Hector Gannet - Big Harcar

I think its fascinating how many records have been written celebrating the beauty of the landscape, people and traditions of England. There is a certain romance about the country that is hard to ignore - especially when you really sink your teeth into a monster of a record like this one. What Hector Gannet has done here is create a deeply emotional monolith of folk rock and transcendent magic. The stripped down poetry and frequently minimalist arrangements make for a truly epic listening experience that can't help but to win the heart. 

While the album is strong throughout, I think it's the truly stunning closing track, 'Until My Bonnie Can Be Revived' that really makes this into something special. It's a nearly eight minute long epic that has incredible emotional depth and which revels in the simplicity of a man and his guitar. It sort of provides a nice capstone on eleven tracks of folk magic, alternative frills and the occasional moment of grunge power. As a general rule - the production here is incredible. Even on the most minimalistic tracks there is a lot to enjoy. When things do get a bit more layered it's still powerful, interesting and above all sounds gorgeous. 

Big Harcar is a really powerful listen and it's one that stands up to multiple listens. Even within the most basic elements there is a hint of bliss, sorrow and hope for a future that maybe isn't so fucked. Though Hector Gannet was inspired by a very specific corner of the world, it seems increasingly clear that this has allowed his work to speak to something profoundly human, powerful and unavoidable. It's a joy to listen to this record in all of its soothing alt rock majesty. At the end of the day, when a record is this honest, what's not to fall in love with?

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Interview with Einar Selvik of Wardruna

After two brilliant records and a equally mesmerising collaborative effort on the Vikings soundtrack, Wardruna has made its mark on audiences around the world, bringing the traditional sounds of ancient nordic culture to the forefront of the music scene. Masterminded by Einar Selvik alongside Gaahl (both former members of the infamous Black Metal band Gorgoroth), the Bergen-based project has been making waves with their transcendent, heavily atmospheric compositions rooted in nordic folk traditions. With the release of their third record Ragnarok, the band will be laying the final stone to their trilogy of albums dedicated to the musical interpretation of the Elder Futhark runes. Beyond the mere concept of destruction the title may suggest, Einar is quick to point out that this closing instalment in the Runaljod trilogy symbolises more of a new beginning than the end of all things.

So this third record marks the end of the bands’ conceptual ark dedicated to the runes of the Elder Futhark. How can one characterise this closing chapter conceptually with regards to its predecessors?

Conceptually, the first record is about creation and the second one is about growth. This next record is more about transformation. Musically speaking the record is a natural continuation of the last two records, working on a different set of runes. Every album were dedicated to 8 different runes, so naturally the outcome is different. I think the album has some of the monotonous elements from the first album all the while borrowing elements from the second record in terms of poetry and melodies.

With regards to album title, ‘Ragnarok’ evokes destruction but also the foundation of a new beginning. Did this notion entail a preparation for then next creative endeavours for Wardruna ?

I focussed on making this trilogy of albums stand on its own, no  matter what I choose to do in the future. The album definitely has some elements of destruction and the darkness that follows but I would say that it does primarily focus on the new beginning, what rises from the ashes. That is where the focus was. I think that a lot of people tend to misinterpret the concept of Ragnarok and see it as the end of the world. However, in the circular way perspective of the Norse, this is destruction is part of a cycle. It is about the end but it is just as much about the beginning.

For each track you’ve made sure to sonically translate and interpret the symbolism of each rune. What would you say were the most challenging runes to bring to life?

Of course some runes are very clear on what they represent and also have clear sonic elements to them. Some runes are definitely easier to illustrate sonically. Also you have to remember that I not only approach these themes in an intuitive, esoteric way but also in a scholarly way. We actually know very little about these runes of the Elder Futhark. It’s been a very important to me to not just invent things and color them too much by my own personal interpretations but rather to focus on the core of it and give it a direction. From a scholarly perspective, it’s very difficult material to work with. I wanted it to be an honest but also a serious affair from a scholarly aspect. That, of course, has been challenging. I’m not sure if there are any runes in particular I would like to highlight in that sense but of course some runes are more obscure than others.

Given the fact that the album trilogy follows this conceptual framework, has the concept ever presented itself as a constraint during the writing process?

Absolutely, very constrained. The runes are constrained, even though people think that they are very intuitive or that they can mean basically anything. That’s a very modern, new-age thing that has very little to do with the original way of approaching runes, even though it has esoteric sides. They are very constrained and very specific. It’s definitely been very challenging project that has taken me almost 16 years to finish off,  but it’s been very interesting. 

Were the songs all outlined around the same time or released in a different order than the order in which they were written?

Some of the ideas on this album date back to 15 years ago and some songs are based on sketches that I did back then. My focus was always on the current album I was working on but some of the songs are based on old writings from the very beginning of Wardruna. 

Were there any early songs that you felt needed to rework on as time went by and it came time to write and release it on an album?

They weren’t really finished pieces, it was more ideas and parts. If it hadn’t worked out, I would have changed them of course, but what was quite amazing was that when I started piecing things together and started revisiting these ideas, everything fit so well into the song and record. It’s quite an amazing feeling.

With regards to your work on the soundtrack for the Vikings series, how would you say is the main focus when scoring the series as opposed to your work with Wardruna?

The approach is totally different, being that it’s a different “format”. With soundtracks you’re working on specific visuals and you need to speak music in a different way. It’s more direct in some ways and more subtle in others. It’s a different musical approach. Of course you also work with completely different deadlines and timespans.

