DYMNA LOTVA

Music that brings to mind places dark and cold, brings us this great band from Bielorrusia, their vocalist Nokt gave us a great interview where tells us how this project, on which are based the darkness of their music, without a doubt born a band that much worth listening. If you're music lover dark and depressive.

What does Dymna Lotva means?

‘Lotva’ is a belarusian toponym which means ‘wetland’. There are a few villages with such name in Belarus. ‘Dymna’ means ‘smoky’. The band name is associated with our country, its bitter fate, with villages that were burned among the marshes during numerous wars.

What are the lyrics of your songs based on?

All our lyrics are based on true stories of grief. Some of them more personal (‘There’s no more me’ for example is based on the sad events of my own life). Others are inspired by historical events (‘Heather on bones’ tells about the multitude of wars that took place on the lands of Belarus).

Do you consider you fit in any musical genre?

We do not limit ourselves to any frames and just play the music of Lotva. Of course it is metal. It is sad music. But it is difficult to me to say something more specific. We ourselves do not know what to expect from Dymna Lotva. We like to experiment and have much strange ideas (for example we made a cover of soviet children’s new year song).

How did the band born?

In summer 2015 Jaŭhien started to compose first tracks for his new studio post metal project. We already knew each other so in autumn he simply invited me to record some vocals for his one man band. I really liked his music and I began to work quickly on the lyrics and vocals. Soon I became a permanent member of the project. Jaŭhien quickly wrote a large amount of material, so we decided to record the album. We have done a lot of work, and in the autumn of 2016 the album was released.

How did the art of the cover born?

The idea of the cover appeared at the very beginning of the work on the lyrics, so that they perfectly match each other. This is an old woman in the clothes of a young Slavic unmarried girl. My 88 years old grandmother Wanda became a model for the cover. This image combines youth and old age, life and death. There are many meanings about which I can talk for a very long time. She reminds me our land – beautiful and sad.

What are the long term band`s expectations?

No expectations. I think the question is incorrect. You cannot just expect anything. The result depends on how much effort you have invested. So we simply invest in Dymna Lotva all the time, energy and inspiration that we have. Now we are engaged in mixing just recorded EP, in parallel working on material for a second album and preparing for the autumn concert. We do not have time for expectations =)

Tell us about the band`s members

Jaŭhien is a founder of Dymna Lotva, ‘father’ of the project. He composes all the music and he is our chief. He also deals with all technical issues: recording, mixing, mastering, soundchecks etc. It is he who decides what will be the sound.

I am responsible for vocals, lyrics, a general concept and visual component of our work. I also deal with most of the communication - with the label, concert organizers, press.

Together with Jaŭhien we recorded and prepared for the release our album ‘The Land under the Black Wings: Swamp’. But even before the release of the album we were offered some concerts, so we had to look for the full lineup. And in the summer of 2016 Forladt (guitar) and Shen (drums) joined us. They are both young and talented, and they are also best friends. Now they are not just live musicians, but also full-fledged members of the team.

Recently, our line-up has become complete - we took the second permanent guitarist to the team. We have not yet announced him, but I can say that this is a man with a great stage experience and charisma.

What have been the best experiences on stage?

We are focused on studio work, so we almost didn’t play concerts. I had experience of concerts in other projects before Dymna Lotva and I can say that my best stage experience is the first Dymna Lotva show. It was in a good club and with great bands which we like very much – Psychonaut 4 and Vanhelga. So it was very pleasant to take part in such cool gig. And we absolutely did not expect such an awesome support from the public! We thought "ok, we are a young band and that is our debut show, we will just play first while people will enter the club, communicate with each other and drink beer". But when we stepped onto the stage, we saw that there was a small shouting and applauding crowd waiting for us. It was a great surprise!

Are you planning on visiting some other continents??

Dymna Lotva cannot make such plans now. We are a little-known band, which the organizers will not pay for the flight to another continent. We do not have money for such a long journey because we spend everything on music. But in future… Of course, we want. As for me, I would like to see South America very much. I see that the Latin American metal scene is developing rapidly.

This is the band Dymna Lotva!