Taking the opportunity of upcoming Siddharta concert in Poznań I’ve asked for an interview with the band. My e-mail was answered and so here you have a little insight into the band and their music, in Tomi’s (vocals) words.

Your last album was recorded live, which is a very original approach. Where did the idea come from and was it hard to make it work?

Every time we start thinking about making a new record, we try to come up with some fresh ideas and keep it interesting. So we did some brainstorming and most of the ideas led us to the same point: Lets make a live concert with all the new songs and record it in front of thousands of people on the central stadium of our capital city Ljubljana. We wanted to have the biggest studio yet to record new material. To make it work we needed Ross Robinson (who also produced our album Saga) to guide us. So we went to LA for a few weeks to prepare the songs for best live performance. It was hard to make it work since we had more than three months of rehearsing and only one take to do it.

You have worked on your last two albums in US with an internationally renowned producer, Ross Robinson. Did it somehow influence your music? How?

Ross showed me how music shouldn't be forced. Music is always inside of us. It is done. You just need the right time and the right way to record it in its origin. All the mistakes that you make doing that, are necessery for keeping the life in the music and keeping it pure. Knowing that makes music better even to listen!

What made you start releasing albums in two language versions?

To bring our music closer to the people that want to understand Slovene, it is sometimes better to put lyrics also in English. Rock n' roll sounds original in English, but in our case it is so much better in our native spoken word. We create emotional rides, wanting people to feel that, no matter how language kills them.

In terms of creating lyrics, expression and fitting the words with the music - do you find any differences between making songs in Slovene and in English?

I create music in gibberish, yet always knowing what it is all about. The animal roars in animal language and we all are animals. At the end – you feel the music and get the lyrics you understand.

What are the topics that you most like to write about?

Probably about making things better. Life, people and about Universe with all the love and hate within.

You wrote and sing "Eboran" backwards, which never ceases to amaze me. How did you come up with the idea and was it hard learning to sing it?

The guitar riff that I came up with led me to some strange idea to make a simple text and sing it backwards. Eboran in Slovene means, Wrong if you spell it backwards. I wrote a simple text and learned it backwards. It wasn't hard to do at all because it was really fun making this experiment.

What are your main music influences?

Faith No More, Guns 'n' Roses, soundtracks, Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Queen, Metallica...

How would you describe your music to those who haven’t yet heard Siddharta?

Modern Rock Ethnic Universe Music.

You play both huge stadium shows as well as in small clubs. Which do you prefer and why?

If the energy flow is right, it doesn't really matter.

Last question, but an important one: what are Siddharta’s plans for the near and further future?

To play our music all around the world to the people that have the same attitude of making the world a better place.

Thanks again, guys, and see you in Poznań!