Bjarla is a music band from Russia, ambient folk/ pagan folk and traditional folk. The lyric voice completes this folk-mix, accompanied by powerful throat singing and the sounds of mandolins, guitars, flutes, jouhikko, lyre, bagpipes and Jew’s-harp… read more here…
I am happy that you found the time for this written interview, and we are all looking forward to hear more about the band and its music
I know your music very well, but I don’t know much about the persons behind it, would you like to tell us a little about yourself?
We are from Moscow. The average age of the group members is 35 years old. Our band was founded by Anton (music, ethnic instruments) and Alexandra (vocals, lyrics, also some instruments and music). Alexandra and Anton are currently married.
The rest of the musicians take part mainly in live performances and also compose their parts for live performances. The bassist’s name is Alexey, the drummer’s name is Maxim, the throat singer’s name is Alexey.
“Bjarla” what does that mean?
The word “Bjarla” is coined by the members of the collective to designate a group. This word has northern roots, derived from “björt” (“bright”, Iceland.), “bjarmi” (“shine”, Iceland.).
Does it have a special meaning for you?
We came up with this name to designate the team. We wanted it to be sonorous, beautiful and original. Well, we also wanted the name to reflect our interest in the North.
How long time have you played music together?
Each of the band members has been practicing
music for about 20 years. We have been playing together since 2017 (most of the Bjarla team).
What music inspire you and why?
It is difficult to answer unequivocally here. We are inspired by completely different styles, directions and genres. To summarize, it’s something folk and epic. Some members of the band like heavy music the most. Alexandra loves classics, elec-tronics, hard’n’heavy. But in general, we are all music lovers of broad views, so it would be true to say.
Did you play other kind of music, before you started on the music that we know?
Previously, we played not only folk, but also metal. Moreover, all the members of our team including Alexandra (she played the drum kit in the women’s glam metal team).
Have any of you ever played in other bands?
Yes, all the musicians played in various bands before the founding of Bjarla. Most of these bands have already broken up by now, but it was a good experience for us.
How many instruments do you play and which ones?
Oh, there are countless of them, and they belong to completely different cultures. We started with the instruments of northern culture, and now we are also implementing in the genre of World music. This, in turn, suggests our interest in ethnic instruments from a wide variety of cultures. And it’s very interesting! There are a lot of new things ahead, we are constantly in the process of learning to play new instruments.
Any plans about learning to play a new instrument?
New instruments definitely will be!
Which ones exactly? Let it remain a secret, we love to surprise our listeners!
Did any of you have any kind of music education, or did you learn by yourself?
Alexandra graduated with honors from a music school in the acoustic guitar class + studied at international vocal trainings and courses. She is now a successful vocal teacher. The rest of the group studied with private teachers or independently.
Have you ever done any collabs.?
We worked with the Danish Nordic folk musician Fuimadane. It was an interesting experience, he is a very responsive person, and he has a stunningly low and beautiful throat singing.
Do you have a favorite band or musician that means more to you than others?
Anton: Einar Selvik, Tuomas Holo-painen, Christian «Chrigel» Glanz-mann, Bjorn Gelotte had a very strong in-fluence on me.
Alexandra: Therion, early Nightwish, Blind Guardian, glam metal of the 80s, Children of Bodom, Apoca-lyptica “Cult” and many more bands… Recently, my favorites are Bill Durst, Nanocult, and I also listen to a lot of classical opera.
Where do you typically get your inspiration to compose/ produce music?
Anton: It is also difficult to answer unequivocally here, usually the music comes by itself. I draw inspiration from movies, computer games, history and mythology.
Alexandra: I am inspired globally by nature, the natural locations I visit. Lately, my main source of inspiration has been the highlands.
Are you a believer of the Nordic/old ways or finding the history interesting?
I would not say that we believe, but we like paganism as it is a very beautiful religion. We are more like historians and archaeologists, we are constantly researching something and finding new things for ourselves.
Do you find it challenging times in the music industry with YT and other streaming places? (Other musicians are saying that)
We will refrain from commenting here. Let’s just say that, in particular, for us, the current times are simply terrible and destructive. We sincerely hope that this will change someday and thank you for your questions and interviews.
Do you have any advice for others what to do?
“Always choose the most difficult path — you will not meet competitors on it” (Charles de Gaulle). Don’t be afraid to do what you really like!
What is working best for you?
The question is not entirely clear, but we will answer as we understood. When we compose music, we try to trust ourselves, rely on ourselves and just follow the flow of music, we can never tell exactly what our next job will be.
Can it be hard to find time for the music and the balance between music/family life and other things in life? (many feel they have to little time to make their music)
This is not easy, especially considering that we currently live in Russia. We have a lot of work, we try to keep up and combine everything, because music is Life for us.
Do you have other interest like crafting, painting or carving?
We are fond of fishing, downhill skiing, and active tourism. Alexandra is deeply interested in psychology.
Any new release of a track, EP or album on the way soon?
We are preparing a lot of diverse material, both for singles and, hopefully, for albums. New instruments, new music videos, unexpected languages that the songs will be in – all this is in the works at the moment. Stay tuned!
I would like to thank you both for answering my questions and glad we could do this written interview, and I am sure many are happy to get to know you better….
Links:
Official Website bjarla.com
Spotify open.spotify.com/artist/5CRBcVody5MLdT3NvbilNJ?_php=1
Instagram instagram.com/bjarla_official
Tiktok tiktok.com/@bjarla_official
Facebook facebook.com/Bjarla
Bandcamp bjarla.bandcamp.com
