Interview September 19th 2014 Lyrics
| Song | Interview September 19th 2014 |
| Artist | Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows |
| Album | Interview September 19TH 2014 |
| Download | Image LRC TXT |
| [00:00.000] | It's two o'clock in the morning. |
| [00:02.273] | On the Friday the 19th september. |
| [00:06.673] | Ah,2014. |
| [00:08.839] | This is interview for the obskure magazine 23#. |
| [00:14.651] | and the question by Mr.Tassy. |
| [00:22.139] | Question number one: |
| [00:26.550] | You explain on your official site that MITTERNACHT and POETICA work very well together and are "related". |
| [00:34.602] | It reminds me of what you had said to me when POETICA was released, |
| [00:39.002] | the fact that the album was your Poe, |
| [00:41.664] | your connection to Poe. |
| [00:44.604] | Is MITTERNACHT related to POETICA because it is particularly autobiographical? |
| [00:51.466] | AVC:Yes, I think that Poetica and Mitternacht do belong together. |
| [01:04.290] | Well, at least to a certain degree... |
| [01:06.783] | and, yes, Mitternacht is autobiographical ... |
| [01:13.521] | but then again, |
| [01:14.663] | so are all my albums. |
| [01:15.971] | I have always written only about myself, |
| [01:20.838] | I have never done anything else. |
| [01:23.632] | I mean, keep in mind that SOPOR is nothing but self-therapy. |
| [01:27.755] | It has always been. Besides, |
| [01:33.071] | what's the one thing that all aspiring writers are being told? |
| [01:36.618] | To bloody stick to the things that you know ... |
| [01:39.952] | and, well, in my case ... |
| [01:43.481] | the only thing that I truly know and understand ... |
| [01:47.175] | well, sort of, anyway ... is myself. So, yes, |
| [01:52.116] | all my work is entirely autobiographical. |
| [01:55.189] | Including Mitternacht. |
| [02:00.061] | I think another reason why both albums kind of belong together ... |
| [02:05.571] | or, well, maybe not belong together, |
| [02:07.436] | but certainly work well together, |
| [02:10.466] | is because one followed so closely after the other. |
| [02:16.717] | I have said this before, |
| [02:17.658] | but every album is not only a consequence of the one(s) that came before, |
| [02:26.643] | but it's also a preparation of the one(s) to follow. |
| [02:33.741] | The thing about Poetica was ... |
| [02:40.092] | is ... that it ended on a very sad note, |
| [02:45.177] | and I couldn't leave it like that. |
| [02:51.812] | You know, depression may be kind of romantic at the age of 16 , |
| [02:57.140] | in a twisted sort of way, |
| [03:00.417] | but, believe me, |
| [03:01.470] | it certainly isn't anymore when you have reached my age. |
| [03:05.884] | To tell you the truth, |
| [03:06.817] | I was terrified. I was really afraid. |
| [03:09.995] | I could not leave it like this, |
| [03:12.869] | I could not let this final note linger, |
| [03:18.891] | echo for all eternity, |
| [03:21.744] | without dissolving, re-channling it ... |
| [03:29.325] | because I just couldn't go on like this anymore. |
| [03:35.731] | I could not allow this to be, |
| [03:39.327] | because I felt ... I feared ... |
| [03:47.281] | that it would be the end of me. |
| [03:49.835] | I had to find a solution. |
| [03:51.897] | Quickly. |
| [03:55.828] | Which might also explain why I was under such an enormous pressure ... and why, |
| [04:05.004] | consequently, |
| [04:07.425] | this album was (and still is) so very important to me. |
| [04:15.458] | In fact, |
| [04:17.659] | and that's perhaps a strange thing to say ... |
| [04:20.526] | considering the contents of my past albums ... |
| [04:26.104] | but I can't remember ever having felt such a feeling of urgency about an album. |
| [04:33.139] | Or maybe I have and I just forgot about it, |
| [04:35.027] | which I tend to do. So... |
| [04:39.082] | I know I am repeating myself, |
| [04:41.545] | but ... in my case ... |
| [04:46.194] | there is no separation between life and art. |
| [04:51.402] | And I believe this is true for every artist, |
| [04:53.793] | or every true artist, |
| [04:54.618] | regardless of talent and/or skill ... |
| [04:57.320] | and, really, |
| [04:58.162] | there shouldn't be a separation. |
| [04:59.481] | How can there be? |
| [05:01.383] | Life and art ARE one. |