With the trilogy now completed, do you feel more compelled to stay within a conceptually defined framework or would you consider opening the project up to more “free compositions”?

I like conceptual albums. I like to tell a story that is not only limited to one song, so I think no matter what I do I’ll try to do concept albums. I like the format, painting with long strokes as you would say. On the other hand I don’t know, there are no rules. It depends, I have a lot of things I want to do in the future with Wardruna. We’ll see how it turns out. I haven’t decided yet. 

Do you feel like the Norwegian and Scandinavian culture nowadays is giving its Nordic Spiritual roots the place and relevance it deserves?

Well what makes something deserve a place and relevance? I would say that if it has relevance these things will come naturally. I think a lot of people are searching in their roots these days, in the history that stretches beyond the grasp of the centralised monotheistic religions. People want to come back to the roots and I think a lot of people want to feel some sort of connection to nature and stuff like that. I think it’s a very natural reaction to what’s happening in the world. In that sense I  also can understand why people find the Nordic tradition interesting as well. The fact is that we were left alone here in the north almost 1000 years longer than the rest of Europe, so these traditions got to develop for a longer time than for other places in Europe. I guess that’s what makes the interest for Norse traditions interesting, for other people in the world as well. It’s a complicated question. I don’t have a very “romantic” relationship to the past. It’s not about the thought that eve thing was so much better back in the day, because I don’t think it was. Some things were better and other weren’t. It’s not about reenacting the past or to try to be Vikings again or whatever. It’s more about collecting and remembering some things from the past in a new way that is relevant to the contemporary human, because some of these things are just as relevant today, perhaps even more because we’re in need of it. At the same time there are also things from the old culture and the old mythology that simply isn’t important anymore. It’s simply a different world.

And this idea of drawing these relevant elements into a modern context is found in Wardruna I presume.

Yeah, one of the most important criteria is that it carries relevance, that you are able to connect to it. That is why I think people are able to connect to the music of Wardruna in a personal sense. I think it does carry relevance today. Also, when I write music I try to build and keep an open space for the listener to be able to connect with it. 

Back in June I interviewed this South-Korean band called Jambinai who use traditional instruments and elements from traditional Korean music. Their guitarist, who actually named your records as being some of his favorite albums, mentioned also the idea of bringing Korean traditional music and reinstating its relevance in a modern rock context alongside electric instruments. With Wardruna, do you see a certain responsibility to stay within certain historical accuracy or do you merely draw upon the sounds of ancient nordic traditions?

I would say it’s both. I happen to also be a proper history nerd, although not formally I am a scholar of these things. I study a lot and these things are important to me. With that being said, it’s not necessarily important to be “authentic”. Like I said, it’s not about “reenacting”. However, the elements I weave into it are definitely based on something authentic. Some of these instruments I use are solely limited in terms of what you can do on it, whatever you do on them will sound authentic. I write poetry where I try to follow the old patterns and and qualities that they encompass. Those indeed have a historical and authentic base but making authentic or historical music is not what I do. I make something new with something old, but I still try to build on solid grounds. I take liberties when it makes sense. I’m making music for the contemporary listener and all that comes with it. In many cases, a lot of the musical elements, if you go back far enough in time, are quite universal. Some of these very old elements still live on in modern music nowadays as well, like the rhythms and the tones. In terms of what this Korean band is doing, if I pull my perspective towards Norway as well, it was of course one of my motivations for starting Wardruna in the first place; the poor state of how we teach our youth about the old culture, how we oversimplify it and don’t take it seriously when it really is. It is complicated and unavailable because it is so complicated. So to make a relevant and understandable way into it is definitely part of my motivation as well!

I want to preface this next question by saying that I’m not looking to sensationalise or provoke in any way. Some notable figures in the Norwegian Black metal scene still express their opposition to the Christianisation of Scandinavia and the treatment of Norse Religions by Christians. Do you personally feel like this sentiment is relevant today? What place do you see for Christianity in Norwegian history and culture and its relationship to Norse Religions? 

It’s a complicated question, the first reason being that it’s often oversimplified. First off, the general thought that war is about religion is very often wrong, and it was very often wrong for the Norwegian Christianisation. It was about centralising power, at least for Norway. If you boil it down, it was about getting church law appointed. We actually had quite a democratic rule in Norway with decentralised power, it was divided through the lands. Getting church law would allow the Christians to get rid of the old families and the more democratic rule. It basically meant one god, one king and one big sack of money. Power and money was the intention and religion was the means. A monotheistic universal religion such as Christianity is very well adapted for power politics. Norse religions or what you call per definition “ethnic religions” are more locally based, they can vary from valley to valley and they don’t rely as much on dogmas. It was set by the traditions, the landscape and the people living there. Whether or not something belongs somewhere or not is an irrelevant discussion. I think that monotheistic belief systems that are so politically and economically motivated (and always have been) are not a good thing at all. Faith and politics do not belong together. It’s a personal matter and should be so. I think the question is much bigger than simply whether something belongs in the history or not. I don’t think salvation religions and monotheistic universal religions are good. I’m not a big fan of them. I recently did a project called Skuggsjá where we addressed some of the things in Norwegian history. The piece basically talks quite a bit about the transition period between the pagan time and the christian times. I would say that what we focus on is how history told by the victors but that the truth matters. You’ll find that history is dictated out of political or religious motives. Even though we know better today a lot of these “histories” are allowed to live as truths, and that I find very provoking. We need to address truths when it comes to history. We need to teach history in a way that is removed from political or religious motives. That is basically my point.

