Mark Anthony K and Joe Bailey once again join Preston Frazier, this time to discuss the Dark Monarchy’s new album ‘Chiaroscuro’:
PRESTON FRAZIER: Chiaroscuro has contrasting shades. How did you come up with the concept?
MARK ANTHONY K: Honestly, this album was written with no concept in mind – at least for me. I simply wrote what came to me at the time. It was only after we had the songs recorded and mixed did we realize that the concept was staring us in the face.
JOE BAILEY: And after listening to everything we had written for this album, Chiaroscuro was a perfect title!
PRESTON FRAZIER: The opening track, “Fragile,” has elegant piano work and orchestration. How was the song constructed? Did you have the piano and synth parts conceived before the song was completed?
JOE BAILEY: This song was originally my idea; I wrote the first part of the song. The piano section at the beginning was written after I had written the main synth melody. I thought that a piano intro for the song would work nicely, and upon completion, quickly realized that this would be a brilliant opener for the album. Mark and myself continued our usual writing approach, as we have done for all of our releases. This is where we each write the opening three to four minutes of music, and the other completes and arranges the song. It’s a formula that works beautifully for us.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Let’s discuss the vocal approach on “Fragile.”
MARK ANTHONY K: Joe wrote the lyrics to this song. Usually, Joe has a vision of how he hears the song and writes parts that he feels suits my voice the best. I think this time it was a little easier to do as my voice has improved since the last Dark Monarchy album. Joe has a great sense of vocal dynamics. It really helps give the song a nice flow to the words.
JOE BAILEY: I deliberately wanted Mark and myself to sing back and forth. I really like the contrast between the two voices, Mark’s vocals are awesome here.
PRESTON FRAZIER: “King of the Land” has elements of dark and light in its lyrics, too.
MARK ANTHONY K: This song is a great example of light and dark. Lyrically, the message seems pretty clear but what makes it work is the harmony vocals. The low parts that Joe sings in the beginning really add a sense of mystery. The bridge section vocals has me singing in a falsetto voice, which I’ve never done before. That adds another level of dark and light.
JOE BAILEY: This was another song that I started, and again with another piano intro! The lyrics are about loving yourself, and being at peace with who you are. It’s about fighting demons, but with a positive message.
PRESTON FRAZIER: What can you tell us about “Travelers Tale”? It seems more lyrically direct yet there are elements of self reflection, touching on a traveling musician’s life, or perhaps the journey of a runaway.
MARK ANTHONY K: I wrote the lyrics to the “Travelers Tale” and you’re right, Preston: It was written about a traveling musician’s life, but those things that I speak about are not only things that a musician would think about. It’s people in general. I’m a big believer in traveling as a way of further educating oneself. You can only learn so much from books or TV, while seeing things and places with your own eyes often gives the person a new appreciation. I feel that people go through life often missing some of the wonders around them or the things we as a people have done. For example, “the buildings reaching for the sky, the freeways built six car-lanes wide.” Open your eyes.
JOE BAILEY: This song was started musically by Mark, and he wrote the lyrics for this one, too.
The lyrics are relatable for everyone in some way, but I feel they are very personal to Mark, too.
PRESTON FRAZIER: “The Guiding Light” could fit comfortably on a Projekt Gemineye album, given its lyrical theme and Mark’s vocals. Yet, it furthers the motif of Chiaroscuro. It’s cool to hear the EBow work on the song too! What can you tell us about the piece?
MARK ANTHONY K: I wrote “The Guiding Light.” This song I approached in the style of old story telling – the kind of story you can imagine a grandfather telling his grandkids one evening in front of the fireplace. I’ve always loved bands like Rainbow or Black Sabbath when Ronnie James Dio was the singer. His type of story telling through song is a big influence on me. The EBow was Joe’s idea and he plays it on the song. He is a great guitar player, so it made sense for him to play it.
JOE BAILEY: I totally agree, I get massive Projekt Gemineye vibes from this song! And that middle 7/8 section was just screaming for an EBow.
PRESTON FRAZIER: The album closer, “One Way Out,” is grand in scope and execution. It’s not in the least bit optimistic yet musically, it’s undeniably powerful. Joe handles the end solo, which is my favorite on the album. The orchestration is grand and epic. Vocally, Chiaroscuro is strong from start to finish. Talk about the concept around “One Way Out.”
JOE BAILEY: I came up with the opening few minutes for this one, and the lyrics are mine too.
The lyrics are dark, angry and wistful. The music is aggressive at times, and totally epic! It was nice to be able to perform some lead guitar work on this album, so I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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