Interview: Atarka

Recently DutchMetalManiac’s Tim van Velthuysen mentioned Atarka in the 37th part of Promoting Bands. He also interviewed Atarka’s guitarist Alex Dutton recently.

Hey, how are you?

I’m very well, thank you!

Can you tell us something about the history of Atarka?

Atarka is a product of original home recorded demos from Dan McCarthy (guitar) and Adam Bayliss (bass). Dan and Adam spent the best part of a year recording various demo tracks together at university until they decided to use these tracks as the basis to form a band. I met Dan at the same university and he reached out to me when they were gathering members. Jamie Smith (vocals) and Phil Sheldon (drums) were also added to cement the lineup. We’d often listen to some of the demo tracks as a basis to rehearse from and add our own unique take on the tracks, often changing arrangements to set a tone for an album. Fast forward a year, these would later become songs for Sleeping Giant and form an album that we’re incredibly proud of.

For people not knowing you (yet), how would you describe your music yourself?

In a broad sense, Atarka is a metal band. I believe we have various subgenres infused within our core sound though. These range from alternative, progressive rock and even elements of black metal. Our aim has always been to create a sound that is both powerful and aggressive, but with catchy melodies and hooks that could appeal to a wider audience. I think our sound has been formed mainly through each member having different musical backgrounds and taste. You can definitely hear these throughout the album!

What makes Atarka unique?

I feel that Atarka can appeal to fans of genres other than just straight up metal if I’m honest. You can definitely hear several influences within our album, maybe Gojira, In Flames etc. But I don’t think we sound like any certain band in particular.

Any future plans you can already tell us something about?

We’re currently focused on releasing content, building up to the launch of Sleeping Giant at the end of March. There’s many exciting things in the pipeline for our debut album cycle though, that we’re super excited to announce soon…so watch this space!

Any upcoming gigs for Atarka? Maybe coming to The Netherlands?

We’re currently booking shows to promote our debut album as much as we can in the U.K and hopefully countries around Europe. We would certainly love to come to The Netherlands if you’d have us!

How do you think your life would be without music?

Very dull! Music has always been everything to me from a very young age and I feel privileged to be able to express that in Atarka, alongside teaching it!

What advice would you give to young and starting bands?

First and foremost, enjoy it! That should be your main reason for being in a band. Also, think like a business, if you want to take it seriously that is. Essentially, your band is your product and how you market it can determine how you reach an audience. Another thing is to focus on consistently producing content for fans, as they’re going to be the people coming to your shows!

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac’s readers?

You’re very welcome, thanks for having us!
I’d encourage readers to check out our album Sleeping Giant if you love your metal music and stay tuned for an exciting year for Atarka!

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