TERRATERRA: Getting to Catharsis

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TerraTerra is a one-man band from Russia founded by multi-instrumentalist and producer Ayli K., who has been working past four years on what’s become the project self-titled debut album, launched on January 10th. Described as a “piece of loneliness and melancholy,” TerraTerra brings out “cold and gloomy music, filled with despair and desperation” on an eight-track instrumental release.

Define the mission of TerraTerra.

My only mission is to express the visions and emotions, which I find touching and important to capture. I believe that every piece of art exists for that reason. Aristotle deemed that art exists to help people get to catharsis. It’s possible only with true emotions captured within the work. That’s what I’m trying to do. Hope, successfully.

Tell me about the creative process that informed your self-titled debut album.

The only thing I can tell – it was hard. Of course, it must be like that, when you do everything yourself, from the first recorded note to the final render.

Although it’s an instrumental release, is there a message you are trying to give with “TerraTerra”?

It’s storytelling in a certain sense. I imagined the story of the only survivor in the post-apocalyptic world. His loneliness, thoughts, and everyday life. How he wakes up in the morning, goes out to get supplies, gets sick, goes to sleep every night and maybe cries remembering some lovely faces and better times, when he was actually living – not surviving every single day, being helpless and too scared to end his own life in this suffering.

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

I tried to record everything right away. “Here and now” thing works best for me. Spontaneity makes music more free and powerful, I think. Of course, sometimes I had an idea before sitting down with my guitar. But those times I already had an image of how to play this.

Is the dynamic flow of the pieces carefully architected?

My music is very cyclical as you can hear. I love looped riffs and parts, putting new layers on, which makes original riff sound little different. It was always interesting for me to have even one-note riff and then put clean or distorted leads upon it to add more colors. It feels like real-time mutation of the song. It’s changing right now, while you’re listening to it. Wherein, I like unexpected things, like suddenly disappearing drums, changing key or making a little bridge sounding surprisingly hopeful in pretty dark track like “Still”. Of course, in every track I try to surprise the listener at least once. I want my songs to feel alive, breathing and constantly moving.

Describe the approach to recording the album.

I just let it flow right from under my hands and fingers. Most of the times I didn’t even know what it was going to be. But when I felt the music start to go continuously, it became easy to put the pieces together and actually hear the next step in my head. So, most of the tracks were recorded pretty fast, though the period between making one and another could take even few months.

How long “TerraTerra” was in the making?

I worked on music for two years and then it took a year or more to make a sound. Why so long? Well, I didn’t have a certain plan and vision of what I should have in the end. Only impulsive desire to make it. So, I decided to work until I hear it sound right. I mean, when the sound gets the right character and emotion. At a certain moment it felt like my brainchild began to talk and explain what it wanted to be, and I just tried to follow. I understood that I was making not just a new album of a band somebody knows of – it was the album, which presents the new band. That’s why I took my time with no hurries and finished it the way I thought it should be.

Which bands or artists influenced your work on the release?

I can’t name specific bands or artists which inspired or influenced me. I’d rather say that there are different kinds of music I tried to combine in my work. It’s industrial, modern, progressive, black, post-metal and post-rock.

What is your view on technology in music?

I thought about it while making my album. Some people say that technology kills soul but I disagree with that. You see, after every kind of music such as electronic or rock – there’s always a human being who takes something from their heart to put it in front of people. And I can surely say that without technology I wouldn’t be able to make my album the way I did it. I’d have to spend hours and hours in studio, pay lots of money and then do it again if something went wrong. But instead of this I can just play guitar in my home, take my time if I need it with nobody interrupting me. I can dig deeper into myself and find something more to say musically and make something on impulse. To me it’s very important to have such a chance.

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

I believe in the “art for art” concept. My music comes to the world just to stay and be heard. I agree with the idea of autonomous value of everything that’s created, though I might not like some things. If someone made something it means that there’s a place in the universe for this.

What are your plans for the future?

To make a lot more new records. I’m already working on the second album by the way. And I can tell you that it’s going to be different from the first one – way more dark and heavy.

TerraTerra is out now; order it from Bandcamp. Follow the project on Facebook for more info and news.

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