"Under the Sun with Orphan Gypsy"

ORPHAN GYPSY

“They are not unique but they sure as hell are good. Welcome to share the sun with Orphan Gypsy, Sweden’s latest contribution to the metal Valhalla”. ;-)

1.TELL US IN A FEW WORDS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND'S HISTORY. WHICH IS TODAY'S LINE UP?

1.The most significant moment for the band occurred when the current line-up was complete. Richard, Gustaf and Woody joined the band in the summer of 2001, at the same time as Per started to sing in band (he played guitar earlier).The recording of ”Darkland Director” is another important moment for the Orphans. The making of that demo was really a step forward and the individuals in the band were brought closer together. We definitively hope that Friday the fifth will be a important day. We are invited to play at a rather large festival in Sweden together with band such as Arch Enemy, Tad Morose, Cryonic Temple and Sabaton.

2.WHY HAVE YOU NAMED THE BAND ORPHAN GYPSY? WHOSE IDEA WAS IT?

2.The name Orphan Gypsy was Per’s idea. He simply stole it from a Fates Warning song title.

3.I HAVE THE SENSE THAT YOU LIKE OR AT LEAST YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE EAST CULTURE (TURKISH CARPET,ETC).DO YOU AGREE? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THAT?

3.Well, we are all somewhat interested in ancient cultures. Gustaf’s former band was called Turkish Carpet due to inspirations he got when he was studying religion at the university. Some of our new songs will lyrically include ancient Greek mythology, which from our point of view is a highly interesting subject

4.TELL US SOME THINGS ABOUT YOUR BAND RELEASES. COMPARE THEM. ARE YOU STILL SATISFIED WITH THEM? WHICH ARE THE BEST AND WORST PARTS IN THEM?

4.Our first demo “Secret Garden” displayed a different band. It contained many styles of metal. Some of the songs remained from Talegate (pre-Orphan Gypsy) which was rather slow and dark. The quality was not that good but one song (“Thorn of Love”) has past on and appears in our live set today. The second demo “The 12th month” was made in a few days and recorded in Gustaf’s portable studio. This recording was the start for the new line-up. The sound is not too good but we received a minor hit with the track “Murder (in cold December)” This demo is still for sale.

“Darkland Director” is, of course, our latest recording. And in retrospect we must say that this is the best we have done so far. It is not easy to review our own CD’s due to the high rate of self-criticism. “Darkland” has some errors but we are satisfied with the material. It feels that the songs are representative for the band.

5.SPEAK ABOUT THE BAND LYRICS. WHO IS RESPONISBLE AND WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

5.It is Per and Woody who write most of the lyrics, inspired by personal thoughts and feelings. The lyrics are rather dark but not self-destructive. We try to avoid dragons, steel and mighty warriors………………………

6.WHICH WERE THE REACTIONS OF THE MAGAZINES, ZINES AND FANS ABOUT YOUR LATEST DEMO "DARKLAND DIRECTOR"?

6.The reaction has been really good. Supriseingly good! From all continents we have received good review’s, fan-mail and the first press of the demo are sold out.

7.HAVE YOU SENT THE DEMO TO ANY LABELS? WHAT DID THEY TELL YOU?

7.Well, we have got some really interesting offers. Nothing is determined but at least three European labels have shown interest. Hopefully we will sign a record deal in the end of the summer

8.BY THE WAYWHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE TITLE OF THE DEMO "DARKLAND DIRECTOR"? COULD YOU EXPLAIN IT TO US?

8.The title was Gustaf’s idea which Richard refined a bit. The title refers to both the song “Darkland” and to the question “Who controls our lives”?

9.HAVE YOU DONE ANY LIVE SHOWS? COULD YOU DESCRIBE OR IMAGINE A TYPICAL ORPHAN GYPSY LIVE?

