ARCHEONIC: Digital Pain, Orwell and the Reality of the Underground. “We’re Five Madmen Who Still Love Doing Exactly What We Do.”

Ten years on the scene, concerts at home and abroad, a distinctive view of the world and music that is not afraid to open up subjects it would be easier to ignore. Archeonic turned their attention on Digital Pain to the darker side of today's cyber-digital age: addiction to social media, manipulation, loneliness, and the uneasy feeling that some of Orwell's visions are no longer mere fiction. But in this interview for Rebel Sound, we do not stay with the album alone. We get behind the scenes of the creative process, into arguments in the rehearsal room, the harsh reality of the underground scene, shows at Masters of Rock and by the Black Sea, the search for a new singer after the unexpected departure of his predecessor, and the question of what has actually kept the band together for an entire decade. And the answer may be simpler than you might expect: the joy of music, playing live, and the people standing in front of the stage.

When we listen to Digital Pain, it does not feel like a collection of separate songs, but like a coherent statement about a world that is increasingly connected by technology and yet, paradoxically, more and more lonely. Was this concept clearly defined from the very beginning, or did it emerge during the writing process? Which events or personal experiences had the greatest influence on the final shape of the album?

First of all, I have to say that after a looooong time, you are one of the very few people who actually knows our work, our history, our songs, our lyrics, our philosophy... As strange as it may sound, that is quite rare these days. Thank you for that. 

So, about the album. Yes, you are absolutely right. It was intentional. I like albums built around a single theme. For one thing, I feel that it makes the whole record hold together much more naturally, and anyone who listens to it can hear that we really put a lot of effort into it. Besides the music, we spent a great deal of time on the lyrical side as well. That should make it clear what we are trying to say and what we want the album to express. P. T. and I collect ideas for lyrics from everything around us. You only need to keep your eyes open. These are themes connected by the evil of today's cyber-digital age. It is an enormous breeding ground for subjects that could fill many, many albums — not only Archeonic records.

The title of the song 1984 immediately brings Orwell's novel to mind. How strongly did the book itself influence you, and how much of your own view of today's society did you project into it? Do you feel that some things that once belonged to science fiction are now actually becoming part of our lives?

I think I read the book almost in one sitting. It is unbelievable that a novel written shortly after the Second World War can mirror our own era so disturbingly well. Just look around — there are countries that are already, de facto, putting that scenario into practice. The question is whether Mr. Orwell had the visionary ability to predict the direction humanity would take, whether it is a coincidence, or whether someone simply took inspiration from the book. In any case, the feeling I had when I finished it was oppressive enough, but when you realise that the book is now quietly being introduced into real life, I am several levels more depressed by it. And between us, I think it will get worse and worse, and I would not be surprised at all if, in a few years, we were all living inside that book.

Virtual Cramp was released before the album, and many fans still regard it as one of your strongest songs. Looking back on it after several years, has your view of its meaning changed? Has its message become even more relevant than you expected at the time?

"Virtual" is, essentially, a criticism of addiction to social media, the virtual world, the internet and modern technology. It describes the treacherous nature of an age in which, on one hand, we are offered a shiny package full of advantages  online communication, an ocean of instantly available information, entertainment, social interaction... basically, the whole world at our fingertips. But on the other hand, we become blind slaves to the virtual world, and after some time we realise that we have unknowingly sealed ourselves inside our virtual profiles and virtual lives, becoming more isolated than ever before. Addiction, loneliness, a manipulated reality and fear of what is out there can all come hand in hand with that.

"Virtual", however, is one of the few songs of ours that also points to a way out. And that way is very simple: "Disconnect!"

Every band has a song that caused the biggest arguments. Which song tested you the most when it came to arrangements, rewrites or finding the right atmosphere? How do those creative clashes play out inside Archeonic?

There was one song like that on our second album. In its rough form it did not sound bad, but once the record was finished it started to provoke certain emotions and a bit of resistance. So after a few shows we dropped it from the set and we will never play it again. Never. :-) Clashes happen much the same way they do everywhere else. A bit of arguing, a bit of persuasion, plenty of rational — and sometimes less rational debate, and in the end a decision simply has to be made. Sometimes it takes one rehearsal, sometimes you need to go for a beer, and sometimes it takes us a while longer to come to terms with it. But since we are basically calm guys, we always manage to work something out. Look, there are five of us. Five heads, five opinions, five different attitudes... when you are dealing with a new creative process, you probably cannot avoid that. And if those clashes, as you call them, are constructive, justified and make sense, then in their own way they are good for the song — and therefore for the whole band.

