1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Beansidhe as a band was founded in 1999. From the original members, only the drummer and the guitarist have remained, carrying forwards the Beansidhe collective as it is today - more as a project than as a band in standard terms.
For the recording of Mónt and for the subsequent release gig we engaged a singer, a bass player, and a second guitar player. All people we already knew very well and pretty close to us. This has worked extremely well and we plan on keeping this collaboration alive in the future.
2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
There’s an abyss between Beansidhe’s Everlasting Cry (2004), De Mortis Eloquentia (2010), and Mónt (2015). They were recorded quite far apart in time, and as we are constantly growing and evolving both as composers and as performers it is quite natural that they do not really compare.
Mónt was even a more different story. It was composed and rehearsed in its entirety by two individuals who had been sharing their musical influences for 15 years. It was complicated and time consuming because we are perfectionists - there are far more riffs and songs we trashed than we recorded. But in the end it was a great achievement. I don’t think we’ve ever been as satisfied with anything we did before. As for “musical descriptions”, we don’t really believe in such a thing - the tracks are out there and you can even stream them for free. Go find out!
3.The band has been around since 1999 but so far has released released a demo,an ep and a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?
There have never been the same individuals recording two discs with Beansidhe. We recorded the first demo in one live session as a standard 5-members band. By the time of the EP, we had lost one guitar player. The process of recording Mónt was described above. In addition, the tree discs were recorded and mixed in different settings. It took us a very long time to find the correct formula for what Beansidhe would be. And it took us a very long time to figure that we wouldn’t be a standard two-rehearsals-per-week kind of band. We simply couldn’t do it. Experience taught us that we need time to be creative, focused, and in the right state of mind to put the required effort into the project. We don’t want Beansidhe to be an ok thing. We want it to be something we are 100% proud and satisfied of.
This kind of explains why it took us so long to come out with a new disc: we needed time off and we needed to be able not to get back until we were sure we were ready to do it. For example, we didn’t meet for months after the release gig for Mónt. It took us a huge effort and a long time to prepare that show, and we needed to cut for a while. By the way, the show was amazing!
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Mónt is about nature, man, and their spirits. The lyrics - and the music as well - tell stories about our mountains, our people, and our mind. We wanted it to be something we could relate to and feel very close. That’s also the reason why the lyrics were written in our typical dialect. We have used English in our previous releases, but we feel somehow at a distance with it. Mónt is something we really feel ours.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Beansidhe'?
Beansidhe is a fairy in northern mythology. She screams to announce the death of a householder. We took it from a comic back then, we liked the idea.
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We never played big shows or big festivals. In our early years - when we had a stable lineup - we used to play a reasonable amount of gigs in Switzerland, and we also touched Italy. Nowadays we are more focused on composition, rehearsal, and studio work. It’s not that we don’t like to play live or that people didn’t receive us well enough. Performing live is ok - but we feel that it simply doesn’t pay off. There’s too much time involved in preparing a good show, and we kind of get bored at rehearsing the same songs for months.
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
No, not really. We might do an occasional gig here and there, but we don’t plan on concentrating our efforts into it.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
That’s a tough one. As you might have noticed, we’re not really into promoting ourselves and advertising what we are doing. There are occasional feedbacks, they’re more than welcome and they usually are positive. But we don’t keep stats.
9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
We are involved in a number of different projects. You are welcome to check some of them out. Just search online for Heavy Demons, Kupid’s Kurse, Parole Perse, Doomed Timeline Theory, Despising Age.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
It appears that our sound is somehow softening with the years. We are smoothing the edges, our music is becoming less intrusive and more meditative. We are also playing fewer notes - pondering better on the few we do play. Drumming is still intense though. We like pounding drums below eerie arpeggios a lot.
Of course, that’s how I perceive it as I try to listen to what we do as an external. Your mileage might vary.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I won’t call names, but if you listen to our discs I think it’s pretty clear that influences that were dominating ten years ago are no more today. Also, we do have quite different tastes for music, and every one of us listens to a wide range of genres - by far not limited to metal. We do not have heroes and we do not try to mimic anybody else. Or we would have fifteen discs out by now!
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
We all have private lives outside the project. We are very jealous about the project, and you can imagine how secretive we might be about ourselves outside of it.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First off, if you’ve read up to here, thank you! We appreciate that you are spending your time on getting to know what we do. We mean it!
If you feel like it, take your time also to listen to our album, Mónt. Don’t be hasty. It will get you eventually, and you’ll realize in wonder how much of yourself there is in it! Thank you!
