Interview: Ivan (Nikad, Clean)

Today I have the absolute pleasure of introducing you to something truly special. "Nikad" is undoubtedly the most important screamo band that rose up from Croatia (and the Balkans in general!) during the early 2000s, largely flying under the radar of a lot of people in the West. The passion and energy that they brought in their songs has always inspired awe, thus I am thankful to Ivan for taking the time to reflect on those years and talk to me about what drove the band to such greatness. Enjoy!

1. Welcome Ivan, great to have you on the blog! Please introduce yourself and the rest of Nikad.

Hey Stefan, thanks for having me on your blog. My name is Ivan and I used to play guitar and sing for Nikad, together with Neven who played drums and Krešo who played bass and also sang.

2. How and when did you first became interested in hardcore/punk?

Unfortunately, nobody from my school, neighbourhood or my family wasn't into any kind of alternative music when I was growing up. Although, when I was still in elementary school, I was briefly introduced to some Yugoslavian new wave and punk bands (KUD Idijoti, Azra...) and some mainstream punk and alternative bands from abroad (Nirvana, Ramones, Sex Pistols...).  

But I definitely started to discover the world of punk rock when I went to high school. I remember I was seated next to a skater guy wearing Misfits t-shirt on a first day of high school. So through him and two other punk girls from my class I started to discover various bands. 

Also, during that time in the early 90's, mainstream music industry started to sign a lot of alternative/hardcore/metal bands which were definitely quite influential for me (Rage Against The Machine, Helmet, Sick Of It All...). RATM were definitely a band that introduced me to radical politics.

3. What was the state of the local underground scene back then?

Similar to the wave of major labels signing bands that I previously mentioned, the local record company Croatia Records started it's sub-label called T.R.I.P. records which released albums from local underground bands (Hladno Pivo, Majke, Overflow...). I believe that's how punk music started to be more visible to kids in Croatia.

And then when you dig deeper you found out there is a bunch of small underground bands that you never heard of. During the war years, there was not too many concerts, but after the war ended, somewhere in 95/96, people started to do more local punk gigs and even the bands from abroad started to visit Croatia. 

Since more things started to happen, more and more kids were into it and local punk bands started to pop up all around the country and scene kind of flourished. So the scene in the second half of the 90's was really vivid and diverse. A lot of bands, fanzines, shows...

4. A few years prior to Nikad, all members played in a band called Clean. What can you tell me about this project?

We basically wanted to make a first real straight edge band in Croatia. Prior to Clean there were a couple of bands with some (or even most) members who were SxE, and a couple of those bands even had some overtly SxE lyrics (Razlog Za, My Life My Dreams,...) but to my knowledge, Clean was the first all straight edge band in Croatia and we were all vegetarians at the time.

5. That band was vocal in support of a straight edge and vegetarian lifestyles. Do you still personally live by these ideologies?

Some members of Clean are still SxE and vegetarian. I've been SxE and vegetarian since 1996, went vegan in 2000 and I'm still going strong for 20+ years.

6. What sparked the decision to leave Clean and form Nikad? And what are the main differences between the two, for you personally?

I would probably say that musical differences were crucial. Three of us wanted to do something different so we formed Nikad. There are, of course stylistic differences and the fact that Nikad was not overtly SxE band, although, during the existence of Nikad, we were all vegan and SxE.

7. What were the biggest musical influences for Nikad at the time?

We were heavily influenced with all things HeartattaCk and Ebullition related. I think our biggest musical influences at the time were Portraits Of Past, Yaphet Kotto, Closure, Shotmaker, Union Of Uranus, Orchid, Swing Kids and the likes.

8. Your demo came out in early 2001. The demo was self-released under your own label "My Favourite Records", which also previously released a mini-album for Clean. The label is still active to this day, so please tell me something more about it, what motivated this idea and how it evolved over the years.

As most DIY labels start, we wanted to release music from our band and our friends bands. The first release was a mini CD from Clean, then we released the tape from our friends in band Essence and the last release of that period was a tour CD-R demo for Nikad. 

I recently resurrected the label name when my current band Ponor released its albums so I can have something that sounds more professional than "self-released" written on the back of the cover. :D

9. The cover art for the demo was done by Krešo's mom and it is a piece that truly goes nicely with the band. Did she make the art specifically for you guys? What does it represent in relation to Nikad?

Krešo's mum was teaching an art class in elementary school at that time and was drawing and painting in her free time. Krešo found that painting and thought it would fit nicely as our cover art. I don't think it represents much in relation to Nikad except that it looked nice at the time. It might mean more to Krešo but he never shared that with us. 

10. What was the initial response of the local scene to Nikad? Did you guys play a lot of shows locally? Any certain other bands you were close with?

I want to think people liked what we were doing, but I kind of believe Nikad was more appreciated locally after we disbanded. We played less than 10 shows in Croatia. 

At the time we were close with The Farewell Reason and Outre from Čakovec, Man In The Shadow from Slovenia, Analena, Usud, Chang Ffos, Amok and Senata Fox from Zagreb. Both Krešo and I also played in Senata Fox at the time. And of course, we were close with Costa's Cake House from Germany and Children Of Fall from Sweden, both which we later toured with.

11. Already 2002. was a big year for the band. You released the self-titled LP on "Fire Walk With Me", which is a label that later put out records for bands such as The Saddest Landscape, Dominic, Van Johnson, etc. Tell me something more about this, how did you get in touch with Thomas from the label?

2002 was a big and final year for the band. :) Neven spent a couple of months during 1999 in Vienna studying German and he went to some shows there and met some local punks that we later became friends with (and are still friends with some of them 20 years after). 

One of them was Thomas who ran Fire Walk With Me Records and also Yummy, a skate and record store. After hearing our demo and seeing us play in Vienna couple of times, we talked about doing a full length for his label which we did. 

Why he decided to invest time and money into some Yugo kids doing silly music is still beyond me, but we're all eternally thankful and grateful to him. I guess he was just a great guy overall and I'm sure Nikad probably wouldn't be the band it was without Thomas. Rest in peace dear friend.

12. The lyrics you wrote on almost all the releases are powerful in their simplicity, but together with the instruments they manage to tell quite a tale. What inspires you the most when writing and how do you personally craft this "less is more" style? Is it something that you consciously aim for or is it simply the way you write?

Since English is not our primary language, we were trying to be brief, make some points and be poetic at the same time. In addition to that, our songs were quite short so we couldn't fit more lyrics even if we wanted to.

13. There's a sample quote from the movie "City of Angels" in the song "This Letter Says". Is there any specific connection between the two?

