The Hardkiss at Wacken: Genre-Bending Sound, Ukrainian Roots, and the Power of Uniqueness

0:04 Hi you love Larnt Centru Wow for you you. This is the pipemin here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c y Radio and I'm here with with the Hard Kiss nice here at fucking you reached the Holy Ground. Yeah, yeah, so incredible. Have you ever played this festival before? This year? It's the first time we play like the Fool the Heart Kiss set, like all together the band on the louder stage. Last year I was playing acoustic version like acoustics cats or in fucking.

0:49 Church, which is nice, very new for me. You know what was that? Like? Oh my, it was the first time I played in church in my life. But you know it was some kind of intimacy, like beautiful people around who were silently listen carefully to each word I'm saying. So the atmosphere was unique. I really enjoyed. I love that. See sometimes, right, it's good to have that like intimate setting where, yeah, you know, special, everybody's so into it opposed to just the sea of people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's it's I like both it's different exactly, but yeah, sometimes to sing acoustic is special.

1:37 Yeah, Like as an artist, it must feel good to kind of change it up sometimes, right, because when you're doing the same old time and you get something different like that, it's kind of exciting. Yeah, but this time we brought to fucking our new album Greyhounds. Yeah, please listen to the album and some of our old songs, some in Ukrainian language, so we will see how the audience will will react. Yeah, maybe you can something to add about the sound of our new album because it's different for what we've done before. That's why why I hear it's like, how is it different from what you've done before and what prompted you to do it differently?

2:23 Hello? Everyone, It's volve from the Heart Cass. I think actually this album that we released like recently, well the name is the Heart is the Greyhounds. It is different from the previous albums just because we had like more experimentation and sound like as a heaviness, like we brought like heavy guitars, we brought like heavy synth. I would say any previous albums. We had some stuff of it, but it was i think more commercial and commercial kind of point of view. So I'm really really happy how it ended up in the in the end, and I'm just really kind of wait to present it live. You cannot tell what genre is the Heart Kiss. Actually we're not. I like that at all, but we're somewhere in the middle of genres and this album shows that a lot.

3:09 See. I like that though, because I think as an artist, you don't want to play the same stuff all the time when you're creating new music, and as you evolve and get better as a musician, why do you want to do the same thing over and over again. I'd be boring. I mean the heart Cass from the beginning, it was an experiment of combining different sounds and different genres. Because val he's more of the metal world. I was raised on jazz music, soul music. Only when we met, like eighteen years ago, I started listening to rock and metal and all the stuff that influenced from Vall. And that's what you can hear in our music, that combination of so different music.

3:59 I love that because like nowadays with metal, there's so many genres and subgenres. I find that a lot of bands they follow this like formula, like they're doing algebra, not music, you know. And it's funny. When I was younger, you know, bands didn't sound the same. You know, you take the big four Thrash as example, they all sound different. But then now if you have a metalcore band, it's like every metal core band sounds exactly the same. You know, I think it's actually it happened just because now you have an excess. You're a computer and basically everybody's just scorpying the same drums, the same sound of the guitars at that time when they've well when the Roken metal started, I think everybody trying to find their own sounds. Yes, different, It was experimentation. So I've a I'm actually you might be better at answering this trivia question.

4:53 But I'm gonna ask a trivia question now. Since you're from a jazz background, what is a famous metal guitarist that his guitar is basically jazz influenced because he was classically trained. And I'll give you a hint. If you're you don't know it all, if you just look around here, you might figure it out. See this is what makes it more fun. Then right, look straight in front of you and see if you figure it out. No, in front of you looks Mega Death Mustain. If you listen, like, listen to Mega Death, it has jazz guitar influencing, especially the first album, Killing is My Business. Like, there's a whole jazz part throughout throughout it where he's jamming, you know, and he was classically trained in jazz guitar initially. Awesome.

5:57 Awesome, I mean, I mean I never thought of So that's why it's a good trivia question, right, Yeah, yeah, I stumped you, you know. So, Yeah, I think it makes sense because I think having that jazz influence gives more depth to the music. I really feel that I'm singing in more jazz and soul manner than in rock metal. I cannot like grow scream. It's not my type of singing. But you're not like Tatiana. No, we're different.

6:38 Were really we really like I already knew that. We really liked Ginger and we know each other very well. And yeah, we're different. And that's what I like that. The music is heavy, but the vocals is melodical, deep alto uh. And that's what also makes us unique in some way. See, and I love that too. And again the uniqueness is what I love. Yeah, because listen, there's so many bands out there right now. I want the one that stands out above the rest. Yeah, and that's you, thank you. And we also are trying to make different visuals. It's very important for us as well.

7:22 While is the director of all our music videos and sometimes the dop so we are making everything in house. And yeah, I was thinking what I would like to wear on a vucking because like everyone wears like black leather, and I decided to wear the gray suits on the stage nice the suit that I was in like in all music videos. I'm in that suit on the album cover. So we have that like gray persona gray like girl in the gray suit everywhere in our Rayhound album. And I decided that I would like to be different even in in my outfits.

8:05 Say, I love that though, because again, why do I want to go festival like vaking see the same band all day long? Of course I'm a bit nervous, you know, because when audience is going on fucking like they are expecting like special thing, special music. But at the same time last year we were on this small, small stage. I was outside the outside the Viking. I know, not I said the Viking, but inside the Viking, but outside the well there's main stage. Yeah, and that was guy playing Bungju. That's so amazing. I don't. That's wild, so amazing. We just stuck there for like twenty minutes, was listening to him. Yeah. People, Yeah, we're dancing and enjoying not having music at all.

