In this interview spotlight, I chat with Dead Rituals about their latest music, technology, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

We are a band from Naples, Italy. This project started out in New York – I wrote and recorded all the music as I had been living there for a few years. I decided to move back to Italy, and I got a few friends involved to make the songs happen live!

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I’ve always been inspired by the immediacy of punk rock, but ultimately, I am interested in many other styles of music, including post-rock, new-wave, and shoegaze. I created this project as an outlet to do whatever I wanted with music, with no boundaries or genre barriers.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

This is our first release – the goal was just to release a few songs and hopefully give people a taste of what we’re all about as a band.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

Technology certainly helps in terms of production – I wrote and recorded these songs as I was traveling through the world, so it probably would not have been possible to work without having a laptop with the ability to record music on the fly, and get studio-grade results! We took advantage of the portability of our recording set up to record some interesting rooms – anywhere from an old church to a very big living room where we re-amped some drums!

What was the last song you listened to?

Banshee by my friends Lee Van Cleef (Guido, their drummer, plays guitar in our band)

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

They’re honestly all cool for different reasons. Vinyl is amazing because it’s a cool object to have – it’s a more tangible experience of music. I cherish the ritual of putting on a record and enjoying it from start to finish. CDs are cool to me because they remind me of being younger, and spending every spare change I had on them. I’d go to school with my CD walkmen and hide it under my sweater, with the earbud sticking out of my shirts! I never paid attention in class – I was only listening to the Ramones!

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I like Spotify, and it’s versatility when it comes to discovering new music. I don’t have a lot of experience with Apple Music, but from what I’ve seen, the interface is clean and super-nice! Bandcamp is cool because it empowers the artists to take control over their catalog and how they want to present their material. They are all great for different reasons, for sure!

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Instagram (@deadrituals) is a great one! There is also Facebook, which is more about band update.

Anything else before we sign off?

Thanks for the opportunity – I’d love for anyone to check out our self-titled EP, “Dead Rituals – Dead Rituals,” – Write us, let us know what you think!