That is a typical song about lost love and hearts being broken. I thing Krešo came up with that sample and it fit the mood and lyrics nicely.

14. You also recorded an amazing cover of "Hidden Wheel" by Rites of Spring. Any particular reason you chose this song? Were there any other runner-up covers that didn't make it to the LP?

Besides being influenced by the current bands at the time, we were all fans of the late 80's emo and Dischord stuff from that era. Even today, I would say that Fugazi is the best band ever, and huge infuluence to my music taste, politics and worldview. 

We were considering doing a cover from one of the bands from that era and eventually went with Rites Of Spring. I think it also has to do with knowing that Thomas, who was about to release the record, was also a big fan of the band. :)

15. The same year you joined forces with Children of Fall with who you released a split titled "Four Symptomatic Poems Of A World Gone Insane". Tell me something more about this collaboration.

Those two songs were from the same recording session as the album. We knew we would tour wit COF and decided to do a split 7" together. Due to some unforeseen circumstances it ended up being a split CD and not 7", which was kind of a bummer but it had to be done at the time.

16. There's an interesting piece of text on that split, in short, about bands coming from less privileged countries and whether or not they get equal treatment. What sparked this essay and who wrote it? And did you ever feel this on your skin, seeing as how you are coming from the Balkans that were engulfed in war just a few years prior?

I can't really remember who exactly wrote the text, but I'm sure it was one of the COF guys. We were not too concerned with that matter, but it is the fact that most modern music after WWII onward is Western-centric and mostly sang in English and for that matter band from different parts of the globe (South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa...) just didn't have the same treatment.

17. On a similar topic of the text on the split, there's this mood circling around Nikad that you guys would have been a much more popular band if you were from the "west". Realistically, you could easily stand shoulder to shoulder next to Orchid or Yaphet Kotto. What does it even mean to be a popular screamo band? And does it even matter to you? Are you happy with the noise your band managed to create?

I really don't know what would "popular screamo band" mean. We were never bothered with anything but playing the music we liked and hanging out with like minded people. The opportunity to travel around playing shows and having our music released in physical format was just a bonus. 

Of course, it is always flattering to find out that someone liked what we were doing, but it was never our intention to be popular or whatever. But I still do like the music we did and I'm quite proud what we achieved considering we had no clue what we were doing. :D

18. If I remember well, you played a show in Switzerland with Children of Fall, was this part of a larger tour? There are also two live recordings from France, which can be found on the "Spiruline: Quelques Traces​.​.​." compilation. How often did you manage to play shows outside of Croatia?

It turned out we played more shows abroad than in Croatia. The main reason is that we went on two European tours, one was a 12 day tour with Costa's Cake House and another one being a mammoth, 41 day, destined to doom, tour with Childeren Of Fall.

19. If Nikad could do a split with any band that was active at the same time, which one would you choose and why?

We had a plan to do a split 7" with Costa's Cake House contributing one original track each and one cover track of each others band, but that never saw the light of the day. CCH eventualy did a Nikad cover that is included on vinyl version of their 555 album.

I also wish that split with COF was released on vinyl as it was intended.

And if I could choose any active band at that time, I think a split with Yaphet Kotto would be nice. :D

20. Looking back at your time with the band, would you do anything differently?

Not really, I'm satisfied how the things worked out. A lot of nice memories and a lot of life lessons.

21. What was your most memorable Nikad moment?

Uh, that's a hard one... Being able to meet wonderful people all around Europe, seeing places I would probably never visit otherwise, holding the LP in our hands for the first time...

22. When did your last show take place? And what prompted the band to end afterwards?

Our last show was on June 6th, 2002 at Wommyn Not Chicks Fest in Vienna. That room in EKH was filled with friendly faces and was quite an emotional experience. We decided a couple of months earlier that we'll play the last couple of shows and end the story with Nikad, mostly due to personal reasons.

23. Probably the most important question in this interview, how does it actually feel to be ran over by a Volvo?

It feels exactly how that song sounds like. :) We decided to keep that rumbling, driving song as an instrumental and partly name it after the Volvo GL240 that Neven's father let us borrow when we needed a ride.

24. What have you been doing nowadays, 20 years after Nikad? Do you have any future band plans?

I've never stopped playing in band all these years. After Nikad disbanded, we continued with Senata Fox all the way until 2014. In 2003 I joined Amok and after Amok broke up, we formed Ponor which is still going on. 

Neven went to play drums in Radio Free Isaac, and when they disbanded he played piano in Don't Mess With Texas and later again drums in Storms. He had a brief stint as a drummer for a local mainstream emo punk band Kinoklub.

After Krešo left Senata Fox in 2003, he quit playing music. Although I think he recently started to jam again with people from The Farewell Reason. Hopefully they'll write some new music together.

25. What are your current favorite bands? What about all-time favorites?

My musical taste is quite eclectic and I listen to everything from easy listening electronica to most primitive death metal and grind. My favorite bands at the moment are Wrong, Tame Impala, Maniac, Gouge Away, Sect, Mannequin Pussy, Caribou, Burial, Gulch, the list goes on...

My all time favorites are Fugazi, Helmet, Coalesce, Shotmaker, Union Of Uranus, The Promise Ring, Rage Against The Machine, KUD Idijoti, Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Integrity, Minor Threat, Los Crudos, Strain...

26. Time for you to ask a question!

I'm just here for an interview, no questions asked. :D

27. All things come to an end... Do you have any final message to the readers?

Thank you Stefan for showing interest in Nikad and doing this interview. Dear readers - be kind, stay punk and go vegan. ;)

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Disclaimer: This interview was done way back in April 2021, but has stayed in my drafts due to reasons unknown. It coincided with the interview I did with Johan (Mihai Edrisch/Celeste), a rather big milestone for the blog, and I rode that high into oblivion basically. Thanks again to Ivan for the patience. 

Interview: Johan (Mihai Edrisch/Celeste)

It is with great pleasure that I'm posting this today, an interview that has been arranged more than a year ago, but was dragged out by the, back then newly encroaching, global pestilence. "Mihai Edrisch" is undoubtedly one of my absolutes and it has been such a thrill to have this conversation with Johan and I thank him once again for his time and willingness to revisit and share his memories of the years spent with this legendary screamo band.

Stay tuned for next week, since this interview will be followed by an exclusive "Mihai Edrisch" video release, the never before seen live video footage from their farewell gig. So, without further ado...

