire us. After finding the concept and starting the brainstorming we get some lyrics and there begins the building of the album.

Metalfan: I know bands hate to label themselves as one type of music or another but if you had to categorize Chaostar's music, how would you name it?
I couldn’t. Giving a name to the genre we are playing means that we have to follow the trend that it demands and Ib wouldn't like that. Let's say that Chaostar is experimental band with classical, ethnic and avant-garde elements. I can only categorize my band in such a vague way .Any other kind of definitions wouldn't be enough to describe our intentions as band.

Metalfan: In July, you will play for the first time in Romania with Chaostar. What are your expectations and what should expect the people who will come to see you?
First of all I can guarantee you excellent musical performance. We have been rehearsing for months and believe me the songs are really hard to be played live. The most difficult task with Chaostar is the live performance .So many instruments ,so many different demands of each instrument ,plus the things that Androniki has to sing are made only for trained opera singers and her effort on stage will be enormous. Fotis has the responsibility of holding the rhythm in songs that the rhythmic patterns change so abruptly that only highly experienced musicians could handle. People will enjoy a band with melodies, identical color, unique expression and full of emotions. Darkness meets luminous moments in Chaostar an that controversy makes me believe that listeners will be compensated for their attendance. As far as I am concerned I know that Romanians are going to be excellent hosts
 

 

Metalfan: Two years ago SepticFlesh released The Great Mass, an album viewed by us, at Metalfan, one of the best of 2011. Have you begun the writing process for a new SepticFlesh album?
Yes we are in composition process right now. We will enter the studio in 1st of September. It will be released around spring of 2014. 

Metalfan: You have a remarkable musical background, including composition studies at the London College of Music. It is obvious that music plays a very important role in your life but I am curious if was there a moment in your career when you considered giving up on music and following another path, or you always knew music is the thing for you?
No , I never thought of leaving music. Music is my life.

Metalfan: Do you feel accomplished as a musician and as a person?
Yes I feel perfect with the way I am leading my life. I have no complaints, however that doesn't mean that I do not expect more and more form myself.
 
Metalfan: In the end I propose you a short quiz:
Last book you’ve read? 
A book over Socrates' life.
Favorite movie?
The Shining
Your favorite drink?
Vodka lemon
The most important metal album for you?
"Altars of Madness"
Favorite classical composer?
Stravinsky, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven 

Metalfan: Thank you very much for your time. Some final words for our readers?
 I would like to thank you for this interview . I promise a wonderful show in Romania. Keep it black.
 
Autor: Dragos P.
   July 01, 2013  | 0 Comments  | 7223 Views « BACK

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