Sour Blood dive deep into the chaos of human emotion with their explosive new single “Damaging Control.” We spoke with them about inspiration, coping mechanisms, and balancing humor with heaviness.
1. Congrats
on the release of “Damaging Control”! What was the initial spark or moment of
inspiration that led to the creation of this song?
W: Thanks!
Well, it typically starts with music. I doodle with my guitar and search for riffs,
sometimes with a specific intent, but more often just playing and going with
the flow of the moment. Once the first riff has taken shape, the rest follows
rather quickly. I knew right there that it was going to be an up-tempo race
through the whole song, with just pure “what if rock’n’roll and punk had a
baby” energy to it.
K: I am not really comfortable disclosing too many details of the circumstances
around the moment that was the inspiration for the song. What I can say,
though, is that there is plenty of situations in life where what we are being
told, and what we tell ourselves even, is far from the truth. “Damaging
Control” is a result of analysis of few of those situations. When you mix
warped perception of reality with urge to control everything, something
horrific is coming your way. Life altering potentially.
2. The
song explores psychological mechanisms like repression, deflection, and fury.
How do these themes reflect your own personal or collective experiences as a
band?
K:I am convinced that mechanisms we touched upon and numerous others are pretty
much universal. Everyone has got their own way to get by, especially when the
going gets tough, hence, there are countless variations of the coping
mechanisms, which are influenced by so many different factors on case-to-case
basis. Personally I have been looking into my own reactions to certain
situations for quite some time now, picking them apart and trying to understand
them. In the process I kept on learning a lot about myself and every day. To
some, self awareness can be rough to tap into but once you get a hold of it –
it’s a really powerful tool to making life easier, no matter what you come
across.
3.
Karol, you’ve mentioned that these coping mechanisms are double-edged swords.
Could you expand on how that idea shaped the lyrics?
K:I believe that if something is too good to be true it usually is. Especially
when talking about coping mechanisms. When you are trained too well in dealing
incorrectly with challenges in life, for a brief moment, you might get
artificial sense of relief, while in reality issues persist and pile up.
Escaping through drugs or alcohol is a great example here. The
supraphysiological euphoria or relaxation are, more often than not, just means
to numb one self - seemingly making everyhing ok... that is until the effect
wears off.
The duality of it all is the fact that despite the risks, sometimes, when you
are in a really dark place –
-getting
through that one day by any means possible can get you back on the right path.
This directly influenced the ratio of hope and hopelessness in the lyrics
themselves.
4.
Despite the heavy subject matter, you opted for a humorous and “ridiculous”
music video. What made you decide to go in that direction visually?
W:
Ridiculous is the only word that springs to my mind when I watch this video!
The decision was made at an instant. I was thinking about what kind of video we
needed for this song, and since this is a high-tempo, distortion-guitar-driven
piece of music, I realized they had to share the same dynamic. Now, the tile
“Damaging Control” is already a pun that Karol and I came up with while we were
throwing lyric ideas against each other in my kitchen. We needed a lyrical
hook. Somebody said “damage control” and our reaction was immediately “What if
we play with this phrase and alter its meaning a little”? “Damaging Control”
fit perfectly musically speaking to serve as a catch phrase for the chorus, it
also supported what the song was going to be about lyrically, and finally - it
served as the title.
5. Can
you give us a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the music video? Any
funny moments or unexpected challenges during filming?
K: The moment Witek got us makeup kit from his wife and was getting Sergii
prepared for the shoot will forever be in my heart as one of the most
ridiculous moments we’ve had as a band.
There is quite a few of those tiny things that add up to the overall story. I
was travelling a little bit over 1000 kilometers that day just to get to the
shoot and back to my house. Maciej, our photographer and videographer
(CośTamWyszło) had the idea of the clip in his head, yet still, most of the
scenes came up on the spot and turned out amazing as always! It was a long day
but we’ve had a tonne of fun shooting as per usual! Also I would love to take
the opportunity to ensure everyone that no drummers nor cats have been harmed
in making of this video.
6. How
do you strike a balance between lyrical depth and musical experimentation in
your work?
W: I don’t
think that anything needs to be per se “balanced” in music, let’s leave that to
tracks composed by AI 😉 My point of view is this:
inspiration comes from various places. There can be a simple riff or groove
dictating the whole thing to be just a song to enjoy. In another case, it can
be something deeper, like a thought, an event, or pure emotions that dictate a
more thought-provoking and reflecting vibe to the piece. In our world there is
a constant dialog between the two: what words does this piece of music require?
What music does this lyric ask for? Sometimes the perfect marriage is to put
the two in a juxtaposition and explore the irony of this relationship. This is
exactly the case with “Damaging Control”.
7.
“Damaging Control” seems to speak to a broader emotional and social landscape.
Was there a specific message you wanted listeners to take away from this track?
K: I think that amazing thing about lyrics in general is that different people
can find different things relatable in the same set of words. I find that
magical. I wouldn’t want to meddle with that. All I would like to say is that
when you are in a dark, hopeless place – talk to a professional, a friend, a
dog. Seek help. It’s out there.
8. Sour
Blood has been described as innovative and thought-provoking. How do you see
your evolution as a band up to this point, and how does this single fit into
your artistic journey?
W: This
description is very flattering and, naturally, we want to believe that there is
at least some truth in it. As it comes to “though-provoking”, I guess to each
their own. Nonetheless, we like to comment on what we see happening around the
world. Great art likes to be called timeless, but in truth it is given yet
another dimension if it’s explored with an understanding of the context of the
times and circumstances it was created in. Primarily, however, our songs are
very introspective. As to any person, things happen to us and our close ones,
and we react to it all by writing about it. Hopefully it’s not too direct and
obvious and you can find your own perspective and interpretation to relate to
those songs, but let’s not fool ourselves – it’s very much about our own
experiences. A self-inflicted therapy, if you will.
9. What
has the reaction been like from fans and listeners so far—especially those
who’ve experienced the music video alongside the track?
K: So far, we’ve heard nothing but positive feedback ranging from the way the
video was shot, through how the song was mastered to “the cat in the video is
cute”. Seems like the more fun we have, the better the engagement and reception
are. Added benefit is working with people who are passionate about what they do
like Maciej (video) or Konrad (mix/master) which usually is a recipe for
success!
10. You’re releasing this song via MUSICRAFT. How has that partnership supported your creative vision and the rollout of this single?
W:
MUSICRAFT is great! I can genuinely say that we wish we had crossed paths
earlier. They support us in putting our music out there on various platforms
and run promotional campaigns, which is anything from ads to press coverage. I
believe this is how we have been invited to do this interview, too 😊
11.
Looking ahead, can we expect more new music soon? Is “Damaging Control” a
standalone single or part of a larger upcoming project?
W: You bet!
We hope to release new stuff every 2-3 months this year. We have been doing
singles since the birth of the band. This way we want to keep an open door to
really anything we feel like doing at the time! It’s quite liberating to pursue
this loose formula and not spend too much time thinking about how those songs
go together. When we feel inspired, we immediately set the ball rolling and
start composing, rehearsing, recording, and eventually aim to release the new
baby as quicky as possible. Of course, it’s all time and resource consuming, so
we definitely do struggle with some backlog, but our minds are set on being
productive “in the moment”. All of that said, we all just LOVE albums, so never
say never. A compilation of all so-far-released material is likely to happen at
some point.
12.
Finally, if you had to describe the Sour Blood experience in three words, what
would they be—and why?
Peanut butter jelly! It’s salty, it’s sweet, it’s… not really very sour! What I mean is that it’s a combination of quite different flavors which go so well together. At least that’s what North Americans think 😉
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