The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Argentinian artist Skelesys. Ombra International returns with a killer V.A, featuring 6 excellent tracks from Birds, Jorkes & Nikkname, Skelesys, Silicodisco & Alvaro Cabana, Ducati Flux and NAUFRAGI, presenting a fresh take on sounds influenced by new beat, dark wave, post-punk and new wave. We premiere today “The Scorpion Sting”, an immersive dark wave bomb incorporating Skelesys’ enigmatic vocals and guitar. This is another stellar release from the label and we look forward to more.
Read the interview with with Ombra’s label boss Luca Venezia a.k.a Curses & Skelesys below.
Pick up the release now here.
-Melanie Havens
The Brvtalist: Starting the Q&A with label boss Luca Venezia a.k.a Curses. What is the vision and concept of Ombra?
Luca: I launched the label in 2016, as a concept label inviting various artists each from a different country to contribute songs of a like-minded passion for 80s New Beat, early EBM, obscure and darker italo with guitar based genres like post-punk and krautrock. The visuals play a major role in the releases and label´s attitude as well, which is a super personal connection.
Tapping into my teenage youth watching Public access TV in NYC, video artists like Electronic Broadcast Network that embraced the juxtaposition of uncomfortable tension and euphoric release with obscure b-movies and sampled News media.
The Brvtalist: Tell us more about this upcoming release. What is the concept behind it?
Luca: This is the first release with a thematic title (Destiny). Each of these artists play an integral role as a creative force, but also as a friend personally. Destiny can not be programmed. Take the artwork for example: Fire is violent, but also a beautiful captivation. All of these artists have their own unique take on a dark 80s sound,, yet someway or another share a kindred attitude and spirit of hope. That innocence of youth translated into the them of now.
The Brvtalist: Ombra is very diverse and brings together artists from all over the world. How is the curatorship done and what are the key elements you are looking for when releasing something, apart from the quality of the music?
Luca: I had first started the label when there weren’t so many artists combining all of these different genres together, I had to really search and dig for the music.
Now, I get a lot of demos made specifically for Ombra, which is super exciting, but also difficult. Things begin to repeat themselves, and finding the right music to release becomes more of a challenge, which I like.
I’m only releasing music I truly feel connected to...if I hear a song and get a spark of jealousy that I didn’t make it myself, then I know it belongs on a release.
Besides the music, the personal relationship with the artists is crucial for me. Releasing friends, creating a familiar environment, in which we grow together as artist and label.
The Brvtalist: What are the label’s future plans?
Luca: I’m really excited about the new opportunities with digital creative outlets and the potential to release special projects through cryptoart. Visuals have always been such an important part of Ombra, and this new dimension opens so many new doors. It’s also important to keep the physical and tangible release format alive.
We took a break from pressing vinyl for a year, but are finally back to pressing select releases now. This year expect new music from New Hook, Günce Aci, Hardway Bros, Juan Maclean, Mufti, Kimshies, Rees, Tony Y Not and more...
The Brvtalist: Now we’ll have a chat with Damian a.k.a Skelesys. Tell us about the theme and concept behind your track “The Scorpion Sting”.
Skelesys: Well, it’s one of the first songs to come out where my voice is the main instrument, and it was a nice challenge for me. I wanted to tell a story which all seems like a perfect love story, but at the same time the fact of naming it “The Scorpion Sting” plays a little with the concept of the song. Sometimes your expectations create a different image from reality and when you realize that, the poison is already inside of you.
Lately I have decided to let it be and face my productions in a more song format, it is something that was always within me. I got to a point where I said, why not? Especially the structure concept, like in this case where there is part A, B, and C... generating some kind of tension and different moments that you are not expecting.
The Brvtalist: In the beginning, what were the main challenges you faced with the music composition and production? How is your creative process nowadays?
