Vintersorg
Dark Matter Mystery

15.11.2007

Yet another elusive musician has finally been captured! I remember trying to get the mighty Swedish multi-instrumentalist and composer by the name of Vintersorg for an interview as far back as 2001, when we saw him and his band putting on a hell of a show at the Wacken Open Air festival. However, this only became possible six years later, and only by e-mail. Over these years, Vintersorg managed to venture into progressive metal and then return back to his roots with his own band, join Norwegian cult black metal band Borknagar, give birth to a child, and nearly complete his university studies. It’s natural that he’s a very busy man, but still he managed to provide us with quite detailed answers to all the questions, even pretty tough ones. Read on to find more about his latest offering “Solens Rotter”, his numerous other projects, his relations with fans, and his interests in music, science, life, etc…

I remember a few interviews you did back in 2004, and you said that you were already working on material for the next Vintersorg album. But this next album only came out about three years later. Why did it take you so long to complete the record this time?

It was all about figuring out what kind of album we wanted to do. I first wrote some songs that were a bit different than the actual CD, but those didn’t feel right and in phase with our emotional state so we never used them. But after finding the right path it was a very quick process. I wrote the framework in three-four weeks.

Your previous CD, “The Focusing Blur” (2004), was a concept record. What are the songs about on the new album?

It’s not a concept album in that sense that it’s one single story that runs throughout the whole album, but of course the songs are connected and linked in several aspects. I really like wholeness in everything I participate in, in life in general. The lyrics are about the relation between man and nature but from a kind of romantic point of view, still with a scientific background. It’s the same type of subject that I find myself writing about every time in Vintersorg, it’s an endless road.

You’ve already answered many times why you decided to return to Swedish lyrics. But if “The Focusing Blur” had been sung in Swedish, I think very few people would have understood what the album is all about. Do you think it is possible to understand and really appreciate “Solens Rotter” without having any idea about what you’re singing?

In a way it may be so, but still it’s a whole experience with words, tones, atmosphere, performance etc, so I think that you can get a lot out of the album even if you don’t understand the words. Music is universal from my perspective, it goes beyond the physical boundaries of the human mind, if you look at it from that direction it’s much more than just words and notes, it’s a metaphysical event. And if people are curious about the meaning of the precise words they can check it out/look it up.

A lot of your songs are about studies of nature, human and space, which is a very rare thing for musicians. How did you develop an interest in science? And what do you think about the very common opinion that creative people are either interested in science only or in art only, that these two fields do not mix?

I can’t imagine living without the duality of what you mention. I’ve always been very curious about who makes things work and why they do it, so science has been a good companion since I got my first telescope as young kid and glanced at the night sky. Just learning about nature is very inspiring and the more you understand the more beautiful it gets, it surely boost my creativity as nature really finds some interesting solutions how to design things. It’s also through science that we can expand our knowledge and that will lead us to more experiences to use while performing/panting/composing etc.

Are you also interested in recording technology? Have you ever thought of a career as a producer or a sound engineer?

I’ve worked as a sound engineer at a theatre and I help some local guys out now and then. I’m very interested in it and therefore we’ve always produced our albums ourselves and we recorded the last one entirely on our own, to get exactly what we wanted.

On the new album, there are much more elements of folk music than you had on your previous two records. Does it mean that you kind of rediscovered folk music for yourself lately, or was there any other reason?

I don’t really think that there are more folk melodies on this album but with a bit different instrumentation with stuff like violins, flutes, harps and piano it gets a different aura than if you use spaced-out keyboards. I’ve always been into folk music and we see this new album not as a return but as a leap forward in our constant progression as musicians and humans. The use of only Swedish words may give you certain feeling, so I guess it about those things as the folk melodies have always been a huge part of Vintersorg.
 
In the late 1990s Vintersorg was often called a Viking metal band, and another project that you had back in those days, Otyg, was usually classified as pagan metal. Were you interested in paganism as a religion or a way of life back then, and are you interested in it at the present time?

I’ve read some books about Vikings, and of course, we’re getting that in school as a part of our history, but I have never been really into the whole mythology of it. Otyg was all about folklore but I understand the classification we got and it was fine.

Speaking about Otyg, I recently read an interview with the former female singer of this band, Cia, and she said she would love to do another album and tour with it. What do you think of such an idea?

I don’t think it will ever happen, at least I’m not interested in it. The past should stay the past, so to speak, as art is all about passion, we quit Otyg cause we lost the passion for it. Reopening that mental and emotional venue is very hard and I think I can’t do that.

Speaking about touring – both Vintersorg and Borknagar are doing very few live shows nowadays. What is the reason? And what do you personally think of live shows – do you enjoy them, or do you treat them as a kind of necessary evil?

It’s all about time actually. I have kids, study full time, a job on the side as well as all the bands and projects I work with on a daily basis, it’s just not possible to make it. And I’ve also always been into music for the joy of composing it, I like to create, and then writing it will be the most important part.

I’ve been reading your official forum, and over there a few people basically said that doing no tours is a sign of disrespect for the fans who buy your albums. How much do you take fans’ opinion into account? Do you write songs for yourself only, or does fans’ satisfaction also mean something?