1. I have to start with “Mihai Edrisch” and asking about “his” name.  In the few interviews I’ve read, you guys give different answers to who Mihai is. The most popular version floating around is that he was a Hungarian mathematician, but the research I did doesn’t show this person actually existed. Another version stated that he was a Czech pianist, while another claimed he was a band member’s deceased relative. I guess it would be pointless to ask you the same question, who he is, so instead my question will be: what is your favorite version of the origin of Mihai’s name?

Haha I don’t remember all of them actually, but probably the Hungarian Mathematician, because when Remi answered this one he also set up a whole story behind it which was quite funny.

2. Your first album, “L'un Sans L'autre”, is quite fast and chaotic, but it deals with very intimate and tender subjects. As a musician, how do you manage to successfully fuse these two extreme contrasts together?

There was no fusion to do in my mind because at the time what we were doing was exactly what I loved, what I wanted to hear and what I wanted to tell. There’s no huge reflection behind it, this thing comes from my/our guts and our state of mind during this period.

3. “Un Jour Sans Lendemain” is pretty much a concept album in all respects. How did you come to the idea to create an album that actually represents stages of life?

It’s such a while ago that it’s quite hard for me to remember the whole process and the intentions behind it. I remember how I felt at this period and what I wanted to deal with which is quite personal actually. I for sure felt like that the album as a whole could be more meaningful if there was a story behind it. Since the main topic is about love and suicide, it probably felt quite obvious to me to depict the whole story of a guy who lived in love and pain and who was thinking about giving an end to all of it

5. In a previous interview, you explained that you do not wish to analyze your lyrics and that people should come to their own conclusions. But how do you feel after listening to “Un Jour Sans Lendemain”? Given the fact that the person commits suicide in the end, do you find the album entirely depressing or can you find traces of hope within?

It’s a pretty dark album, but not only. You can feel hope, nostalgia and other feelings here and there which probably help the darkest parts to be even darker I guess. From my side, I can’t be objective about it because that’s an important part of my musical life. I feel a lot of nostalgia and a feeling of un-achievement too because I think that we should have made at least one more album after that one, because the unreleased stuff we had done after « ujsl » was promising in my opinion.

6. You also did the artwork for the band, what was the driving force behind that inspiration? It is a unique art style, did you have any formal education or are you self-taught?

I was self taught. Actually I drew with that style only on that artwork and the repress of « Lun sans L’autre » otherwise I was more a graffiti artist, so I was drawing things totally different than this. I actually never really tried to draw again for CELESTE’s artworks or any other stuff. I was more into photography after that.

7. I’ve always been curious about the meaning of the one red leaf on the white cover of “Un Jour Sans Lendemain”. Any specific secret behind it or was it simply an aesthetical choice?

Sorry to disappoint you but that’s just an aesthetical trick which also reminds of a bit blood, but there’s no deep meaning behind that

8. Was the decision to disband after the second album a conscious one? It seems rather poetic that the end of that album symbolizes the end of the band. Or did something else signal the end?

Unfortunately there’s nothing poetic behind that decision. Our bass player Florian decided to quit the band because he didn’t felt comfortable anymore with this kind of music, and not much later Remi our guitar player decided to leave the band too because he didn’t enjoyed playing guitar anymore. So there was no meaning to continue.

9. You’ve been quite adamant at keeping politics away from “Mihai Edrisch” in the past. Do you think that there’s a trend, so to say, in the scene of making everything and anything political? Even towards the bands that are not political, per se. In contrast, does it irritate you that people immediately assume that you have to be political, just because you are in a hardcore band?

Honestly I don’t give a fuck about the hardcore scene anymore. I have my political opinions but I don’t mix them with my music, I let that aside and I don’t want anybody to blame me for this. I don’t know if there is a trend about getting everything political. I just see a sad trend which tends to kill any freedom of speech and creativity. Now everybody wants to avoid any controversy, because reputation is the most important thing to stay alive as a band. You’re getting judged for any of your moves and people forget how to differentiate art and reality. It’s getting more and more difficult to be subversive without risking to get judged/banned.

It’s not related but from from what I see, bands who are very engaged when they start tend to loosen up things with time.

10. This is different with “Celeste”, yes? Here you tackle political themes, issues that society is facing and difficult subjects of the human psyche. Was this intentional from the start with this band?

Actually it’s not different. It’s not because I talk about the society we live in that it’s political. The intention from the start with the band has nothing to do with my lyrics. We just wanted to make dark and violent music, and I just wrote things that fit to this music

11. Maybe a direct question, but how do you feel about life and the human condition, outside of your music? Is it all as bleak and nihilistic as you  portray in “Celeste” or is there a spark of positivity?

It’s pretty much as bleak as I portray it. And I’m not really helping the thing, because even if I don’t feel like being a bad guy, I can at least say that the more I grow the more selfish I become.

12. Did you enjoy other screamo bands back when “Mihai Edrisch” was active? I read elsewhere that, in regards to “Celeste”, you guys aren’t into black metal, so I’m curious if the same applies to screamo?

Not that many or bands that I consider being more than screamo bands. It’s not because we shared the same drummer, but Daitro was and is still definitely my favorite band in the « genre »

13. If you could turn the clock back, would you do anything different during your time with “Mihai Edrisch”? Do you miss that project?

I missed it a lot for a while. I still do but I miss it less and less, and I also think I wouldn’t feel comfortable to play such music now on. The thing I missed the most are the melodies that we built. That’s something that I would love to hear elsewhere but that I never really found anywhere

14. In contrast to the previous question, for the entire duration of your involvement in music, what has been your most memorable or cherished moment?

For Mihai Edrisch, I would pick 2 events. The first one would be the first time I listened to l’un sans l’autre mastered. I really didn’t imagine that we would’ve done something that great. I felt so proud about it.  And the second time is when we played Sant Feliu Fest. I remembered that I was in the audience a few years before, I didn’t have any bands and I was thinking that being on that stage would be the greatest achievement I could think of. So it was really something to be there for real a few years later

With CELESTE, even if we’re having an amazing career, I lived this story with Mihai’s background so I discovered less things. It’s more an overall thing that I cherish because I’m just enjoying it every time we’re on the road since almost 15 years now.

15. How is your local music scene right now? Is “Celeste” involved much in local happenings or are you just doing your own thing?

In my opinion, the scene is almost dead in our hometown and we’re not helping since we’re only focused on our own « business »

18. What are your favorite music releases in the past few years?

I’m so bad at name dropping. I listen to stuff that is really different from what we’re playing. For example the last things I listened the most are Northlane and Tesseract. Now I’m looking forward to the new Deftones, I liked some songs from Korn, Caspian, Heaven In Her Arms, Newmoon…. Really hard to name more, sorry, I don’t listen to music very often actually.

