We are excited to share an exclusive interview with Deneb, the bassist of CYGNUS, our favorite Viking metal band. We had the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about his musical influences, the band's composition process, his favorite songs to play live, and much more.
During the interview, Deneb spoke to us about his main musical influences and how they have impacted his playing style, as well as the challenges the band currently faces and their long-term goals. He also shared special anecdotes from live performances and gave us a unique insight into the development of songs within CYGNUS.
What are your main musical influences and how have they impacted your playing style?
A: My main influences are quite varied, ranging from The Beatles, their great producer George Martin, bands like Queen, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones (the classics), but I'm also influenced by more modern bands like Dream Theater, Rhapsody of Fire, Ensiferum, Heilung, Rammstein, Luar na Lubre, Robbie Williams, Maná, and many others. I also have to confess that I'm a big fan of musicians and artists from the 60s in Spanish, like Serrat, Sandro, Charles Aznavour, Nino Bravo, and Roberto Carlos, among many others. And in terms of classical music, my favorite is Mozart, along with many others like Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Brahms, and Vivaldi.
To quickly explain who they are and how they've impacted me, I'll break it down one by one:
The Beatles: They're everything. They are the greatest, with their musicality, concepts, and their ability to go beyond.
George Martin: The value of music production, ensuring the beauty of music always comes first, and his wonderful orchestrations.
Queen: Concept and choruses.
Deep Purple: Pure rock with an emphasis on academia.
Led Zeppelin: Pure rock with an emphasis on the streets, the suburbs.
The Rolling Stones: Concepts, perseverance, excellence, wonderful music, and showmanship.
Dream Theater: Individual excellence, concept, perfection, virtuosity, the strange and the unexpected.
Rhapsody of Fire: Speed, lyrical content, the fantastical, their epic choruses, and magnificent orchestrations.
Ensiferum: Metal, guttural vocals, Viking themes, folk influences.
Heilung: Ritualistic, shamanic, folk elements.
Rammstein: Metal, riffs, concepts, and the importance of the show.
Luar na Lubre: Folk, the beauty of Celtic music, and music from the past.
Robbie Williams: His rebellion inspires me, his beautiful, well-crafted songs, his singing style, his use of what he has to make it different, his videos and concepts, his glamour in some of his songs, and his musical excellence.
Maná: Their ability to compose music that marks generations, quality music, and their incredible live sound.
Serrat: His orchestrations and his lyrics and concepts.
Sandro: His compositions and performance.
Charles Aznavour: His versatility, his amazing songs, his orchestrations, entire atmospheres in his lyrics, his glamour when singing.
Nino Bravo: Melodies, orchestrations, admiration for his voice, and the way he did things.
Roberto Carlos: His lyrics, his concepts in each song, his excellence in the studio and live, his versatility, the glamour, the decency in his lyrics despite being very sexual.
Mozart: Perfection, the voice of God on earth, unison scales, absolute beauty, contrapuntal treatments, mockery, change, and evolution.
Bach: Counterpoints and fugue treatments, hard work, perseverance, consistency, well-tempered clavier.
Beethoven: Excellence, strength, change, power, hard work.
Rachmaninov: Underrated genius, nationalism, virtuosity, his orchestration style, excellence, sensitivity, perfection, complexity.
Chopin: Beauty, nationalism, virtuosity, excellence, dances.
Brahms: Dances, nationalism, strength, variability, orchestrations.
Vivaldi: Baroque, contrapuntal style, the “metal” within classical music.
Is there a particular bassist or band that has been a great inspiration for you?
A: Each of the bassists from the bands mentioned earlier has influenced me because I have studied and played many of their songs. Sir Paul McCartney has always been a great influence on me for his musicality. For being a genius, and to mention another, John Myung from Dream Theater has shown me a more prominent, more virtuosic role for the bass, more tied to the guitars, using distortions and effects, and serving as a bridge with the drums. Obviously, McCartney did this too (The Beatles did everything), but not at such a metal and virtuosic level. Sami Hinkka from Ensiferum has also taught me to attack the bass more aggressively when necessary, with strength in hard segments and sensitivity in appropriate fragments.
How do you integrate these influences into the unique style of the Viking metal band?
A: I think it all integrates at the composition level because when you see where the song is heading creatively, you simply know what you have to do with the bass, and serve as a vehicle for the other members to do their best work, giving that solidity!
What is your favorite song to play live and why?
A: There are several.
Odin’s Wolves: Because it is fast and demanding, the message it brings, and what it means to me.
Valhalla, Raise Your Horns, Skal, The Tavern of the Dwarves, The Perfect Blend: Because they have a very positive vibe, and invite you to drink with your friends, get drunk and have a night where you can let yourself go.
Dreams of Adventure: For the memories it brings, the music and arrangements, subdivisions and groove with the drums, orchestrations, and the live performance.
It Rained Blood: Because of how aggressive it is, it makes you feel very metal!
Is there any song in the band's repertoire that stands out to you due to its complexity, emotion, or audience response?
