With all that is happening between Russia and the Ukraine, it did not veer some people from their dreams…today we chat with some of these people, Apache Rose, the Russian band that did not let the war stop their lives and their dreams…it’s an honor to have you guys over…
- Would you please introduce the band members?
The band is centered around me, Ilya Novokhatskiy, I am the songwriter and the leader of the band. I’m also the vocalist and play guitar and bass. The first album was recorded partially with the help of top Russian musicians, notably Vladimir Kornienko (aka Korney), one of the best guitarists in Russia. The second album was recorded in full by me (except drums).
A vital part of Apache Rose is Anton Boyko, the producer. He’s like Bob Rock to me. I give him the rough diamonds and he makes the final stuff shine.
- How difficult was the decision to move from Russia? How did you prepare for this decision?
I just took up and left the next day the mobilization was announced. It was a no-brainer. Took my Steinberger travel guitar with me))
- When you were making music before the war, what was your workflow? How did the war affect that?
Usually I start with instrumental tracks. I come up with an idea on the spot or sift through my iPhone recorder app. The idea from my head is usually a riff, the ideas from the recorder could be an instrumental verse and a chorus. Then I open GarageBand and over the course of several sessions (2-3 hours each) have an instrumental ready, fully arranged. After I have a group of these instrumentals I sit down to do the lyrics.
I never write the full lyrics for a song like a poem and I never know what the song will be about. I have this habit of writing down English phrases on my phone. I do this every other day. These are mostly common expressions or phrases you read and hear. And as I listen through the instrumental I browse through my entries looking for phrases that fit rhythmically and try to sing them. When something fits most of the time I find another one in my list that suddenly fits. And then another one, and another one. And then my brain gets into the zone when I can add something on the spot.
So magically all these random phrases I’ve written down over the years start to amalgamate into a story or a lyrical picture and you have the lyrics and the vocal melody done. Works every time!
Basically every song is 50-70% made from these phrases from the notebook.
This cycle is about 6-12 months and produces 5-10 songs. The war put this cycle on pause for 6 months but then I got back on track
- We have a lot of gear head readers out there…i’m included…so can you tell us about the gear you use, the softwares…are you a digital or an analog band?
Surprisingly I’m not a gearhead at all))) When I work out the demos I have the most primitive setup there could be. I plug my 2011 Telecaster, Steinberger travel guitar or my PRS into something external like an iRig/Apogee or a Scarlett and feed them to GarageBand. I put down the demo vocals through iPhones earphones with a mic
When it comes down to the recording studio it’s all different of course. My recording guy Anton Boyko has his own studio in Moscow where he has lots of amps, pedals and other stuff I know nothing about. I know he uses Cubase) In Tbilisi, Georgia we rented out a nice studio that had all the equipment Anton needed. But we used just a couple of amps and pedals for the guitars and amps.
My main guitar for the first album was my 2011 Telecaster but it didn’t make the cut for the upcoming album as we needed something a bit heavier so we went with my new PRS single cut and a Strat that the studio had.
I’m very digital, cause otherwise making music for me would be impossible. I get to correct all the mistakes and play around. And Anton, my producer, gets to do the same but on a professional level. Cause I’m not the professional type of musician that you just need to capture on tape. No sir, I am a lot of work)
- The lyrics video for your latest single “Cabin Fever” looks very much like it’s an artistic AI generated video…what made you go with this style?
Yeah, it’s 100% AI. The only human touch is the editing: I put together 5 variants of the AI video and slapped the subtitles on. Took about 1 hour max)
I had the idea of making an AI video for some time. Partly because I was interested in the video AI itself and what it could do. And partly because I was out of ideas for a video and didn’t want to spend money)))
I think that for the near future I’m gonna continue using AI for videos
- Where do you find inspiration?
Musically I find it when my fingers do something to the guitar that makes me catch the buzz. I could be just noodling but then I hear something special and get hooked on it and work it.
Lyrically I find it all around me, conversations, lyrics, movie lines. Something makes me write them down.
And then I start putting them all together into song and I feel like I am at the best party of my life, having a good time for hours
- What’s your plan for the coming years…is it more live gigs or more studio recording?
More studio for sure. I’m more of a studio guy than a gig guy. But hopefully later on the proportion will change))
- In one sentence…can you tell us why your music is awesome and why should people listen to Apache Rose?
Because it’s something that you don’t hear everyday
- This was very insightful. Thank you guys for the awesome music and the great talk. We’re among your fans and we wish you all the best in your life journey and also your musical journey… Cheers!
