Present yourself to the audience
Hello everyone! My name is SophiaX and I am the founding member and keyboard player of the band Dakrya. We come from Greece and we play atmospheric metal that combines many styles of music from neoclassical to black metal.
The name “Dakrya”...why?
Our name “Dakrya” is a Greek word written in Latin characters and it means “tears”. Many people think that is a made-up word! We believe that this word combines with our music perfectly, because through our music we express our feelings and a “tear” is an emotional expression.
Who composes? How that is held between you?
I compose all the music and also write the lyrics. When I finish a composition I give the music sheets to the other members and along with Christina and Thomais, we proceed to the vocal arrangements. Everyone has ideas and suggestions and most of the times we add new things to our songs.
What music style do you prefer personally and what are your influences?
Well... that's hard to say. I grew up with classical music and jazz, so I can't say that I' m not influenced by these music styles! I listen to almost every kind of music, mostly neoclassical, gothic and black metal. Recently my ear stuck to more progressive music styles and bands such as Unexpect, Ordo Draconis and Diablo Swing Orchestra!
What's your opinion about the actual metal scene at your place?
Mostly the metal scene in Greece interferes with black metal, power metal and stoner. We have many good bands but it takes a great effort to become known outside the borders of our small country. The last few years you can see many Greek bands signing contracts with foreign record labels and getting the chance to tour Europe. Unfortunately the kind of metal we play isn't so popular here in Greece, but we have gained much support from the people and from other Greek bands as well.
Generally, what is the reaction of the public at the time of your concerts?
Mostly the audience is confounded by the difference of our line-up. With two female singers on stage and five musicians, we manage to create a theatrical atmosphere. The fact that we are best friends with each other helps us with our performance on stage. Every concert is a unique experience for us and when we manage to make the audience feel like they are on stage and playing with us and not just listening to us, we know we performed just fine!
What is your best live memory? And why?
I think our best live memory comes out from our very first show! As you can imagine, we were completely under pressure and without any clue about the reaction of the audience. We get on stage and we start playing the first song and in a while we realize that the audience slowly begins to gather closer to the stage! The feeling was wonderful and we became one with the audience! I still remember the last 5 minutes before the end, when we played a cover of the song “Alma Matter” from Moonspell, everybody were singing with the hands up to the air and even the other bands we played along that day were singing with us from backstage!
What would be the festival of your dreams? (With you playing in it of course!)
Our dream fest!! Yeah, that's a nice question! Well, surely we would like to play along with all the bands that we admire and give our best! We would like to have the chance to perform with a real orchestra and also a choir on stage and if I could choose 3 bands to play along, these would be Therion, Apocalyptica and Dimmu Borgir! (Nothing is impossible after all...)
In studio...what was atmosphere?...etc...
The recordings of the album took us about a year with many unexpected delays and problems. Thankfully, our producer Manos Konstantinidis understood exactly what we wanted and we managed to create a beautiful relationship between us. Always the “studio days” are the best days for us. We work hard but we always have a great time and a great laugh! As for the rehearsals before a live show... what can I say! I guess we fight our anxiety and pressure with beers and good food!!
What do you expect from the future?
We make music first of all for ourselves and we hope that people is going to like our music as much as we do! We try really hard to create something good and with our own signature. At the moment we have finished our debut album entitled “Monumento” and we hope for a good deal with a record label.
What is your motto in life?
“What is left for us to create, inside a world without mercy...?”
This is generally the motto of the band. It comes from the lyrics of the song “Crucifixion of Faith” and it is the reason that we keep on creating music.
Is there something you'd like to say to the audience?
Thank you all for the great support! You know how much it means to us. I promise that we're never going to disappoint you in the future! Stay tuned and thanks for the interview.
SophiaX (Keys & Piano)
Dakrya
Official Site: http://www.dakrya.com
My Space: http://www.myspace.com/dakrya