A: All Cygnus songs have a high degree of complexity live, because of the number of arrangements, breaks, chords, harmonies, changing riffs, lyrics, when you sing, and when you have to stop singing, you have to be very focused, but also interact with the audience and give a good show. But the most demanding ones to play are:
Odin’s Wolves
Beware of Loki
Lady Hel
Fenrir the Wolf
Raise Your Horns (though it may not seem so).
Do you have any special memory from a live performance that stands out in your mind?
A: Every live performance is something you kind of store in your heart, but what always stands out are those where the audience sings your songs with you. And there was one where some motorcyclists jumped (flew) over us on ramps!
How would you describe the songwriting process within the band and your role in it?
A: Basically, what happens is that I read a lot about various topics, much human history, and I tend to make associations between past stories and the daily problems of modern man. Our concerns, worries, dreams, and goals are still the same. We worry about destiny, life, and death. I write songs to lift spirits when you’re down, songs for intimate moments, whether in a couple or group, and I associate them with past stories, giving them a historical context. I also write songs about famous historical figures, mythological creatures, or deities and tell their stories or one of their tales.
Once this is done (which can happen simultaneously), I start thinking about the music that would fit well with the song's theme, music that works perfectly with the overall concept.
Regarding my role in the composition process, I think it's very important for the group as I'm the one who comes up with the majority of concepts, songs, or musical ideas.
How do songs typically develop within the band? Is it a collaborative effort, or do individual contributions prevail?
A: I think individual contributions prevail, but an incredible, natural, and very solid collaborative processes emerge between Ruxx and me. The process with Andrés is different as he contributes with brutal solos in the songs, and I usually tell him: "Go ahead, brother! Play! Do your thing!" It's like unleashing the beast! Sometimes we work together on the solos to shape them, taking advantage of his virtuosity and guitar knowledge.
Do you have a particular approach or routine when composing music?
A: As I explained earlier, the main thing is the story behind each song. I read a lot, document myself well, shape the concept, write down ideas, key phrases, make them rhyme (for me, rhyme is very important), tell a story through the songs. I usually sit down to play bass, guitar (to compose rock riffs), acoustic guitar, tiple, piano, or harp (to compose folk themes), let everything flow, think about not repeating ourselves, not copying others, making it sound like nothing else but still fitting within the Viking folk metal genre that is expected of us. That's the challenge.
Three words:
Three words to describe Ruxx: Sensitivity, Chaos, Virtuosity.
Three words to describe Jota: Logic, Firmness, Calm.
Three words to describe Andrés: Virtuoso, Chaos, Showman.
Three words to describe Cygnus: Beauty, Home, Dreams.
What challenges is the band currently facing, and how are you addressing them?
A: The biggest challenge currently is spreading our music. It’s a modern world where information abounds and inundates us daily, where there is more supply than demand in the cultural/music sector, where stupidity is rewarded over deep thoughts and meaningful music with a concept. We address all this with love for culture, art, and with faith that we can change behaviors, put the hearts of those who listen to us and enjoy what we do in the right place. Through teaching. It's a bit “Quixotic”, but it's our contribution to this chaotic world with weak minds! We spread a lot through social media, trying to reach more people, attract their attention with quality art. It’s a daily struggle, but here we are, fighting to defend good music and good art!
Are there any technical, creative, or logistical challenges in producing music and videos?
A: In terms of music, not repeating ourselves, not sounding like others, and not straying from what is expected of us. Regarding videos, it’s very difficult because our landscapes and ecosystems don’t look Viking at all, everything looks very tropical, there are mango trees everywhere, banana plants all over, power poles in the air, everything natural is very Amazonian and not Nordic, which doesn’t work with the overall concept of the band.
How does the band keep innovating and evolving musically over time?
A: By thinking a lot, strategically planning every move, which video to make, how to try to capture our ideas and make them a reality. Writing songs, telling stories.
What is your long-term vision for the band, and where would you like to see it evolve in the coming years?
A: My long-term vision for CYGNUS is to be a band recognized for its good songs, for being good and brave, for not having been defeated by the lack of wind in our sails, admired for our perseverance and excellence. In the coming years, I would like to see CYGNUS on tours, with many scheduled concerts, more albums, more videos on YouTube, more loyal fans, more love for what we do.
Is there a specific artistic or professional goal that the band is pursuing?
A: There are always long-term and short-term goals, but it all boils down to being able to do what we love full-time, in creation, composition, and concerts, so that CYGNUS is highly booked by music industry promoters for concerts and festivals.
How do you imagine the band's music could influence its followers and the music scene in general?
A: I think our music can transport the listener to other moments and places, envelop them in stories from the past, and in doing so, forge new concepts in their minds, new visions, ideas, adding culture and history to their brain and sensitivity to their heart, also giving them strength when they feel they have no more to give. Regarding the music scene, I believe that with our work, by opening people's minds in one way or another, they will be able to more easily discern between true art and culture worth preserving, with honest work, and the fleeting trends imposed by commerce, superficiality, and mass stupidity!
Very good
Brilliant! Deep, meaningful, with a lot of food for thought. Thank you, Chieftain! ❤️⚔️🐺