New DUR DABLA interview

Soon, DUR DABLA will release their debut album titled "Eñvor An Avel". 
I interviewed them on that matter then.

01. Hi Marc! How happened things since the last time ? :) 
Hey Krissy. Everything went quite well since that last interview. Even though our former bassist/singer left the band in early 2014, we managed to find two awesome musicians for the band the same year : Victor at the bass and Titan for the vocal parts. Since then we worked hard to prepare the songs of our new album, and started recording them in late 2015.

02. Today, you are currently working on your debut album entitled Eñvor an Avel. What does the album title mean exactly ?

The title, Eñvor an Avel, has been written in breton. I think we can translate it word-for-word without losing the original idea. That would be : Memory of the wind. I liked it because you have two opposing ideas in it, one relative to the memory, something you can keep in you and also cross the ages and time ; and the wind, who is something more ephemeral. Nonetheless, you can find the same idea of something ethereal and intangible in both terms. As the lyrics have been mainly written around legends, i liked that title because it makes you feel out of time.

03. I think that Eñvor an Avel  is planned for the end of November. Do you have an exact release date ?

Of course, that will be the first December.

04. Is it a concept album based on legends of Brittany, France ? Or What is it about ?

Yes, we can say that the album is based on legends, and mostly from Brittany. I say mostly because Talu medd has been written from an old legend from Wales. Apart from this one, all the album's lyrics can be located in Brittany.

05. Can you describe the artwork made by the talented artist, Pascal Moguérou ?

First of all, i have to say that Pascal is a great illustrator from Brittany. He excels at drawing Brittany's fantasy. For our artwork, you can see a character in the lower part, who is what we call a korrigan, a kind of leprechaun from our region. You can also see stones around him, like the ones you find in the old megalithic sites, and black-headed gulls above. All these details are very important because they set the album in Brittany. Another important part of this work is the sky, which is very cloudy. You can see ominous faces in the clouds, and it contrasts well with the amusing look of the character. This contrast suits the album well enough, as Eñvor an Avel has not only catchy Folk Metal songs in it, but also darker stories.

06. You said universe from Pascal Moguérou and yours feat. well together. Why ?

Pascal's work fits well with our music and lyrics. As we were looking for something with both fantasy and Brittany's spirit, we couldn't have dreamed better! Pascal is really the best illustrator when it comes to draw legends, creatures and fantasy from our region. As this album has been made around stories and legends from our region, that was the perfect match.

07. What are the songs about ?

The lyrics are coming from traditionnal legends like Beneath the Waves which is the story of Ys, a sunken city, and Ar C'hannerezed Noz, which is a common legend about old washerwomen foretelling death and killing people. Other lyrics, like On the wailing Sea and Job and Laur have been written from Anatole le Bras's work, a breton poet and folklore collector. On the wailing Sea is about the Bag Noz legend, a ghost ship whose captain is the last of the drowned, and Job and Laur is a story based on the britton version of the purgatory : a hundred taverns on the path of heaven. If one wants to reach paradise, he has to drink in each and every tavern and remain sober once reaching the doors of heaven.

08. The band opened a crowdfunding project for the mixing, mastering, artwork, pressing, and promotion for that debut album. Is everything going well for now ?

That's the least one can say ! We have almost reached our first goal in just fifteen days and we have now thirty days left to reach our new goals. Nothing can stop the album's release now!

09. I think worldwide people can help to fund the project but can you explain the process to our readers ?

Of course. On Ulule, you can help projects being successfully financed. Every project has its crowdfunding goal and will be funded only if it reaches its goal. You have a perk system, which allows you to contribute at the height you wish, and gain specific perks. For example, our album is available for 15€, but you can give more money and have other stuff, like shirts, posters, bottle-openers, etc. This crowdfunding campain is very important for us as we are independant. We don't have a label and everything is self-produced.

10. Any special guest or instrument on that full length ?

Aye! We've been very pleased about having three guests on that album. In the first title, you can hear Marie-Hélène Biannic speaking in breton. That was very important for us to put breton language in the album, as all the others lyrics are in english. There was also Morgan, who plays bombard on an acoustic title. The bombard is a traditionnal woodwind instrument from Brittany. And our last guest was Bérengère Cagnon at the harp for the outro. I think you will be quite pleased to hear that instrument, as we were talking about a harp song in our band for a long time!

11. Do you have some shows planned ?

We don't have any shows planned yet. The process of an album's release is a very time-consuming one, and we don't planned anything after the release yet!

Thank you for the interview, Marc! Kenavo! :-)

Thanks for the interview, and i hope we'll be back soon on Sword Chant for the next album, who might be released for 2018 !