Given the misinformation one can find on the subject of runes in english publications since the birth of the new-age movement, what would you recommend the curious minds out there that may want to learn more about the runes and the nordic traditions you talk about?

The modern rune lore is indeed a combination of many things and many different esoteric traditions such as Kabbalah, astrology, Tarot and whatnot all mixed together. It vaguely resembles the original esoteric usage of the runes. I think it’s important to find out how we know what we think we know about the runes. Studying the history of nordic religions and what the sources are is an important aspect I think. Reading the Edda poetry, you’ll find some information to study these things. These are runic poems and they are very important to know not only about the rune’s phonetic value but also its symbolic value. I think a lot of people want to study the runes and they very often jump over to the esoteric, mystical side of it. I think one of the original rune magic was very often about words and poetry, learning the rules of writing with them is probably a good entry point. For english-speaking people I would recommend books by Raymond Ian Page, he gives good interpretations of these poems. There’s also this book by Lars Magnar Enoksen called The History of Runic Lore. I actually sell it on my own webpage. It’s a very good gateway to the actual sources.

To finish off, could you name one of your favorite albums, movies and books?

(laugh) I really suck at these things. I listen so little to music these days. I’m standing in my studio now. I have a bookshelf full of my favorite books, picking one is hard. I don’t really read prose literature, I mostly read academia. I think I’ll go with one of the most important books or dissertations on the art of Sejd, it’s an ancient northern magical tradition. The book is by a swedish guy called Dag Strömbäck and the book is called Sejd. It’s a very old book and probably very limited, being that it’s in Swedish. Sorry about that! (laugh).

In terms of movies and series I really like the series Carnivàle. It’s an HBO series from about 10 years ago.

In terms of my music, this is of course very narrow, my favorite traditional Norwegian folk “albums”. is Skjoldmøyslaget (Battle of the Shield Maidens). It’s a collection of old traditional hardanger fiddle tunes from a valley called Setesdal. The place is sort of a historical pocket in Norway where for some reason a lot of old things survived.

Interview by Robin Ono

A huge thank you goes out to Einar and to the staff at Him Media, without which this interview would not have been possible!

Be sure to keep up with Wardruna’s latest news and releases on their official website and social media pages.

Official Website

http://www.wardruna.com/

Official Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/wardruna/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/wardruna?lang=fr

Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/wardruna

Interview with Flamingods

Flamingods is a band unlike any other. With a name derived from the pink bird found in the bands’ native homeland of Bahrain, this 5-piece certainly lives up to the colourful and exotic imagery evoked by their moniker. The bands’ range influence span all across the globe, borrowing influencefrom traditional eastern music, latin rhythms and African amongst to name a few all the while experimenting with any type of instrument that they may cross paths with. The resulting outcome of this exotic blend gives the unique and wonderful sound of Flamingods, once again shining in living color on the bands’ latest full-length effort Majesty and further vivified in the context of their dynamic live sets. I met up with the band prior to their gig at the local Mécanique Ondulatoire of Paris for a quick interview with these scavengers of new musical horizons. Through this conversation with these musicians kind, jovial folks, I would soon discover greater a understanding of the bands’ music, paving the way for a deeper appreciation of the bands through the accounts of their experience and experimental approach to sound.

I can only hope that you, fellow reader can come across a similar conclusion by reading these lines. Enjoy!

So this is your first show in France?

Craig: Actually no, we played in Grenoble.

Kamal: We had played in Grenoble, but it was an unofficial gig. This amazing guy wrote us a message on Facebook and invited us to play in his hometown, so we went and we stayed at his parent’s place. He’s a young guy who plays in a few bands.

Karthik: He’s in a band called Taulard (https://taulard.bandcamp.com/). We were just driving through France and we didn’t really have any shows booked so we asked if anybody wanted to book us and he was like “yeah!” (Laugh).

Kamal: We played in a Pizza Cafe (everyone bursts out laughing)… so this is the first time we’re doing “proper” shows and our first show in Paris

Craig & Karthik: First time IN Paris actually.

On your website and social media I’ve found you guys’ names but not which instruments you play.

(someone from the venue calls Kamal down).

Craig: Kamals’ got to soundcheck one of them. It’s the Taishōgoto. It’s got these strings stretched across a board, with these sort of typewriter keys. You strum it on one side and press down the keys on the other. It’s this lovely kind of drone instrument. 

We stick it through a distortion pedal and delays to get more sounds out of it. That’s quite a big one for us.

Karthik: It’s a Japanese instrument. 

Craig: It’s a Koto from the Taishō era. But we’ve also got some guitars and bass, drums…

Karthik: Basically everyone plays everything, we all swap around a lot on stage. We have a lot of percussion; congos, bongos, a normal drumkit, samples… a lot of electronic stuff as well. We’ve got 2 SP-555’s.

Craig: We’ve been upgrading. We used to have this small little keyboard, and now we’ve got these two massive Synths, but somehow the magic of the little keyboard gets lost when you move to the synth. We’re trying to figure out how to make the same songs sound as good. We experiment and we find ways. We could just keep on naming instruments we use but we don’t use them at all in the live shows. There’s been Zithers, some weird string instruments which I don’t know the name of.. There’s a thin guitar.

