melodylane

MELODY LANE: First of all, also if it can sound a bit expected ... Can you tell us where does the name Stasia Momento come from?
Olbap Dibasson: Greetings Melody Lane. With great pleasure, the name of SM comes from the novel by George Orwell 1984. Stasia is one of the fictional continents created by the author. You can write it in several ways, Estasia, Eastasia, or whatever you want, we chose to eliminate the E, to deform it a bit. In this continent reigns the Adoration of Death and the Disappearance of the Self. This fictitious continent would include China, Japan, Korea and in general the Southeast Asiatic. Then we added the word Momento to complete the name a bit, I guess it's the same as in Italian, so you'll understand the meaning well. But hey, it's just a name, you know.

MELODY LANE: The line-up of the band is confirmed, is it the same from the beginning of the band ... or have you had changes in the last years? Can you tell us something about the roots of Stasia Momento? And where the band was born
Olbap Dibasson: Ok, the band was born in Vigo, in the northwest of Spain, if someone does not place it well, it is very close to the northern border with Portugal, for football fans here played Italy all their matches of the first phase in the 1982 World Cup in Spain , which subsequently won ... ahahaaaaa. The line up has undergone several changes, especially with regard to female voices, several have passed through the band. Nowadays we have established ourselves with Reb. We have changed the bass player as well, now there is Rody Liveratum on the bass, some guitars and voices as well. Our roots are in a previous project, which KK and I left. It was a more ordinary rock-metal band, to say it in some way, and we agreed to do something more electronic and atmospheric music, even keeping some guitar riffs and more classical rhythms, that's where everything come from, although in a very primitive way still.

MELODY LANE: Can you list us 5 songs, from Stasia Momento discography (including new material), that can define the sound of the band ... 5 songs that can help our readers to know Stasia Momento at the best.
Olbap Dibasson: uuummm, let me think ... if we talk about sound I would say Bela The Immortal from the first album and from the Manifestwo: Alien Jesus, Cadabra, A Rite in the Village and Páramo, obviously the single and video Let Me See in your Eyes, is the most accessible and recognizable.

MELODY LANE: Tell us about the creative process of your music. Is there a main composer or can we talk about a team work? The songs come from ideas of a single member and then the band works on these ideas in the studio jamming together, or your songs are written in the studio and all the members compose together?
Olbap Dibasson:That´s interesting. Basically the creative aspect of the music and consequently the search of sounds, textures and extra components that are added are things of KK Overlörd. He handles this with expertise. He brings his ideas, some already advanced, others in a more embryonic state and we begin to develop them in a first process. KK and I already looking for possible melodies and pushing everything to the next level until the skeleton settles. Then we started putting the organs to that skeleton, you know, liver, stomach, heart and brain. We look for possible voice harmonies for Reb, which she then takes to her territory and we make them more ambient, more direct, more melodic, more dirty or more rough, according to the song. Rod also enters the creative process contributing his arrangements and his ideas, so that the song has its punch and definitive attack. But summarizing is KK, who is the main musical composer, while the others are entering the process little by little, in the rehearsal room. In the studio, we make last minute touches or arrangements. So if we see that there is something that does not convince us or simply it does not work as we would expected on the demos, we go on working on the details.

MELODY LANE: Who writes lyrics and words in Stasia Momento? Can you tell us about the contents and messages of the lyrics of your songs?
Olbap Dibasson: Yep, of course. I write them (Olbap) and obviously when you set up a band, you must have a concept, an ideology or a philosophy on which to base yourself when writing lyrics of the songs ... you can also choose to pile up some words on top of others and you can looking for a chorus “to penetrate the hypothalamus”. No problem with that but I prefer to express myself, for these reason I am in a band basically. Ours lyrics are an entertainment, but somehow in a twisted way. I try to make the lyrics to have a photographic sense, a cinematographic or a theatrical nature. We talk about the most sickly, dark and twisted aspect of the human being. Human or superhuman aspects, animal or divine behaviors. Then we mix all these concepts as far away as the most sinuous sex with the most hermetic religion, to create a single mirror where you look on... But generally there is almost no message, we are not fucking messiahs to lecture anyone, there is only a small warning in She-Wolf Of Clarity, where a wolf-like creature warns us of the huge hole of shit we are digging and where we are burying ourselves. There are also veiled mentions against organized religions and any type of repression or submission in songs like Alien Jesus, Let me See or Stigmata ... But I just tell you, most of the lyrics are pure and Dark entertainment, about Misery and Luxuries, Taboos, Phobias, Fears, Sex, Religion, Provocation, Risk, Fantasy, Light, Occurrence, Life, Death and the permanent search of Beauty in Grotesque and the Unhealthy and sickly in the Beautiful and Divine. I try to portray in my lyrics a glimmer of light in the dark and vice versa, a total darkness in a beatiful daylight ... a worm in a birthday cake and a diamond in the rotten flesh. That's what it is about.

