London-based
Larusta & The Dead Dogs explore grief, solitude, and resilience on their
debut album, The Life You Save May Be Your Own. A dark lyrical
alternative experience, it’s a poignant journey of storytelling and reflection.
1. Your
debut album, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, is described as a “Dark Lyrical
Alternative” experience. Can you elaborate on what this term means to you and
how it denes the album?
I use
"dark lyrical alternative” generally for describing my music. The settings
of the stories I tell in my songs are mostly gloomy. They are lyrical since
most of them were poems when I started out writing them. Alternative because
the songs are not mainstream, classic rock or pop what you’re listening to.
2. The
album explores themes of the five stages of grief. Was there a particular moment
or experience in your life that inspired this thematic journey?
I wrote the
songs first and in hindsight I figured out that the overarching theme of it, is
grief in its different facets. When I look at the album, about half of the
songs were inspired by the lockdowns and a particular breakup which occurred to
me during the pandemic.
3.
You’ve mentioned that the songs evolved from persistent text ideas or images. Can
you share an example of one of these ideas and how it developed into a song?
Playing
with metaphors and images is what makes writing songs most fascinating for me.
The day I wrote the song “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”, a picture of a grim
white mule staring at me, appeared in my mind. For me it is a symbol of depression
and forlornness in this song, which I strongly felt. I can’t really explain how
the story of this song formed itself. It often simply happens during the
process, when I give full scope to my inner world.
4.
“Within the Valley Green” is set to give listeners their first taste of the
album. What does this song represent within the larger narrative of the album?
It is the fifth
song of the album I released as a single this year. In the context of the five
stages of grief, it could represent depression which also comes close to the
way I felt when I wrote it, and in the wake of the breakup that's underlying
the song’s narrative.
5. The
album was written during a time of solitude in lockdown. How did the isolation influence
your creative process and the final outcome of the album?
At least
half of the songs wouldn’t exist in this form without the isolation and everything
that came with it. I’m sure many people had a traumatic experience because of
the lockdowns. People’s lives changed dramatically, rarely for the better.
For me,
writing these songs and others, was lifesaving to a certain extent. The creative
process itself wasn’t really impacted because I didn’t change anything in the way
I approach it all.
6.
Moving from a rural town in Germany to London was a pivotal moment in your career.
How has London shaped your music and personal growth as an artist?
After my
move, it was liberating to get to know many musicians or songwriters who aren’t
doing their thing half-heartedly. In my former bands in Germany, I often felt
like the only one with a lot of ambition. Bands usually fell apart when it all
became too time consuming for some band mates. It’s tough to judge one’s
personal growth, but I think I became even more sure of myself and my writing
and mostly know what I’m doing, even though it never gets easier for me to
write my songs.
7.
You’re debuting the album live at The Art Stalker in Berlin. What can fans
expect from this performance, and how does it feel to present these songs live
for the first time?
The show
was a few weeks ago. It was a brilliant experience. It felt as if there was a special
energy night that night. I loved almost everything about it and it was great to
celebrate with my friends and family. I haven’t seen some of them since I moved
away five years ago.
8. Your
music blends alternative rock with deeply reflective storytelling. Who or what are
some of your biggest influences, both musically and lyrically?
When it
comes to songwriters, I can’t really separate their musical and lyrical influences
for my writing. It is probably mostly PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Tom
Waits, Suzanne Vega, Warren Zevon, Joe Strummer, Patti Smith. There are also
literary influences, e.g., Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse, Flannery O’Connor looking
at the stories in the songs.
9. The
album’s title, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, is intriguing. What inspired this
title, and how does it encapsulate the album’s essence?
I stole the
title from a short story by Flannery O’Connor of the same name. The song itself
doesn’t have anything to do with her short story, except for its disturbing
nature, but I felt it is the right phrase for the chorus of this song.
10. The
official music video for “Within the Valley Green” premieres on the album’s release
day. What can you reveal about the visual concept and its connection to the song?
You can
watch it. It has been released on YouTube by now. Alex Christidis, who is the
co-director of all of our videos, and I, went for a devious and mind-boggling
story that derives from the story of this song, which we imbedded in silent film
era aesthetics.
11. As
an artist who has been part of different projects and moved frequently, how have
these experiences shaped your approach to creating and performing music?
I’m
certainly not holding back anymore, which I used to do some time ago, caring about
the needs of others more than about mine. I’m not getting younger and this is most
probably the only life that I have. There are barely any compromises these days
when it comes to my creating and performing, which is most vital to me.
12.
Looking forward, what do you hope listeners take away from The Life You Save May
Be Your Own, and what’s next for Larusta & The Dead Dogs?
Anything,
there’s nothing wrong you could be feeling while listening to the album.
Ideally, it
helps you feeling more connected with yourself and as a source of solace that
makes you feel understood.
There will be more songs and (hopefully much) more shows. Check my social media channels or larusta.net for updates.
Larusta & The Dead Dogs – Official Website of Larusta & The Dead Dogs
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