A lot of Czech bands make top-class music, but only a few manage to cross the country's borders. What do you think makes the difference? Is it the quality of the music, contacts, marketing, money, or simply being lucky at the right moment?

Definitely a mixture of everything you mentioned. For me, quality music should be the foundation. Unfortunately, that is not always how it works today. I know a few bands that should not be travelling beyond the borders of their own district, and yet they are all over festivals, touring abroad and releasing records...  If you do not have connections, if you do not have money, and if you do not have that ever-present  or ever-absent bit of luck, then you simply will not get to play anywhere. What people may not realise is that behind every single festival appearance there is a sea of phone calls, emails and a huge amount of time spent making it happen. There are so many bands, and getting anywhere whether it is a festival here at home or somewhere abroad  is genuinely hard work. As for Archeonic, we have already made it to places such as Romania, Ukraine, Poland and, of course, Slovakia, so we have had some partial successes and hopefully something we can keep building on. We will see what time brings, and hopefully the list of festivals and destinations will continue to grow.

When a new band releases an album today, it also has to be active on social media, shoot videos and constantly create content. Do you ever feel that modern musicians spend more time promoting themselves than actually making music? How do you personally deal with that?

With difficulty.  A musician is supposed to write, arrange and, above all, play. In our band, singer P. T. takes care of this Sisyphean task. We see it as a necessary evil that unfortunately belongs to the modern age. And it is connected to what we were talking about a moment ago. Festival promoters and the like look at your band's reach, the number of views, likes and God knows what else, and if you do not have those numbers, nobody wants to talk to you and you simply do not get to play. It is a bit of a vicious circle. How are people supposed to know you if you cannot play anywhere because you do not have enough likes from them? Everything has its dark side, so we take it for what it is, and perhaps even this interview will help us reach a few kindred spirits.

If you could relive just one Archeonic concert, which one would it be and why? What happened there that makes you remember it to this day?

Probably our biggest show so far was on the Masters of Rock stage in Vizovice. A lot of people, great reactions, a big professional festival. Then there was the unforgettable Black Sea Festival in Ukraine, where we could look straight out from the stage across the surface of the Black Sea. Every festival has its own charm and its own unmistakable atmosphere, so it is difficult to put one or two above the rest. But I do not want to talk only about festivals. We have also had the chance to play birthday parties and once even a wedding. It was a kind of double concert at Parlament in Plzeň, and it was really great. Great club, great people, great atmosphere. You simply do not forget shows and encounters like that. Sometimes it does not have to be a huge festival for you to truly enjoy a concert and have it etched into your memory  or into your heart.

What is the harshest criticism you have ever received about your music? Was it something that made you angry, or did it actually push you forward?

The harshest criticism? I do not know. But I remember one thing that really got under my skin. A review actually began with the words: "I wanted to throw this record straight in the trash, but then the cover caught my eye, so I gave it a listen..." Can you believe that? Such arrogance. And Mr. Smart Guy is apparently intelligent enough to actually write that down and publish it.

These "unsharpened pencils" think they understand everything, know everything best and have a patent on the truth. They probably have no idea that a band has invested an enormous amount of skill, time, creativity and money into making a record. Maybe that is because they have never released an album themselves, usually do not even play an instrument, and have no clue what actually goes into releasing a record. It is a kind of arrogance that comes with having the power to judge.

Or you get some guy writing that the music is fine, but he cannot find any catchy choruses he can sing to himself on the way to work in the morning... Well, someone like that probably should not be reviewing music he does not understand. He should write about something closer to him — something he actually likes.

For reasons like that, we decided that we are not going to send any more records out for reviews. Look, I do not want this to sound conceited, arrogant or anything like that, but I would rather give the record to someone who loves music, loves our music, and will genuinely be happy to have it. Damn, now I've gone and pissed myself off again... 

Besides, our music is publicly available these days, so everyone can form their own opinion. There is no need to be blindly led somewhere by someone else and rely on the verdict of a person who maybe, sort of, perhaps... knows something, can do something, and understands something.

Is there something about Archeonic that fans have absolutely no idea about? A moment, crisis or decision after which it was not at all certain that the band would continue?

So far, that kind of crisis has thankfully managed to avoid us knock on wood. Although... one very unpleasant situation has just come to mind. It happened in Odesa, Ukraine, where we played at the festival I mentioned earlier.

