Interview: Evestus

Evestus is an Electronic/Industrial/Rock Band from Estonia who has just released their new EP, Post 18 Depression. I found them to be an intriguing example of a modern band playing a classic sound that exudes atmosphere, attitude, and angst. Here is my recent interview with mainman Ott Evestus, covering a variety of topics:









How/When did Evestus start? What was the original impetus for the project?

I used to play drums in a few bands and then do vocals in a metal band for some years until I started experimenting with computer music. My first album came out in 2005 called “Destiny In Life” and it's absolutely horrible glitchcore/samplecore experimental piece of work mainly consisting of samples from movies and cartoons.. I decided to call this project after my last name which is Evestus and .. well.. despite this horrible creation I got signed to Canadas Dtrash records and just kept going. I've come quite along way since then haha!

Who are your influences, (and definitely include films, games, or even books if they’ve influenced the project)?

Well, musically there's mainly The Prodigy, Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails but this only does make up about 25% of the influences – the rest is games like Fallout 2, Vampire the Masquerade, Bioshock – films like Fight Club, They Live and graphic novels such as Transmetropolitan and The Maxx – just weird shit that looks like fantasy until it actually happens to you you know. Or maybe there are just certain people who live these kind of lives and the rest live on thinking this shit only happens in movies haha.

Describe the musical climate (As far as your genre) in Estonia.

Haha! That's really simple. We've got Evestus, Freakangel, Forgotten Sunrise and Pedigree. If you're a really hardcome industrial music nerd, you might actually know all of these bands, but yeah, that's pretty much all the industrial there is over here. And whenever any of these bands has a gig, the local rivetheads get together and have a party. And it's really sweet, but after playing a couple of years, you realize that you're playing to the same people and they're amazing people and all, but as an artist, there's nothing like the expression of the crowd who sees you for the first time! That's a hard drug for me and that's why I play outside of Estonia as much as I can!

Evestus is an interesting project to me because the atmosphere and instrumentation seems to have elements that are modern, but also recall some of the yesteryears of electronic music going to the 80’s and 90’s, was this your intention?

I didn't exactly think this through went I got into it – I still don't really.. I think these are the things that have stuck to me and what I feel like doing at the moment. I do love the sound and atmosphere of nineties industrial rock – I think the 90's was the darkest era in any style of music – and I draw a lot of inspiration from there.

What goes into your mind when you write lyrics?

My lyrics tend to be quite personal. Just about how I feel towards this world and my place in it. And other times I go into social criticism. I've tried to, you know, “come up with stories” aswell.. but I just, you know, if I don't feel it, I can't really describe it.. so I just stick you what I know and feel.

What do you write first, the lyrics or compose the music first?

I usually do the music first, then listen to it and figure out what emotion is in there – what's the story this melody or beat is describing.



Is Post 18 Depression a concept album of sorts?

Yes, it is. As a whole. The artwork and music and everything forms a really solid package. We've spent 18 years since the millennium change and the world is pretty much fucked and we're all pretty fucking depressed. That's (roughly put) one of the concepts – but there's a few more layers to the EP.

The album features a cover of (Tears For Fears, who I’ve been actually listening to lately) Mad World, what inspired you to cover the song and do you think the lyrical ideas fit into the other tracks in a way?

Yes, this cover is like a centerpiece of the EP – it fits perfectly into the concept of Post 18 Depression. I actually had the idea of this version of the song in my head for about a year – it just came to me one day that this song could work really well in this sort of gothic vibe. I tried it out at some live shows and the audience really dug it. It might have been the spark that made me create the Post 18 Depression ep. To give it a nice home.

Was the idea of the cover in part to kind of return it to its original (New Wave, Electronic) roots, since the piano/vocal only one seems to be more well known nowadays?

You know what – I listened through about five pages of cover versions on youtube before recording this. And 90% of the covers made were either just a piano or an acoustic guitar. They all sounded like versions of Gary Jules's cover. And that DID make me feel a bit sorry for the original Tears for Fears version. But as I said, I just had this concept in my mind and right now I feel like this version of the song has always been there as well.

Where/when can we expect Evestus to tour?

Right now it looks like the next tour will be in Poland and then UK.. but not until the end of the year.

What is your favorite equipment/plugins/software when it comes to recording/composing music?


I love Cakewalk, Sound Toys, Spectrasonics and my Novation Mininova. I don't need much :D 


A Special Thanks to Evestus for this terrific interview.

You can find more info about Evestus from the following links:

Comments

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