SPACE OF VARIATIONS: You Are Not Alone!

By Prog Sphere on February 15, 2020

Ukrainian metalcore act Space of Variations has just released their new EP entitled ‘XXXXX‘ via Napalm Records, with the physical release scheduled for March 6. The four-piece from Vinnytsya has shared stages with likes such Architects, Adept, and Eskimo Callboy, the group also opened for countrymen Jinjer on a number of dates throughout Europe in late 2019.

The band answered our questions about the new EP, technology and their future.

Define the mission of Space of Variations.

We love to share our emotions with the public. We try to cause deep feelings in people who listen to our music. We are trying to reach the deepest and most intimate, trying to find common ground not in superficial, material things, but in subconscious, basic things. We hope that listeners read our texts between the lines and find themselves reflected in them and understand that they are not alone in their experiences. Music in this context has an outline, form role. Heavy music is a very emotional genre itself, and if it is also supported by philosophical lyrics about eternal themes, its impact takes on even greater power.

Tell me about the creative process that informed your newly released EP XXXXX and the themes it captures.

This album was written in a single rush. Our guitarist Alex did most of the sketches and structures for songs and then brought them to rehearsals. Next, we finalized them together. Only the track room 57 was written at one of the rehearsals, on the go. There was nothing unusual in the process of composing, this is our usual scheme for writing tracks.

The message of the album is also quite familiar to us. We are used to talking in our music about what is hidden inside the minds of people, about real experiences, about the psychology of relationships, about all these things familiar to everyone. However, of course, we convert all this into an abstract image, into associations, into forms that allow us to say briefly about very monumental topics.

What is the message you are trying to give with XXXXX?

The main message this album contains is the uncertainty of things in our world, the inconsitancy and the fact that we only slightly understand the world in which we live. This reality seems familiar and understandable to us, but based on the fact that humanity is asking the same questions for hundreds and thousands of years, we are most likely mistaken. In fact, the true face of reality, its metaphysical essence is hidden. And the symbol X in the name of the album, just reflects this essence.

How did you document the music while it was being formulated?

This process is very standard. We record drafts in audio editors: Garage Band, Cubase. Sometimes some vocal lines that come to mind are written to the phone’s recorder. Alex writes 90 percent of electronic sounds on the Garage Band app (he writes all the electronics). By the way, most of the synthetic sounds in the final versions of the songs are the same sounds from the Garage Band projects.

We also record our live performance at rehearsals in order to listen from the outside and understand what needs to be changed.

Is the dynamic flow of the pieces carefully architected?

Of course, there is always a basic vision of composition at the beginning of writing a track, but as a result, many decisions are born in the process of finalizing the material. We often change something in the songs during the recording phase. Often we add or remove parts, because, for example, a song without vocals can sound different than with vocals and it requires some interventions to the composition. Therefore, the answer to this question is more likely: yes.

Describe the approach to recording the EP.

Drums recording and the whole album mixing were done at the Lizard Audio studio in Kyiv. While guitars and vocals were done at our home studio in our home town Vinnytsa.

All editions were made by ourselves. We believe that it’s an important thing when the band work not only on writing music. It gives a chance to see our music from some different sides.

How long XXXXX was in the making?

The instrumental part was written rather quickly. And then, lyrics and vocals took a bit longer. As our vocalist Dima was going through hard times. But In the end, we are happy with the result. We guess Dima managed to pour out his emotions and feelings on the record.

Which bands or artists influenced your work on the release?

On the “RAZORBLADE” we were influenced by many bands, it’s hard to spotlight all of them. For example vocals was influenced by Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed. Wild, bold and straightforward. Guitar riffs have some colours of Every Time I Die, Underoath, we think.

But generally, we try not to get influenced by anything and concentrate on doing something unique.

Do you see your music as serving a purpose beyond music?

Sure we do. We try to inspire people with the music we make. We are happy to connect with our fans and to be a part of the community we’ve created. We are happy to be a living proof that even the wildest dreams come true!

Anyway, our music serves many purposes beyond music, and our listeners relate to it in their own ways.

What is your view on technology in music?

The current level of technology in music (and not only) is obviously very high. Everything changes and develops at great speed. And it is clear that this is far from the limit. It seems that We are at some turning point. Of course, itís not only about professional studio and stage equipment. For example, if several years ago the technical capabilities of smartphones did not allow to make the following statements, then Today we can safely say that everyone in their pocket, in fact, has a recording studio, and everyone, if desired, can record an album at home and immediately publish it on The internet. This has a huge impact on the music as a whole. And this is just one example. The manifestation of technological progress, makes you increase the speed of the creative process, and encourages the study of advanced technologies, it swirls like a spiral.

I think a lot about future technology and I hope we will catch a time when we will not need anything to transmit information and everything will be done through a thought process. Can you imagine how this can affect, for example, live performances of groups? It sounds incredible, but after all, we are already approaching this. Read about Neuralink,for example, we’re on the edge.

What are your plans for the future?

To record our best album, to tour a lot, hope to play at some big world festivals, and to kick some asses on the stage!

XXXXX is out on Napalm Records; pre-order CD version here. Follow Space of Variations on Facebook and Instagram.

Cover photo by Tementiy Pronov