19. Time for you to ask a question!

Johan : How did you discovered Mihai Edrich and CELESTE? Do you really still listen to us and why?

I discovered ME by accident and there is a funny story behind it. I remember that I stumbled upon some blog (or it was via P2P fileshare, can't remember) which had a huge database of hardcore/screamo bands so I grabbed all of it en masse and started listening. To be completely honest, I recall that I skipped listening to Mihai because I confused the name with one other Spanish band called Enoch Ardon haha and they didn't click with me on the initial listening. Later at some point I was viewing my music folder and realized these are two different bands, so I finally gave Mihai a listen and I was instantly in love. Celeste I discovered more naturally, as I've read online that similar people were involved in the band and I had to check it out.

And yes, I still listen to both bands, a lot in fact. Even though I love both projects, Mihai Edrisch is more dear to me, since it has a certain something that no other band has. As you say, it directly triggers many different feelings, sadness, hope, grief and nostalgia, to which I am quite sensitive to. Even though I don't speak French, the music speaks to me in a peculiar way and listening to it never fails to stir up emotions. 

And if this doesn't answer your question well, two years ago I tattooed my right arm with parts of the cover and the song titles of "Un Jour Sans Lendemain".

20. Thank you so much for doing this interview, on a personal level, this conversation truly means a lot to me. Do you have any final message for the readers?

Just come to our shows if we hopefully can do some again, that’s the best way you can please us.

Interview: Ghone

"Ghone" live @Cult of the Amps vol. 2 - by Chris Lemonis

1. First off, I'd like to thank you for doing this interview. Nice to have you on the blog! Please introduce yourself to the readers.

Thank you for your interest. Great to hear a site from abroad is curious about your work. So, I’m John from Athens, Greece and Ghone is my personal sonic project with which I’m exploring the abstraction of sound spectrum through noise, produced by both natural and electronic media and manipulated mostly in real time, trying to create gasping and aerie environments.

2. Describe "Ghone" in three words.

That’s a hard one. I think I’ll go for: Party-crashing Noisy Ritual

3.  I discovered your project when I saw you play live in Novi Sad along with Aidan Baker and "Nadja". In our previous conversation you told me that it was one of your favorite shows to date. What made this set so special for you, so much so that you even decided to record it as a proper release?

It was actually my 4th show on this tour -and, in matter of fact, my first ever as Ghone in general- and it was the time my set was coming together. It felt like I had finally tamed my equipment to a satisfying level and felt more confident that I could communicate what I had in my head. I remember the venue was full and the audience was very quiet. This can be stressful and flattering at the same time, a very compelling feeling which I have rarely experienced over the years I’ve been performing with various bands. The venue itself helped a lot as well of course. It was the third time I had the chance to be there and first time as a performer. Such warmth and hospitality always give a substantial boost in general. I was lucky enough to have my set recorded by the sound guy, and it only felt right to share it.

4. Any plans of coming back to Serbia again some day?

I actually played this May as a guest of the legendary Athenian noise-punk band Rita Mosss, along with the mighty Cassilas. They made a great couple. But anyway, I don’t have any solid plans for touring yet since life gets in the way constantly. I do want to come and play the soonest possible, so I’m open to ideas.

5. One of your other releases is the live show in Thessaloniki with "Six Steps Above The Earth", so please give us some more details about that collaboration.

I’ve known Bill and Sakis from the band for quite a while now. In fact, with Bill we have previously collaborated with his solo project The Dandelion Fields (https://thedandelionfields.bandcamp.com/) a couple of times. The guys asked me to open a show of theirs and long story short we ended up playing a seamless show with the middle part having me jamming with the full band as they started entering the stage one by one, and this is the track you hear as “intro” at the release with Six Steps Above The Earth.

6. How does your overall process for live shows look like? Do you go into it with a specific idea in mind or do you just let it flow out of you in the moment? Also, do you record all of your sets or just some of them?

For me it begins toying around with field recordings, feedback loops and new equipment, putting all those together and trying to make some sense out of it and how it can be manipulated to some kind of form of communicating. You can say curiosity is the driving force, I guess. When performing I’m generally trying to follow a skeleton idea but it can always swift to a different direction very easily depending on the moment. I think most of my sets have been recorded in a way or another.

7. You were part of an interesting collaboration recently, the "Spit" wine tasting performance art event where you created live sound-scaping. Could you tell us something more about that event? Are such collaborations/projects common for you?

It was an incredible experience! The location, the performance, the wine. Could do this again any time given. I was invited by the curator Eleni Tranouli to create the soundscape that Despina Charitonidi and Panos Profitis have prepared. They even created a number of incredible ceramic spittoons and laser cut “exoskeleton” suits for the waiters. An event of high aesthetics and great wine. What else can someone ask for?

The closest I can remember I’ve been a part of something similar was when I played a two-day live soundtrack for a live painting performance of Friki Krux back in 2014. You can’t say it’s pretty common then, but it’s definitely an area I’d like to explore further.

8. With all the relatively frequent live performances happening, does that mean there is an active noise/drone crowd in Greece?

Experimental music (and arts in general) community is quite active actually, mainly in the biggest cities though, but there are probably more stuff happening nowadays than ever. Small shows are taking place more and more often, and more people are curious to explore this side of the music spectrum. There are some really interesting artists that rarely have the chance to present their work abroad like Dead Gum, Savvas Metaxas, Georgios Karamanolakis, Acte Vide, Panos Alexiadis just to name a few, which is a real shame.

9. Are there any other music projects from Greece which you would recommend?

I think I answered this one above :)

10. What do you think of the overall state of the music scene in the world? Do you consider noise/drone to be a relevant genre in the "big picture"?

"Sram Schet" cover by EviKarastamati

It sure is. Just in the form of constant TV static-like pattern in the background.

11. A somewhat similar question asked above, what is your process for recording studio material? Does it differ from live performances?

I don’t think I have an answer for that. So far I didn’t felt the need to go through the labor of preparing a “studio album”, carefully layering noises and crackles. I’m focusing on live performance and presenting a coherent piece and if it still sounds like it stands as a recording as well, that’s great and it’s out there with no further ado.

12. "Ghone" had yearly gaps between recent recorded releases, any particular reason for that?

Mostly life just got in the way and had to focus on things other than playing. Looks like this is changing though.

