DAAR: Overpowering Forces of Destruction

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Instrumental proggers from Serbia, Daar released their debut album “One-Way Expedition” on October 17. The band, which is currently on the Prog Sphere Promotions roster, talks in the interview below about their mission, work, and future plans.

Define the mission of Daar.

We consider our mission not greater than of any other artist, architect or artisan of any kind. That mission would be to overpower forces of destruction that became stronger every day. There are wars around the globe and it’s hard to believe that humans can do such things. There is a mass destruction going on around the globe. Human lives become unimportant while global plans have been conducted. Step by step we become less human and we lose contact with goodness in us. Planet Earth is slowly dying and if we could see whole world with some spiritual eye, we’ll certainly see very dark clouds coming over our heads. Only way to fight that darkness is to bring light of goodness and beauty. And that is the ultimate task not only for artists but to every human being.

Tell me about the creative process that informed your debut album “One-Way Expedition.”

There was already some ideas and themes created earlier. But there were just some short parts. Once we started creating album some of that themes, just fit in. I think all compositions started by catching some thoughts and creating some sort of energy around that ideas. This music is just one form of that thoughts. If we knew, for example, how to paint, they could easily become paintings or any other form of art.

“One-Way Expedition” is a very diverse release. Can you describe the thread that holds it together?

I think that most prominent thread would be that goodness and beauty, should win at the end. If you listed to Cocoon, Terror Machine or One-Way Expedition you can notice that all of this songs have some turning point after which tension we created in earlier stages of the songs is changing to peaceful and mellow parts.

How does the title of the album reflect on the material you present with this release?

When you think about title “One-Way Expedition”, you can feel confronted emotions. You feel enthusiastic about getting to unknown and facing new things and at the same time you are frightened of what you can find and sad about things you have left. But it seems that this is main direction of our lives. It is inevitable path we as a humans should pass. But we should be able to walk that path gracefully, so when at the end of that journey we look back, that path we walked, looks like state of art that we can be proud of.

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

We know how to read and wright music, but not in the way that we can do fast and easy. Writing it in a traditional way would take considerable time for us. So we rather choose to record ideas as they come and then try to figure out how to arrange it together. Then afterword we additionally analyze its structure and logic and fix it where necessary. Sometimes while playing by ear, we make some mistakes which we correct later. Maybe there are still some, but isn’t that human nature? Sometimes perfection lies within imperfection.

Is the dynamic flow of the pieces carefully architected or is it an organic outgrowth of performing them together?

There is little bit of both. It’s not something that is completely defined. Sometimes we create music in the heat of the moment. Sometimes, I as composer, play music in my head and just hear what should come next. Sometimes, playing with music software I make melodies by “accident”, and then continue working with that idea. That approach was dominant when arranging keyboard parts and filling arrangement with artificial sounds. Like mentioned above, somehow we came with idea to relax dynamic toward the end of the songs, and that idea is utilized in few songs as I mentioned.

Describe the approach to recording the album.

Here is our work flow: I record guitars as blueprint, then we record drums and bass. After that, Ivan and I record guitars again carefully and at the end we program some keyboards. Drum parts are recorded in studio while we use home equipment to record guitars. That way we have enough time to focus on guitars as most prominent instruments in our music and make changes after listening for a while. For keyboards we use software and VST plugins.

How long “One-Way Expedition” was in the making? 


It was a long process considering length of this EP. We didn’t hurry, just enjoyed each other companies, spending some time playing and thinking about material. Not sure exactly, but it might been two or three years. There was a lot of material we didn’t include on this release because we wanted to wrap up everything in one consistent story, but some of that material will certainly be included on second release.

Which bands or artists influenced your work on the release?

For this particular release we tried not to relay on any known approach. We tried to be as original as possible, and you can notice that our form of compositions is not common. Basic idea is that story should go on without turning back to some themes too often. Only if it is somehow important for the story. Song is constantly striving forward which is especially utilized in Portal. As I often mention, there are some influences in technique of playing but we try to find other possible uses of that techniques. That approach could be unusual for listeners, but it’s not that we invented it. This is Progressive Rock at the end and nothing is off the table.

What kind of gear do you use for recording your music?

I am using LTD KH-602 guitar with EMG pickups for almost all songs except Cocoon which was recorded with custom made guitar with EMG 85 on the bridge. Ernie Ball 2723 Cobalt Super Slinky Electric Guitar Strings. I am also using Kemper profiler. For most solo parts its Diesel VH4 profile. There are also some 5150 and Mesa single rectifier tones (mainly for riffing). For recording drums we go to studio and after that all guitars are recorder with home studio equipment.

What is your view on technology in music?

It is always playing on the edge when using technology. Our individual tastes is different in that matter, but I think we are still trying to find right amount of it. Certainly, to some degree it is inevitable to use technology. All guitars are recorded with Kemper profile, which is extraordinary peace of technology that enables you to create tone of very expensive boutique amps, we couldn’t afford. Also, everything was recorded using software etc. It enables you to make very decent recordings within your home environment which was unthinkable few decades ago.

Do you see the band’s music as serving a purpose beyond music?

We would love that, but we’ll see how big impact this music will have. Any form of art should be able to communicate deeper messages and open some questions. We have a lot of ideas on different levels that motivated this release. But will it be received by listeners depends on many factors. But we think this is necessary as main ingredient anyway.

What are your plans for the future?

Well, for now we are focusing on creating music and further enhancing our sound and style. This is our first release, so definitely there is a lot more to do in many aspects, which is very challenging. We are also curious to see which directions our music will take. Other than that we will also start promoting our music live and get some feedback from the audience. Surely, audience has great impact on any musician. Interesting for this release is that it is created in completely closed environment and we are sure that live contact with listeners will have a great impact in our further work.

“One-Way Expedition” is available from Bandcamp. Visit Daar’s official website here.

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