Interview with Polish nu-metal act None on a variety of issues from politics over human interaction to the core of their music.

Thanks to Olass, Fajfer and Metokles for doing this.

Theres more information about NONE at www.none.vi.pl

1. Greetings to the band! For those readers who may not have
heard of NONE before, could you make a brief introduction?

Olass: Hello! We’re NONE from Poland. We’ve existed for 5 years. We play modern metal. That’s the thing we love. We’d like you to get to know us.

2. What is the main purpose with playing your music - spreading a
certain message, earning money or something else?

Olass: We play, because we love it. We like playing concerts and meeting our fans. It constitutes the meaning and the essence of our lives. We work and rest playing. As for earning money, that was not the purpose of our playing. If you lived in Poland for a while, you would know what I’m talking about.

Fajfer: We just like doing it. Music is our passion. We enjoy our company and we like making music together. The most amazing about this is the contact with the people during the concerts, all the energy that’s created in that moment. I think we’ve found a place for us in all of this and we act. As for the money, I’d like to earn it making music, but so far it impossible. I’m not sure if you know polish realities, but one thing is sure: we give our own money to do the thing we do. Whatever. Could we not talk about money? Let’s talk about music made by many people all over the world.

3. How has the sound of NONE evolved since the beginning?

Olass: The sound of None has evolved naturally as our gear and financial possibilities were changing. All the time we try buying some new gear that would let sound the best possible.

Sometimes it’s hard here, because our access to the gear is limited. Although, we make an effort to get it. We wish our sound was killer, the best.

Metokles: From record to record we learn something new. We experiment a lot. The most of the time in studio we dedicate to searching and getting what’s best in the sound of our instruments. We love working in studio. That’s the crowning and a reward for a hard work during rehearsals.

 4. Has NONE reached a point where you feel, that everything is
perfect: the sound, attitude, lyrics and so on? Do you wish to
pursue new ways of playing metal?

Fajfer: All the time we learn something new. If we seat and assume that everything’s perfect, I don’t know what more we could do. From record to record, from concert to concert we get some new experience and that’s the proof of the band’s evolution.  That’s true, we’re pleased with our productions, lyrics, concerts, but we know there’s still much to do. We’ve got models that we follow. We know the way other bands work and that’s what we’ve in view. There’s one thing I’m sure of. What I mean is that the band has already gained the most important thing: friendship. It disposes us well and pushes us to work.

Metokles: There’s never too much work on the sound, on arrangements and on all the image of the band. We try to give the best quality to our work. We deposit all our energy, also during our concerts. We’ve never felt everything was perfect. That’s why we evolve continually. Black Star is not our last word... 

Olass: If it was perfect I would quit playing, I guess. As for our attitude, it’s very good. Still we want to play heavy metal. We want to do it as long as it’s possible not only in our country. We’d really like to issue and play abroad.

Playing that music and music generally is the essence of my life.

5.How do you work when composing a song: lyrics or music first?

Olass: First we meet on a rehearsal and bring our music ideas. We bring together different riffs. Then we create lyrics. 

                Metokles: Many of the compositions live in our heads before changing into music. We meet. We polish up our ideas and make a whole. Every member of NONE is an individualist.                 Sometimes the work on one song seems to be hell on earth J, because each of us has a different point of view.

6. Is there a general topic on the songs; what are they about?

Fajfer: That’s right. As for the last record BLACK STAR, in general we address people who ceased to believe in what we do, that came to a dead stop and is only able to criticize and compare. We stand firm and we don’t give up and to the people who think in a different way we show our middle fingers. We’ve met people who had slapped us on the back (and believe me, we hate these fake gestures) pretending our friends and then it appeared they were false. We write about freedom that music gives us, about the way we like creating it, how much joy it gives us. All the time we fight with difficulties made by the ones who should support all kind of art and do the exact opposite thing. We also touch global problems such as the subjugation of a human being and limitation of his freedom. It’s hard to write about that when there are so many bad things happening all over the world and we don’t even know where the evil comes from.

7. Do you feel that the music is a tool, you can use to spread
your messages - are the songs mend for preaching?

Fajfer: Sometimes I don’t realize words or the sound we create are able to exert a great influence on somebody. I talk to people and often I’m surprised they identify themselves with what we created. We don’t want to be any authority for anybody. We don’t want to tell people how to live, what to do, what listen to. NONE wrote song about that: „No Authorities” on „Procreation”. We are here to transmit energy and at the same time get the same thing during the concerts. The worst of all is the situation when somebody uses art to spread some sick ideology.