8:49 And that's why I think people are gonna love you guys, because I don't think they really care. They have enough metal, but when you have some uniqueness and some different Like we're all music fans, do we only like metal when you're a metal head? No, no, no, no exactly. So it's kind of cool. Like you're saying, I would stop too if I saw somebody playing a banjo at Vadkan, I'd be like, oh, I want to check this out. That's coolin so, yeah, I think you have the special recipe that that crowd is gonna love you here at Vadkan. Thank you. We can't wait to play. We can't wait to rock that stage louder stages like Big One. It's one of the biggest. So it's an honor for us and a great opportunity to We understand that maybe audience doesn't know us yet, but yever will. We are from Ukraine, it's something new. We are new to this audience, so yeah, we will keep in touch with them.

9:52 And I support you just because you're from Ukraine because what your country is going through, Yeah, it's horrific. What my country is going through is kind of horrific too, because I'm from the States. Oh oh yeah, you know, like I'm so happy to be over here right now, you know exactly. And but I love that we have bands representing your country, you know, especially during these hard times. Yeah, thank you. That means a lot to us. Well, thank you for you know, making us great music. So what was it? What was it for both of you that moment in time in life that you knew this was what you wanted to do. Oh wow?

10:41 Like music music or the heart kiss music music. I was singing from three years old on the stage. My parents are a musicians, so I was. I was into this like from my childhood, all these like music festivals, like different bands, cover bands, bands like all this stuff and weld and me. Actually I was playing like guitar and the like synth. But I grew up like in uk and I just couldn't find the right people actually I think, to play with. And then moved back to Ukraine and I met Julia and I just asked her, like, do you mind if we'll make a band, and she was like, well, let's try.

11:31 Actually she wasn't a different band before, but it didn't work out. So our band, I think worked out worked pretty well. That's very cool. We decided that we are given ourselves three years to try and to see if it's possible at all in Ukraine because we started as English speaking bands in Ukraine, which fifteen years ago it was something new for you. And plus we were playing like electronic alternative music, which was not popular in Ukraine at all. But after third single we were like very successful, we become so it's it's we had that success in Ukraine. Yeah, so we now we're trying from the scratch from the beginning. In Europe.

12:25 It's totally different market, totally different rules, show business rules, very harsh, it's new, it's hard, but we will see. I think you're gonna do great because listen, you won them over because you are unique, you know, and so yeah, others weren't doing in Ukraine, but maybe people really wanted it and nobody ever knew and you brought it to that. Yeah yeah, yeah, that's what we're saying. And what is it like for musicians and live shows in Ukraine now with everything that's going on. Oh, it's like something that we were not prepared to.

13:10 We were abroad when the war started, so we haven't seen that like first days and months like horrible and like the evil attacks on Ukraine. But of course I'm here and there all the time because my parents live stays in Ukraine, and are they over there, yes, yes, they live in Kiev. Unfortunately, the attacks on Kiev became harder and harder, so yeah, all the time I'm in Kiev, there is an attack unfortunately, so I felt it myself and it's horrible. But despite that, people are continuing to live their lives, to create something, to make business, to open the restaurants, to create music, to make like the TV shows. I remember we were making like TV show in the underground because of the attack, but we still made it, you know. So people don't want to pause their lives, don't want to stop, and that kind of courage that like everyone are everyone in the world, like are surprised because like in that kind of life, we're supposed to just stop, to be in depression. And of

14:41 course lots of people are in depression now and they hurt physically and mentally, and we will deal with that like for a long long time after the war will stop. So yeah, but life is going on. It's it's horrible glad to hear that, surprisely, it's strange. But it is what it is. I'm glad to hear that though, because that's the strength right there. That's what's showing evil like you can't take away from us. Yeah, you know. And to me, when you are being attacked by that big bully like that and you are standing up proud, that's the best thing ever to me because we need to stand up to the bully that.

15:31 We would like to say thank you to everyone who supports Ukraine right now, because sometimes I hear like different opinions on that situation in the world, but still we would like to be grateful and we are grateful to everyone who supports the right side. Yeah, and I definitely support your side, thank you for sure. And I certainly support your music. Thank you. So tell everybody how they can con with you, how they can get the new album, and most importantly, how they can buy your merch because they can't listen to my show. And let's say buy your merch because more so than any other I say that a lot, but more so than any other band. I think you need merch support more than ever, so you can help support your friends and family. Oh yeah, through this hard time.

16:20 Well, we have our site, the heart kiss dot com. It's easy where you can buy our vinyls our merch and of course please subscribe on our social medias, we have interesting Instagram, we have lots of music videos on YouTube, TikTok whatever you like. And this autumn we are on tour in Europe, so like the whole November, we are on the road. So on the heart GISs dot com you can watch the schedule and we are on tour in North America and Canada yeah as well, so in next year. So you can check everything on the heart guess dot com home please yeah, we are grateful for that.

17:03 And do you guys have a final words you want to leave the listeners. With, Oh, just keep safe, enjoy your life and listen to good music and kiss from the heart. Kiss nice and party on at Vadkins and party on on the holiday. That's it. Well, thank you very much for being here and giving us great music, and thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For listening to the adventures of Pipelin. I'm w for Cui Radio