STARSOUP - ALEXEY MARKOV

💿 Hi,it’s a pleasure for us to have on Hardrockheavymetal ALEXEY MARKOV of STARSOUP, the well-known Russian Progressive band! Let’s start talking about the early days of the band..When is this all begun? Which bands have influenced you?

It was in a year of 2005, I was in a band called CRIME OF PASSION. That band split, but we had like 4 or 5 great songs, which I really wanted to record. In the studio process some other songs appeared, so I decided to start my own project called Starsoup. I love the bands like Dream Theater, Savatage, Queensryche, Pain of Salvation – I think we’re a little bit of everything. I also often listen to power metal like Blind Guardian and Rage, but Starsoup is more about emotion and melody.

💿 From Dec 1st is out the cd version of your new full-length called “CASTLES OF SAND”. Can you tell us somethin’about this platter and its composition process? We had the pleasure of listening to it and we’re very satisfied!

Thanks! It’s our second full-length album. The first one, BAZAARD OF WONDERS, was out in 2013, so it took me 4 years to write and record CASTLES OF SAND. I composed it song by song. Sometimes I was playing with my acoustic guitar, sometimes just humming tunes into my phone while walking. Two or three songs are composed by other people, I just played the guitars and recorded the vocals. Now I write the lyrics first, then I choose from the texts I have – which suits to the song’s character, then I fit it to melody. So the melody is the most important thing.

💿 Honestly your style it’s hard to classify..Do you believe is important classify a style or a band or is it more important the quality of music?

The style is always important, cause it’s a label that everybody uses for a band. If you’re searching for new music, you will look for the bands in a specific niche, like, power metal, or progressive metal. Our style is hard to classify indeed, I prefer calling it Progressive Rock, sometimes Progressive Metal. If we play an acoustic set, this might sound like Folk Rock too.

💿 The album is out via Metalism Records. Can you tell us somethin’about the relationships with them?

Both of my bands (STARSOUP and DISTANT SUN) work with this small Russian label. It’s been good so fa. But the physical industry is slowly dying, so I don’t even know if we’ll produce the next album on a cd. Everybody’s using digital players now.

💿 The real “news” in music industry is the return of vinyl; What’s your feeling about this classic format and the current music business?

I don’t own a vinyl player, so I’m not a fan of it. But if we get a decent proposal from a label, why not? Vinyls look cool!

💿 Can you tell us somethin’about your next live projects? Are there some gigs scheduled?

I’m currently busy with another live project called GARAGE DAYZ, it’s a Metallica S&M tribute with symphonic orchestra. We have about 30 shows every year, and I hope Starsoup can compete with that one day, but not this year. Maybe we’ll have a few acoustic gigs.

💿 Thank you so much for your time! See you soon on Hardrockheavymetal!

Thanks for your questions, Giovanni! Hope to see ya on tour!

(Thanks ClawHammer Pr)

#progressive #starsoup