13. What inspires you the most to create music like this?

Surely the grey period we are living through is great inspiration for anyone to create dark art in general. Trying to avoid getting psychoanalytic here, I’d say that I’ve always been drawn by darker themes in general. Horror movies, anatomy, insects, worn out patterns, abandoned buildings, history of crime and naturally that extends to my taste in music I suppose.

14. When working on a split release, how much do you get inspired by your split partners? I'm under the impression that there is a kind of symbiosis between Ghone and its collaborators.

It's pretty different when it's a split release from a collaborative wort, but you get it right about the symbiosis part. When it comes to split releases, personally I want to keep some kind of flow from one side to the other, meaning that for example I'd try to avoid giving a harsh noise piece for a split release with an ambient artist. I don't consider myself to have a standard approach when it comes to experimental music (it's all an ongoing experiment after all), and I enjoy this challenge to create something that resonates with me personally and in the same time keeps a release from being incoherent. On collaborations on a same track now, it's a whole different procedure. It feels more like a dialogue or dance if you prefer. The dynamics between the participants have great impact on the direction the improv. session will take.

15. What was it like to collaborate with Frans De Waard/Modelbau? I actually didn't know who he was, but seems like he's quite an influential figure in the Dutch/global music scene. How did you guys get in touch?

Frans part from being some kind of legend in the scene, also used to publish the now cult Vital Weekly zine from late 80s to mid 90s. Nowadays he has switched online of course and you should check it out: http://www.vitalweekly.net/ We got in touch with Coherent States to review our new releases back then and one thing lead to the other and we agreed on releasing something for him. I had this recording in the vault already and thought I suggest to put it out there as a split release, and there you have it.

16. From the perspective of the listener, even though there are no lyrics it still feels like all your records are trying to speak to the audience. Is there actually a message that your music is trying to convey?

If we were in the 60s I’d encourage you to play my records backwards and find out yourself. But no, there are no intended hidden messages. Maybe what you are hearing is my inner world trying to find its own language.

17. Out of all your recorded material, what is your favorite release and why?

To be honest I like them all equally, each one for its own reasons. For me they double as bookmarks for life events too. The part you can hear plays like a soundtrack for these periods in my head. I’m always more satisfied and at the same time challenged by every last one. A pretty weird sentiment.

18. If you could do a collaboration record with any other artist/project, who would it be?

I tend to observe that people with no musical education or those who are not even aware that this side of music exists at all, tend to have the most interesting and genuinely curious approach when it comes to experiment with it. Or maybe, playing with it. That’s a more proper word for it. I’d work with everyone if I could! Including you reading this right now.

19. What gear do you use to create music? Do you have a favorite piece or a specific gadget which you deem essential?

This is a question that will get you multiple answers depending on when it’s asked. For a while it was an electric upright bass through distortions and loop pedals. Later it was a thrashed snare wire with contact mics. Right now I’m having TONS of fun with Stereo Fields by Landscape which gives a whole new way of expression with it’s unique haptic interface. I’m also waiting on the new Dreadbox Antiphon monophonic synth to be assembled. My anticipation vein is pumping hard!

20.  What are some of your other interests/projects/hobbies outside of Ghone?

I’m working as a freelance graphic designer, concert promoter and production manager. I’m also run Coherent States -a small experimental music label- with my friend Manolis. We have just released an amazing new vinyl record, for the French artist Gaël Segalen, for which I’m really excited to be finally out! You can safely say that Ghone is an extension of my everyday activities.

21. Time for you to ask a question!

Any drone/noise/experimental acts from Serbia to recommend? Pretty lame question, I know, but I’m genuinely curious.

To be brutally honest, aside of a handful of noise/drone projects, I'm not too deep into the genre, so I don't really know of any such bands from these parts. There is an ambient project that I would recommend though, called "Paleowolf". It's an amazing dark tribal ambient inspired by prehistoric ages when humans were still hunter-gatherers. 

21. 2019 is coming to an end, what have been your favorite music releases so far? Any guilty pleasures?

Pleasure shouldn’t go with guilt whatsoever. Having said that I really liked Tyler, The Creator’s new album “Igor” and from the experimental-esque side of music I can’t stop listening to Gaël Segalen’s album we released. But don’t take this as a plug. I’d still be playing this album non stop regardless of the label. It’s just so good! 2019 was a very good year in general. So many interesting new releases. The list would be pretty big and I’m sure I’d leave a bunch titles out, so I’d prefer to restrain myself.

22. Do you have any book/movie recommendations?

I’m not much of a reader nor a cinefile. I really enjoy flipping through my most recent photography book purchase though which is a documentation of the African Ndebele tribe murals. A tradition going back hundreds of years among the women of the tribe with great vibrant colours and forms.

23. What does the future hold for "Ghone"?

Looks like it holds more performances and more traveling. And hopefully new recorded material and collaborations as well. But life is a curious path with many crossroads, so I try not to make long term plans.

24. Do you have any final message to the readers?

I miss Serbia! Hope to have the chance to return sooner than later. I often recall my visits there fondly.

Interview: Agrimonia

As I promised yesterday, here is an interview making way for a more regularly updated blog and what an opener it is! "Agrimonia", one of the unstoppable beasts holding the throne of the doom/epic crust genre, recently emerged from a period of silence with a new album and they are ready to send ripples through the underground scene across the globe. Scroll down below and read about "Rites of Separation", the band's past experiences and what the future holds.

1. Hey there! First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking your time and doing this interview! Please, introduce yourself and the rest of the band.

Pontus: Hi! I'm Pontus, playing guitar and doing backing vocals. In addition to myself we also have Björn on drums, Christina on vocals and keys, Magnus on guitar and Martin on bass. 

2. The band is together for a fine number of years now, so please give us a brief history of how it all looked like at the beginning.

Pontus: We started out in early 2005 something, and the plan was simply to do something heavy. I'm also a sucker for melodies and dynamics, so that found its way into the music as well.  We spent that year finding our sound really, writing, re-writing until we had our first song that we were really happy with.  That's "The Decay" from our first album. We also didn't get a steady bass player until 2006. We did our first live show, found a new drummer in Björn and then recorded the first album in 2007. After that we've done a couple tours, released more records, Martin joined the band on bass. Now were having our 3rd album "Rites of Separation" coming out on Southern Lord records this April.

  

3. In one interview I read with Christina, she explained the meaning of the word "Agrimonia" which is actually a plant. How did you pick out that name and how well do you think it describes your music?

Christina: A friend of ours came up with the name. I like the name cause it is a bit dark and mysterious and I think that fits with the music we play.

  

4. Your self-titled release from 2008 came out having a very interesting mixture of genres. What managed to inspire you the most to formulate your sound in such a way?

