Band der Woche: Melancholic Crossroads

Düster, verträumt und irgendwo zwischen Horror und Fantasy – Melancholic Crossroads verbinden Witch House mit einer ganz eigenen visuellen und atmosphärischen Welt. Aus einer Begegnung in der lokalen Musikszene entstand ein gemeinsames Projekt, in dem Klang, Ästhetik und Storytelling eng miteinander verbunden sind. Im Mai ist ihr fesselndes Album Apathetic erschienen. Im Interview erzählen Danielle und Aury von ihren musikalischen Einflüssen, kreativen Visionen und den Geschichten hinter ihren Songs.

Who is behind Melancholic Crossroads, and how would you describe yourselves beyond music?
Danielle: I am a multidisciplinary artist. I love adventure and connection.
Aury: I would describe myself as committed and determined, with a love for connecting with other people.

How did you meet, and what made you decide to start the project?
Danielle & Aury: Danielle was in a band called „Girlfiend,“ and I ended up at one of her shows around 2022, when I was first starting to become a music producer. I loved her presence so much that I approached her, and we had a conversation about music and her time in the band. This was when I mentioned I was working on a project soon, and since then we kept in touch. Around 2024, I met my singer before Danielle, „Kalli,“ who was another amazing artist that I shared my time with until the day she unfortunately said goodbye to the band. I then contacted Danielle since her band had also recently disbanded, while I was a solo producer again, and we became a duo, which was the plan from the very start!

When did music first become a part of your life? Was there a moment when you fell in love with sound?
Danielle: Music first became a part of my life in elementary school. I was in the school band and played the trumpet.
Aury: Music, I feel, came into my life in elementary school when I had the opportunity to learn how to play the violin from a teacher. After that, it was a key moment that stuck with me, but it wasn’t until high school, when I taught myself guitar, that I knew I wanted to pursue music at some point.

What are you looking for in music? What are the boundaries that you look to explore with music?
Danielle: I’m looking to inspire others in the ways that I have been inspired. I want to pass the torch by sharing my creativity with others.
Aury: I’m looking to tell a story in the tracks that we create, but not only that, but also to have a connection with someone who can give the songs meaning to them.

If you had to describe your music without using any musical terminology, how would you portray it?
Danielle: Ethereal, Haunted, Fantasy.
Aury: Haunting, Dreamy, Agonizing.

What themes are you currently drawn to in your work?
Danielle: This album exemplifies themes such as empowerment, love, anger, and nature.
Aury: Themes, I would say, consist of love, torment, trauma, the future, and finding one’s motive.

How are your music pieces created? Where does the impulse to create something come from for you?
Danielle: I’m inspired by the instrumentals. Aury starts with the instrumentals, and then I layer the vocals. Usually, the instrumental will immediately inspire me with a story or theme.
Aury: I make instrumentals for Danielle around midnight to 3 a.m. all the time, as I believe that’s when I truly have a more creative process. This ends up turning a lot of the tracks melancholic and dreamy, and paired with Danielle’s beautiful vocals, they create an amazing combination.

Your new album Apathetic came out in May. Could you take us through the journey from the very first spark of inspiration to the finished album?
Danielle: I think a cool aspect of the album is that Aury and I were both inspired by different visions during the creation process. I took what Aury gave me and expanded further on that.
Aury: One of the greatest realizations that I came across was when we first worked on an EP together called „Alice In The Mirror.“ Danielle is such a talented artist, and on the EP there was a variety of different types of sounds in the tracks, from ethereal to punk to EDM, and she nailed every single track with her amazing vocals. We then collected a few archived tracks and worked on them, which turned out to be the album „Apathetic.“

How do your surroundings impact your art?
Danielle: I try to feed off of my surroundings in an intentional way. For example, if I’m out in the world and hear a phrase that resonates with me, I’ll try to expand on that in my own words.
Aury: Since I usually get my ideas from everywhere, I get inspired a lot. My vision for the band has become more gothic from being around the goth and punk scene, and since Kalli and Danielle are goth, I wanted to add some familiarity into the instrumentals for them.

Outside of music, what artistic influences have most shaped your creative approach?
Danielle: Films and storytelling influence my writing a lot. I’m inspired by filmmakers such as David Lynch and authors like Kafka.
Aury: I’m inspired a lot by old-style films that have a fantasy vibe to them and sometimes seem odd, such as The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland.

How important is the visual side of Melancholic Crossroads to you? How does the visual aspect relate to and reflect your music?
Danielle: For our style of music, the visuals are very important. I think with witch house, people really want a cohesive world to immerse themselves in. The musical and visual aspects, I think, inspire each other.
Aury: The visual side is an important part for us. We have themes of horror, fun, and wonder that we try to put out not only in our songs but on stage as well, to give off a sense of uniqueness.

How would you describe the world you are trying to create during your performances?
Danielle: I would describe the world we are creating as nostalgic and also mysterious.
Aury: I would say we are trying to create a world of love and passion.

Looking ahead, what’s next for you? What are you most looking forward to?
Danielle: Looking forward to continuing to create, explore, expand, and find new inspirations.
Aury: Looking ahead, we are going to adapt and make minor changes. Looking forward to a newer future.

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