On March 8th, 2019, folk act Ariadne’s Thread released their debut EP “From The Very Beginning.” I recently caught up with the band to talk about the release, their music, as well as their own beginning. You can also find their EP on all major streaming platforms such as Amazon, Spotify, Apple music, and Bandcamp
First, lets talk about your own “very beginning.” What made you decide to start this project, and how did it come about?
Adrianna: I have fallen in love with folk music thanks to my other folk metal project, Netherfell. Then I started collecting a lot of instruments that I found interesting, and tried to learn how to play on them. After some time, I decided to try some new ideas that I had in mind a try. Firstly, it was not even in my mind that Ariadne’s Thread was gonna develop into a folk band.
At the beginning it was just on a whim to record and arrange some of my own song and then do a video clip. Just as a hobby, just to try and see if I can do that. Thats why Als I Lay on Yoolis Night and Rolandskvadet are arranged and recorded 100% by myself. Those songs were ready before I have met my amazing musicians.
After releasing video clip for Als I Lay.. someone asked me to play some support on some show in Poland. I was like “Yep sure its amazing but wait? I do not have anyone to play this music with me”. And this is how I started to search for them and I have found some of the best folk musicians I could.
Did you find everyone in time for that first show, and how did it go?
Adrianna: Yes, I did. That was funny story, because I asked my idol from Beltaine band ( Jan Gałczewski) for advice. I knew he could recommend someone because he knows a lot of musicians. When he listened two first unfinished songs, he said ” well, this is cool, I think I wanna play with you.” And he came to my project with some of the best musicians he had around. Thats how my band was created.
The EP “From The Very Beginning” has a very evocative title, it is almost like the start of the bands own personal fairytale. What was your inspiration to come up with that name for your release?
Adrianna: It is indeed a very beginning of everything. Take it straight as a beginning of an adventure with making your own music project from nothing, and keeping it alive. And more deep, and as my own personal beginning of new life, that I had started after a very bad period. Now music is all I have. it’s my life, its a new path that I have chosen and for which I’m devoting a lot of my time ( if not even all of it). I just decided to try make my music dreams come true. And I’m very determinate to achieve my goal.
Speaking of your history with music, you have a background that touches rock and metal. Are those styles providing any influence, even if subtle, for this project at all?
My background has had an influence. Whenever I’m creating something I’m always trying to somehow include this rokish punch. Which is not always good for the band. I need to change a little bit of those habits. Folk is not folk metal, so I have to understand the difference of what people expect to see and hear. Folk fortunately has much more opportunities and bigger targets so I cannot perceive everything through the prism of the folk metal crowd.
That does seem like a tricky adjustment to make. You want to put some metal in your folk, and by the same token, you might want to put some folk in your metal. Folk does have a much wider audience, and while older listeners might not care too much about melodic death folk, normally, younger fans do seem to enjoy at least some form of traditional folk. Do you think there is a helpful overlap with the folk metal crowd and getting new listeners to this style of music?
Adrianna: For sure it is easier to get folk metal fans to listen to pure folk music than folk fans to metal music. So I think we are in a good situation, especially than some songs will be dark or more rockish. We have played few shows already and believe me…seeing moshpit during an Irish dance you play is unforgettable.
The band’s music has a really diverse creative scope. How do you manage to let so many different influences coexist so seamlessly?
Adrianna: Thank all gods that we have so many! I think thanks to this, and the songs and arrangements we are working on are so unique and different from other bands. All of us have feelings of a different kind of folk and combining those ideas together is the best thing we can do to create some truly fresh and diverse folk sound and do not be like thousands other folk bands that already exist. Also, thank to our inspirations we can derive styles and melodies from every kind of folk like Nordic, Slavik, Celtic, Irish and even Classical Medieval. I do not think we will ever focus on one style in folk music.
Folk music has a really broad definitions, but many bands seem to have a narrow approach to what it entails. What would you like to see more artists do in this genre?
Jan: It’s not our purpose to be mentoring other artists. Everyone should follow their own musical paths and achieve fulfillment the way it suits them the best. However our approach to this genre of music has quite unique ideology. As a musicians that origins from traditional folk music and who plays it on a daily basis we use this form as a starting point when creating music.
Playing traditional folk is not only about the sound of instruments but also about respect to melodies and the way you play it. Moreover, it seems that you don’t need a distortion on the guitar, and you don’t even need a guitars and a drum set to make it sound rich and powerful like a full rock or metal band. Do you want to be a folk band? Respect the traditional music and the rest is about imagination – it works, it sounds, it exists, and it’s giving us a lot of fun!
What is it like to perform these songs live, as opposed to recording them in a studio environment?
Michał: In studio during the recording the priority is to focus on the smallest details and perfection, on concerts the music fully comes to life in the unique form, with new energy and new sound. The studio is more like a closed, peaceful environment where nothing bothers you, on the live concerts the situation is completely different.
When you stand face to face with the crowd there is a lot of strong emotions and a special kind of connection with the listeners that gives you the extra powerful kick which affects on the music perform, so the main difference between recording and performing is the different kind of energy.
Any plans to go on tour in support of this release?
Adrianna: Of course we are planning to go on tour and promote our first EP. Only thing we need to do is organize our time and make some plans connected with it. But I’m sure we will rock the stage with this song this year!
Thanks for talking some time to talk with us! Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans?
Adrianna: I just wanna say thank you to all of people for discovering my music, and for the encouragement and supporting this project. We want you to enjoy all the music we wanna give you.