Aos desaviados a audição de "Closer", sexto, isso mesmo, sexto álbum do Hiki pode soar como outro expoente oriental com os pés no dreampop, mas o Hiki, ou B.M. o responsável por tudo no projeto é russo.
"Closer" destoa dos demais álbuns por não conter canções, digamos mais acústicas, aqui B.M. conduz sua sessão nostálgica por sintetizadores dando aquele toque sútil e sonhador ao álbum.
Especialmente dedicado a sessões intimistas.
***** Interview with Hiki *****
Q. When did Hiki start? Tell us about the history...
Hiki began spontaneously on May 23, 2014. There was one song I wrote, 'Every day is the same' which didn't fit to any other projects of mine, so I decided to create a new one. At the beginning I did not know what will be the genre of this project, I just flew with inspiration and the first album 'Hiki' was done in just 4 days. Music was going slowly into shoegaze way afterwards, so I decided to keep it like that. Probably the last 2 or 3 albums are pure dreampop/shoegaze. I also tend to make music very atmospheric, but that can be applied to all my projects. Right now there are 6 albums in total. Even if each of them is 20-30 min long, I call them albums, not EPs. The project also started without any vocals, but on the 4th album I tried to add my own clean singing, which I managed to finally record after weeks of struggle. Vocals became a thing, and now the latest album 'Closer' has no instrumental tracks at all.
Q: Who are your influences?
In 2014 I was inspired by the band Adorn and their album 'Grace'. This resulted in the atmospheric background synth I composed, which can be heard in the beginning of 'Every day is the same' and on other songs (like a watermark of Hiki). The first album was also inspired a lot by my own life back then. Kinda sad and happy time at once. The next two albums were inspired again by my own life, but the one I had 5 years ago. I was reliving that time and couldn't let it go, which resulted in nostalgic sound. 'Saturday Calm' and 'Stargaze' were inspired by a couple of anime series (to be precise: 'Non non biyori' - this anime made a major impact on the music of Hiki, because I was like 'This! This kind of atmosphere I want to create in music') and also my bicycle summer rides. 'Closer' is actually an opener of a new chapter of my life, as I finally achieved inner peace.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
This list has nothing to do with Hiki, but still here it is:
1. Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason
2. Infinitas - Journey to Infinity
3. Svarti Loghin - Drifting Through the Void
4. Sadness - Somewhere Along Our Memory…
5. A Skylit Drive - Wires...and the Concept of Breathing
Q. How do you feel playing live?
Unfortunately not my thing at all ^^ it's not easy to play even on camera at home, stage is panic for me.
Q. How do you describe Hiki sounds?
Mellow ambience, dreamy guitars, nostalgic shoegazing.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
Usually I write everything on computer and then replacing some instruments with real ones (like guitar, bass and replacing the melodic synth with an actual vocal recording). Lyrics are always the hardest part, but I decided to keep them straight and simple - just wrote what I had in mind and what fits my vision for the song.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I rarely listen to new music, but I can recommend a few: thehappymask, Plastic girl in closet, Grave pool, Happiness in veins, The silent love.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
I love to make covers, and I already did them. You can find a cover on The silent love, Happiness in veins (who also did 2 covers on Hiki!) and one special cover on OST from Non non biyori anime. That one was indeed a dream came true.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Probably I will be busy with other projects for now. For Hiki I can't promise anything, but I think I will come back at some point. Maybe sooner than I think myself.
Q: Any parting words?
Thank you for this interview ^^ I'm happy to answer these questions. All the best!
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Thanks
https://www.facebook.com/hikimusic
https://hikimusic.bandcamp.com
