Anubis: "Ohne Web hätten wir nicht überlebt" (Interview Teil 2)

"A Tower Of Silence" tells a strange, exceptional story of a young girl's spirit. How did you find this stuff, why did you choose it and whose idea was it?

Robert: Myself and Dave had a few ideas floating around whilst we were in the middle of tracking '230503'. It was something we had to shelve for the time being in order to concentrate on finishing the first album. But it all began with those initial ideas.

Dave: The basic themes and ideas of the record were then decided upon around a table at Nick's house at the end of the '230503' tour. We had the songs and song ideas we wanted to use written and demoed. The six of us threw those conceptual ideas into the hat and Rob and I had to go away and write those themes into a narrative and a lyric. What we came back with, I think, was a very good metaphor for limbo and entrapment; which are the central themes to the record.
Robert: It is essentially about entrapment, and relates to anyone who has been put in a position who can't find their way forward, are stuck living day to day with fears or guilt or regret, whatever - and are waiting for a resolution to come, and not knowing if it's ever going to arrive.
You joined Bird's Robe Records, which is not very popular and known in Europe. Which other possibilities of selfmarketing you're using? And what do you think about selling/copying music in the net? What does this mean for bands like Anubis?

Dave: Bird's Robe is the only label of it's kind in Australia and has been wonderful for us. It has all of our favourite Australian bands on it and we feel very fortunate to be involved with them. Nobody in the world has done more for Anubis than Mike from Bird's Robe.
The Internet is absolutely vital to us and bands like us. Only through the Internet could we have dreamed of self releasing '230503', getting it out there, initially for free, finding Just for Kicks, and getting it into Europe. Without it, we'd not have survived. As simple as that.
Just for Kicks is responsible for most of our European exposure. Not to mention Musicwaves in France, and the wonderful Progzilla podcast from the UK. We've been so lucky.

Robert: We have taken to making use of social networking sites like facebook, myspace, soundcloud, twitter, as well as our website to help create a name internationally. The style of music we play is liked more by people in Europe, Japan & South America and we needed to create a connection with these people. The internet has made the world very small and made accessing music very easy.
In the end, though, we are only in it to write and play music. Having Birds Robe Records on board has helped us on the business end of things. They don't want to control what we create and don't feel the need to have their say. They know what it is that a band like us needs to exist. And that's what they give us.
In the www.progarchives.com your new album is listed in the Top 5 at the moment. What does this mean to you?

Robert: Firstly, there's no greater shock than to find your band listed alongside some of the most talented and popular prog bands and musicians around today. If anything it means all the hard work we have poured into both these records has paid off and they're only getting bigger.

Dave: And, really, it means more than we can possibly say. We are humbled, honored and grateful for the faith we've been shown by a growing number of fans. They've put us up there in that chart alongside, as Rob said, some of the best bands in the world, and we're all very touched at that. Thank you all so much.
You've been on tour with Unitopia. What did this mean to you?

Dave: Unitopia are a great group. Very generous with their time and knowledge and extremely talented. We enjoyed the tour very much. For us, it's certainly been a very valuable opportunity to play for a 'prog' crowd- which really doesn't exist in Australia; outside of Floyd, Yes and perhaps Jethro Tull fans- plus, Unitopia and Anubis share a fair bit of musical DNA by virtue of common influences and our song structures. I'd like to think we made a good match.

Robert: It was great to play with other talented bands on the those bills and within the same genre of music. Unitopia have a strong following and a lot of their fans loved what we did but had never heard of us purely because we are not signed to a major international label. Now, because of the internet, prog fans are finding us right there on their own doorsteps and had had no idea we even existed let alone had released two albums!
Would you like to play some concerts or festivals in Europe and are there any plans?

Dave: We really hope we can. We have tentative plans for maybe 2013, if the support remains strong. The end of this year will hopefully see a DVD of a 'Tower' show come out, so after that, if the interest is there, it's quite possible.

Robert: We get asked this a lot and we always say the same thing... If it was possible we would do it in a heartbeat. It is definitely something we hope will happen!
Anubis in the year 2020?

Dave: Too early to tell. Older, greyer, occasionally balder and quite a bit grumpier. But still making music we're proud of. I can't see us doing anything else. Even at this level, I'd think we'd continue making records.

Robert: We'll still be here.
Your message for your european fans?

Robert: Thank you for everything.

Dave: Thank you for taking our music into your hearts. We never expected it, and give thanks for it every day. We are very lucky to have you and hope to see you very soon. Much love.