8. Where do you get your inspiration to compose?

Olass: Music simply exists. The only thing you’ve got to do is reach your heart and use your imagination.

Metokles: It’s inside me. I take my guitar and I play what I feel. I don’t think how a riff should look like, or a verse, or a chorus.

9. Are there things that you won’t sing about ?ever!

Fajfer: A subject of a song is a question of moment. Everything depends of the way we put the topic into words, of worlds sound. When I create lyrics I don’t dispose I cannot to write something, because it doesn’t fit to the metal themes. Not writing about love, for example, it’s only a matter of that NONE has not written that kind of song yet. Who knows... I surely can’t write about things that don’t move me, that don’t awaken any feelings in me. How could I sing it then, during the concerts?

      10. Do any of you listen to other genres of music than metal?

Olass: Yes. Besides metal we listen to thrash metal, death metal and speed metal J

And seriously speaking we listen a lot of hip hop, funky, soul, reggae sometimes.

Fajfer: Yes, of course. There’s a lot of good non-metal music. Personally, I like Portishead and David Bowie. I began to listen the music with Pink Floyd, Marillion and Dire Straits and that’s not metal, is it? :) We’re not orthodox. There is a lot of tolerance in us and, most of all, we try to keep our minds open. That also has an influence on our music.

            11. A brief introduction to each song on the “Black Star” album ,
        what are they about.

Fajfer: I’ve already made a brief introduction answering the question about a general topic of our songs. There are also some short comments to the lyrics on the interactive presentation BLACK STAR contents. I leave the interpretation to our listeners. OK. Let’s begin then.

Black Star. That’s a title song on our new record. Black star is our symbol. It has its dark and bright side, exactly like the things we do. We don’t impose it upon anybody, but if somebody intends to clip our wings, he can read what we’re going to do to him.

Get Into My Mind. There’s one thing that contacts us directly with our fans. Our music. Only listening to it, they’re able to feel everything that surrounds us, that causes the creation of that sound and that kind of lyrics. That’s just a moment and what has to happen before.

We’re making video to that song. We create it with our fans engaged in the activity of our Street Team.

Hard On My Way. We stand firm and we feel sure about what we do. It gives us a lot of joy. Sometimes we’re alone, but we know what we care about the most.

Closed System. People all over the world live in a closed system. There are people that maintain they care about us and then they forget us. There are people that decide for us, that shoot our back, that destroy our world, that close us in a cage and experiment on us treating us as a nameless mass. That what closed system is.

M.A.S. You already know what Mutual Admiration Society means for us. We simply don’t need fake backslapping. To all those false guys we show our middle fingers. Two guests took part in the recording of this song. Dj Kostek recorded scratches. His the best in our country and his one of those who doesn’t close his mind to other kinds of music. Beside that we’ve got those tuneful guitars created by Bartek, our friend and a quite good guitarist.

From Hell. That’s a really hard one. There is much about every kind of evil here. We don’t know when it assaults us and where it comes from. You have to keep your eyes open. However sometimes it’s not enough.

Empty Words. This one talks about people who had promised us many things and when the time came; they turn their backs on us. What more could we say. Fuck Off. Beside that this song is a little bit different then the others. Especially considering the vocals. Tom Horn, the producer of our record, helped us here.

The Other Eyes. Now that’s an interesting song, full of rhythm and melody. I think the lyrics fits to the music. Everything we’ve created belongs to us and nobody is able to take it away from us. 

Burning Land. This is the last song on Black Star. It recapitulates everything that has happened. We invited Bartek a cellist and a fan of None who enriched this song with his sound. This composition differs from the others too, although it has much in common with the roots of None’s playing.

And finally Around Me Tom Horn 2000 Remix. This is a work of the co-producer of Black Star, Tom Horn. Tom did our first record No One too, where Around Me comes from, and then he made this remix. He’s a good musician. We respect him. Why shouldn’t we put his composition on the record then?

12. I think the sound of NONE is very genuine and international.
bands like Biohazard and Korn comes to my mind when listening to
NONE - which bands have been sources of inspiration for NONE?

Olass: That’s nice that’s the way you think about our music. That was what we assumed to create an international album.

                If you mean my metal inspirations, definitely it was trash metal from Bay Area, but I also listen to punk rock and other             kinds of music.