Skelesys: I think the main challenge is to find your sound, how to put all these pieces together from what you have been listening to since you were a little kid until now, and how that ends up crafting and creating your identity. As time goes by, that sound idea grows and evolves into something else as you listen to more music that inspires you through the process, but like Miles Davis said, it takes a lot of time to sound like yourself.
Nowadays I have my guitar next to me, most of the time everything starts from there. Maybe I have a guitar riff or chord progression that leads to having the bass or a synth melody sounding in my head, and from there, everything comes out naturally, somehow during this process I am inside my own bubble, but to be honest it is the best feeling ever.
My workflow is based on being as spontaneous as possible. If I don't have the main idea done right away, usually I leave it for later and start something new.
The Brvtalist: Who do you draw inspiration from? How would you describe the development of your own original, personal sound?
Skelesys: I draw inspiration from ebm/shoegaze/darkwave/postpunk acts like Jesus And Mary Chain, The KVB, Tamaryn, Linea Aspera, Bauhaus, The Golden Filter to name a few, which helped me build my own sound, capturing the vibe from all these bands, but also it’s hard to deny my rock n roll roots, which also represent me, they are present somehow in the music I do, especially the way I record guitars, giving a different touch.
Nevertheless I am in a constant and evolutionary search of my own sound, even when I think I am in the place I want to be, that feeling of always trying to give it a little twist is what keeps me going and not getting bored of myself.
I was raised in a family full of musicians, from my grandmother being an opera singer to my mother being a pianist, even my great grandmother used to play live piano in silent cinemas back in Argentina, so I was always surrounded by music, instruments and so on. I was around 7 years old and it was not long after that when my parents sent me to study drums, and that was the beginning of my musical journey to call it in a way.
I started playing guitar when I was around 12 years old listening to Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, Guns N Roses, Queen, David Bowie, Radiohead to name a few. Years later, discovering Kraftwerk was a mind changer for me, it was the perfect combination of a lot of things i liked, but in a very different way, electronic, really musical, they were telling a story in every song.
On the other hand, maybe not so specifically speaking of music, I think one gets inspiration everyday from different life situations, and how you are able to transcribe that feeling into something. In my opinion, the best material sometimes comes from your worst moods and situations but at the same time, the fact of taking that out of your system can be liberating, and can make you feel better, like a relief.
The Brvtalist: What’s coming up next for you?
Skelesys: I spent the whole of 2020 recording my first album, which I am finishing this year and hopefully I will be able to give more details about release date, label, etc soon. In the meantime I have an EP I did with Local Suicide, will come out on 12" via Snap Crackle & Pop, which I am very excited about. There will also be more music out this year.
The Brvtalist: To you, what is the purpose of music today? How do you believe music should influence people, artists, ravers, etc?
Skelesys: Music has always been a way of expression, from the artist to the listener, and this last one feeling related to that feeling or idea, which creates an unique connection. I think that as long as there is something to say or express, that will keep music and its purpose alive.
This whole situation made us realize how important it is to have a place to share our emotions through music. If i think about it, i met most of my friends because of music, and that is what makes it so unique and special. I think everyone is waiting for that moment when all this nightmare is over and we can have these gatherings and parties again.
The Brvtalist: How has the pandemic affected you? Have you found any silver lining perhaps?
Skelesys: It's been some really hard months/year for the whole artistic scene. At the beginning it was all confusing and not understanding exactly what was going on. To be honest it felt like a movie, and actually sometimes I still feel like I am inside a Black Mirror episode.
I went through different moments and moods, there was concern but also from that whole bag of bad stuff, i learn (maybe because i had no choice) to look at the positive side, even if it was hard, but i decided to focus on music and get soak into my own world and try to avoid any kind news that made me feel bad.
At some point it worked because I ended up recording almost my whole album and more. It is a project that kept me going during the whole pandemic, and I think that whole situation was reflected somehow on the music...I am lucky enough to say I have golden friends that were also a key element to keep me going, and of course my family despite the distance.