Hey everyone! Today, I had a great chat with Bobby, the drummer of Persefone, the progressive metal band from Andorra. We talked about the band’s music, their upcoming concerts in Turkey, and of course, food!

First off, for those who aren’t familiar with Persefone, how would you describe yourselves?

Bobby: We’re a metal band from Andorra, and we’ve been together for 20 years. I don’t really like labeling our music, but I guess we could say it’s metal. We make music, and that’s it. I’m not a fan of listing every element or categorizing it, but when you listen to it, you’ll discover many different things. It’s symphonic, death, progressive, spiritual… a little bit of everything, but also not really any of those.

People refer to you as “Andorra’s biggest cultural brand.” How do the people back home view Persefone?

Bobby: Andorra is a small place, with a population of around 80,000. People don’t really know each other, but they hear about everything. They know about our band, but most don’t really care. They might know about our albums and concerts, but they don’t really grasp the size of the project. One time, Carlos was shopping, and a woman said, “You’re the guy who plays guitar, right?” Carlos said, “Yeah, yeah.” And she replied, “I don’t like your music, but you’re not bad.” Carlos just said, “Okay, thanks.” That’s kind of how it is.

You released Lingua Ignota: Part I this year. How did Lingua Ignota come about, and how many albums or EPs will this series have?

Bobby: Last year, our vocalist Marc decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family and focus on a new job. We replaced him with Daniel from Madrid, and to introduce him, we decided to release this EP. It was a good opportunity to present our new lineup and perform live. Our next plans include releasing a live album and DVD/Blu-ray of a concert we recorded with an orchestra in Andorra. Also, our new album won’t be Lingua Ignota Part 2—we might continue with a different project.

Can you take us backstage at that special night in Andorra and tell us how the performance with the orchestra went?

Bobby: We celebrated the band’s anniversary, played songs from old albums, and the concert felt like a Persefone story. We had just returned from China two weeks before the show and had only two rehearsals with the orchestra. That was really stressful for us. There was a huge cultural gap—while they were classical musicians, we’re metalheads. I cried a lot during the last song because I realized how incredible everything was. David Castillo was there too. He’s worked with bands like Opeth, Katatonia, Sepultura, Leprous… and he was in Andorra. Everyone was like, “What’s going on here?” Also, all the political figures from Andorra were at the show, the Minister of Culture, the President… it felt surreal. I hope we never do something like that again.

In the The Equable music video, the use of Morse code was a nice touch. Are there hidden messages in the rhythms too? Or any other layers that listeners can discover?

Bobby: This idea came from our guitarist Filipe, who is also a designer and illustrator. He’s the one who created the video. When we talked about Lingua Ignota, we thought of it as a language that everyone can understand, but no one really talks about. It’s more like a connection between beings without words. Filipe might have added hidden messages, he’s kind of that quirky guy.

When you first announced Lingua Ignota, I thought you created a language just for Persefone, and we’d be figuring out the messages hidden in it. Have you ever thought about creating your own language, like Tolkien did?

Bobby: Haha, wow! 🙂 Although we’re big fans of Tolkien, creating a language is a whole different thing. Making music itself is already a huge task. Instead of creating a new language, sometimes it’s enough to be on the same wavelength with someone. It may not be a “language,” but you get what I mean.

Let’s talk about your collaboration with Paul Masvidal. I feel like your ideas and worldview are somewhat similar. How did this collaboration come about?

Bobby: We’ve been huge fans of Paul and Cynic for years. This collaboration was a dream come true for us. When we were working on Living Waves, we thought, “The person who should sing this song is definitely Paul,” but we didn’t know if we’d get a response. Still, we sent him an email, and he replied very kindly. He helped write some of the lyrics, we explained the concept, and he made some style changes. He played the guitar solo and was pretty much co-writing the song with us. That moment felt very special because even the intro of the album had Paul’s voice.

Will we see more collaborations in your future songs, maybe with Paul or other musicians?

Bobby: It would be incredible to work with Paul again. We thought, “Not just a song, we should make a whole EP with Paul!” But we never asked him, since everyone’s busy with their own projects. There might be collaborations in future albums, but we haven’t contacted anyone yet. We do love adding guest artists to our music. We even have a guest list, like Santa Claus distributing gifts! Since we’ve been touring, we’ve made a lot of connections—maybe one day we’ll be like, “Okay, now I’m calling James Hetfield from Metallica!” Haha, not yet, but why not?

After Cynic, now you’re playing in Turkey. How do you feel about performing here?

Bobby: I’m really excited to play in Ankara and Istanbul! I’ve wanted to play there for a long time. I’m not an expert on concerts in Turkey, but from what I’ve seen, there are a lot of metal concerts, and the love for metal is truly remarkable. Also, my cymbal company is based in Turkey, so I have a special connection to the country. I work with a company called İstanbul Agop. We’ll arrive on Friday afternoon and perform the next day, so we’ll only have a few hours to explore, but I still think it’s going to be great.

Alkera will be opening for you. Have you had the chance to listen to their music?

Bobby: Honestly, I haven’t listened to their music much, so it’s hard for me to say much. But I can say this: any band that works hard to make music, perform concerts, and produce videos definitely deserves recognition. These days, it’s so difficult to stand out, record something, and get it out there, so they definitely deserve respect.

Coming from a small country like Andorra and reaching metal fans all over the world is really amazing. What do you think is the key factor that made Persefone stand out in the metal scene? Did you have a clear vision of where you wanted to go musically when you started?

Bobby: When the band started, I wasn’t part of it yet, but I’ve known the guys for years. Carlos had big dreams, like “We’re going to record an album, tour the world, play in Japan, perform at Wacken!” And they really did everything they said. I remember when Persefone first went to a festival outside of Andorra, in Germany. Everything was new and uncertain, we probably couldn’t even afford the festival expenses, and we slept in a tent. Now, it might look like everything’s going smoothly, but it took years of hard work to get here.

What is the main message Persefone wants to convey with your music and lyrics?

Bobby: This is a tough question. The lyrics usually revolve around spirituality and self-discovery. What we’re trying to say means different things to different listeners. Now, this might sound a bit “new-age,” but I think the main point is love. We try to spread the message of love because there’s already so much hate in the world. Even though our last few albums may seem to convey different messages, they actually all deal with the same topics at their core.

Finally, before the concert, what would you like to tell us?

Bobby: I want to eat the best food! My friends Onur and Sinan were talking about kebabs, and they said we must try them around the venue. Then, they mentioned something called ‘meze,’ but I’m not sure about the name. It seems like small dishes, kind of like tapas. Also, I marked “Karaköy Güllüoğlu” on the map, they have baklava and all kinds of sweets. I really want to go there!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. It was great meeting you.

Bobby: Thank you, I’m really happy we met. Take care, and see you at the concert!