Right after their gig at KUFA Lyss, 19.11.21, I had the pleasure to talk with Sean about the show, DarkFlow and what’s coming up next. The most personal interview so far I’ve had the privilege to conduct.
Hi Sean, nice to meet you.
It’s my pleasure.
Please introduce your band DarkFlow, when did you start with DarkFlow?
I’m the lead singer, Flow is the guitarist. We started the band in 2015, trying to create this style of DarkFlow and took a long, long time to see if we want to go into ShockRock or Heavy Metal. There was a lot of questioning and in 2019 we said, let‘s do this ShockRock shit.
The other guys (keyboard, bass and drums) are session musicians for the gig tonight. This was the first gig for us since a long time and we hope that we can continue in this band constellation.
The next one will be on Thursday, 25.11.21, in Genf. It’s our main issue to play this two concerts and see how they work out.
Do you already have concert plans for next year? Maybe also for Germany?
There’s a lot of things going on, so we have to see what happens with this two concerts. If they go really well we can start doing aftermath a lot of concerts. A thing is we are going to try to organize three concerts with Chaoseum, Silverdust and DarkFlow for 2022. Yes, we definitely want to play in Germany too.
I hear a lot of different music styles in your songs for example „Old Days“ sounds like country rock.
We wrote that song when Lemmy died. And I wrote the song also for my best friend who died in Chile. We hang around all the time and it was like we have this rock’n roll feeling together. And when Lemmy died I said to my friend let’s do something more like Motörhead you know. Lets go for something more Rock. I wanted to bring it more in a party way. Let’s party, let‘s drink until the end of times.
The song „It’s All for you“ gives me some The Cure vibes, right?
Well it’s just a sound we really want to give a little bit of darkwave pop thing, of course more strong but we are fans of The Cure too. Let us do something that matches with sadness. It sounds really sad.
Which bands or musicians inspire you?
My first band which inspires me is King Diamond. He’s my main inspiration. Not of my guitarplayer of course. It’s my main inspiration so for me we’re doing whatever we can with the mix with theatricals for me it’s fine. My friend Flow when he composes he bring’s songs we are more like trying to adapt the two of us. He’s more into Progressive Rock, I’m more into a Classical form. It’s a mix.
Is Flow the songwriter?
No we do it together. But now in this moment he’s mainly doing it because I’m too sick to be a part of it. It’s hard for me, you can see that I can’t walk really well. I’ve this kind of troubles. So I give him the good stuff for the next album. The last album we did a lot together.
And the lyrics?
It’s me. The lyrics are mainly me and I’m the only one who is going to write the songs and melodies. So I can be really myself in it.
I think the song „Funeral“ is a very personal song for you.
I wrote an album singing songs of 4 people that I lost. The 5th song is me, I wanted to kill somebody that is „Hatred between Neighbours“ and „Funeral“ is for my peace in my mind, to say goodbye to them. Because I wrote a song for people that I really loved. When I lost them I haven’t been myself again. And I think a part of me is dead with them and thats why I wrote Funeral, to sing something that I cry when I do. Because I suffer from this song and it’s important for me there’s something there to share them from the graves you know. For me it’s the most important song of DarkFlow. It‘s where we mixed everything and it’s where we mixed theatre with pain, with suffering, with sadness, with this whole sounding – just destroying you – it’s a sad song.
I have to say it’s my favorite song on the album. This one and „Feel the sand“.
For people which like our music, they also told me that.
„Feel the Sand“ is a really nice song but it’s something that I wrote exactly for a friend of mine who was always telling me, these people stop looking to the skies, stop saying their gods stuff, we are all together and we are created by sand. So feel the sand.
Your video „Hatred between Neighbours“ is really strange!
Well, in the video – I don’t want to scare you – we really politely saying everything has happened in the video. The thing is that happening in that video is that it had to mix a little bit with the world that I kind of like a lot. There’s a lot of diabolism and all this kind of things. I wanted to show a little bit that kind of thing in a video. This song is like we really want to kill somebody, it’s like let’s play with this whole deranged world. There’s a naked man, I kiss the naked man, so many information going on. This is just wrong, but I want to make something wrong. Not because I want to make something wrong because it’s nice to be wrong, it’s because I do ShockRock! And for me the most important thing is to shock people. We like to be more present in being the most shocking band of Switzerland. The other Shock bands make more theatrics on clips and stuff. And for me it’s like, let’s go further in that. Let’s touch it, let’s touch what you don’t want to be touched. Let’s make people say something that they don’t want to look at. They‘ll say: You are sick. Haha!!
