Porcelain Shards are based in Prague, but Martin Schwarz writes as someone who lets several rooms into the same song. The band’s second album, Halcyon’s Dream, moves through heavier guitars, clean vocals, softer acoustic parts and traces of the music that shaped him in the early 2000s.
That mixture is part of the point. Schwarz describes Porcelain Shards as a band with “a hundred faces”, where different listeners may find different ways in. Some may arrive through the title track. Others may connect more quickly with “Out Of Lust” or “MIA”, especially if they come from metalcore. On Halcyon’s Dream, that openness is clearer than before. The record is heavier than parts of Perfect Storm, but it also leaves room for gentler songs, city images, doubt, rooftops, rehearsal rooms and the kind of writing that comes from looking back at why music still has a place in your life.
For AFRICA.ROCKS, Martin Schwarz spoke about Prague, “Little Fox”, working with Artem Efimov from Red Ghost Studio, and why Porcelain Shards do not want their songs to sit inside one narrow genre.
“I know a lot of singers, dancers and theatre people. They tend to be sensitive and intelligent individuals, and I see myself as part of that world too.”
Halcyon’s Dream moves from heavier metal songs to the softer closing track “Little Fox”. What made that wider shape feel right for Porcelain Shards at this point?
A very pragmatic reason might be that two of us are classically trained guitarists [he laughs]. Because of that, we try to sneak in some soothing acoustic strings here and there. Personally, with these early albums, I lead it more like a personal music blog of sorts, composing what I would like to listen to, and not necessarily what would be cohesive in the bigger picture of the whole band image.
I know a lot of singers, dancers and theatre people. They tend to be sensitive and intelligent individuals, and I see myself as part of that world too. I am comfortable presenting that side of myself, which is why some of the songs lean into a softer, more delicate side instead of trying to come across as the toughest, hardest rocker ever.
“Little Fox” seems to come from a very personal place, especially with its questions around time, doubt and the meaning of making music. What did writing that song show you about where you are now as a songwriter?
I spilled all my doubts into that one. Originally, we were not even planning to shoot a video for it, but we liked how the song turned out and felt it needed a visual representation too. The writing process was straightforward. I did not aim to write a complex song, like “Halcyon’s Dream” or “Nature Of Man”, but, as the lyrics say, “easy chords, simple rhyme, to let it all out”. The chorus acoustic guitar riff just appeared in my head and I knew it was good. Ah, but I am slightly mystifying you here. It did end up with a complex outro riff and solo, going into a fade-out. That part was inspired by The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s music. In a live setting, this solo can go on and on and on. We have a signal: when I raise my hand in a fist, it means the next turnaround will be the end of the song. Of course, sometimes not everyone pays attention to that gesture, and it leads to all sorts of funny situations.
You worked with Artem Efimov from Red Ghost Studio on the mix and master. How did his work change the way these songs finally came together?
Artem is one of those magical human beings who does his work for the love of the music itself. He is a skilled producer and a capable player of multiple instruments. He is always receptive to feedback and, more importantly, he incorporates it in a reasonable way, or says no if it is not a good idea. He adds a bit of “studio spice” to the songs. He programs some small extra drums or string sections, those little extras that colour the final product. Obviously, his mixing and mastering is top notch. He lives in Kyiv and, even in the raging war, he keeps going.
“I frankly feel this is the vocalist’s job, to join all the puzzle pieces together.”
The album pulls from power metal, NWOBHM, hard rock, pop punk and darker influences like Agalloch. How do you keep those references inside one band identity without making the record feel scattered?
There are two mending forces that keep it together: Artem’s mixing and my vocals. I frankly feel this is the vocalist’s job, to join all the puzzle pieces together, and I think it works on a listener’s level. It does not work so well on a promotional level, because it is difficult to target the correct audience properly. But that is a whole different topic. I listen to many artists and genres, so I have to primarily make it interesting for myself. My music is personal, and it has to be authentic, and this kind of mash-up of genres is right for me. But we are aiming to solidify it a bit in the future, because we realise the limitations of the current state.
Porcelain Shards are based in Prague, and the “Little Fox” video was filmed in a rehearsal room and on a rooftop in Bubeneč. How much does the city around you enter the band’s music, even when the songs are dealing with personal or natural themes?
This urban imagery is common in my songs. I feel a strong connection with the environment I live in. The city itself is often personified in the songs. In “Little Fox”, it is addressed in the lines “cheers to you happy town, stay out of my mind”. In “Nature Of Man”, the roads become creatures: “don’t fear the asphalt snakes”. Then, of course, there is our non-album single “Sky Of My City”, where the environment gains almost human features: “on a hill across the valley stands a radio tower, blinks its red eye in a soul-soothing pattern”.
It should be noted that “Sky Of My City” is dedicated to Gothenburg, where I spent half a year of my studies back in the day, unlike the other songs, where it is either generally the city I am currently living in, or Prague, the mother of all cities, where we all strive and thrive.
Buy/Stream Porcelain Shard’s Halcyon’s Dream on Bandcamp.