13. Has it been a struggle to reach the level of fame NONE is at now?

Olass: Yes, It has been a struggle and it costed us a lot of renouncements and a lot of work. Each day we have to fight with a dishonest publisher, with the sick field of music, to play some concert. It has never been easy, especially here, in Poland, where metal playing is in a bad plight.

Fajfer: Fame? I don’t know what that world means if we’re talking about None. People who know us respect us and like listening to our music, but is that fame? We work hard and we sacrifice to our band, although we don’t do it for the popularity. In Poland, bands such as None have to struggle against the incomprehension and a lack of record label help. They don’t want to engage in the promotion of metal. Of course not everybody is like that. We meet people that help us unselfishly and fame and success are not important for them.

       14. Do you have work besides playing in NONE, or do you play in
        other bands?

Metokles: If we had played in the band only and had tried to live by that we would have found ourselves in the street. That’s reality in our country. Most of us study. I graduated and now I work as a Webmaster J. I like it very much.

Olass: Now we’re fixing our mind on None only, but beside that we have to work to live.

15. How has the Polish metal scene progressed and evolved over
the last decade, how did it all start?

Fajfer: Many things happened here. Many bands were created: Acid Drinkers, Vader, Flapjack, Illusion, Sweet Noise, Kobong, Tuff Enuff, Corozone. There were some good concerts and festivals. I don’t know why everything fell to pieces. The common scene declined (maybe it has never existed). Many disappointed fans and frustrated musicians have left. A complete confusion. Now everything’s in the hands of bands like None, in the hands of fans and record labels that could engage in the creation of the scene. All of that could sound strange to people from outside of Poland who would read that. Although that is the truth. Why shouldn’t we talk about it then?

      16. Name favorite bands, drink, food, television show.

       Olass: My favorite band, well... there are many of them:  Testament, Skinlab, Machine Head, Biohazard, Forbidden,      Vio_lence, OzzyJ Slayer. Drinks: coffee,      beer, vodka                    sometimes. Food: typical polish soup called zurek and bigos, other typical polish food. Television shows: Podróże kulinarne Roberta   Maklowicza, Extreme  Channel, Cartoon Network.

Metokles: I don’t like TV. I prefer cinema and good movies. I listen to the classical music (Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard) up to extreme metal playing (Slipknot etc.). Talking about drinks, I could recommend polish vodka, polish beer and Cappuccino. Food? I like good food only. J.

Fajfer: My favorite food is Faith No More. I could name dozens of other, but I don’t see the point. I prefer go to the food :) I like to prepare food for my friends and myself. There is much improvisation in it, but often it stops at Italian food. I don’t like TV. I prefer cinema and theater.

17. What instruments and gear do you use ? amps, strings, sticks,
effect pedals whatever?

Olass: Now I’ve got two guitars: ESP-LTD Viper-300, Jackson DKMGT Dinky, amp: Engl model Straight, cabinet: Marshall JCM 900- 1960 A. Effects: Wah-Wah Dunlop Cry Baby, Ibanez Phazer, Ibanez Chorus, Ibanez Flanger, Boss Noise Gate, Boss Tuner, BBE Sonic Maximizer. In the studio I also used G-Force TC Electronic.

Metokles: Guitar: MEG (Mensfeld Electric Guitars) Fingertip with electronics adapted by our guitar magician. Effects: wah-wah J. Dunlop model JH1 (classic), Electro Harmonics Small Stone, Dealey DOD, AMP: Soundman MKII Cabinet: LDM.

18. What are your dreams for the future , with the band as well
as personal?

Olass: I’d like to play as long as possible with my friends from None.

I’d like to play in Denmark J.

            Beside that I wish metal bands and their members in Poland were respected. I wish something changed here, because it’s sad.

            Personally, I’d like to be happy. 

  Metokles: As for the band, I wish many things, incredible concerts with an amazing public and millions of records sold. And the rest of things will shape well alone. As for my personal dreams, I wish my wonderful son were proud of his father. I wish he was all right in his life.

        19. The interview is coming to an end for now, so this is the
        time to make whatever statement you feel like; any message to
        the readers of Metal Coven and metal fans in general? What’s good
        and what’s bad in society of today.

Olass: Greetings. Be strong. I’d like to me you sometimes during our concerts.

You’re asking what’s good and what’s bad in society of today. I don’t know how’s the society in Denmark, as for the polish society, I’m sure it’s lost. That concerns every society in the days of transformation. You know, we’ve been a capitalist society for 10 years. Now we’re going to enter the UE and that’s not an easy thing. Everybody’s running somewhere. I wish we had some time to stop and breathe freely.