On the eve of Ukranian band Death Pill’s live dates in the UK I took the opportunity to find out more about this hardcore punk band. Understandably this was a little different from the usual Introducing feature, due to the fact that their home country has been invaded by Russia.
As way of introduction could you share your roles in the band, and how Death Pill was formed?
(Mariana) I always dreamed of being in a female punk rock band. Actually – it all started when I was 13 years old and I was just learning to play guitar. There was a nice guy, who was also older than me, in our neighbourhood, who was playing guitar too, and of course I was fell in love with him! When I finally dared to ask him to show me some new chords, he told me the following phrase: “Don’t even try, don’t waste your time! You won’t be able to play the guitar as cool as the boys anyway, you’re a girl.”
…It was very offensive. Why couldn’t I be cool playing guitar, is there anything that can stop me?
And it’s amazing – how many people I’ve met who are absolutely convinced that there is a division between male and female activities! As time went on, I noticed more and more such “subtle hints” about the “second sex,” and not only in the field of music. I wanted to ask the question “Why?!” more and more often, and then an idea struck me: I don’t need to ask – I have to answer! That’s why I decided to find two more girls who also hate this universal injustice, and love to write angry songs about it!
You released your self-titled debut album on 24 February, a year to the day since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How has the war changed your music? What has been the response to your album?
The war completely changed our lives, our destinies. What can I say about the music? We were working long and hard on each song and have a result in the end. We told thought of everything in them(songs) and we hope people heard us .
I understand you had been living separately but defiantly came together to start your tour in Kiev on 20 May. Please can you share the experience of that gig?
It almost looked like a big and friendly family gathering to see a child on the graduation after high school/college. Everyone in Kyiv knows how important it is to us and how long we’ve been waiting for this. It was great. It was like it has to be. For that moment we forgot about all awful things that are happening to us and our country. But it was just for a moment. War is still going. We are happy that we have been able to raise some money at this gig and sent this straight to the volunteers.
What is your creative process?
(Anastasiya) Mariana usually writes both the music and lyrics, at least sketches of riffs or phrases and brings them to the rehearsal and we take them apart, twist them and change them. Now we are doing this separately, in a note program on our phones/computers, harder, but it is what it is.
Mariana is composing in the program some riffs to send to Nataliia. And the same with drums too. And after that Mariana does a midi track, and we listen to it.
(Mariana) When I write the songs I go into a kind of trance, a kind of mental connection with the cosmos, both external and internal, in order to get from there the things that excite me the most. In general, I am easily hooked and can write a song about anything.
The majority of your songs are in English but some are in Ukranian. How do you feel when you perform the Ukranian songs, compared to in English? Is there a difference?
(Mariana) There is no difference for me. All my songs are my babies, and everything is inseparable from the music. I do not separate these things.
But, in the case of 2 songs that were in Russian… We will re-record vocals for these songs from album because we don’t want to have anything to do with them.
DEATH PILL ‘OVER MY DEAD BODY TOUR’
JUNE
9th – UK, Bradford, 1 in 12
11th – UK, Manchester, Retro
12th – UK, Bristol, Louisiana
13th – UK, Brighton, Green Door Store
14th – UK, London, Lexington w/ Shooting Daggers
For more information on Death Pill please check out their facebook and instagram.