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Whenever someone asks me
what is that I fear most,
I never hesitate to answer -
to "day dream".
To exist, without actually living.
Not to see, not to feel, and be not aware of the true nature of things.
That is the human nature.
It is much easier just to close your eyes
and to live in an idealized world, somewhere, very far from reality.
But no matter how terrible the truth can be,
I think - there's nothing worse than to live in self-deception,
never embracing the reality.
In psychology, the term "Somniphobia" means
an obsessive fear to fall asleep without ever waking up.
But "Osnophobia" means just the opposite - the fear of day dreaming,
inability to break through the hypnosis of one’s own illusory reality.
This term was created by Shein,
a transformation from a combination of two words:
"Dream" and "Phobia",
and it best describes the meaning of the similarly named song.
Every time, whenever I write a new poem, I first “shelve” it,
so that after a while I can get back to them and assess –
if it will be still relevant to me.
Only when the poem remains relevant,
meaningful, significant and can arouse any emotions whatsoever,
it comes to live in music of AKADO.
After all, it is incredibly important -
to create something that remains the same, many years later,
given how much people themselves can change
in addition to the change in their values.
That is why "Osnophobia",
for me personally, carries a very special significance.
It is one of the few songs, which, after so many years,
is still acutely relevant and significant to me,
as it was on the day it was created.
In the final version of the song, i slightly adjusted four lines of text,
without changing the semantic content.
This is one of the reasons as to why such an old track,
which was never officially released as a studio recording previously,
was included into the album.
We really had no desire to release singles before the album,
but due to the fact
that the work on a full-length publication was delayed,
we have made a decision to release it,
thus dispelling any rumors associated with the band.
Osnophobia - is not the title hit of the album,
but it was the very first song to come to life in the recording.
Demo version of it was recorded in 2004.
The first tangible result of the band.
Actually this song started it all,
and this is why it was chosen to be the path-breaker
of the new era in the life of AKADO!
Most musicians start off by writing minor sketches of melodies,
riffs, lines, and then while rehearsing, construct the actual songs.
We, on the other hand, start with the main part - an Idea,
which then becomes the music and the lyrics.
I am used to visualization, thinking in images.
First, comes an idea,
it becomes a story, a sort of a theme or a storyline,
and sometimes it grows into the whole scenario,
as it was with "Oxymoron №2".
Then all of it is embodied by us in verses,
music, arrangements, illustrations, image, CD covers, and videos.
This in turn creates a spectrum of emotions
that we want to convey to our listeners.
Solely and integrated.
We are incredibly proud of the level,
which we have achieved in "Osnophobia" and in the album as a whole.
Firstly, because, in addition to the creative aspect,
85% of the technical work was done by us.
Complete and global sound producing at every stage of the process.
Choosing an acoustic studio space for each instrument individually.
Recording guitars, drums and vocals.
Redacting and editing of the recorded material.
Selection of equipment for the specific tasks,
from the guitar strings to compressors, equalizers and microphones.
Engineering technical aspects of the recording process.
And this is the tiniest part of the work that was done by us.
One of the most successful studios in world’s music arena -
Master & Servant, a German studio -
worked on mastering the converged Osnophobia,
under our specific technical instructions.
Implementation of our ideas was undertaken with great enthusiasm
by a famous engineer in mastering industry – Mr. Tom Meyer.
There are about 40 main and 30 auxiliary lanes
in only one of the electronics project of "Osnophobia".
The album was delayed that much, in part, due to the fact that in 2010
our former electronics engineer had parted with the band.
At the time of his departure, we have not had a single sound
of the electronics part to any of the songs from the album.
We were faced with a difficult choice.
To do the bidding of the business side of the music industry
and to release the album as is, without electronics.
Or to postpone the release,
but to achieve the desired result at our own risk.
And, given that we've never seen AKADO,
as absolutely live rock music,
a decision in favor of the first option would be to betray ourselves,
our beliefs and to surrender.
It is better to do nothing at all,
than to do something poorly - not as you see it initially.
The process of writing electronics in the band
always came down to the fact that I directed it,
thought through the basics, assigned directions and styles.
Then electronics engineer, based on the tasks,
implemented them along with me.
We needed a person who not only could understand
and share our musical tastes,
but also would bring their new and innovative ideas to it.
Professional, whose mastery with sound would allow our tasks
to come to fruition at the highest level of quality.
And we found such a person!
While working on the electronics,
we were fortunate to cooperate with one of the best, interesting
and talented electronics engineers in Russia - Enfield.
Before AKADO,
I've never worked with rock music
and I think this was a very interesting experience
for both parties.
It turned out to be a very difficult task
to work in team, which has long formed its sound,
atmosphere and musical philosophy.
I'm used to rely on the music itself to lead me,
to push me onto new and unexpected solutions
and to develop directly during the composition process.
But in this case the necessity was to carry out and to achieve
the set goals in the sound and arrangements.
It is very seldom that you have inspiration,
when embodying more than just your own idea.
Yet when the time is scarce,
you’ll start looking for some internal resources
and learn to see the heart of the problem.
You have got to learn to embrace this music,
feel its spirit and at the same time
commit into it something of your own, a part of yourself.
Shein and I,
were constantly discussing something, thinking through,
altering and adding new rhythmic and melodic nuances.
We were arguing constantly.
After all, we were facing a very ambitious goal!
It was necessary to create an electronic part of the music so
that it would fit flawlessly into the song.
So that the electronics would not seem alien,
yet rather be a natural part of composition.
It was not supposed to be lost in the sound of live instruments
and Shein’s voice, or contradict the later,
yet it should be coinciding and enhancing.
Without destroying the original mood,
but rather striving towards enriching and emphasizing it.
And to be completely honest,
at the beginning of our mutual work, I could never imagine,
that we will achieve, at the very least,
such an unusual and interesting result.
I believe that one of the main features of the "Osnophobia"
and the entire album is that while working on it,
we were constantly asking ourselves:
“Why? Why is it this way and not the other?”
Every note and every beat are meaningful and well thought
through precisely because of that.
Musical creativity of the band never fell within any stylistic boundaries.
First of all, we play the music that we like ourselves.
In Osnophobia we managed to fuse the elements of various styles
such as Alternative Rock, Pop music,
Industrial, Black Metal, Dubstep and Trance.
And if one day, you’ll hear folk ditties,
Power Noise or 8bit Hardcore in our songs,
it will only mean that we love that music!
First an utmost, with the release of "Osnophobia",
we wanted to show what awaits you in the upcoming album.
You will hear how grand and global in terms of sound,
performance and styling the AKADO’s reload was.
The fact that such an old track managed to keep all of its best features,
while at the same time achieving a new form,
changing dramatically - is incredibly mind-blowing.
When you create something,
first of all, it is necessary to be honest with yourself.
You must be the most picky,
most impartial critic of the results of your own labor.
It is a great responsibility and the greatest happiness at the same time.
Happiness to know
that you did both everything possible and the impossible
to be worthy of your AKADO!
We believe that we did it...
Yet, let the music speak for itself.
!!! PARTY HARD !!!