Pontus: I think it's just a mix of the stuff you like yourself. It was never our goal to mix genres or anything I think our songs and ideas flow together though, with a connecting vibe through it all. So it all came very naturally as soon as we started getting our songs together.

  

5. "Host of the Winged" was yet another powerful assault to the scene and again you succeeded to bring out something unique. How do you feel about the advancement of your sound over those two records? Do you think it is a natural evolution or do you actually try to add something new to each release?

 

Pontus: It's very much a natural evolution. We never think too much about what we're gonna do. I guess the songs were becoming a bit more elaborate with "Host of the Winged", I had a lot of ideas with the music. But we didn't want to take it further in that direction, we don't want the music to be too technical or complex. There should still be a groove and flow. For this new album, I think we scaled down a little bit of that, letting ideas go on for a little longer. That might have been a somewhat conscious decision actually. But it's no difference in our mindset or approach to making music.

  

6. After that release you went to tour in Mexico and the USA. Tell me something more about that experience.

Pontus: That was my first time going on tour in North America. We had a great time, played with great bands and met great people! We just went for 2 weeks, playing the US west coast and also one show in Mexico. We wanna go back this year and play our new stuff, and stay for longer this time! 

7. After a brief tour over Germany in 2011 the band went into hibernation of sorts. I was even scared you broke up! What exactly happened to the band in that period between the said tour and entering the studio yet again?

Christina: I got really sick after an operation that went wrong in 2011. I was in the hospital for months and they tried to fix me up, I was really in a bad state. My stomach muscles were cut and I had to leave the hospital with what they call an "open stomach". They didn´t want to close me up cause of infection risks and other reasons. They transferred skin from my thigh and put it over the hole in the stomach and then just left it like that for a year to heal. It was difficult for me to use my stomach muscles and I really need them for singing. We had to cancel lots of shows and other plans during this time. I was sometimes too sick to do anything and lots of operations followed. But now I am as good as I am gonna get and happy it is all over.

  

8. In the meantime, you signed with "Southern Lord", so I'm curious how did this collaboration come to pass?

Pontus: My other band "Martyrdöd" got a deal with Southern Lord in 2011. So I simply approached them and asked if they wanted to work with "Agrimonia" as well!

  

9. You've been in the studio working on a new album since September 2012 and there is already a song being streamed on the "Pitchfork" website. How did the proces of creating this new record go? Any interesting behind-the-scene stories about it?

Pontus: When we did our 2nd album, "Host of the Winged", we didn't really rehearse the songs. It was very much a studio creation. This had much to do with that I lived pretty far away from everyone else during that period, in Bergen, Norway. This time we wanted to actually rehearse the songs. So most of the album was written by Summer 2012, then we just rehearsed the songs for a couple of months. I think rehearsing can be a bit redundant, but I think you can really tell it did a lot of good for this album. We recorded the drums in two November days in Welfare Sounds in Gothenburg, then spent the rest of the year recording the rest at our rehearsal space. Then early 2013 we mixed it at Studio Fredman. It's definately the best sounding record we've done.

  

10. In a narrative and lyrical sense, what is the story that "Rites of Separation" will tell the listener?

Christina: Like all other "Agrimonia" albums, lyrically this album is about our daily life and the good and the bad sides of it. About problems we are facing as individuals and as a group. The lyrics are a way for me to tell a story in a poetic way but still take a stand.

  

11. Musically, what type of sound can we expect on the new release? Are you holding on to your roots or are you trying something new?

Pontus: We're not really trying anything new, it's very much an "Agrimonia" album. Although I feel this is our hardest album so far. Also in my opinion Christina's vocal performance is her best ever!

  

12. Any solid plans about what you will be doing after the album is out in April? Touring perhaps?

Pontus: No solid plans yet. We have a few shows booked, but no tour. We really want to do something this fall though, so let's see what happens.

  

13. Who or what is the main driving force of "Agrimonia", both individually and as a band? What makes you tick and what motivates you to create music?

Christina: For me it is my friends and the people around me that makes music and try to tell a story and fight for a better way of life. They motivate me. I also really get inspired by fierce and awesome women making music and other art forms and not caring about what anyone tells them they can and can not do.

Pontus: The music is a personal outlet initially. Then when more people take part, and when people appreciate it, it grows bigger. It's a very rewarding experience. That said, I'd probably still write those riffs even if I didn't have a band to use them in.

  

14. Which song from "Agrimonia" means the most to you? And, if you were only a fan, which album would be your favorite?

Christina: Lyrically for me it is "The Battle Fought" from "Rites of Separation".

Pontus: I can't pick one song. For me it's more about some parts, some riffs or melodies. I can recall where and when I wrote it and always get reminded about that place in life when I hear that certain melody again. As a fan, well I can't really say anything else than our new album!

  

15. Time for you to ask a question! 

Stefan, what made you start a blog? And how is life and the underground scene is Serbia?

I've always been passionate about music and there was a constant wish to get involved with it somehow. Sadly, I was never lucky enough to have a band, aside of a few short lived projects, so making a blog was a solid second step, especially since writing is also a huge passion of mine.

Life is quite hard in Serbia, especially when you see how the people in the rest of Europe live. My girlfriend lives in the Netherlands, so when you compare the ways of living in these two countries you come to a horrid result. I think this really reflects on the underground scene, so the bands we have here tend to be quite grim with their lyrics and mood. Not a lot of them manage to go beyond the borders of the country and overall I feel like the scene is not as tightly knit as it should be. Serbia needs to do a lot of work to be able to match the diy spirit of the rest of the world. Still, foreign bands tend to pass through and they seem to love it here!

  

16. 2012 is far behind us, but I am curious to hear your favorite band releases of that year? Any recommendations for the readers?

Christina: "Black September" - "Into the darkness into the void", "Martyrdöd - "Paranoia", "Vicious Irene" - "Distorted state of mind", "Embers"- "Shadows" and all the re-releases of the "Bolt Thrower" records.

Pontus: "Dinosaur Jr" - "I Bet on Sky", "Om" – "Advaitic songs" and "Kent" - "Jag är inte rädd för mörkret".

  

17. Aside of playing in "Agrimonia", are band members involved with some other music projects?

Christina: I am in "Contorture", Magnus and Björn are in "Radiation", Pontus and Björn are in "Miasmal", Pontus is in "Martyrdöd" and Martin is in "At the Gates", "Vrak" and "Skitsystem".

18. Similar question to the previous one, do you have any hobbies outside the boundries of music?

Christina: Im really into photography and gardening.

