Slickster Mag: Your new video, Disquieting Time, is listed as a single.  Will it be part of any larger project or is this a stand alone release?

Evgen Tsibulin: My goal with that song was to show to the world what music I want to write now, in this moment, and what my new album is supposed to sound like. Of course, I’ve got a plan to record a full album next year and this song definitely will be added into the whole album. Maybe some things will be changed at that time, but currently I don’t know exactly what that might be. The thing that I’m sure about is, that people will hear this song in the complete record in the future.

SM: Disquieting Time utilizes plenty of mixed meters.  There are some very odd time signatures in the track.  Can you walk us through some of the sections that use odd meter and describe what time signatures you used?

ET: To be honest, I have not been thinking to awe people with odd meters, but my bass player suggested the riff in the middle of the song which contains the odd meter. Actually, my drummer and bass player have been arguing for a long time during rehearsals what that time signature is!  When I created a demo version of the track I taught myself that we can name that like… 4/4 with the transition to 6/4.

Basically, when I work with odd meters, or trying to create interesting rhythmical structure, I use a very interesting ancient rhythmical pattern called ‘Konnakol’. This comes from India and I recommend it to everyone who wants to learn to play music better.

SM: What about guitar tunings?  Was everything done in standard tuning, and tuned down?

ET: I created this song in a nonstandard tuning. This is ‘drop D’.

ET: Thank you for kind words about my playing. In these latter days, during my practice routine, I mostly focus on songwriting. Sometime ago, I learned some techniques of other guitar players and that helped me to improve my technical and other skills. Also, in these latter days, I’m practicing a lot on classical guitar. That’s helps me to grow as a composer and even impacts to my technical abilities as well. Of course, I’ve got some exercises for different kinds of techniques, but I don’t play them very often. When I’m creating a guitar solo, first and foremost I’m trying to make it more musical. But, of course, I’m a metal guitar player and sometimes I want to shred!  If I do it, I try to make a challenge for myself with creating a new and quite difficult lick, work on it and then move forward till I reach the result which I hear in my mind.

When I’m practicing, I mostly practice on classical guitar.  I’m also playing jazz music and making my own arrangements for my favorite rock and even metal songs. That’s more fun than playing classical music sometimes.

SM: It’s not frequent that we get to interview someone from Tomsk, Siberia.  Can you tell us about Siberia and what is happening there at the moment?

ET: Siberia is a vast and mysterious place. In my hometown, we’ve have lots of students and other people from around the world. I’m glad to know that they are satisfied to be here. Despite the fact that the weather is pretty cold people really enjoy it. We also have a music community, bands, festivals, gigs, social media and talented musicians. Yes, we’ve got bears, but they aren’t walking around the city with vodka and a balalaika! ☺

SM: Thanks for talking with Slickster Magazine.  Do you have any final tips for young guitarist who are trying to learn how to play music?

ET: Thank you so much for your interesting questions. I would recommend to young guitar players and musicians,  work hard with love and passion. Try to learn something new every time. Be patient, and try to put a powerful feeling into music and… of course, believe in yourself.