Karthik: We recorded at one of the 2 producers’ places. The guy basically travelled the world and collects instruments. He had boxes and boxes of instruments. We’d record something and he’d be like “Oh wait! We should add some of this instrument!” and he grab a box and get some crazy shit out. Before we bought these 2 synths we used a lot of their synths and their weird stringed instruments and random stuff… different shakers from different countries and whatnot…

Craig: It was like being in a laboratory with a mad scientist. When we’d track he’d be like “Ah!” and he’d grab a toy and just start finding a sound on it and laying something amazing on the track while we were going “Yes! Do that!”

For this current release you were all in the studio together this time then?

Karthik: Yeah.

Craig: … A luxury!

Karthik: Last record was done over the internet, sending bits and pieces across.

Craig: We started writing this record like that but then we came together. We knew what these songs were so we could start recording them in the studio properly, which is the first time we did that. We already did what we had done with the last record but we added new steps to it, so the process is bigger. It’s a bigger album. 

Did it require any adjustments in your way of working?

Craig: Well because we wrote in the same way at first, it was easier to develop it. We had a much clearer idea going into the studio what these songs were. We started in one studio and finished in another one where the mad scientist was.

Karthik: He was developing the sound actually. At first we thought we had everything recorded so we started mixing, but there was actually so much more that the tracks needed that were added. The first studio was more about going in, playing what you need to play and the guy will mix it. Like we said, the second studio was like a lab, so there was a lot of experimenting. 

Craig: It just came together in the second studio really, it just happened. 

Karthik: It was a good experience. I think we’ve learned and grown a lot as a band in terms of our recording process because it’s very different each time.

Craig: We were making up the songs there and then also. I remember there was this Church next to us playing this ritualistic music also. It was a cool vibe. 

Craig: They were wearing big silver hats and silver robes, it was this crazy Nigerian church.

Karthik: It was fun though, Kamal would have this melody on his xylophone and while he was recording he’d ask me to try and make a song out of it and I would. So that’s how we have all of these really random jams on the first album.

So things got more structured over time.

Craig: As we go on yeah, things are more structured. We have a lot clearer idea of what we’re doing in the studio. It’s been different on every album, it’s been fun for that reason. It’s always a fresh new experience. 

Karthik: Yeah, I’m intrigued to see what happens next. We’re thinking about maybe going away to record the next album in a different country and capture some new vibes some place more exotic. We want to take the other two guys because this album has something special about recording with them, it was really good. 

From what I understand, Flamingods started out as a bedroom project, am I right?

Karthik: Yeah it started out as Kamal’s bedroom project for a year I think, but it wasn’t really Flamingods.

Craig: It wasn’t really structured. At the time he was playing in an Indie band with Sam and I had started becoming better friends with Kamal. We just jammed and played with this loop pedal and made some recordings. 

Karthik: I think all of us were jamming independently with Kamal.

Craig: I also jam with Charles, so it’s all intermingled.

Karthik: It was around 2012 when it all came together as Flamingods, around the time the first tape came out, which was Sun. 

Craig: The song I wrote is on that tape and I wasn’t in the band then! It was just part of us just playing around. It was all just for fun at first. Then Kamal asked us to play a gig with him when he was in London. 

Karthik: The first ever gig that we played as a band was booked by a person who is now our manager 6 years later. For six years we didn’t see him, didn’t speak to him, and now we’ve come back to our roots, so that’s pretty cool.

So you all knew each other for quite some time and had been working together before the band got together?

Karthik: Well I met them in London, these guys all went to school together in Bahrein. I grew up in Saudia Arabia, Dubai, Albania… I’ve been moving around quite a lot. I guess that’s why it works musically. 

Craig: We have the right things in common. We also have a lot of differences, which is good. We check each other, make each other angry, make each other happy… we teach each other (smiles).  Its’ enriching. 

What about your musical backgrounds.

Craig: (smiles) We could literally go on forever. We like to think of ourselves as eclectic types. I’ve been influenced by everything. I’ve liked a lot of heavy music, I liked a lot of classical music like Claude Debussy…

Karthik: I guess in terms of musical background… again I like everything…

Craig: The best thing I can say is that we all really like to explore and that’s why Flamingods kind of naturally became a very explorative, experimental band that finds sounds and new ways to do things. 

What kind of music and what instruments did you start off on?

Karthik: Me, Craig and Sam were playing music from quite young. Charles, taught himself guitar and Kamal has no formal training. I think he brings a lot of the explorative side.

Craig: I don’t know, I don’t really like to think as a musician. When I was a kid I just wanted to be good at my instrument and stuff, but it changed very quickly once I discovered a few things. It probably sounds cheesy but I think as myself more as an artist than a “musician”, though with strong musical “leanings” I guess.

Karthik: Where we are right now is that everyone feels comfortable to pick up an instrument and make sound out of it rather than being strict into one particular thing.

Craig: We don’t talk about it much these days. We just generally have an overhanging punk mindset to some of the things we do, which used to talk about a lot more back when the music sounded more rough in the recordings. I still kind of feel that. 

Your music includes instruments from around the world. Do you use these instruments with  regards to their original musical context and tradition or do you take a more intuitive, experimental approach?