| [05:03.567] | They are the same thing. |
| [05:05.928] | They influence each other, |
| [05:07.276] | as they are forever intertwined ... |
| [05:10.359] | because they are the same thing. |
| [05:17.959] | So, as I tried to find a solution to my ... umm, |
| [05:22.358] | situation ... |
| [05:25.916] | I encountered something that caused me even greater pain. |
| [05:30.163] | I mean, it was ridiculous. |
| [05:32.157] | There I was hoping to change things for the better, |
| [05:34.804] | but it only got worse. |
| [05:40.089] | I hadn't felt so extremely miserable in a long time. |
| [05:45.088] | There were days when I was crying on my way home ... |
| [05:50.338] | in broad daylight ... |
| [05:53.307] | and those were the good days. |
| [05:54.853] | On others I couldn't even get out of bed. |
| [06:02.168] | But ... |
| [06:02.655] | ...it was all neccessary. |
| [06:04.835] | Again, this may sound strange to some people, |
| [06:10.976] | but ... I am eternally grateful for this. |
| [06:15.007] | I learned things that I not only had never encountered before... |
| [06:27.872] | but that I tought were impossible. |
| [06:31.304] | Yes, it was painful ... |
| [06:35.450] | but it was also very interesting ... |
| [06:39.430] | and very educational. |
| [06:43.392] | Question number two: |
| [06:46.467] | Can you explain the fact that you needed to explore the question of loneliness and the need for companionship at this moment of your life? |
| [06:58.838] | AVC:Umm ... no ... things just ... happened. |
| [07:06.706] | It was meant to happen. |
| [07:09.696] | It was simply time, |
| [07:11.663] | I guess. |
| [07:14.534] | A natural consequence of the things that had happened before. |
| [07:19.902] | I don't wish to appear rude, |
| [07:21.328] | but I really cannot be more specific. |
| [07:24.885] | After all, the details are really nobody's business. |
| [07:31.241] | It's just ... when I left the, |
| [07:35.840] | umm, "other side" (to put it this way) to re-enter the ordinary world, |
| [07:44.968] | which I had abandoned so many years ago, |
| [07:48.645] | I was instantly reminded why I had left in the first place. |
| [07:53.457] | I just didn't belong here, |
| [07:56.373] | I had no part in this. |
| [07:58.126] | No place in it. |
| [08:02.555] | It's one thing to be alone on the other side, |
| [08:05.591] | where there are creatures, |
| [08:08.138] | things, you can surround yourself with ... |
| [08:11.240] | or even create to a certain extend ... |
| [08:14.969] | but being alone in the hostile ordinary world ... |
| [08:19.077] | well, that is different, and I cannot recommend it. |
| [08:23.999] | So, my first reaction was to turn around on the spot and go straight back into darkness, |
| [08:30.525] | but ... I couldn't ... not this time ... |
| [08:36.403] | because that wouldn't have solved anything. |
| [08:39.442] | It would have meant stagnation, |
| [08:42.329] | and, ultimately, death. |
| [08:46.198] | So I kept on walking. |
| [08:49.570] | And that was ... yes, |
| [08:54.121] | almost two years ago now, |
| [08:56.123] | and it's kind of ... |
| [08:58.853] | I hate the word amazing, |
| [09:01.192] | I really do ... |
| [09:03.501] | but, looking at it now, |
| [09:07.489] | that's really the best way to describe it ... umm, |
| [09:11.303] | the things that happend in those two years, |
| [09:15.919] | I honestly would never have guessed could happen. |
| [09:18.922] | I really thought that they would never even be possible. |
| [09:27.508] | number three: |
| [09:30.849] | Where did the idea to record a cover version of ��La Prima Vez�� come from? |
| [09:39.897] | AVC:Oh, the idea? |
| [09:41.938] | Uff, I don't know. |
| [09:43.391] | It just developped, |
| [09:45.435] | as it is with art. |
| [09:46.938] | You know, it grows. |
| [09:52.045] | But what I can tell you where I encountered this song for the first time. |
| [09:58.359] | I was watching Wim Wenders' dance-film PINA, |
| [10:04.062] | and on the songtrack there is a version of that song by ... umm, |
| [10:07.799] | gawd, what's his name ... Logan 5 ...? |
| [10:14.326] | No, wait ... Owain Phyfe ... feifei? ... |
| [10:24.826] | I don't know, whatever his name is pronounced. |
| [10:30.468] | I had never heard it before, |