MELODY LANE: After time, are you totally satisfied with your choices about sound and the writing of your old album Le Boutique Du Tenebres? If you could ... would you change anything?
Olbap Dibasson:Oh yeah, you know, I would change these parts here and these melodies there. I'm not sorry, but it's the first record, you know with our ideas still a bit primitive and maybe the production was a little light. Nowadays we have changed the white nightgown for the black tunic, ahahahaha. We have also left the ajar door for the next one, so that we do not know if it will come in a nightgown, in a tunic or come naked ahahahaha. I don´t regret of La Boutique, of course but I would change some stuff on a personal level, but it is forgotten. I´m just looking forward to the next step.

MELODY LANE: So will you tour in the next future? Have you already a touring schedule? Any chance for us to see Stasia Momento playing live here in Italy in the next months / year?
Olbap Dibasson: Nowadays we don´t have a tour as such, we have shows that are coming out here and there. The band doesn´t have a booking agency at the moment, so we take the phone or the mails that come with offers, shows and festivals. SM in Italy?, oh god! that would be great and beautiful. If there was a promoter that he´d makes us a serious offer to tour around the beautiful Italy, I assure you, we were there before you closed your eyes ...

MELODY LANE: Could you tell us two bands, from the current international scene, you'd like Stasia Momento to tour with? ... Two bands that would represent a perfect line-up for Stasia Momento to play with. And why these bands?
Olbap Dibasson: Well, this is really a tricky and complicated question. Supposedly these tour packages are made with label mates or groups related to your style and to me, personally it gives me a little bit the same. I would focus more on its global artistic approach and not so much on its music strictly. I would like to tour with an artist that I know is impossible because she absolutely does not work live. I would like to know the character, to see her performance and to share experiences and she is Anna Varney, alma mater of Sopor Aeternus. I like her art and her way of expression, it is absolutely unique and spectral. Then, in the scene, I really don´t know …I suppose that with bands like Laibach, Deine Lakaien, Rosa Crvx, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio on the one hand and maybe Project Pitchfork, In Strict Confidence, Blutengel or Lacrimosa more obviously on the other ...or something like Twin Temple too, not for its style, but for its artistic concept. I think I've told you a lot more than two names right ?? ahahahaaa.

MELODY LANE: We know that 'to define is to limit' ... but how do you define Stasia Momento sound? Are you a gothic band ... a dark industrial band ... A pop dark band Or…?
Olbap Dibasson: It is complicated and more in our case, that we flee from references, labels or a drawer. I suppose it is necessary at times, to fit in certain types of places so that people find you more quickly and comfortably. But often, I feel unable to define what we do. I guess the definitions you show in the question, all of them fit and in all the labels you are a pretty right. Besides we add ambient and atmospheric parts. Others can border and enter into metal music and some parts even doomy. Actually, the term Dark is present in all our concept, from this term you can combine it with whatever you like. We make music and journalists, reporters, reviewers etc. will put the label that they want to.

MELODY LANE: Which musicians are / have been your main musical inspirations? And which are your favorite bands nowadays?
Olbap Dibasson:Many, I personally entered into music by Black Sabbath. I recognize them as the main influence and introduction to my Dark world I have no doubt about it. The other guys and Reb also have a metal past too, even Rod still likes the scene. KK may have a more progressive and poppy background however he likes bands which are risky with its sound. But to sum up, I don´t know, you can put in a shaker Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, NIN, Priest, Bauhaus, Diamanda Galas, Type O Negative, Sopor Aeternus, Faith No More, The Cure, Katatonia , Mercyful Fate, Dead Can Dance, Porcupine Tree, mixed with old horror films in black and white and classics of the genre like The Shining, The Exorcist or Rosemary's Baby and mix it all, you shake it well and the monster that comes out of there, it would be quite close to Stasia ahahahaha ... My favorite bands? I don´t know, I can´t say I have a favorite band nowadays, yeah I was a bit dislocated by Ghost when they came out. Nowadays, I like very varied things, I love bands like Dool, Wolvennest, Tribulation, Portal, Bathuska, SubRosa, Grave Pleasures, Twin Temple,not only for their music, their artistic proposal in general is striking ... I like them

MELODY LANE: As a musician, what has been your biggest achievement to date and what do you want to achieve in the near future? 
Olbap Dibasson:I suppose that up to now, recording Manifestwo and being able to take it out internationally, is our greatest achievement. Regarding the things to be achieved, there are so many that obviously we will have to go for the closest ones such as to present the album in many and better places. And to be able to continue to express myself in the following projects or works in the near future.

MELODY LANE: In the end ... A message from you to all MELODY LANE readers.
Olbap Dibasson:Thank you very much for the interest and attention in our proposal, you are very kind. Hopefully we can touring around Italy and see you, meanwhile, have fun and take care