Craig: It’s generally an intuitive, experimental approach. We don’t really want to just recreate what they’re making, but we are interested in the instrument itself. An instrument is a source of inspiration in and of itself. It gives you ideas and you can see what you can do with it. Sam just got a Sitar pedal for his bass guitar for example. It’s not an eastern “thing” but it’s based on an eastern sound I guess.

Karthik: We do this kind of switch where we make western instruments sound more eastern and use eastern instruments to take them out of context. We try to listen to how it sounds if we just pick it up during a jam. 

Craig: We ever try to recreate or reimagine something that is from another culture, it’s not necessarily the music but rather about getting a picture of a ritual in our mind and put it into our music. The images can be really blurry in our minds, and we’ll just create a blurry sound out of that. 

Would you say that your music can be attributed to a specific culture ? I understand most of you come from the Bahrein. Do feel that influence in the music?

Craig: Well it probably explains why there are a lot of percussive elements. You can especially hear it with the Doumbek percussions and some of the rhythms. I think the strongest influences are arabic and african rhythms. There have also been a lot of latin rhythms in the past few years.

Karthik: It depends and whatever we’re listening to. We all listen to so much world music. Then there’s also Soundway Records, our new record label that we signed. They used to do a lot of reissues of Highlife and Nigerian or Ghanian music.  They did Sounds of Siam also. 

Craig: A lot of it finds its way into our music. 

You’ll soon be releasing your next full-length record, Majesty, which is a concept record. Could you tell us a bit about the concept behind the record?

Karthik: It’s a story about this character called Yuka is searching for enlightenment through a forrest. Basically one half of the record is light and the other is dark, with the light side being about him finding enlightement. It’s also about how our music makes us feel also I guess. 

Would you see there are any religious undertones to this idea of enlightenment?

Karthik: No, there’s nothing religious in there. 

Craig: As close as it gets to religion, there’s a sort of “spirituality” I guess. There’s a bit of a spiritual journey in there. The main concept, very briefly put, is that of a spiritual journey, with its lighter side and darker side. I guess the details are in the lyrics, but we don’t have a set “Synopsis”. It’s meant to be a bit “interpretable”  as well. People can make their own interpretation from it.

Karthik: We’re not necessarily trying to convey a message. We’re not saying “This is a spiritual journey, you need to …”. It’s more of just an open thing. People can take it however they want. 

Could you give us a few explanations as to the song titles on the records that may not be transparent to western audiences?

Karthik: Well Kamal writes all of the lyrics and the names. From what I know however, like with Rhama and Anya, they’re just words that he heard that sounded really nice. For Rhama, there’s a record-label in Singapore that wanted to reissue one of our albums, and the guys’ name was Rhama. Kamal just thought “That’s a really nice name…”. In the same way that we use instruments, he uses titles and words that just sound nice, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in context. If you use that word out of context and apply it to something new, does it sound right? The words and the music become synonymous.

Craig: It’s not a new thing either. On the first album Sun, there’s this song called Quesso. The closest real word to that is “Queso” which is the Spanish word for “Cheese”. It was just a word that Kamal and Charles liked to throw around.. “Quesso!”. It kind of meant something like “Alriiight!”. They’d go “Quessooo!” and nod their heads. It’s a reappropriation of words I guess. You can do what you want with words. 

How would you describe your live performances compared to your studio efforts?

Karthik: It’s got a lot more high energy. This is something that we’re trying to change now to bring it down a little bit before bringing it back upwards. Before the sets would just keep building and building whereas now we’re trying to level it out a little more. There’s still quite a lot of high energy, whereas our studio stuff shows a different aspect of our band. 

Craig: In terms of the jamming aspect, we don’t have any “jam song” where we just don’t know what’s going to happen. We always have a structure, but there are some elements where we might do one version or we might do another. Some songs may vary in length. There’s always someone who leads and we vibe off of the crowd. It’s kind of like reading the room, the gig “style”. We have had some shows that have required a lot of improvisation. We’ve had to cut songs or add songs  for whatever circumstances. There’s no telling how a live show might go. I have no idea how to picture tonights’ show until we’re in the room onstage and things just start happening. When you’re always swapping around, it just brings another level of improvisation that isn’t just in the music you play but how you go about it and communicate with each other.

Karthik: Another big difference is that we have live visuals. Our shows are more of an audiovisual thing rather than just watching us play. Niall (who just walked into the room), I guess you can talk about your setup.

Niall Trask : I have a mixer and through that I have a sample pad with visuals spinning around. Then there’s my video hardware which reacts to audio. It changes at every show depending on how the space is and how much room I have. 

Karthik: It’s a really big part of the live shows, it makes the whole thing more immersive whereas when you’re listening to the album you’re just listening to music.    

Niall Trask : The more equipment I get, the more kinetic the visuals get.  

Do you know in advance who’s going to switch instruments with whom?

Craig: Yeah. If it doesn’t go like that, it’s just because something went wrong and we had to improvise around that. One time I had a technical difficulty on the bass guitar so I just grabbed a guitar and had to rewrite my part to mimic the base while suiting the guitar as well. It was actually pretty fun. But usually we know who’s going to try do what and at what time.

Karthik: At the beginning it was really hard to remember who was going to be where and where to move onstage. We got better at it.

Have you noticed any differences in the way audiences react to your music?