You didn’t have fear it could be banned from YouTube?
I thought it could be so but finally it didn’t. It’s fabulous it stayed in YouTube. So if it’s there then people still watch it! Haha
So I should share it soon. ????
Yeah, you should do it. Let’s going to shock people. That’s the only thing I ask for. We’re a ShockRock band, I’m a ShockRock singer, this is my life.
Your album is titled „6“. Is it because it contains 6 songs?
Exactly! No, the thing is there’s the album „9“ of Mercyful Fate. 9 is a really important number for satanists and it was like, okay we have 6 songs. We can put something beautiful say this is the 6 of DarkFlow. It’s well more honoring the 9, that is only the number but in the opposite way, of Mercyful Fate. So I was kind of happy doing that. Of course it’s because we have 6 songs. That‘s why we decided to call it 6.
The songs are on Bandcamp. Will they be available somewhere else in the future?
Only on Bandcamp. Maybe you can find them on YouTube, because a lot of people upload to YouTube. I’m kind of against Spotify in the way it works. Of course eventually I’m going to surrender to my thoughts and say, let’s leave it. Let’s put it on Spotify. But I rather want the people to download the album from Bandcamp instead of listening to it on Spotify. So that’s why I’m still waiting. Because we had so many downloads in Tokyo, in the states, in south america, in the northern part of Europe. The important thing for me is that it’s to be exported as itself to the people. And then you put it for everybody. Because if people are still paying for the album and have interest in an album I prefer them to be more privileged with it. And later I can put it on for everybody.
https://darkflowofficiel.bandcamp.com/
Do you have plans for a release on CD in the future?
No, it’s not in the future. It’s something thats gonna be made really soon. But the problem is that the exportation of things in this moment are really touched with the pandemic and it’s really hard to produce it. So what I’m trying is to wait until it’s been done. Normally the date would have been the 25th of november, but finally they told me some days ago they couldn’t deliver it as promised.
And our next album, when we’ll release it, it’s going to be released in the same moment with the copies because waiting for the copies when you are paying the album and you want to sell it is like kind of sad.
You are already working on your next album?
Yes, we are writing on the next album. I’m more dark in the new lyrics. I’m more into pain in fact because last year I got sick. I destroyed my nervous system and since then I’m suffering a lot. So I’m going to write my next album. Maybe it’s going to be my last album because I don’t know how much time I can still be here. Cause it’s not lethal but it’s kind of going there. It’s gonna be like my last piece. Maybe we can do a third one but that doesn’t depend on me.
So ending whatever we can to make this album, make another show, put more theatrics in the show. Be together with our people. The thing that is important, I want to bring a whole thing next time for people to see what we are doing. Just to be really in touch with them. I don’t want to be people sad about me or be sad about my songs, I want them to just feel. And to bring into something that is real not to create like the story of a Vampire who wants to kill a girl, or something like that. What I’m trying to bring is only real things, you know. Reality mixed with theater. And I prefer talking a little bit about how I’m feeling because I’m not living something that is normal. And I think that could be interesting too. I make it from the heart.
It’s not usual to talk about such things, you’re remarkable and I’m glad I got to know you.
The letters ABBA tattooed on your fingers, what are they standing for? My first thought was the Swedisch band, but I think that isn‘t right or?
Oh yes, of course the Swedish band. I’m a huge, an extremly huge fan of ABBA. I think whatever they create in the 70ies brought me so much. Because when I was little my mother listened to ABBA all time. I didn‘t stop hearing it and once I went to a theater to see Mama Mia and I cried. I cried. Looking to that, I love it. I think the compositions, the singing, everything is amazing. Chiquitita, even Gimme! Gimme! Gimme a man after midnight, I love the guitars there. SOS is an amazing song. I really love ABBA, of course. People asked me, that‘s so weird for a metal guy. I think I’m the only metalhead who has a fu..ing touch of ABBA. Haha!
Some last words for your fans?
We are DarkFlow and I’ll be really happy to see you once. You are going to find in us really nice people who love to shock you with our theatrics. Prepare yourself for the next things we’re gonna do. We aren’t a band which is amazingly strong in social media, so take your time to see us at a concert. You’ll like it. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your time, Sean. All the best for you, your next concert and the new songs. See you again!
https://www.facebook.com/DarkFlowOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/darkflowofficiel/
https://darkflowofficiel.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsuuFCA8VT5pBAdo1P2SQGw/videos