Interview du groupe +\- (plus\minus)

Could you please introduce yourself one by one ? 


Hi there, it's Maksim from +\- (plus\minus)! I'm a bass guitarist and the manager of the band.


How did the band get formed ?  How did you meet yourself ? 


We're from Kiev – the capital of Ukraine. The band was based in spring 2005. Primary line-up consisted of me, Egor, Iliya (present guitarist), another guitarist Yura, who left the band in February 2007 (moved away to study in Europe), and Tolik drummer, he has given himself up to another, more popular music. After it, other several people were playing with us. In the end we understood, that we need not the second guitarist, and cope better with group of 4 men. In spring 2007 we met Slavik (current drummer), and now he plays with us.
It was intersting to start something new in Ukraine which does not exist. Cos initially, we don’t want to engage some kind of thrash, we want to create new audience around us. To gather people with another mentality, not tryin' to swing. From the very beginning, we had a great mind to create our own cult, the cult of people who was listening to the band, the stylistics of which was nothing like it used to be in existent musicial streams in Ukraine.
Nowadays the band cosists of 4 members – Stas (vocal), Iliya (guitar), Slavik (drumms) and me (bass). In primary line-up we had 2 guitarists, but later we understood that we need not the second guitarist, and cope better with group of 4 men. We play experimental mathcore, dilute it with various styles of music – from southern till neogrind. We don’t try to mix all-in-one, joining together maximum quantity of stylistics for the sake of appearance; we try to do it with sense and sensation. Some called it Meshuggah with rock’n’roll, some kind of math’n’roll.


How do you compose your sounds? 

Everything is simple enough. Someone of us brings idea on rehearsal  and everybody starts to arranged it, as much as possible experimenting with  sounding and stylistics. Then we understand mood of a song and I write the text. Frequently it is an integral part of a composition and directly with it is connected. Sometimes ideas are born after a year, sometimes come quickly enough, all depends on mood and inspiration.


What do you talk about in your songs ? 


Well, our debut album has it’s own conception. “Emerald Island” - not just a collection of songs written in different time intervals of the group’s life, but it’s a full story - lyrical, mystical and beautiful. The name of release was borrowed from the ghost island, which was mentioned in the articles of the ship Emerald’s journal dating back to 1821, after whom it was named. This island was supposedly located between Australia and Antarctica, south of the actually existing Macquarie Island.
Most of the texts of the album are closely linked to the main story, which talks about a guy who always walked hand in hand with the girl, but their fates were that the hero was to become a brave captain of the ship, and the heroine - a cynical and deceitful whore. Because of the vicissitudes of fate the hero happens to be on opposite sides of the barricades with his former love. Death almost caught up with him, and mysteriously he gets on the island to safety, but the strange suspicion creeps into his soul.
In fact, the story is much deeper and more interesting, and it can be interpreted differently as a whole as well as its components, anyone can do it themselves after reading the texts.




Could you give me a list of your current favorite tracks ? 

To my mind it’s Mutiny Aboard, Mayday! Mayday!, Tiger Peacock and Nimrod Glarier. I guess it’s new step for us in our evolution in experiments with music styles!



How do you prepare your gigs ? 

We have a lot of long rehearsals) And if you’re interested in some kind of rituals before gigs – well, we don’t have it)


How did the audience reply on your music? 

Unfortunately, in our country people need stereotype. It was caused by absence of access to the music for a long time, there was only TV-sets and Radio as priority. With appearance of the Internet people get that access to the music, but didn’t realise thro and thro how to use it. From the very beginning there was some kind of rush who will listen to music more (and such situation takes place in the present), but all it was so casual. People don’t listen to details, keep in mind only basic stereotypes. Accordingly, when teams was appeared in Ukraine, the listener started looking for this stereotypes on the subconscious level, and not finding it - throw the band back. So that if the band really try to show individuality and uniqueness – it was pulled apart without a peep. On the West things are in another way, cos of listener has already supersaturated with stereotypes, he began to look for something totally new – experimental. That’s why there are such agiotage around us (attendance of myspace was in excess of 20000 in a day) was called by searching of something new in music. So I want a listener to conceive the music not only with sense but with the heart, conceive emotions and their genuineness.



How did you meet your label Moon Records ? 

We just sent the demo which was pleasant to a label. But unfortunately, format ЕР was fresh enough for Moon Records and we long carried on negotiations on an occasion of that to publish a minidisk. But as a result, after two weeks of constant negotiations all of us have signed the contract on release. Signing of the contract for debut album was easier task, but nevertheless. We wished to make really beautiful and pleasant release for the listener, therefore have tried to issue as much as possible colorfully it that too costed some expenses. Moon Records has agreed on all our requests and I think in two weeks at our listener there will be a possibility to take a beautiful debut album in the hands.





What can we expect of you in the nearest future? 


The main event for us –exit of a debut album in two weeks. And tour in support of release at the autumn. Meanwhile we will plan concerts in Ukraine and Russia and I hope that at last we will be touring across Europe with an “Emerald Island”. If someone from those who will read this  interview appear the desire and will have a possibility to help us with gigs in Europe – we will be very grateful to him!



If you have some final words to add, please do it here. 


Thanks for support and understanding! I wish everybody listen music with the heart, cutting off all stereotypes. Stay smart, support chaos!