Craig: We haven’t got to play in a lot of the countries that these instruments have come from, it’s mostly been around Europe. The farthest we’ve gone to is Dubai and Bahrein and people just liked the sound rush and energy of the shows. Different countries have their own “flavours”.

Karthik: Like in Scotland! We played that show and everyone was doing a jig! (laugh). Remember that.

Craig: Oooh, when we were playing Gojira and everyone is spaced out and going crazy. I guess the main difference is that in a lot of countries, people have fun, whereas in Switzerland people were just… dry. We played the show and that was it. We haven’t had the privilege to travel around to get a taste of how different “cultures” that are further removed from western cultures would think of it. I like to think that people would like it. We have Facebook friends from all around the place; Panama, Nepal.

Any places you’d like to play in particular?

Karthik: I want to play everywhere, man.

Craig: Yeah, I want to play everywhere. We want to go to South America and Central America, tour around Asia, go to Japan…

Karthik: Yeah, everywhere. It’s amazing to see how people receive your music. It always seems quite positive.

Craig: It’s really refreshing and inspiring to go around to new places, get new places. “THE WORLD, Maaan! I want it aaall!” (Laugh).

To finish things off: could you name one of your favorite albums, movies and books?

Craig: I could think of an album that is relevant to us that is one of my favorites…

Karthik: Baraka is probably one of my favorite films. 

Craig: We have done a score TO a bit of Baraka, so we’ll put that as our film pick. 

How do you feel about Sung Tongs by Animal Collective as our album pick?

Rest of the band: Yeah!

Craig: That’s a pretty sweet album. As to books… I read a lot of books… The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. It’s a weird one. It’s dark and introspective. It’s collected from notes after his death, but it’s all fictional. It’s a good book, really well written. 

Thank you to the bands and to Elodie and the rest of HIM Media for making this article possible!

Be sure to check out and keep up with the bands’ releases through their website and social media:

Flamingods

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/flamingodsmusic/

Bandcamp

https://flamingods.bandcamp.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/flamingods

Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/flamingodsmusic

Blood and Sun, Falls of Rauros, The Flight of Sleipnir, and Velnias at St Vitus Bar

St Vitus Bar is rapidly becoming one of my favorite places in the world to see a metal show. With solid mixing, a great vibe and stellar bills (Locals included!) most nights of the week it's hard not to appreciate what those guys have done for the scene. Yesterday evening evidenced some of the supreme glory that this bar has come to represent with four of the most exciting bands on America's bleak folk/viking metal scene. There was a distinct sense of ritual as I entered the venue and I couldn't help but smile - this is what metal is all about.

Blood and Sun - who opened up the show weren't actually a metal band, but like many other downtempo projects from dudes like Mike Scheidt and Scott Kelly they explore a metal-esque sonic space using exclusively acoustic instruments. They have a wonderfully rich and deep sound that is hard to ignore. It reflect the internal power that this kind of music can have and allows the heart to ring out as you find yourself lost ever deeper in their doomy and quasi-apocalyptic sounds. The thing is Blood and Sun are wonderfully iconoclastic and their sound is wholly their own - reflecting an ancient time and forgotten powers that resonate within us all.

Up net was the immortal Falls of Rauros who have perfectly constructed a sonic space where they can toss in guitar solos into black metal, folk elements into triumphant doom riffs with an overwhelming sense of vocal slaughter reigning high above it all. Falls of Rauros speak to the essential power of American black metal and invoke all sorts of ancient rites into their incredibly epic sound. I was impressed at the sheer quality of the musicianship that these guys represent too - they are wonderfully talented and dedicated to their craft - a key part of what helps to make their live experience so incredibly powerful

The Flight of Sleipnir though were my most anticipated band of the evening and the highlight of my night. They bring their A game with an incredible sense of pagan magic seeping from every chord. There is a jarring and tormented magic to the Viking odes of The Flight Of Sleipnir and these dudes truly get the essential power of the genre and you see that in their performances. Simply put - the organic and profoundly resonant sounds of The Flight Of Sleipnir are impossible to ignore because, as with every other band on the bill they have a very particular way of resonating within the human psyche. It shows that they have unlocked a path forward in a crowded scene and it makes me curious for what is to come from these Colorado geniuses.

When Velnias took the stage I was emotionally drained, but I stayed simply to appreciate the vibes of what they do. Their melodies are impressive and carry a minor key madness to them that only the greatest bands can invoke. Their stage presence is potent and provided a nice sense of majesty to the entire affair. As bizarre as it may seem - Velnias in their forty odd minute set managed to transport the gathered die-hards to a far off land and make them look at reality in a whole new way until the time came for us all to leave - explore our separate ways into the night and hope for a better tomorrow.