9.The last six months we have done approx. 10 live gigs, all in Sweden. We like to give the audience something to remember and our friends say that we sound better live than on record. Jonas and Per are the highlights due to their charisma on stage. They can really show of.

10.HOW ARE YOU THINKING TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC? WHICH SONG OF YOUR DO YOU FIND TO BE THE MOST IDEAL TO REPRESENT YOUR WORK?

10.Jonas is not only the bass player, he is also the manager so he calls in sick to his employer and writes letters and sells cd’s all day long. The recent weeks we have got some good correspondence with radio stations and fan/magazines around Europe. This letter is one of them!

11.IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO COMPOSE MUSIC, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?

11.Hypothetical question. Some of us would definitively be involved in music somehow. Gustaf would be a teacher.

12.WHICH IS THE WORST AND WHICH IS THE BEST REVIEW YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?

12. We hate to say this but Behind the veil has given us the “worst” review so far. Although your review was actually rather good. The best review until today has Strutter Magazine given us. Some guy at Strutter recommended us to record company so they did really like us.

13.WHICH IS THE BEST PART IN YOUR MUSIC AND IN THE BAND IN GENERAL AND WHICH THING DO YOU THINK YOU SHOULD CORRECT? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU NEED IMPROVEMENT?

13. We are rather satisfied with our material and our arrangements but in retrospective we would like to do some changes. We are also satisfied with our style in metal. Individually we can all improve and be better musicians. But that is not the most important thing for us. Friendship and the joy of playing together come first for the Orphans.

14.WHICH IS MAN'S BIGGEST TEMPTATION?

14.The strife of becoming rich, the strife of getting laid and the strife of getting famous. (It is a privilege to be in a rock band these days)

15.MANY METAL MUSICIANS ACCUSE POP STARS FOR THEIR LIFE STYLE, YET WE SEE SUCH BEHAVIOURS IN THE METAL SCENE AS WELL (BANDS PAYING TO MAKE A COVER FOR SUCCESFUL MAGAZINES, HAVING A GOOD REVIEW, METAL LABELS PROMOTING SPECIFIC BANDS AND GENRES EACH EPOCH,ETC).IS IT MAYBE AFTER ALL TRUE THAT THE METAL INDUSTRY DOESN'T DIFFER FROM THE POP? WHICH ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?

15. Unfortunately the music industry today is corrupt and that is for all musical genres. We do not think it differs weather you play heavy metal or pop. From our point of view there is no “true” way of promoting your music. If you are happy playing with “pepsi”-stickers on your gear it is up to you. It is when money and fame become more important than the music itself you have a serious problem. “Product bands” such as P.O.D are not our bag at all but on the other hand; they can make a living out of “their” music. It is all up to the fans to decide

16.IF TIME TRAVEL WAS POSSIBLE, WHICH HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT AND WHY? WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST FROM OUR TIME?

16. We had a laugh discussing this question. Four of us would be back in the 80’s, historical period or not. Per would like to like to see our hometown Falun when it flourished back in 1593. His second choice was to see the creation of time. Gustaf who are highly interested in religion and mythology would not bother being in Israel when the temple was destroyed for the second time in 70 bc. We came to the conclusion that all of us would miss technical innovations and other things that make life comfortable, boring but true.

17.IF YOU HAD THE MONEY TO MAKE A PROPER VIDEOCLIP, HOW DO YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE?

17. None of us like videos that do not show the artist so we would surely display ourselves. Perhaps some kind of dubbed live video containing clips that refer to the lyrics. Gustaf really like when instruments are shown in close –up, for example Slayers “Seasons in the Abyss”.

18.WHAT PROLOGUE AND TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO HAVE?

18. The title would be “Under the Sun with Orphan Gypsy” And the prologue would be “They are not unique but they sure as hell are good. Welcome to share the sun with Orphan Gypsy, Sweden’s latest contribution to the metal Valhalla”. ;-)

NIKOS "Wiiliam_Kidd" PARASTATIDIS

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