Right after the concert, completely out of nowhere, our singer at the time told us that he no longer wanted to play with us, that he would not continue, and that he was not even travelling home with us. We had no idea anything like that was coming, so you can probably imagine the unpleasant surprise, disbelief, frustration, a bit of anger... followed by roughly half a year of misery while we searched for a new singer.

In the end, everything worked out well for Archeonic. We found a singer, and hopefully that was the one and only major crisis we will ever have to go through.

Every musician has an album that brought them to music. But is there also a record that showed you how you do not want to make music? What put you off about it, and did it influence your own direction in any way?

You have actually caught me off guard with that one. Interesting question. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any album like that. A record that makes me say: "That is absolutely terrible  I never want to play or sound like that." I do not know. My approach is simple: if I do not like something, I do not listen to it and I do not waste time thinking about it.

The only thing that comes to mind right now is Metallica's Death Magnetic, because, in my opinion, the sound is genuinely bad. But I did not think, "I never want to sound like this." It was more like, "Damn, how can a band like that have such awful sound?"  I think I am the other way around. I am much more likely to hear something and think: "That's it. That is how I would like to play, sound and write." There is so much music out there, so why rack your brain over something bad when you can simply let yourself be inspired by the good stuff?

When you write new music, are you already thinking about live energy, or do you first need to tell the story and only then work out how the song will function on stage?

Our songs usually come together when one of us brings or sends the basic skeleton of a new track to the rest of the band. The guys judge it, and if they like it, we start working on it. But sometimes one really good idea or riff in the rehearsal room can kick everything off, and when the stars align, the song can be more or less finished within one or two rehearsals.

As for the lyrics, they are usually completed once the music is finished, or while the song is already taking shape. How a song will ultimately work on stage or rather, in front of the stage is a tricky question for the musicians themselves. Everyone can have a personal connection to a song, and that can strongly influence or distort the way they see it. So we prefer to leave that judgement to the people standing in front of us. If we see people falling asleep, we simply do not play the song at the next show. 

Imagine that twenty years from now a documentary about Archeonic is made. Which moment would you want to be its central chapter? What do you think should define the band's legacy?

As it happens, we are celebrating ten years since the band was founded right now. And by another coincidence, we have just made a similar documentary about Archeonic ourselves.

Still, none of us knows what will happen in twenty years. Will we be here? Will Archeonic be here? Will humanity even be here? Hard to say. If anyone has an idea for a documentary about Archeonic, why put it off? Let's do it now. 

But to come back to your question, our legacy is and probably will continue to be the joy of what we do. The joy of playing concerts, the joy of the people and their reactions. The joy of the fact that we have been together for so long and still enjoy it. The joy, and the need, to keep coming up with new things: songs, videos, documentaries... I think that is the foundation and the reason we are still functioning and still playing. We are simply a band built on ten years of togetherness between five madmen who love doing exactly what they do. Amen.

And finally if you had the chance to send one single message back to yourselves in 2015, when Archeonic were starting out, what would it say? Would it be a warning, encouragement, or perhaps a challenge to do something completely differently?

I do not know. I suppose everything is the way it is supposed to be. Maybe if we changed something, we would not even be sitting here today. Who knows.

To be fair, when I see how the underground scene works today festival bookings, concerts and all that stuff if I had known all this ten years ago, I would probably have gone fishing or ridden a motorbike instead. But I am glad I do not have that option, and I am genuinely grateful for every day with Archeonic.

P.S. I would really like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to write a few words for your readers, whom I would also like to greet, and for the great, unusual and genuinely imaginative questions. I wish you lots of success and many happy readers

Take care, and I hope to see you all somewhere at one of our shows.

Mik & Archeonic

In this interview, Archeonic do not come across as a band that needs to embellish anything. They speak openly about the digital world that both fascinates and frightens them, about the reality behind the underground scene where quality music alone is often not enough, and about moments that could have torn another band apart. Yet the strongest impression left by their answers is not bitterness, but unity and the desire to keep going. After ten years, they are still five people who love writing, playing, coming up with new ideas and meeting fans in front of the stage. And perhaps that is the strongest answer to every question about Archeonic's future: as long as that joy remains, their story still has a reason to continue. And if there is one short sentence to take away from Digital Pain? Sometimes disconnect from the virtual world  and connect more deeply with the real one.

Denča