And so the memory of last night starts to fade away - but the potent magic remains within. All four bands who played at St Vitus last night had a distinct awareness of the epic nature of their craft and that made it all the better. As I enjoyed some drinks at a rooftop party back at my apartment I found myself unable to re-enter reality and instead sat back, talked to some homeless dudes and reveled in the strange power that the pagan forefathers imbued their music with. Pagan metal is alive and well in the New World and it is good.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Blood And Sun: https://www.facebook.com/bloodandsunfolk

Falls of Rauros: https://www.facebook.com/Falls-of-Rauros-197095916993311/timeline/

The Flight of Sleipnir: https://www.facebook.com/THEFLIGHTOFSLEIPNIR?fref=ts

Velnias: https://www.facebook.com/VelniasCult?fref=ts

Aerial Ruin

Dark acoustic folk music from a dude who collaborated with possibly the best pure doom band of 2015? Yes please! Aerial Ruin mastermind Erik Moggridge previously known for his work in Epidemic and Old Grandad and having more recently played on the Bell Witch records has simply blown my mind with his stuff. This is the kind of grim and almost Neurosis derived emotionally heavy music I so often crave. With ethereal and occasionally watched out vocals uttering quasi poetic lines that use all manner of delicate imagery it's easy to fall in love with what Aerial Ruin does. The often arpeggiated chords help to create deliciously understated soundscapes that leave the listener begging for more. Though the sonic motion can at times feel overly static there is certainly a sense of magic to Aerial Ruins new record Ash Of Your Cares that hints at great things to come from this Portland artist.

Find them on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aerial-Ruin/147339635318278

Folk By Default, My Dog Bill and Duke Maroon at Fennario's

Another night, another time to party, to open your mind and meet people, to realize that rock and roll is really all we have and that growing up isn't really necessary when you've got music to guide you through. The point I'm trying to make is that the three acts I saw tonight allowed me to smile and to relax, to see through the tedious bullshit of everyday life and give the herd of fans a chance to bow at the altar and see the almighty power of live music, the sort of thing that gives us an opportunity to come together and feel joy once again.

First up was Folk By Default, a one girl folk project the woman behind the music was clearly deeply into the profound passion behind the music. Strangely poignant and hyper aware of her own fragile place in the world, Folk By Default is the kind of thing that you sink into and fall in love with. Her simple soundscapes, crafted first by ukulele and then a piano showed her understanding of how a few gentle chords can come together and help to form something grand. Sure I'd like to see her with a backing band, but as is, Folk By Default provided a soothing intro to the evening and a fitting beginning to the madness that was to come.

My Dog Bill are perhaps the most dad-oriented dad-rock band I have ever seen, and I frikking loved it. These guys have simple instrumentations and straightforward lyrics, but that's kind of the point. They truly understand the old fashioned joy of rock and roll and the fun of playing with your friends. The fact that they played sitting down only helps to make things all the more relaxing and enjoyable, this is the kind of act you go see with your buddies on a Saturday night, drink a few brews and find yourself falling in love with pure sound. Sure there's a main duo who define the group, and sure they could have some more developed tracks, but as is, plain, simple and truly sweet... My Dog Bill get it.

Finally it was time for Duke Maroon, one of the most enjoyable bands I have ever seen live. These guys,, notably their dynamic frontman Gene Meyer were an absolute blast. There straightforward songwriting and rock and roll attitude made them fun to watch as Gene literally shook, rattled and rolled his way through a half hour set. Endlessly enthusiastic and over the top Duke Maroon deliver with every song. These guys understand what it takes to bring forth exciting live shows and get the entire crowd involved. Suffice to say, as they headed off into their afterparty I got the sense that their Oops EP could become vital to the scene.

At the end of the night I probably am over romanticizing what I saw, because guess what? I'm a fucking nerd. The point is these bands reminded me why I love live music, it gives you a chance to chill out, see your friends and feel good. Nothing too intense, and with plenty of places to sit I can't really complain about the beauty of things like this. Venues like Fennarios are crucial to live music and developing scenes, so in a way, if you're any sort of music fan, you're essentially obligated to do this, and why the hell not?

Find the bands on Facebook!

Folk By Default: https://www.facebook.com/FolkByDefault?fref=ts

My Dog Bill: https://www.facebook.com/mydogbill?fref=ts

Duke Maroon: https://www.facebook.com/dukemaroonband?fref=ts

Interview with Emma Ruth Rundle from Marriages (April 2015)

On tour promoting their debut album released a couple of days prior, Marriages made a stop at Le Trabendo, offering Parisian fans a chance to experience the bands’ freshly released material in its live rendition. I was lucky enough to catch up with lead singer and guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle before the show for a small discussion regarding the bands’ evolution as well as their latest release.

So you started off your European tour with a date at Roadburn festival in the Netherlands, how did that go?

It was great!I didn't know what to expect but it was better than I had hoped. It was packed and pretty hot, and there was good energy there.

Did you get to catch any shows while you were there?

Well, wanted to catch some bands but the thing was that all of the rooms were so packed. Also, we had many friends playing there, and I think for me it would all take away from the festival to see friendly faces: Russian Circles, Helms Alee... Just getting to catch up with our friends in another country is a good experience.

Helms Alee actually played 2 days ago in Paris, they were amazing!
They're one of my favorite bands, not because I know then. I've loved that band for a long time.

So this is your first time in Europe, right?

It is Marriages' first time in Europe. Greg and I played in Red Sparrowes together and we've toured Europe before.

Have gotten a chance to tour as a solo artist yet? Your solo record "Some Heavy Ocean" was actually one of my favorite albums of last year!
Why thank you very much! I haven't done any European tours as a solo artist yet but I would really love to though!

Let's talk about your latest album with Marriages. Earlier this week you released your debut full-length album "Salome". Could you explain the album title for us?

Salome is a biblical character. She exists in and outside of the bible. People have done a lot of artwork based on her story. The gist of the story, what I take away from it at least, is about this woman who was the daughter of Herodias, the princess of the Herodian Dynasty of Judaea during the Roman Empire. She did a dance for the king Herod which pleased him so much that he asked her what she wanted in return, and she asked for the head of John the Baptist, which she then received.

