Rock Monsters Romania

The quarantine was a really hard period for bands and artist. We talked to some bands from all over the world to see the real effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in music.

Today we talk to Arya, an amazing progressive band from Rimini, Italy.

How can you describe the changes generated by the pandemic in the band’s activity?

The recording sessions for the female lead vocals of our new album For Ever had to be abruptly interrupted when our government implemented a lockdown, and this forced us to push back the release date by a few months. We also couldn’t rehearse for months together to work on the new music we were writing. Someone in the band at the time didn’t want us to do anything remotely, so we basically had to stop all our activities until the end of the lockdown.
We managed to play one concert since then at a special event, but we haven’t booked any more for the following months: as of now, the number of daily cases is growing fast in most European countries and Italy is no exception: I don’t really see any possibility for us to perform again this year, but I honestly expected something like this was doomed to happen with the end of the Summer season.

What daily activity did you miss the most during quarantine?

I spent all those months at home with my family, and this meant I couldn’t meet any friend for a really long time. I also never really exchanged any messages with most of them, so I felt really isolated and alone. I didn’t really knew what to say to anyone. At least I could practice music for many hours a day.

Are there any pluses for this period without concerts?

Maybe the only plus has been that, during the lockdown, I’ve had time to work on the mix for our new album all day long for weeks, even if many vocal parts were still missing. For us it has always been normal to compose music all the time and play concerts whenever we got a good opportunity: the pandemic prevented us from doing both of these things for a long time, so all in all it has been a really bad and unproductive period for the band.

How does it feel to return to some normalcy?

I’m afraid the period of (fairly restricted) “normalcy” that we’ve had since May is about to end: the number of daily cases is rapidly increasing and our government has already implemented many restrictive measures to prevent the disease to spread more, which include a ban on amateur sport activities, a ban on private parties, and mandatory masks everywhere even outside, as well as inside public places as it used to be. I suspect everything is going to get even worse quickly, even if I don’t see many people around me blatantly breaking the rules, which I have to say is quite unusual for Italians. At least, since last Spring, I’ve been able to complete and release our album and to travel to Sardinia in August, where I shot some kind of video for a new Arya track that will be made public in a few days.

What plans have you got for the rest of 2020?

At this point I really don’t know what to expect from the near future. Next week we’ll finally release our fourth album For Ever, but we won’t be able to play any concerts to support it. We may perform again only next January, hoping that by then there will have been a solution to all this turmoil. I’ll be working in Rome and commute to our hometown of Rimini to rehearse with the band as long as it’s permitted.

Do you have any message for the bands or artists who are still in lockdown/quarantine?

I don’t really know what to say: I could beg everyone to be patient, but I’m really tired myself, I hate wearing masks that constantly cloud my glasses, even if I do it when I have to; this constant sense of impending danger and impossibility to plan everything is so frustrating and exhausting. For all our lives, since we’re born, our main occupation is to struggle to find ways to survive and not to be annihilated: the situation we live in is just making all this clear and explicit. I guess as long as we’re alive we just have to play the game.

What message do you have for the people who are going to read this interview?

Well, thank you very much for your attention, I really hope that, whoever you are, wherever you live, our music could make your days a little less dreadful during these harsh times. I hope that at the end of all this suffering everyone will at least try to make this world and everyone’s lives better.

Interview by Radu Mihai