Interview Viscula

With Masks, Ukrainian rock veterans Viscula reflect on identity, resilience, and roots—shaped by global journeys, wartime reality, and collaboration—marking a powerful new chapter in their long, unconventional musical story today.

1. Masks is your fifth studio album. Looking back at your long and unconventional journey, what does this record represent for Viscula at this stage of your musical life?
We made the decision to record our fifth album in Ukraine (the previous album 'IV' was completely recorded in the UK in 2021), due to the need to return to our roots. Only Ukrainian musicians participated in the recording of the album 'Masks', and this is probably symbolic given the current difficult state of our country and the need to support to support it in all available ways.

2. The band played in a variety of places and continents. How have these radically different environments shaped the sound and spirit of Masks?
With each new album and mini-album (by the way, there are four of them in our discography), Viscula reached some new level for itself, because each of the subsequent recordings was contextually different from the previous one. New forms, styles and experiments are all the result of our movements around the planet and the absorption of its cultural diversity.

3. The album’s title suggests themes of identity and transformation. What “masks” are you exploring—personal, social, or artistic—on this record?
Various kinds of masks surround us everywhere. From birth to death, every person is faced with life's hypocrisy, narcissism, self-promotion and political propaganda. These Masks have become a part of ourselves and sometimes we don't know where we really are. This is our album, about the hidden Masks that prevent us from manifesting and about the possibility of dropping them.

4. Legendary Ukrainian bassist Oleksandr Pipa joined you on this album. How did his presence and signature Rickenbacker tone influence the songwriting and overall energy of Masks?
Oleksandr Pipa is a great musician and his appearance as a bassist is no coincidence. His sound is kind of unique and we heard it in our new musical developments. Fortunately, Oleksandr liked our demos and he agreed to take part in the recording of our new album.

5. Your recording journey spanned various locations in Ukraine and abroad. How did moving between these places influence the creative process and emotional atmosphere of the album?
Yes, indeed, we started recording the album 'Masks' in Lutsk at the end of 2024, where we actually started our activities as a band in 2002. Then the recording was moved to other places and the final touches to the album were recorded in Batumi (Georgia). The creative process was as always inspired and interesting and this probably also added its own unique aesthetics to the overall colorful sound of the album.

6. The tracks were later sent to Seattle and shaped by producer Barrett Jones, known for his work with Nirvana and Pearl Jam. What did he bring to your music that helped capture that raw “Seattle sound”?
Initially, we planned to mix and master the album in England, but a familiar British producer advised us to contact Barrett Jones in Seattle, since in his opinion this is what we needed. We did it and on the recommendation we came into the field of view of Barrett who discovered Ukrainian rock through our joint collaboration.

7. Viscula has always seemed to live multiple musical lives at once. Do you feel Masks unifies those lives, or does it intentionally highlight their contrasts?
The album 'Masks' simultaneously unites and, as you say, emphasizes the contrasts of all the different epics of Viscula. I didn't want to use the well-worn clichés that it's just rock and roll, but it's just rock and roll.

8. The album artwork was created by Dmytro Kurovskiy (Foa Hoka). How closely did the visual concept align with the music, and what story does the artwork tell?
When we received the first demos of the new album, we sent them to Dmytro and asked if he could help us with the design of the upcoming album, to which Dmytro agreed and provided us with incredible art.

9. Having performed in such diverse cultural contexts—from Mongolia to Hong Kong to London—what do you think transcends language and geography in Viscula’s music?
Our music has a cosmopolitan character and regardless of the language in which we sing our lyrics, we always look back at the origins of the birth of rock n roll magic. This charges us equally in different corners of the planet, because people are the same all around and this magic is something more than just art, culture or politics.

10. In today’s digital age, you emphasize the CD as a “unique artifact.” Why was it important for you to give Masks a physical form, and what does it symbolize for the band?
We are pleased to announce that the album 'Masks' has been released in CD format. Why is it a unique artifact? Because this release has brought together collaborations of different types of human creativity, music, lyrics, art and the desire to experiment and look for something new.

11. Ukrainian rock has always carried a strong sense of resilience and identity. How does Masks reflect the current state of Ukrainian culture and creative expression?
Perhaps the fact that only Ukrainians play on the album does not make this record Ukrainian. Here you need to feel the context, places and state of mind of every Ukrainian musician who understands that he must do this despite the war, cold and frequent lack of electricity. To do this for the present and future generations so that Ukrainian rock continues its development and history.

12. After all these years, countless stages, and now the release of Masks, what still drives Viscula forward—and where do you see the next chapter of the band heading?
Of course, our new album is a new step taken by us in this difficult time. As they say, what does not kill us makes us stronger and we completely agree with that, so our next musical opus, according to the logic of things, should be even stronger.

Viscula — Ukrainian rock n roll band with CHINESE AND BRITISH EXPERIENCE