Looking up

FROM SUPPORTING METALLICA to performing at Lebanon’s Fete De La Musique festival, it’s been a busy year for Dubai rockers EYE (Empty Yard Experiment).

The group, who incorporate visual presentations into their stage shows, are currently remixing their second album, which is due for release at the end of the year.

EYE formed in 2006, with founding members Mehdi Gr (lead guitar), Gorgin Asadi (keys) and Kaveh Kashani (bass) joined by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bojan Preradovic in 2010, and drummer Josh Saldanha earlier this year.

Bojan told us about playing for 20,000 people and the importance of being prepared.

So what is an Empty Yard Experiment?
We stay away from spoon-feeding our listeners. Empty Yard Experiment is about introducing a piece of music or art into a space that is devoid of prejudices and allowing the mind to do its own work when digesting it. The subject that our latest single GHHR addresses may or may not be clear to you, but your only point of reference is your emotional response to what you’re hearing. That’s the ideal scenario from where we stand.

Would it be fair to label your band ‘prog-rock’?
Each member has their own musical preferences and tastes, but there are obviously bands we all love and respect – like Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead and Tool. Our music blends post-rock with progressive and alternative rock. It’s inspired by Middle Eastern culture and politics, and our own reactions to the world. Progressive rock is great, because it gives you a lot of freedom to play with dynamics, time signatures and different keys. Elements of post-rock add that hypnotic, atmospheric dimension that has always been the trademark of the music that we make.

EYE are within touching distance of acquiring 14,000 Facebook fans. How did you guys manage to build such a strong online presence?

The band has been around for quite a while now, so our first album and the shows that we’ve played over the years have earned us quite a strong following around the region. We also have a carefully thought-out social media strategy, which means that we periodically promote our page in regions that we either believe are home to potential audiences, or destinations where we have played or intend to play shows in the near future.

What’s been your best gig since forming?
Our best show was probably opening for Metallica (at Yas Island’s Du Arena in April), which was just on another level. Seeing an audience of approximately 20,000 people connect with your music and giving you the honour of warming them up for an act as iconic as Metallica – that was just something we’ll all never forget, no matter what happens to the band in the future.

And your worst?
We can confidently say that in the band’s recent history, we have never really had shows that we consider to be abysmal. We are always impeccably prepared for performances, and the reactions that we elicit from our audiences reflect that.

For more info and updates on EYE, go to www.facebook.com/eyeband