Our Richard Gehring catches up with Russian sonic sculptors Blankenberge in Germany.
For those of you who are new to Blankenberge, they are a shoegaze and dream pop band based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The band members are Daniil (guitar), Yana (vocals and guitar), Dmitriy (bass), and Sergey(drums).
In March of 2016, they released a 4-track self-titled EP that was well received with enthusiastic reviews. In June of 2017, they released the 10-track LP Radiogaze which demonstrated an amazing wall of dense, droning, and melodic sound, bringing Blankenberge to a completely new level.
In July of 2017, DKFM first interviewed Blankenberge to find out more about their sound, approach, and future plans. Later in July they signed to the Elusive Sound Label, which stated “Blankenberge create warm reverb-drenched, drone-raging songs that swell into soaring ethereal harmonies”. In September of 2017, Blankenberge filmed and recorded Radiogaze Live in Session at a converted Lutheran Church called Melody Studio. The video premiered on the band’s Facebook and Vkontakte pages, as well as YouTube. Shoegaze fans were delighted to be treated to such a mesmerizing visual and audio experience. In the spring of 2018, Blankenberge performed nine shows in nine different countries.
We sat down with Yana and Daniil of Blankenberge just prior to their show in early May in Offenbach, Germany. They were on a tight schedule covering 12 cities in seven European countries in just 16 days.
DKFM: 2019 started out with the release of the single “Right Now” in January, followed by the announcement of a spring European tour with the band Life on Venus. What was it like arranging for this tour?
Daniil [guitar]: The bands already knew each other and both bands had started to play shoegaze at approximately the same time.
Yana [vocals, guitar]: Life on Venus is located in Moscow and we are located in Saint Petersburg. Both bands had already played together in both cities.
DKFM: Blankenberge released the nine-track LP More in April just prior to the May tour. Was More recorded on Elusive Sound or is it self-released?
Daniil and Yana: More was self-released. Our contract with Elusive Sound was for the LP Radiogaze. Hopefully, we will have another contract with Elusive Sound in the future.
DKFM: Who wrote the songs and the lyrics on More?
Yana: Seven of the nine songs on More were written by Daniil, while the other 2 songs were written by Dayan. Dayan departed the band in the fall of 2018 to study in Toronto, Canada.
Daniil [guitar]: Yana wrote the lyrics for More.
DKFM: How was More recorded?
Daniil: Previously, we used a professional studio to record Radiogaze. More was recorded in our rehearsal room using a great sound engineer. By using our rehearsal room, we were able to experiment because we had more time, more freedom, and we used the same equipment that we use in live shows.
DKFM: Have you changed instruments or equipment since the recording of the LP Radiogaze?
Daniil: On More, I continued to use a Strymon BigSky reverb pedal, however, I added a ZCAT Big Reverb pedal to get the best sound. Also, we used several DIY fuzz pedals that were custom made by our sound engineer.
Yana: The sound engineer is Mikhail Kurochkin who was recommended by the Label and he really knows how to make great sound.
Daniil: On More, I switched from Fender to a custom Gibson and Dmitriy (bass) also switched from Fender to Gibson. This gave us the opportunity to experiment and add more bass sound.
DKFM: Yana, what’s it like now to be the lead vocalist and to be playing guitar? How was the transition and what is your preference of guitars?
Yana: When we started Blankenberge, I played guitar when we were located in Barnaul, Russia. After we moved to Saint Petersburg, we discovered Dayan who was great on the guitar and with the pedals. At that time, we decided that I would just sing. When Dayan moved to Canada, we agreed that I would sing and also play guitar because I knew all the songs and I really like to both sing and play. I have a Fender Telecaster because I really like this instrument and I think it is perfect.
DKFM: When can your fans expect an expanded tour, not only in Europe but also in the United States and other countries?
Yana and Daniil: We are thinking about it and we really want to do it. Perhaps we will plan a tour to the UK first, maybe next year.
DKFM: Thank you both very much for your time, and we wish Blankenberge continued international success.
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