Beansidhe as a band was founded in 1999. From the original members, only the drummer and the guitarist have remained, carrying forwards the Beansidhe collective as it is today - more as a project than as a band in standard terms.
For the recording of Mónt and for the subsequent release gig we engaged a singer, a bass player, and a second guitar player. All people we already knew very well and pretty close to us. This has worked extremely well and we plan on keeping this collaboration alive in the future.
2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
There’s an abyss between Beansidhe’s Everlasting Cry (2004), De Mortis Eloquentia (2010), and Mónt (2015). They were recorded quite far apart in time, and as we are constantly growing and evolving both as composers and as performers it is quite natural that they do not really compare.
Mónt was even a more different story. It was composed and rehearsed in its entirety by two individuals who had been sharing their musical influences for 15 years. It was complicated and time consuming because we are perfectionists - there are far more riffs and songs we trashed than we recorded. But in the end it was a great achievement. I don’t think we’ve ever been as satisfied with anything we did before. As for “musical descriptions”, we don’t really believe in such a thing - the tracks are out there and you can even stream them for free. Go find out!
3.The band has been around since 1999 but so far has released released a demo,an ep and a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?
There have never been the same individuals recording two discs with Beansidhe. We recorded the first demo in one live session as a standard 5-members band. By the time of the EP, we had lost one guitar player. The process of recording Mónt was described above. In addition, the tree discs were recorded and mixed in different settings. It took us a very long time to find the correct formula for what Beansidhe would be. And it took us a very long time to figure that we wouldn’t be a standard two-rehearsals-per-week kind of band. We simply couldn’t do it. Experience taught us that we need time to be creative, focused, and in the right state of mind to put the required effort into the project. We don’t want Beansidhe to be an ok thing. We want it to be something we are 100% proud and satisfied of.
This kind of explains why it took us so long to come out with a new disc: we needed time off and we needed to be able not to get back until we were sure we were ready to do it. For example, we didn’t meet for months after the release gig for Mónt. It took us a huge effort and a long time to prepare that show, and we needed to cut for a while. By the way, the show was amazing!
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Mónt is about nature, man, and their spirits. The lyrics - and the music as well - tell stories about our mountains, our people, and our mind. We wanted it to be something we could relate to and feel very close. That’s also the reason why the lyrics were written in our typical dialect. We have used English in our previous releases, but we feel somehow at a distance with it. Mónt is something we really feel ours.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Beansidhe'?
Beansidhe is a fairy in northern mythology. She screams to announce the death of a householder. We took it from a comic back then, we liked the idea.
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We never played big shows or big festivals. In our early years - when we had a stable lineup - we used to play a reasonable amount of gigs in Switzerland, and we also touched Italy. Nowadays we are more focused on composition, rehearsal, and studio work. It’s not that we don’t like to play live or that people didn’t receive us well enough. Performing live is ok - but we feel that it simply doesn’t pay off. There’s too much time involved in preparing a good show, and we kind of get bored at rehearsing the same songs for months.
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
No, not really. We might do an occasional gig here and there, but we don’t plan on concentrating our efforts into it.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic death metal?
That’s a tough one. As you might have noticed, we’re not really into promoting ourselves and advertising what we are doing. There are occasional feedbacks, they’re more than welcome and they usually are positive. But we don’t keep stats.
9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
We are involved in a number of different projects. You are welcome to check some of them out. Just search online for Heavy Demons, Kupid’s Kurse, Parole Perse, Doomed Timeline Theory, Despising Age.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
It appears that our sound is somehow softening with the years. We are smoothing the edges, our music is becoming less intrusive and more meditative. We are also playing fewer notes - pondering better on the few we do play. Drumming is still intense though. We like pounding drums below eerie arpeggios a lot.
Of course, that’s how I perceive it as I try to listen to what we do as an external. Your mileage might vary.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I won’t call names, but if you listen to our discs I think it’s pretty clear that influences that were dominating ten years ago are no more today. Also, we do have quite different tastes for music, and every one of us listens to a wide range of genres - by far not limited to metal. We do not have heroes and we do not try to mimic anybody else. Or we would have fifteen discs out by now!
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
We all have private lives outside the project. We are very jealous about the project, and you can imagine how secretive we might be about ourselves outside of it.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First off, if you’ve read up to here, thank you! We appreciate that you are spending your time on getting to know what we do. We mean it!
If you feel like it, take your time also to listen to our album, Mónt. Don’t be hasty. It will get you eventually, and you’ll realize in wonder how much of yourself there is in it! Thank you!
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