Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
Atarka: We are a 5-piece metal band, our sound is a combination of Melodic Death Metal with elements of Metalcore, Black Metal and Groove Metal all combined into one, along with semi-conceptual lyrics and themes that coincide with both fiction and reality.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
Atarka: We’re all from the West Midlands of England, the Black Country and Birmingham areas specifically. We see ourselves as a Birmingham based band though. All of us came from picking up instruments at an early age and have always loved listening and playing music, going to see live performances etc. So it’s only natural you see those bands you adore creating such amazing work and you want to do that yourself. I think as anyone who’s an artist or is in a band can attest to, writing and performing music draws you in and you don’t envision music not being a part of your life.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
Atarka: Musically our influences cover a wide spectrum of genres. Ranging from In Flames to Toto, Parkway Drive to Death, Justin Timberlake to Alter Bridge. We’re a metal band but we feel as though you have to take influence from all kinds of musical backgrounds.
Lyrically we pull from real life experience as well as drawing from folklore and straight up fiction. There’s nothing quite like taking your inner demons and getting them down on paper and then fucking screaming it. It’s better than any anti-depressant going. Growing up with video games and comic books, writing lyrics that don’t pull from real life experiences has been a fun way of approaching some songs and is something we’ll continue to do in the future.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
Atarka: As a collective we just enjoy writing and recording music that we have a passion for, performing it to a live audience also never gets old. The buzz from meeting new people from all over the country who enjoy your music is always something that fuels us as musicians and as a band.
So long as we’re still playing our instruments we would love to perform as much as possible, do as many gigs in as many places as we can. At least until our bodies decide otherwise, whether that be local shows, festivals or maybe even world tours.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
Atarka: This last week has been a whirlwind of unbridled love and positive reactions. We released our new single ‘Barbarian’ featuring Björn Strid from Soilwork and The Night Flight Orchestra. The reactions from fans and publications have been absolutely amazing. All of us have been longtime fans of Björn’s and having the opportunity to record and release a single with him was definitely something to be proud of. Working with one of your heroes is special, especially with Björn as he was a pleasure to work with.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging from bedrooms
in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
Atarka: It can be very hit and miss and you take the rough with the smooth. It’s such a reactive market and as you alluded to there is so much content out there. The idea is to really dig into a niche sound and double down on that so you stand out. At least that’s the idea and we’re starting to see some success. But it is tough with so much content available at the touch of a button.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
Atarka: Admittedly during lockdown it wasn’t possible and coming out of those lockdowns has been a challenge. But we’ve been lucky that over the years we’ve formed a strong rapport with promoters, venues and other bands. Recently we’ve been working with Unearthed Music Management for our shows and we’re excited to see what the future holds working alongside them.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
Atarka: Streaming music online for us has opened up a huge plethora of opportunities for getting our name out there internationally, as opposed to selling physical copies manually. We love being able to see which countries have been listening to our music through Spotify, without it we’d find it extremely difficult to get our songs out to a worldwide audience. It’s also great seeing in real time how well our latest single has been performing.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
Atarka: I guess we don’t wish that we’d written anyone else’s work. The point of taking influence from music is not to get green with envy and think “Oh i wish i had written that”, but to think about how amazing that is and try to make your own work as amazing if not better. From a purely financial point of view any Christmas song seems like the correct answer here though. You pick up your royalties once a year and chill out for the rest of it!
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
Atarka: There are bad actors out there who have monetised this art form and sucked the soul out music for their houses, holidays and cars. How many bands have we all seen call it a day because they can’t afford to pay rent and record their album? There is a hope for independent artists in this climate though, we’re starting to see artists that are able to keep control over their income, musical direction and their integrity and it seems like a change in the right direction.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
Atarka: Aside from ‘Barbarian’ we also have a second single ready and waiting which we can’t wait for everyone to hear. 
We’ll also be recording new music videos for upcoming singles from the EP and when that’s released there will be a launch show in our hometown of Birmingham. Aside from that we will be gigging across the country in support of ‘The Mountain’ and we’re always writing and demoing new ideas.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
Atarka: The best way to learn more about us is to come see a live show. Outside of that you can follow our socials at www.facebook.com/Atarkaofficial and www.instagram.com/Atarkaofficial. Or check out our videos on www.youtube.com/channel/UCsA33CHED0VRhZ6Hk5Ulhrw
PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?
Atarka: Our debut album ‘Sleeping Giant’ is available on all digital platforms and that’s also where you’ll find our new single ‘Barbarian’ and our EP ‘The Mountain’ from April 14th this year
Atarka links:
Band/Artist location – Birmingham, England
Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud – Bandcamp –
Twitter – Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – Last Fm
Check our page for Atarka
