Interview Shadowdream

I had an amazing interview with Rastko Perisic about Shadowdream and other interesting stuffs about him.

Greetings Rastko, thank you for this interview, how things are going?
Hi there, thank you for the opportunity! All is well on this end, cheers; hope it is as well on yours too.

Mainly, let’s talk about Shadowdream, when did you founded this project?
The Shadowdream project was founded in 2004, while I was still in the Music high school, as a sort of rebellion towards the framed classical work we were doing in harmony, solfeggio and music composition. I wanted to expand me mind further from the “classical” borders and try to incorporate the music theory and knowledge I had at that point into something new for me.

“Um” is the latest album released last year via WormHoleDeath records, tell me about this album.
”Um” was release in 2014 by an excellent and dedicated label and person behind it, WormHole Death and Carlo Bellotti as a sort of an experiment on both sides. The label never released a jazz oriented album before and it was me first venture in jazz music as well, but it worked cosmic on all sides. The album is a musical journey through the whole process of schizophrenia. I have met and worked with people who experience and/or experienced the illness, so sometimes it is very hard to explain the mental condition through words. Therefore I choose music to try and materialize the inner struggles of a shattered mind to someone who never experienced it. I have used some uncommon instruments, such as hydrocrystalophone, as it induced, as the myth goes, craziness in the people who played it. The whole process of the album creation took around 3 years, as my material is of an program music style, with a deep conceptual underlines, so it takes time to learn about the matter in question and then give it the right tones.

Have you got nice reviews for “Um”?
As far as I know the album received great reviews on many fronts. The thing is, there is a lot of so-called elitism these days, where people bash something up just because something had not met with their expectations. I respect those who liked it, as well as those who did not, as the album is not meant to evoke only one emotion. If it did, than the whole concept of “shattered mind” through music and the heaviness of the psychiatric state would have been done wrong.

What can you tell me about the other Shadowdream’s releases (2006-2013)?
As I mentioned earlier, every album is a whole for it self. When you listen through Shadowdream material, there are some connecting dots between albums, but I try to reinvent the style, musical approach and theme on every one of them. As I come from the professional film background, I look at it as a film director done only one film and then remade it 10 times more. Music was always for me, through every single album, a journey through knowledge, wisdom, history, science etc. and no one knows what the next theme will be.

What are the influences that inspires you and what are the lyrical themes about?
There are tons of influences that cross me mind, mainly as I am a very eclectic person – books, cinema, music, Art, culture, science… The lyrical themes, before I ventured in the instrumental music dealt with the themes the album was about, so they have varied from album to album.

 

Have you thought to release a new Shadowdream material in the future?
Actually, I am currently in the progress of creating a new Jazz album, which will be, as I like to call it from my film perspective, a “musical film noir”. The story, music and concept behind it are so closely watched, that I think it well be a pinnacle of my musical creation so far. As one of me mates told me, while listening to one of the compositions – this reminds of Dylan Dog. This chuffed me, as the atmosphere I was looking to create is in the vain of Dylan Dog and/or Orson Welles and his film The Third Man (1949).

Now talking about you, I have read interesting things about you: you’ve got a master degree into cinema and also you have collaborated with other bands such as Dys Indunden and Ancient Sorrow.
That is correct and thank you for the interest. I have completed my Masters in cinema at the Stockholm University; I am now working on the preparations for the pHd in cinema. As for the music works, Ancient Sorrow is currently on hold, due to the work obligations by both me and Nemethor (Design Studio Nemet), while Dys Inbunden is in full force with the new line up and I am very glad things are looking good for the band and Gefandi Ör Andlät, he has really worked hard on it.

Beside music and cinema, what other things are you doing?
I am very interested in Astronomy and own a professional telescope, as well a lot of nature and historical exploration.

To end the interview, do you have a message for those who support you and your music projects?
I would like to thank to every single one of you who read this through the very end. Of course, who ever listened and liked or disliked the music I have created thanks for the time and to all of those who support me and the label WHD I am on. Keep the quest for knowledge alive.

Nice talking to you Rastko, thank you again, all the best and hope to see you soon!
Thank you very much for the interview, it was me pleasure to answer your questions, keep up the great work and hope to speak to you soon!