In this interview, Irian Darkwood discusses her track "Greensleeves," blending humor with serious themes, inspired by personal experiences of online harassment.
1.
"Greensleeves" is a unique title for a metal track. Can you share the
inspiration behind naming the song after such a classic title?
A: I was originally going to do a simple cover of the classic song, but I
decided that the lyrics and melody were too dated, and so I put modern lyrics
to it, changed up the music to make it more heavy hitting, and well, most of us
have encountered things with today’s cyber world that we don’t like so I
decided that the lyrics would make fun of that. Greensleeves stayed because I
thought it made a cool screen name too, so the guy in the song’s scree name is
that.
2. You've described "Greensleeves" as addressing the creepy
experiences women often face online. How did your personal experiences shape
the lyrics and tone of the song?
A: Where do I begin? I have almost daily experiences with such people, it
always amazes me that some people think it’s ok to talk to people that way, I
wanted to make the song fun, but also it was an outlet for me to voice my
‘frustration’ at these things.
3. Humor plays a role in "Greensleeves," despite its serious
subject matter. How do you balance humor with the heavier themes in your music?
A: I use the more upbeat music to kind of counteract the heaviness of the
lyrics, and in Greensleeves, by making the ‘creep’ into a shadow puppet and
making the voice sound cartoonish, people can laugh at it and in my case, I
replace the text I see with people like that with that image and voice.
4. Your music often reflects your personal struggles and life experiences. What message do you hope listeners take away from "Greensleeves"?
A: That they are not alone with their experiences, and, it can be turned into something kind of amusing in most cases when presented with things they don’t like.
5. As a Canadian metal artist, how do you feel the local music scene has influenced your sound and your career trajectory?
A: Here in Halifax, we have a wide variety of genres of music, I take a little from everyone, it’s always a learning experience to be at various gigs.
6. Can you walk us through the creative process of making "Greensleeves"? How did the song evolve from an idea to its final form?
A: Originally, I was going to do a melodic metal cover or Greensleeves, it would have been very close to the original, but I decided that it was kind of boring to me that way, and the lyrics were outdated, so I got more modern lyrics and a bigger, more upbeat sound, at first, we were going to stick closer to the original lyrics, but we decided to incorporate today’s cyber world and make it so that people could relate to ‘that person’ who slides into their DMs, we had a few versions before we arrived to where we are now.
7. Your career began with karaoke and open mic nights, and now you’re releasing impactful singles. How do those early experiences still influence your music today?
A: I still love karaoke and open mics, it’s those places where I learned a lot about stage presence, crowd interaction, how certain equipment works, they’re the reason i discovered my love for performing… it’s always fun to go back and just have fun there.
8. Metal is often perceived as a serious and intense genre. How do you think incorporating humor into your music challenges or complements that perception?
A: Metal can be pretty intense, yes, but, I want to show people it doesn’t have to be like that all of the time, the world is way too serious right now, smile, gave a laugh, relax.
9. You've mentioned that you want "Greensleeves" to bring awareness to online harassment. How important do you think it is for artists to address social issues in their music?
A: I think, we have a huge platform to address issues with, as an artist, I want my art to reflect my messages, so that people know they aren’t alone in how they think, and that someone is listening to them, so for me personally? It’s very important to address some issues.
10. What challenges, if any, did you face while recording "Greensleeves," especially given its personal and potentially sensitive content?
A: Well, I would be lying if I said it didn’t impact me, it did, it brought up a lot if emotions and memories of some very serious interactions where I would worry sometimes what if these people found me in person? Ultimately though, it was great way for me to express the emotions and frustrations around this and just get it out there.
11. How do you think your fans will respond to "Greensleeves"? Have you had any early reactions or feedback from those who've heard the track?
A: I’m hoping people will relate and laugh at Greensleeves. As for early reactions, I haven’t had some say things like ‘ this is a real banger’ and ‘ I just know every woman on the planet nearly can relate heavily to this song’
12. Looking ahead, do you have plans for more releases this year? How does "Greensleeves" fit into your broader artistic vision and future projects?
A: We have a few upcoming releases planned, so stay tuned! I think Greensleeves gives a taste of the type of messages I want to convey, like ‘this is real, I too experience these things, you have a friend in me’
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