Aeranea – Fresh Act January 2019

So, please introduce yourselves, what is Aeranea and who are the people behind the band, where are you from, what you do, etc.

Aeranea is Stefan (guitar), Christof (guitar), Felix (drums) and me, Lilly (vocals). We are an alternative metal band from Germany – 4 weirdos, who enjoy making music together. It is all about creating, sharing emotions and turning on the beastmode on stage.

Is there a special meaning behind the band name?

Aeranea could mean anything or nothing. There are some theories about it and I love how people chose their own meaning and tell us about that.

What kind of music background do you come from?

We all have been in bands or were making music since like forever. Some played in Rock or Deathmetal bands, some tried totally different stuff. But I guess we all have dedicated our hearts to music a very long time ago.

Who and what are your artistic influences?

We all like Katatonia or Gojira for example – but there is a lot of different stuff each one of us listens to. I am inspired by everything that comes in my way, for example. I have phases when I listen to a lot of symphonic stuff, then I switch to thrash and so on. At the moment I really enjoy progressive metal bands.

How often do you guys meet, rehearse and create together?

It depends, because we all live in different cities. When we are busy with shows or creating music, we see each other pretty often. But there are also times when we only communicate via memes in our whatsapp group haha.

How big of a part does the band play in your day-to-day lives?

I can hardly remember one day, that I didn’t think of the band or the guys as friends. We all have different projects and do work a lot, but we are always happy to see each other to talk, laugh or going crazy on stage.

What is your history, how was this band created?

The band actually started as a project Stefan created on his own. After writing a lot of songs he decided to form a real band to bring his art to life. Stefan and Christof started with another drummer and singer. But after producing As The Sun Died the band had to go through a lot of stuff, which led to the situation, that the others left and Felix and me joined. That was like a reboot for Aeranea and the style of the music.

How did you decide which way to go style-wise?

At the beginning Aeranea was supposed to be a doom metal band and you can clearly hear that in As The Sun Died. After I joined and we started to write songs together something changed. I guess it’s always challenging to work with someone who works in a totally different style than the former member and we just started to write music without any expectations. First it led us into a direction which could be called something like gothic metal. But that changed as well.

It isn’t easy to put your own music into a category – that will never change.

As an upcoming young metal act, what do you find the most challenging in ways of moving forward?

It is not that easy to find the right partners to work with. A lot of people only care about money and success. Sometimes it feels like they’re just investing in rockets – not a single thought about the art.

The good thing is: as soon as you found the right and decent ones, it’s all about love and support for each other. We are very happy to have friends like that.

To those who haven’t heard you yet, how would you describe your musical style and sound?

Every release has its own style. We started as a doom metal band with As The Sun Died, made a gothic metal EP with The Fading Ones and created an alternative metal EP with The Demons Inside. It is important for us to try different things throughout the process. Maybe the next record will be a little heavier – you never know, what might happen while songwriting.

Judging by your artwork, there are some powerful dark and mystic forces behind you… Does it represent your music or lyrical content or just your general aesthetic?

It is dark, yes. As The Sun Died is actually about the end of the world and all the emotions that come with it. Some pretty depressive stuff.

The both EPs are digging deeper into our souls without a real story concept. Some lyrics are pretty obvious, others are more metaphorical. Everything is coming from the inside, the demons you can’t kill.

Are you a concept band?

Regarding to our stage outfits and the first release, maybe. But it all came naturally. The artwork is like further information to the songs. The both EP designs are made by us and follow our aesthetics and how we see the songs. Bu we are only doing what our hearts are telling us.

If you could make a proper music video to one of your songs, which would it be and how would you like it to look?

We already have ideas for a certain song – well, I could actually create a storyboard for every single one. But it has not been the right time yet.

We already made one for Any Other Way. Again, everything on our own. It is more like an introductory video. Us, performing in the dark. Sounds pretty aeraneaish, right?!

What are in your current works and near future plans?

At the moment we are writing on a new release and plan some concerts for 2019. But we are not pushing anything and do not have a release date yet.

You’ve had some live gigs recently. How did it go? How was the audience’s response?

We have been playing live gigs for years now and we realized, that the response of the audience is getting bigger and cooler. In the beginning nobody cares for you and now there are people driving long distances to see us play. We even made it to some Spotify top 2018 charts and that are the things which make us happy.

We are very glad to have so amazing people in our community who enjoy listening to our songs.

Do you have any other live gigs planned?

