www.facebook.com/ewiniarofficial
From: Croatia
Sounds like: Metal
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Ewiniar" and is there any meaning behind it?
Marin: Initial idea for the making music started few years ago. Back then, we had some early sketches but last year we finally managed to find time to complete it. At first, we didn't know what to expect and how it would sound - except that we want it to be dark and melancholic. During the process we tried different things, but idea was to keep it simple, within our musical possibilities and personalities. At the end, we are very glad with the final result.
Katarina: I read somewhere that Ewiniar is the name for god of thunder from Micronesian mythology. Also, there is typhoon with the same name. Since our surname “Tramontana” signify "northern wind" and since we want our music to be loud, we found it very appropriate. Also, name is short, effective and doesn't suggest any musical style - so we have freedom to define it in any direction we want.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
Katarina: We think that every listener should interpret our music in his own way. Our intention was to deliver music that feels natural and honest to us. If anyone recognizes themselves in it, we will be glad.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Marin: Our sound is sweet spot between our musical influences, possibilities and personalities. We like slow, atmospheric stuff, but at the same time we like that faster, groovy, ‘classic’ metal moments so wanted to capture best of both worlds. We can say that our music is simple, melancholic, atmospheric but with faster, uprising moments.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Katarina: It is very hard to decide because range of our musical idols is very wide. Also, there are many new bands that sound very exciting and it would be great to share stage with them. However, if we need to choose just three of them let’s say that it would be Nightwish, Paradise Lost and Dead Can Dance cause these bands mostly shaped our musical taste and we are very fond of them, so such ‘dream come true’ scenario would be extraordinary privilege.
5. How has Covid affected what you do as a band?
Marin: The lockdown during pandemic was blessing and a curse for us. The good thing was that we had enough time to finish our album, and on the other hand, it slowed down our efforts to complete the lineup for live gigs so we are destined to do our promotion only online – which is unfortunately case with many well-known bands so we need to accept that as well.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metal?
Katarina: I’ve been metal music fan since I was teenager, so it’s been very interesting to observe changes that happened over the years. Thanks to technological development almost everyone has a chance to publish their music and to promote themselves all over the world. On the other hand, it is very hard to do something unique that stands out. In the end, I suppose it’s important to follow your heart and enjoy the ride.
7. What’s the current music scene like locally there in Croatia?
Marin: I would say that Croatian scene is not too big, but those who are there are very passionate about what they do. Before COVID-19 it was just fine, concerts were being held very often with good communications between the bands. There are always some enthusiastic promotors who are willing to push scene little bit further, but unfortunately, Covid made everything worse and there are lot of bands quitting these days, so I can just hope that once everything is back to normal we could ride on a new positive wave.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
Katarina: At this moment we are so underground that we are not relevant to answer this question properly (laughs). We heard that lot of bands complain about that and that services such as Bandcamp are much more welcomed by artists. To be honest, at the moment we don’t worry too much about it.
9. What’s next for Ewiniar?
Marin: The next step is to make new music, videos and try to gather musicians for live gigs.
10. Any shoutouts?
Katarina: Many thanks to all listeners, radio stations, magazines and websites who have supported us so far. Thanks to you, our music has gone beyond the borders of Croatia and spread to many corners of the world. Since we are a self-released band, your support means a lot to us!