Pontus: Reading, movies and bus rides between Oslo and Gothenburg.

  

19. That wraps it up! In the end, I have to thank you again for this lengthy interview, it was a pleasure. Any final message for the blog?

Pontus: Thanks to you! All the best for the future! Check out "Rites of Separation" when it comes out. Cheers!

Interview: Wolf Down

Finally, as promised, here is the interview I did with an awesome upcoming band from Germany named "Wolf Down". After just a quick glance at their work, I immediately fell for their tunes and had a great desire to have a talk with them, so here is the fruit of our correspondence. Really friendly people doing something awesome, take a read and a listen, you won't regret it! 

1. Up front, thank you so much for taking your time to answer some questions for "Natures With No Plagues" blog. Please, introduce yourself and the rest of "Wolf Down".

Tommy: Hello, thanks for having us! My name is Tommy, I play guitar in "Wolf Down" together with Larissa, she is our singer, Sven is our drummer and Merlin plays the bass.

2. You are still a very young band, so I'm interested in hearing how did you all get together to start writing music.

Tommy: We started writing music together in April 2011. Larissa, Sven and Merlin had a band called "Sink Or Swim" together. This band called it quits about one and a half years before that and I had also just left a band. We knew each other from shows and knew, that the ethics of veganism and straight edge are very important to all of us. So we began talking about doing a band together promoting these ethics with a heavy and non-compromising sound and that's how it all started.

3. Why and how did you choose that particular name for the project? Does it have any special meaning for you or was it just cool to use?

Tommy: Yeah, sure, wolves are really cool animals! But to be honest, we really liked the meaning of "(to) wolf down" which menas, to eat hastily. In our opinion this reflects how most of the people do not pay any attention on what they eat and consume, where it comes from and how it is produced. So the name of the band directly displays our criticism about this behavior.

4. Thus far you have one release called "MMXI". Tell me something more about the album and some interesting details about the creation of it.

Tommy: It's actually the first 4 songs we ever wrote and recorded, so technically this is our demo. We recorded them even before we played our first show if I remember correctly. We are very happy how everything worked out and about the positive response we got for it!

5. You are all vegan and straight edge in the band. When and how did you first get in touch with these ideologies? What sparked the flame that took you down that path?

Tommy: It was about 7 years ago when I was searching people to do a new band with. So I knew this guy who I knew was a very good drummer, so we gave it a shot. We began talking and eventually I found out he was vegan. He was the first person I ever knew who was vegan. Sure, I knew some vegetarians but to be honest, until that point I always thought that this was some kind of thing hippies and mid-40s moms do to just feel better about themselves. Getting to know this person changed my life. I soon became very interested in how veganism works, what he eats and what else he is aware of. With his help I started thinking and informing myself about all the different aspects and organizations promoting a meat free living. To say the least, in my opinion not all of them are promoting it the right way but thats another thing. Se with his help and guidance the transition was very easy to me. Maybe I have to add that I never was a vegetarian, I went straight from omnivore to vegan.

Straight Edge is another thing. I had my first contacts with hardcore music and shows also about the time I became vegan and started the band mentioned above. By that time I already had stopped taking illegal and legal drugs which played a huge part in my teenage years. But I didn't consider myself straight edge because I just knew too little about it. With the time I spent within the scene I got to learn about all the positive aspects about it and now I am proud to call myself straight edge. You don't need a lable to abstain from drug use, but I believe that through this label it becomes more concrete and achievable especially for younger people. It gives everyone a feeling of affiliation which for some people is very important. By calling yourself straight edge you are promoting a clean, positive, liberated way of life. Of course there are some people misusing the straight edge for their elitist excluding "I'm better than you" bullshit, but thats not our idea of it. So you can feel save around us whilst drinking your beer ;)

6. Aside of through your band and obviously your diet, is there any other way that you support veganism? Some sort of activism or anything similar?

Tommy: Yes, sure, we try to show support for different organizations and actions as much as we can but we hope you understand that we don't want to go too much into detail about this!

7. Your lyrics critique the common "9 to 5" life style, so I'm interested in what do band members do for a living in their own time?

Tommy: We are trying to work our way around the system, but to be honest, this only works to some point. We have to pay rent and stuff, so we sadly have to make money somehow. Right now a couple of us are still studying, the other ones have to work.

8. Do you think that society as a whole can undergo a drastic change, especially now that riots and revolutions are flaming up all over the world?  In your opinion, can capitalism be smashed?

Sven: That drastic changes are possible is written in history, both, positive and emancipatory as well as negative, reactionary and destructive. That's why the unwritten future is like a scale with achievements and throwbacks. The uprisings all around the globe prove that society's are in turmoil. Even though there is no master plan "how to abolish capitalism once and for all" we have the impulse, the anger and the courage to provoke this systems collapse and to destroy and rebuild, because we surely know what we don't want and how it should not be. We have a dream which guides what we want and how a sustainable, liberated and emancipatory society could look like and be organised; self-governed based on non-violence, equality and solidarity. All actions against capitalism (as a whole, or it's excesses) and revolutionary struggles at all must be accompanied by actions for something (aka the utopia) because we create the new world already in the here and now. This also affects your own behavior! "The" revolution won't be a single event which will happen on day X and after it capitalism is history, no. The revolution is a developing process carried and impelled by it's proponents. That's why it is important to raise a network of united struggles worldwide. Cosmopolitical like the proposition - think global, act local.

9. Tell me something more about your local music scene and about Germany in general. Is there anything you specifically love or hate about it? 

Tommy: The music scene in Germany is really big. There are a lot of clubs where shows take place. It's sad, but most hardcore shows are taking place in clubs that are run with a commercial interest so the shows are mostly expensive. We don't have a lot of alternatives in our area, there are some, but without a commercial background it's mostly not possible to pay what booking agencies are asking for bigger bands nowadays. Touring in Germany is very nice because the standards are very high. You get mostly good food, don't have to worry about sleeping places and promoters keep their promises. I guess thats the main reasons that bands are touring Germany over and over again (despite the fact that the hardcore scene is huge). So here you have it. We love the food but hate the money aspects about it in some cases.

10. Are there any more xvx bands in your surrounding area with which you do shows or somehow collaborate?

Tommy: We don't know about any other xvx bands in our area, there is one in eastern Germany called "Barren". We recently played a show with them and they are really great.

11. It is known that some of you have been involved with the band "Sink or Swim". How much does the music writing process differ between these two bands?