We will play several shows in 2019: Tales of The Night on May 4, Duisburg, Parkhaus Meiderich, we will share the stage with the wonderful Elvellon and Snow White Blood for example. We are so looking forward to all that! Stay tuned.

In the long run, what do you want Aeranea to become and be remembered for?

The main thing should be the music of course! I hope, that there will be people who can relate and create their own memories to our songs. If they listen to one of them in 20 years, still like it and remember the times, we would be more than happy.

What makes your band unique and memorable?

I think every band has its own individuality. Of course you can always find another band, song or lyrics that might sound similar at the first sight. But it’s about all the different stories. Aeranea is special to me, because this band is different than all the other bands I played in. We really put our hearts and demons into the songs even though some things we write might not be very popular in this scene or genre.

Are you actually looking for a label? And if so, what kind of deal would you ideally like to get?

No, we are not looking for any deal at the moment. We get offers from time to time, but it never feels right. But we would love to work with an honest and respectful label. People who actually care about the art.

In the music scene today, whom would you like to play or work with?

We already created a wonderful network with some bands we love. It’s always a pleasure to play with bands like Blackbriar, Elvellon, Martyrium or Snow White Blood. They are not only creating great music, they are amazing human beings and some of them even friends as well.

Other bands we would totally love to play with are Lacuna Coil or Jinjer for example. They seem to be fun people as well! That would be an honor.

Who writes your lyrics and what are they about?

The lyrics are written by Stefan and me. They are about the journeys inside yourself and the things some of us might go through. It is like singing about ourselves and everybody else who can or wants to relate with our stories. It would be unfair to give a full explanation, because everyone should create its own meaning.

Any song(s) that are more special and personal to you? If so, please explain…

My most personal song is Nothing Left. It kind of defines a turning point in my life and how I changed during that time. I also love it, because it fits to almost everything you need to leave behind. It’s a song to express your anger about a certain situation and letting go at the same time. Beside its powerful meaning to me, it is a hell of fun to perform that one live!

And who composes the music? Is it a band effort or one rules them all?

Stefan is the creative mastermind. He creates almost all of those awesome melodies and song ideas or puts our ideas together.

Does Aeranea have a mission? If so, what is it, what is your message to the audience?

I don’t know if you could call it a mission, but yes, we have a message. It’s about raising more awareness for certain issues and struggles and connecting with other people.

Where can we find and get any of your songs?

If you want to support us you can buy our stuff at our website www.aeranea.com. We use the money to produce our upcoming longplayer. But you can find us everywhere else like Spotify,YouTube, Amazon etc.

What do your band members like to do outside of the band that contributes to your musicality?

We all have other music projects. Some are kind of similar, some are totally different. But I guess everything you do is good for a creative process. You have to take part in the stuff and life you are writing about.

What are your thoughts on the internet’s role in the music industry today?

‌I just watched an interview with James Hetfield yesterday, where he was talking about the whole Napster stuff from the past. I totally agree, that the internet and industry is a very powerful tool for bands to spread their music. You can connect with other bands and listeners. That is a great gift.

Otherwise many people don’t really buy your songs anymore. Why should they? You can listen to it on streaming platforms. That is something we all do.

But most people don’t know how expensive it can be to play a show in another city or produce videos or CDs or whatever. So if you don’t have the money, you’re sometimes limited to do certain things.

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Are you active on social media, where fans can keep up with your news and plans?

You can find us on facebook or instagram. But like I said, we are focusing on our album at the moment. But as soon as the new journey starts we will let everybody know and share all the stuff, that will happen!

What can we do, as your fans and followers, to help and support you?

This might sound old fashioned, but if you like the stuff we do: Let us know in the comments, come to our shows and help us putting it out there. We are thankful for everything and everyone!

What else would you like to share with us? Please tell.. For example, any interesting stories, omens, funny moments.. ?

We would love to thank everybody who has been with us on this journey so far! There are always funny stories happening on the road, but I guess most of them are only funny to the people who were there. If you have any question, you can always ask us after a show or just come and talk a bit.

Thank you for your time, and good luck! I already look forward to your tour!

Thank you for YOUR time and the questions!

 

Bandwebsite: www.aeranea.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aeranea/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aeraneaofficial
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/66f9kHpEBQveGsU5GtkZrg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aeranea_official/

Marina Minkler – journalist
Uwe Minkler – translation
Band photos provided by Aeranea

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