We have the greatest respect for our fans and it’s nice to hear their ideas about our music and stuff, but we can’t build our artistry just out of that. We need to have an artistic vision ourselves and try to follow that through to give us the inspiration that we need to continue to explore our music. But as I said, that doesn’t mean that we don’t respect our fans. Music is like a drug for me and has been since I was a very young kid, so I can’t stop doing it, but I need to do if for the right reasons and just trying to satisfy people isn’t how I picture this. I have so many musical ideas that I want to put into a musical reality, and that’s those visions that are the most important part for me. Bu it’s great if people like what we do.

More about fans – when I was talking to Napalm Records about this interview, I suggested making a phone call myself, and the label actually said that Vintersorg doesn’t want to expose his private number. Does it mean that you have encountered aggression or hostility from the fans or from the press, and now you want to keep the distance as much as possible?

Naaahhh… It’s more like I want to keep my private life private as the rest of my family members haven’t chosen to be involved in this thing, so it’s in respect of them. When I’m at home I want to spend my time with my family.

Vintersorg is basically a duo consisting of you and Matthias Marklund. How much does Matthias contribute to the music, apart from playing guitar?

He’s more that just a band mate, as we’re friends since childhood and are really good companions. He comes up with some arrangement ideas and listens very critically to what I’ve come up with and then we have a dialog from that. So he’s a very important part of the band and I think that our relation becomes stronger and stronger the older we get.

You said that in Borknagar you are mostly the singer, and Oystein Brun is the main composer. But after you joined the band, its music changed quite a lot. So how do you personally see your role in Borknagar and your influence on it?

I don’t think that the slight change of direction really has anything to do with me as Oystein had written a lot of the material for “Empiricism” when I joined, I think he felt it was time to move on and do something a little different. My role is still to come up with vocal lines and some arrangements on the compositions that Oystein writes. But of course we influence each other and maybe mostly on a subconscious level as we share many things like a general life philosophy etc.

You are currently working on two new albums by two more projects – Cronian and Waterclime. Can you say a few words about those new records? How much will they be different from previous ones?

The new Waterclime album “Imaginative” is just out on Lion Music, and it’s better arranged with stronger melodies and a clearer production. The new Cronian is still in the making and it’s a bit hard to see where we’ll end up, but it’s still very Cronianish (laughs), but a bit different.

While listening to Cronian, it’s obvious that you are seriously influenced by movie soundtracks. Do you have any favorite soundtrack composers? And have you ever considered writing music for a movie yourself?

John Williams is a great composer as he manages to make the music in sync with the visuals. I like movie scores, and maybe I’ll do something in the future, but for now I have so many other things going so it’s not possible to try out such a task at this point.

Waterclime is a project that can be classified as progressive rock, which is something you’ve never done before. What music did you start with when you were a kid? Did you begin with extreme metal and later discovered something like Pink Floyd or Genesis, or vice versa?

For me it was chronological, starting with the old music, and it wasn’t that old when I grew up (laughs). And then when I got older I picked up the harsher metal (as it really didn’t exist when I was a child). I’ve always loved the progressive and symphonic rock from the 1970s as it was kind of a soundtrack to my childhood in several aspects. So Waterclime is something I do to dig in my own past as well as in melodic rock with spaced out arrangements and instrumentation.

You have recently signed a new contract with Napalm Records for Vintersorg, but both Borknagar and Cronian are on Century Media. Have you ever considered searching for a bigger label for Vintersorg, the one that can give the band more exposure?

Not really! We have a very good relation with Napalm and have had that for ten years so we feel really comfortable being a Napalm Records band. You can never predict the future but as for now it’s perfect and Napalm are a label with good distribution, etc.

Speaking about exposure – don’t you think that by focusing on one project instead of four or five you could give it much more in terms of promotion and get much more in terms of commercial success? Or does your current success make you happy?

Yes, but you see, I’ve never written or recorded music from an economical standpoint, it’s about art for us even if it wouldn’t hurt if we could live on it. But artistic vision can’t be based on money, then you’ll be very limited.

I’ve always been wondering how you manage to combine a family life, studies, and so many different bands. Do you study time management at the university, or is there any other secret?

Well, it about priorities, I guess. I don’t waste time on things that don’t give something back, I focus on my family, work, studies and music and don’t on things like video games and online poker tournaments as it’s not interesting to me at all. That’s it: the riddle is solved… (laughs)

How did your life and your views on life change after you became a father? Did the birth of your child have any effect on your music?

It had a tremendous impact on my life and the same with my musical inspiration, but I’m not sure if the music itself becomes different? But it’s something really magical and I can’t imagine how my life was before now.

What do you plan to do after you complete studies? What kind of work do you want to have? And would you prefer focusing on music if you had a chance, or would you still want to do something else in life?

I’ll teach as I’m studying to become a teacher, and I’ll be done now by New Year’s Eve, so I’m looking forward to get out and practice all the theories and ideas that I’ve fed my head for 5 years. I like to have music as hobby, I’m scared to death of becoming bored with it.

Is there any ultimate goal that you want to reach with music? Something like “selling half a million records” or “creating a perfect album”? Or do you enjoy the process of making music more than any visible result?

Just trying to explore new musical grounds and grow as a composer and a musician.

Vintersorg on the Internet: http://www.vintersorganic.com

Special thanks to Alexei “KIDd” Kuzolvev (Irond Records) for arranging this interview

Roman “Maniac” Patrashov
November 5, 2007
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