Interview: Tomas of Disorientations

How long has your band been around?

Disorientations started in 2018. We were already friends for a very long time and felt the need to start playing together in our rehearsal room. In the past we played in various other bands but this was a different approach. Our music originated out of a long jamming process. Then we started structuring it into ‘real songs’ with the three of us. Our working process is always like that. We found it important to write everything together.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

We like ‘one word bandnames’, and we thought Disorientations sounded like our music: dark and harsh. It doesn’t mean anything particular. But we realize now that the feelings that we sing about are kind of disorientating anyway. And the whole world structure at the moment (with the war in Europe, the pandemic, climate crisis,…) makes it even more disorientated.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

We really love venues like the Supersonic in Paris, Het Bos in Antwerp and La Zone in Liège.

Our dream is maybe to play at Olympia in Paris, Vega in Copenhagen or AB in Brussels.

We are also looking forward to play in the UK.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

The Sound, The Soft Moon, Holograms and Iceage.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Always do your own thing. Never listen to managers.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Always do your own thing. Never listen to managers.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

For me particularly: ‘Watching You Go’ and ‘Wandering’. Because I wrote the lyrics for these songs and both texts contemplate about a very difficult period in my life. When we play it live it always gives me a feeling of catharsis. It is good to feel that difficult times can be translated into a dark musical energy.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Of course. Having disagreements is part of the creative process. Talking is very important when someone feels not heard. The opinions of the three of us are all equal so nobody is ‘the boss’. We are best friends so we see each other kind of every day. The strange (and good) thing is that the most disagreements are not about the music itself but more about the administration around the band. When we play music together we don’t talk too much. We just start jamming and we start working on a guitar riff or a drum roll we all like. From that point we start working on the basic structure of a song. Lyrics are always coming at the end, but a vocal line usually arises soon after writing the instrumental basis of the song.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We just released our debut album Memory Lanes at PIAS Recordings. We are preparing a lot of live shows now. Playing live is our main goal now. After two years of Corona we really want to focus on that. We hope to play in the UK and France more this year. At the same time we are working on new songs.