Introducing: Dialekt

Dialekt are a four piece alt-metal band from Bedford, bassist Mat Augustyniak talks us through the background of the band as well as some of his own influences.

DGM: What are the origins of the band, and how long have you been playing together?

MA: The band started as the project of the guitarist Mariano, who found some like-minded musicians to jam with back in 2013. Things have changed many times in terms of members and music. We have been together with this squad since mid 2018, when we introduced the new drummer Jamie Beaumont. We’ve had time to learn each other’s ways and different approaches to the music, and we are getting tighter with every rehearsal.

DGM: How did you feel performing your first gig? And how was it?

MA: Our first gig as Dialekt was in July 2017 at The Bear Pub in Bedford. It was pretty wild, with no sound check or even a stage, but with quite a crowd who came to see the headliner. I must say it went quite well for a first gig, but we have certainly learned a lot since then.

DGM: What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe yourselves?

MA: It is hard to describe our music really; we all share a love of metal music, but we come from different backgrounds and metal has many branches and sub-genres. I like to call our music alternative metal. All you need to know that it is melodic, heavy, and with a kick.

DGM: The new music scene is bursting at the seams with fresh talent. In what ways do you feel a band has to stand out from the others trying to build a name?

MA: That is true, there are hundreds of bands emerging and trying to conquer the world now music creation is much easier. For us personally, it is all about the journey and constant drive to be better players, both individually and as a band. A lot of bands dismantle faster than they are assembled, and so I think to be successful you need to be consistent, do your thing as best you can and just don’t give up.

DGM: What are you working on at the moment that people can check out?

MA: We released our fourth single just before Covid-19 happened, so it is a pretty fresh piece of music that you can find on Spotify or YouTube. We had plans to record another one this summer, but at this point we are not sure if it will be possible. We are also working on few new songs that will refresh our live set – it will surely be a busy time as soon as we can get in the studio and back to rehearsing.

DGM: What band out there at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?

MA: We would love to share the stage as support for Bury Tomorrow or While She Sleeps. Trivium would also be an exciting band to play with.

DGM: Who do you think will be the next band to break out?

MA: I wouldn’t be able to point to anyone – there are so many good bands we’ve played with and they all deserve to break out, but Matt is putting his bet on Loathe or Employed to Serve – both worth checking out.

DGM: What are your first musical memories? And what was the light bulb moment that made you go “I want to do that!”

MA: Well I remember the first heavy album that made me lose my shoes was System Of A Down by Toxicity. I became a metalhead then and started devouring anything that I could lay my hands on. I never thought about creating music myself until I was at Uni. One of my friends often brought an acoustic guitar to parties and played some old classics. That was the light bulb moment for me – why only listen if you can also create? I started to play guitar, then moved to bass a few years ago before joining Dialekt as it’s much easier to find a band if you are a bassist.

DGM: What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?

MA: I think it was Metallica in London last year, which was also the first time I had seen them live – an unforgettable experience. To be honest, I rarely go to smaller gigs now if we are not part of the show.

DGM: What is the album that you have in your collection or Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?

MA: Hard to say, it’s all mostly metal and classic rock but I think the one which stands out is Death & Glory – a synthwave/electro album by Lazerpunk, who are from Hungary. It was a real discovery for me, and even though I was looking for something similar no other electro has hit my guts like this one.

DGM: What are your plans for the remainder of 2020?

MA: Get back on stage and release another single. And not die from the virus!

DGM: How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?

MA: We are active on Facebook and YouTube mostly, we also have our Bandcamp page and you can find our music on most of the streaming services. We want to expand to Twitter and Instagram, but it is just really hard to manage all that while we all have full time jobs.

You can also contact us via email: contactdialekt@gmail.com