| [10:32.314] | but I immediately liked it. |
| [10:34.936] | It had a beautiful melody, |
| [10:36.513] | and that's what drew me to it, |
| [10:38.008] | that's what caught my attention ... |
| [10:40.268] | and, as it is often the case with these things. |
| [10:44.331] | Sometimes, you may not neccessarily know what it is at first, |
| [10:50.675] | the thing that attracts your attention. |
| [10:54.795] | Quite often it's entirely subconscious. |
| [10:56.730] | But once you take a closer look at it, |
| [10:59.385] | you see what connects you to it. |
| [11:03.062] | You see the relevance it has for you. |
| [11:06.813] | number four: |
| [11:10.762] | I have to ask you the same question for "Bang Bang" |
| [11:14.402] | why did you chose this song? |
| [11:18.892] | AVC:To be perfectly honest ... |
| [11:22.008] | I cannot remember. |
| [11:24.255] | I really can't remember what gave the impulse ... |
| [11:29.869] | and that is actually a good thing, |
| [11:31.417] | because it means that the problem ... |
| [11:33.741] | or inner conflict, |
| [11:35.316] | if you wish ... has be solved ... |
| [11:38.284] | - dissolved. |
| [11:43.041] | It's a strange song to begin with. |
| [11:45.354] | Silly even in the original. |
| [11:47.419] | I mean, it was written by Sonny Bono ... |
| [11:51.149] | but for whom exactly I don't even know. |
| [11:53.972] | Either Nancy Sinatra or Cher. |
| [11:57.417] | I don't know who came first. |
| [12:01.612] | Iit doesn't really matter, |
| [12:04.150] | anyway. Both versions are great. |
| [12:05.740] | Actually, Cher has many great songs. |
| [12:09.677] | I mean, "Gypsies, tramps & thieves" is fabulous ... |
| [12:16.458] | but, of course, I cannot do that. |
| [12:17.720] | I mean, |
| [12:18.346] | for one the music sounds kind of like SOPOR anyway ... |
| [12:23.314] | to a certain degree, |
| [12:25.100] | so that would be pointless. |
| [12:26.776] | And, let's face it, |
| [12:29.641] | I wasn't born on the waggon of a travelling show. |
| [12:34.115] | Thank goodness for that. |
| [12:38.483] | But back to BANG BANG ... |
| [12:41.121] | yes, it's a bit of a strange song ... |
| [12:42.636] | and, in my case, |
| [12:44.307] | it doesn't just refer to one particular thing or person, |
| [12:48.987] | and even keeps changing perspective. |
| [12:51.971] | It's more about a state of mind, |
| [12:57.159] | if you wish. |
| [12:59.601] | A neurotic notion ... a dependency ... |
| [13:03.216] | the sort of thing I dealt with on the Triptychon of Ghosts. |
| [13:09.033] | The interesting thing for me, |
| [13:10.719] | however, was that initially I thought I would ... |
| [13:14.086] | well, maybe not mock it, |
| [13:15.664] | but be kind of ironic about it. |
| [13:19.380] | Basically like I did it with Bonnie Tyler's "Holding out for a Hero". |
| [13:25.869] | But when I was in the studio I couldn't do it like that. |
| [13:31.564] | I had to do it seriously. |
| [13:33.903] | It was the only way. |
| [13:36.366] | And it makes sense, because there is no irony on the album at all. |
| [13:40.994] | And that's actually a thing that Mitternacht has in common with Poetica. |
| [13:46.816] | number five: |
| [13:49.915] | Do you consider “Confessional” the heart of the album? |
| [13:57.962] | We can understand the chorus, |
| [13:59.933] | the mantra of the song, |
| [14:01.275] | in a lot of different ways. |
| [14:03.005] | Is that a form of supplication? |
| [14:09.319] | AVC:Yes, |
| [14:10.067] | it is the heart of the album ... |
| [14:11.827] | and THANK YOU for recognising ... |
| [14:15.134] | and yes, |
| [14:16.568] | you may very well call it a prayer. |
| [14:20.755] | number six: |
| [14:24.258] | Is the album-title “Mitternacht” a reference to the heart of the night, |
| [14:29.771] | the symbol of the moments when the feeling of loneliness is at its strongest? |
| [14:37.426] | AVC:Yes. |
| [14:39.566] | It's like a Dark Night of the Soul. |
| [14:45.757] | number seven: |
| [14:47.742] | When you sing ?Beautiful?, |
| [14:49.797] | do you think about someone in particular? |
| [14:53.970] | AVC:Sorry, but that I cannot tell you. |
| [15:01.033] | But, it is more than meets the eye ... |
| [15:05.024] | it's a little more complex than it might appear at first glance. |