Sven: The sound differs as "Wolf Down" is a way heavier than "Sink or Swim" was, but the writing process is pretty similar. The guitarist writes stuff on his own and shows it to the rest at rehearsals or we just jam together and see what comes out. Mostly it's like a puzzle as we sort out a few parts and replace them, in turn, a few fit into another song idea and that's the way it goes. It's not always that easy, maybe that's also the reason why we don't have so many songs yet, but it's important to us that everyone is satisfied or at least compromised with the result. The difference which exists is, that in "Wolf Down" only Larissa is writing lyrics which she feels more comfortable with when it comes to performing the songs. In "Sink or Swim" almost everyone in the band was involved in writing lyrics.

12. Aside of "Wolf Down" and the already mentioned "Sink or Swim", do band members have some other projects? 

Tommy: Yes, Merlin has a really great band called "Rocksofa". They kill it! Other than that, all of us played in other bands in the past. 

13. At this point, are there any special plans for the future of "Wolf Down"?

Tommy: We are leaving for our first trip to Sweden on July 5th and we are really excited about this! We will also be playing Fluff Fest this year which feels truly amazing because in my opinion it's the best place to be for a hardcore/punk (or really any kind of) band!

In August we will be touring the Balkan States for a little over 2 weeks with our friends in "Demonwomb" (check them out!) from Austria. On this tour we will play shows in Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.We are really looking forward to this and to find out what the hc/punk scene is like over there! After this there will be a few single shows in Germany before we leave for the UK in mid-September.

As you can see, we have a lot of shows to come this year ;)

Besides all the shows of course we are overly excited how everyone will react on our new "Renegades" 7" which was released on June 16th.

14. Again, thank you so much for doing this interview! Any final message for the readers? 

Sven: Thank you even more for your interest and thanks to everyone out there for taking the time to read what we have to say! Now get off the internet! Stop mourning - take action.

Interview:God Is An Astronaut

Here it is, the promised and awaited interview I did with the famous Irish quartet called "God Is An Astronaut". As I previously noted in the concert review I wrote, it was scheduled for me to do a live interview with the band, but due to some technical difficulty it had to be postponed and done via e-mail. Either way, I am extremely glad I had the chance to ask the guys some questions, so hope you enjoy the read!

1. First of all, I would like to thank you so much for taking the time for this interview with "Natures With No Plagues". Last night was the first time you were in Serbia as a band, so I am very tempted to ask about your impressions concerning the show.

The show was awesome, it was nice to see all the fans so passionate and giving so much energy back to us, we felt very welcome.

2. This tour is a celebration of your ten year anniversary. What are your thoughts about the tour up until this point?

The tour went very well, the attendances and crowd reactions have been stellar and that is why we chose Eastern Europe to kick off our 10 year Anniversary touring schedule.

3. Turning back and looking at the past, how do you feel about the growth and the evolution of the project? Do you enjoy the band today as much as you did at its birth?

Of course, the ethos still remains the same, to write and release music we love without compromise.

We have been very lucky as we did it genuinely our way, it is an extra bonus that so many people around the world can share in our music.

4. It is a well known fact that your name hails from Clive Barker's "Nightbreed". Were there any other potential names which you were thinking about or was it an instant moment decision? Also, did you find any particular deeper meaning behind this moniker or was it taken just for the coolness factor?

Well there is no religious aspect as some people suggest, we just liked the name and it felt right to make the music we wanted under it. I guess it being both ancient and modern was another factor.

5. The first steps of the band were taken under your own record label, "Revive Records". What sparked this decision?

With the first album there was no interest from record labels etc... so we decided to release it on our own label more or less as a farewell to the music industry. We wanted to release something we genuinely liked and finish on something that we could be proud of. Who knew 10 years later we would be still here and be known all over the world.

6. Thinking about that time, how do you feel about do-it-yourself ethics? Were there any particular merits or flaws which you felt on your own skin due to working under such terms?

I wouldn't change anything, we have direct control over all aspects of the music, artwork etc... Also there is no middle man and we get all of the earnings directly which is the only way to survive these days.

7. Knowledge about your music was, at first, transfered through blog interviews and reviews, so I am interested to ask about your thoughts concerning music and the internet. Do you still browse any particular blogs or websites and do you still appreciate when your name is mentioned? Do you think that things like that still aid the band?

Sure the internet has been the main platform for us, in many ways it has levelled the playing field in regard to the major record companies hold on the industry. We are still an internet band and are of course appreciative of being mentioned on blogs etc... The only downside is that we often don't make money directly from our music, for example in Serbia we have sold no CDs or Mp3s legally or very little, so to take advantage we have to tour, sell our merchandise directly to the fans, I think this is the model of the future.

8. At a certain point, you started collaborating with other record labels for your releases. Was it a tough decision or a natural evolution of the project?

We have licensed our albums to a few record companies at the start mainly for distribution reasons, it was not a collaboration in the true sense.

9. Please explain to the readers the actual music writing process. When you sit down to write an album, do you determine a specific mood of the entire release or do you create seperate songs and then try to fuse them together?

All the songs are written in the studio and built up over periods of weeks and months, this stems from our Dance/electronic background where it was commonplace to produce your own records. All the songs start from a strong melody or chord progression, the melody and mood are paramount in the process.

10. Tell me more about the visual aspect of the band. Do you consider it to be a medium for transfering a more direct message to the audience, due to the lack of vocals? Also, maybe a silly question, but what inspires you the most when you create the videos?

The visuals are there to set the mood in the venue and enhance the overall experience of the show. They are not there for any other reason.

11. Two silly questions coming up. Despite having an extensive number of live shows behind you, do you still have stage fright?

We never really had any stage fright, we have been doing this since the early 90's.

12. If you were just a fan of "God Is An Astronaut", what would be your favorite release?

I guess for me it is "A Moment of Stillness", I just like the ambient nature of the album.

13. I am always intrigued by what my interlocutors listen to in their free time. Do you have any favored releases or bands, both all time and current ones?

Not really, I haven't been listening to anything specifically but we have been listening to a lot of Alice in Chains in the tour van for some reason.

14. There is news circling the internet that you are working on a new album, a release quite different from what you created thus far. Are you willing to share more information about the progress at this point?

Yes so far it will be much more experimental but much more commercial at the same time. There will also be a focus on more vocals, even with some lyrics but not in a lead singer style format.

15. What else does the future hold for this project? Will Serbia ever see you again?

Of course we will be back, most likely 2014 with the new album tour.

16. Once again, thank you very much for this interview and hopefully next time we get to talk in person. Any final message to the readers?

Thank you! to all our Serbian fans and making us feel so welcome, we will be back again!