The reason why we chose to name the record this way was that I felt that beyond the small story of Salomé there is a lot you could add to it, as far as being sort of a Femme Fatale figure. I was thinking of her in the way of the Whore of Babylon also. There's a power in the sexuality of it but also violence. The lyrics on many of the songs sort of tie in with this theme. There's also a lot of content based on personal experiences that were routed in those sorts of emotions of torn sexuality, violence and betrayal. And then the artwork of course just made sense, with this woman and her interpretation of a dance.

With regards to your solo effort released last year which also delved into very personal subject matters, are there any differences regarding your approach to writing lyrics for this album?

With Marriages, we all write the music together, so I guess on this record it just captured the period of time when I sat down and wrote the lyrics for the songs. It was about capturing that period of time and what I was going through then. Everything from Some Heavy Ocean was written prior to this, and I think the music on my solo record as being a little more intimate, evoking more direct and obviously more emotional content. I think that in Marriages it's slightly more removed. To the listener I don't think it's going to be as impactful as songs like Some Heavy Ocean in that kind of "lyrical" way, if that makes any sense.

We didn't write the record around the idea of Salome really. She just sort of appeared as a guest, saying "I am the figure that will represent the music on this record", and it made sense. There's a lot of ground that gets covered, but it mainly centers on some personal matters. I just like to draw elements from stories that I find powerful and that make sense to me. 

Compared to the debut EP "Kitsune", "Salome" marks somewhat of a shift in the bands' formula towards more "traditional", "concise" song structures. Was this a conscious effort?

Well yes, as far as what you touched on with the shift in the songwriting, there was. The first EP was more similar to Red Sparrowes in that it's longer, we wrote the whole thing as one long piece of music. Getting back to this record, we did make a choice to adhere to more traditional song structures. We also wanted the vocals to be more present, less as a texture as it had been on Kitsune. So yes, that was a conscious decision.

Regarding the vocals, I found the vocals on your 2 latest records to be somewhat clearer, more focused. Could this be the result of working and touring as a solo artist?

I don't really know... I get asked this question and I'm not really sure. Nothing is different for me. I always sing to myself or when I'm writing music. I only just released a solo record on Sargent House Last year but I've been in many bands that no one's ever heard of for years, since I was eighteen, maybe even younger. So for me it's not so different. Well actually, for Kitsune I wanted the vocals to be more of an instrument, a texture. I think that what we're hearing now with Marriages are vocals with less effects going on, but there's less masking of the voice with the reverbs. Before that, I was using a formant shifter and a lot of extra things that would take the clarity away from the vocals, which I like in music. I like vocals that sound that way. When I'm listening to music I like dreamy textures, but I think that it doesn't work so well for what we're doing now. Especially with how loud the band is, those kinds of vocals are impossible to do live. That was one thing that affected it, touring with Marriages on Kitsune and trying to sing some of the quieter parts. There was no way to cut through. I was having a lot of trouble using this vocal pedal that I had that was the sound of Kitsune. Every sound-man hated me for having it and it just caused a lot of problems so I decided to stop using it. 

Do you see any differences between touring as a solo artist and touring as a band?

Absolutely. It's completely different. It almost like having two jobs. The difference would be that the solo stuff, at first, was really scary. I've played music with Greg for a long time and he's like my safety blanket *laughs*. So when he's not there... at first I didn't know what to do and I was afraid. But I became aware very quickly of how liberating playing alone is. When I tour solo I don't bring any band, just an electric guitar. I also don't have to play the song the same way every night. When I was performing Some Heavy Ocean live, ever night it could be different. I get caught up in the emotion of the songs and I let that dictate how the music will go. I'll change the songs around, add older songs no one's heard, new songs... I kind of do whatever I want and it's really nice, as an artist, to be able to do that.

To some degree there's some improvisation that's allowed, which is nice and it keeps things very "real" I think, emotionally impactful. So it's also "unrehearsed" in a sense. Sometimes' its' not always to see a band who's played that same song forever the same way, it just doesn't hit you the same. Luckily people, I think that people that have come to the shows are very open to hearing things this way. I have had some people disappointed though, people saying "I wish that you had played this song" or wishing that I had played it the way it was on the record. I think that's the minority though.

Playing with Marriages, in a band, is a different thing. It's a group effort. You're dealing with the dynamics of different personalities and different musicians coming together. So you add some variables.

And then also every tour is different. I miss them when they're not around but I like being alone too "laughs". But being in this band, I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to continue playing music with Greg after Red Sparrowes ended and to have Andrew now, because he's my favorite drummer to be in the band. 

To finish things off: could you name one of your favorite books, albums and movies?

One of my favorite books: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Album-wise I always say "Siamese Dream" by The Smashing Pumpkins, that's one of my favorite albums. But I say that in every interview, so I'll say "So" by Peter Gabriel, that’s' also one of my favorite albums.

My favorite movie... I love movies so much, I don't know...
I guess Spirited Away is one of my favorite films. I've probably watched it fifty times, maybe more, so I'm going to go with that.

Thank you to Vince from Kongfuzi booking, Sébastien from Differ-ant, Sargent House as well as the band Marriages for their support and hospitality without which neither this article nor the interview would've been possible.