Getting to Know… Arctic Dreams | Interview 🎤

In the 412^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from  Serbian-German sympho-industrial-black-death-band, Arctic Dreams. 

“We decided to cross heavy metal, electronic gothic, and classical music, and try to do it in a way that no one has ever done before,” Aleksandr [Alex_Y] Järvinen of Arctic Dreams asserts. What an ambitious, nothing short of awesome description of the band. Rock TF on! GENA of the Serbian-German sympho-industrial-black-death-band adds, “What makes us unique is our ability to blend genres in unexpected ways. We’re not just about one style.” The Musical Hype gets the inside scoop on Arctic Dreams’ genesis, goals, musical influences, and current, and future musical endeavors. Fun fact – we interviewed the band back in 2023. So, without further ado, here’s Getting to Know… Arctic Dreams: Interview No. 412!

For those who may not be familiar with you, what makes Arctic Dreams distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

[ALEX_Y]: We decided to cross heavy metal, electronic gothic, and classical music, and try to do it in a way that no one has ever done before.

Igor [SYDIUS] Pokatilov: How? [We] have connections in [the] sock industry ”

[GENA]: I’d say what makes us unique is our ability to blend genres in unexpected ways. We’re not just about one style; we mix it up, keeping the audience on their toes. ”

[NENAD]: There is a lot of freedom where we don’t necessarily stick to a certain genre or subgenre, but then again, that particular free route we take defines us.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Arctic Dreams form, and what were some of your goals or visions early on?

[ALEX_Y]: You could say that the founders of the project are myself and Sydius. We met in St Petersburg in 2009 after I moved there and just started making stuff. Do you want some juicy stories? One day Syd came to my house to rehearse, got really sick, and stayed at my place. Later, our first bassist Max joined us, who was also homeless at that moment.

[SYDIUS]: Ain’t it juicy enough that I still haven’t met with all the band members? And some of them had already left the band.

[GENA]: I was just in the right place at the right time and Alex invited me to join the band.

[NENAD]: I met Alex at a local metal gig and the rest is history. He showed me some of the stuff they were working on, I contributed with some of my ideas and the signature sound has become more defined.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

[ALEX_Y]: No, the goals haven’t changed, I, for example, just as I wanted to tour the world with concerts 15 years ago, I still do. But the opportunities and necessary experience have appeared. And at the moment we are actively using it.”

[SYDIUS]: Oh no! Talking about goals can take a whole book. My reflective approach to goals and planning and time-management etc. changes so fast that I already need to set a realistic goal just to learn [how to deal] with goals properly.

[GENA]: A samurai has no goal but the way.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Whom would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

[ALEX_Y]: Clifford Burton and Chuck Schuldiner.

[SYDIUS]: John Zorn – to be … damn … always considered him as a main influence but I’m not close in any way and would hardly ever do something similar to free jazz… Why did you ask to explain?

[GENA]: John Tone Jesus Petrucci.

[NENAD]: Vangelis, Peter Tagtgren, Petrucci, to name a few. They just add dimensions to their sound and songs.

[ROMAN]: Blind Guardian.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

[ALEX_Y]: Well, we were performing in a small club with a small stage. Since there were five of us, for me, the frontman, they put an extension to the stage, which was screwed to it. There were a lot of people at that concert, and the audience was ecstatic and tried to tear that extension off. I felt like a surfer and almost flew into the crowd with my guitar, floor monitors, and microphone stand.”

[SYDIUS]: We played a death-metal gig and the bass player died… But he felt better afterwards… He was a laptop.

[GENA]: Once on the tour, everything went according to plan. No one was late, no one was drunk to the point of unconsciousness, no one was pouring beer on the rig… it was crazy.

[ROMAN]: It was too weird to be told =). Let this die with me.

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

[ALEX_Y]: This will be the fifth theme on our debut album, The Arctic Dreams. It was given to me through agony and pain. When I recorded the vocals I had a fever of 42ºC (107.6ºF) and I thought I was COVID, but luckily it turned out not to be the case afterward. I wrote the vocals through fever, not my voice at all, and every take was very hard for me. In the end, it turned out super. I still re-listen to it and I love it all.

[SYDIUS]: It is always the last one.

[GENA]: Every song is special.

[NENAD]: “Brooding Shadows” (Light Denied). Dark, fast, and brutal.

[ROMAN]: “The Great Adventure” (Vetvi Sudby). It is the most progressive piece of music I’ve ever recorded”

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?            

[ALEX_Y]: I am a software engineer 💻.

[SYDIUS]: I’m dull and common.

[GENA]: I’ve beaten every game in the Soulsborne series 🎮.

[NENAD]: I can do a good Gollum impression.

[ROMAN]: I am a front-end developer 💻.

What is Arctic Dreams working on or promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

[ALEX_Y]: We are working on a new album and are planning a single from it in July.

[GENA]: It’s summer, new single – it’s gonna be awesome.

[NENAD]: We are releasing a single from the new album, “End of June.”

[SYDIUS]: “End of June” is a good name. 

We have many resources which we regularly update:

Instagram // Facebook //  X // TikTok // YouTube // Soundcloud // Website // Bandcamp // VK

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward. 

Getting to Know…Arctic Dreams: Interview No. 412 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Arctic Dreams; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]