| [15:11.578] | It seems to be very simple ... |
| [15:13.464] | and it is simply ... |
| [15:15.523] | but it's not one-dimensional. |
| [15:23.353] | number eight: |
| [15:26.350] | You sing in a totally new way on certain songs like ? |
| [15:32.949] | You cannot make him love you? for example. |
| [15:36.221] | Could you tell me more about this experience of the voice recordings of MITTERNACHT? |
| [15:46.296] | AVC:There is nothing to tell, really. |
| [15:49.509] | Recording the vocals was the same as always. |
| [15:53.377] | You're in the studio and then ... you do it. |
| [15:58.372] | If it sounds different than how I usually sound (which I don't actually think it does) it because the song, |
| [16:09.414] | the content, demanded it. |
| [16:12.898] | number nine: |
| [16:15.965] | Do you think that the "quiet" feeling of the album is due to the totally new way that you had to deal with your energy, |
| [16:22.623] | as you explained on your homepage? |
| [16:26.811] | AVC:No, it has nothing to do with that ... |
| [16:29.170] | because I do not write the music in the studio. |
| [16:31.900] | When I go the studio, |
| [16:33.188] | as in when I rent studio time, |
| [16:35.798] | it means that the music is already completed. |
| [16:38.512] | Well, in theory anyway, |
| [16:40.812] | because it obviously still needs to be recorded. |
| [16:42.433] | But the writing is done. |
| [16:46.422] | Though, admittedly, |
| [16:47.516] | it's never written in stone, |
| [16:50.265] | and there is always room for chance ... |
| [16:54.918] | fate, you might call it. |
| [16:59.197] | Sometimes things that suddenly fall into place. |
| [17:03.707] | And then, |
| [17:07.066] | yes, there are the vocals, of course. |
| [17:08.721] | I never know in advance what is going to happen there, |
| [17:11.833] | because ... as you know ... |
| [17:14.394] | there are no rehearsals. |
| [17:17.761] | Would you say...oh question number ten: |
| [17:23.689] | Would you say that this album is "quiet", |
| [17:26.115] | because you are in a quieter moment of your life? |
| [17:31.860] | AVC:Perhaps, yes. |
| [17:34.677] | number eleven: |
| [17:36.968] | Music box and theremin have become an essential part of your music; |
| [17:42.097] | how would you explain this? |
| [17:44.031] | Now, I feel that those instruments are SOPOR AETERNUS�� |
| [17:49.505] | AVC:Yes, indeed they are, |
| [17:50.444] | aren't they?! |
| [17:51.693] | I agree. |
| [17:53.281] | I have talked about the theremin (or theremin inspired sound) before, |
| [18:06.554] | as in it being this beautiful bridge between the "cold" synthesizers and the warm violins. |
| [18:13.559] | And, yes, |
| [18:14.897] | there is something quirky and childlike thing about the music-box ... |
| [18:25.325] | and all those percussive pling-plong instruments that keep haunting my albums, |
| [18:30.812] | like the toy piano, for example. |
| [18:34.571] | ...... |
| [18:53.509] | When the album was recorded, |
| [18:56.036] | it slowly dawned on me that the damn toypiano is in every bloody song. |
| [19:02.071] | Well, at least on the first half of the album. |
| [19:04.665] | And, admittedly, |
| [19:07.136] | I did worry for a second, |
| [19:09.191] | thinking "have I perhaps overused this?". |
| [19:13.795] | But ...well ... |
| [19:14.959] | there was nothing to be done about it. |
| [19:16.394] | That's just how it was, |
| [19:20.457] | and how it has to be. But then again, |
| [19:23.952] | I always worry. |
| [19:25.527] | I can't help that. |
| [19:29.190] | Twelve. |
| [19:33.979] | Is the perspective of releasing MITTERNACHT harder than it was with the previous albums? |
| [19:41.829] | You explained on your homepage that "it has to be done", |
| [19:47.396] | but the sharing of this work seems particularly delicate for you - why? |
| [19:55.182] | AVC:Because... |
| [19:59.351] | Well, you have to understand that what you hear, |
| [20:05.325] | when you listen to a SOPOR album, |
| [20:08.440] | is not what I hear. |
| [20:11.840] | Remember that the music is like a byproduct, |
| [20:17.144] | a waste product, almost, |
| [20:19.176] | of a psycho-spiritual process and of magical work. What you get is only the end-product. |
| [20:30.156] | Meaning, when you listen to a SOPOR album, |
| [20:33.619] | you only hear the "stories" ... |
| [20:37.520] | whereas when I listen to it, |
| [20:39.794] | I see and re-live all the events that have led to this album. |
| [20:47.244] | So, what I am trying to say is, |
| [20:49.959] | it may very well be that what you hear is just a nice collection of singles with lyrics that may not neccessarily make any sense ... |
| [21:02.875] | whereas for me, |
| [21:04.344] | who has all the keys to its (I almost said "symptoms")... |
| [21:09.519] | to all its symbols, |
| [21:13.031] | it's incredibly intimate and revealing. |
| [21:18.912] | I feel naked and vulnerable. |
| [21:26.511] | Why does it seem more delicate to me this time than with the previous albums? |
| [21:34.497] | Well, |
| [21:36.103] | probably because I actually was naked... |
| [21:39.791] | and wounded. |
| [00:00.000] | It' s two o' clock in the morning. |
| [00:02.273] | On the Friday the 19th september. |
| [00:06.673] | Ah, 2014. |
| [00:08.839] | This is interview for the obskure magazine 23. |
| [00:14.651] | and the question by Mr. Tassy. |
| [00:22.139] | Question number one: |
| [00:26.550] | You explain on your official site that MITTERNACHT and POETICA work very well together and are " related". |
| [00:34.602] | It reminds me of what you had said to me when POETICA was released, |
| [00:39.002] | the fact that the album was your Poe, |
| [00:41.664] | your connection to Poe. |
| [00:44.604] | Is MITTERNACHT related to POETICA because it is particularly autobiographical? |
| [00:51.466] | AVC: Yes, I think that Poetica and Mitternacht do belong together. |
| [01:04.290] | Well, at least to a certain degree... |
| [01:06.783] | and, yes, Mitternacht is autobiographical ... |
| [01:13.521] | but then again, |
| [01:14.663] | so are all my albums. |
| [01:15.971] | I have always written only about myself, |
| [01:20.838] | I have never done anything else. |
| [01:23.632] | I mean, keep in mind that SOPOR is nothing but selftherapy. |
| [01:27.755] | It has always been. Besides, |
| [01:33.071] | what' s the one thing that all aspiring writers are being told? |
| [01:36.618] | To bloody stick to the things that you know ... |
| [01:39.952] | and, well, in my case ... |
| [01:43.481] | the only thing that I truly know and understand ... |
| [01:47.175] | well, sort of, anyway ... is myself. So, yes, |
| [01:52.116] | all my work is entirely autobiographical. |
| [01:55.189] | Including Mitternacht. |
| [02:00.061] | I think another reason why both albums kind of belong together ... |
| [02:05.571] | or, well, maybe not belong together, |
| [02:07.436] | but certainly work well together, |
| [02:10.466] | is because one followed so closely after the other. |
| [02:16.717] | I have said this before, |
| [02:17.658] | but every album is not only a consequence of the one s that came before, |
| [02:26.643] | but it' s also a preparation of the one s to follow. |
| [02:33.741] | The thing about Poetica was ... |
| [02:40.092] | is ... that it ended on a very sad note, |
| [02:45.177] | and I couldn' t leave it like that. |
| [02:51.812] | You know, depression may be kind of romantic at the age of 16 , |
| [02:57.140] | in a twisted sort of way, |
| [03:00.417] | but, believe me, |
| [03:01.470] | it certainly isn' t anymore when you have reached my age. |
| [03:05.884] | To tell you the truth, |
| [03:06.817] | I was terrified. I was really afraid. |
| [03:09.995] | I could not leave it like this, |
| [03:12.869] | I could not let this final note linger, |
| [03:18.891] | echo for all eternity, |
| [03:21.744] | without dissolving, rechannling it ... |
| [03:29.325] | because I just couldn' t go on like this anymore. |
| [03:35.731] | I could not allow this to be, |
| [03:39.327] | because I felt ... I feared ... |
| [03:47.281] | that it would be the end of me. |
| [03:49.835] | I had to find a solution. |
| [03:51.897] | Quickly. |
| [03:55.828] | Which might also explain why I was under such an enormous pressure ... and why, |
| [04:05.004] | consequently, |
| [04:07.425] | this album was and still is so very important to me. |
| [04:15.458] | In fact, |
| [04:17.659] | and that' s perhaps a strange thing to say ... |
| [04:20.526] | considering the contents of my past albums ... |
| [04:26.104] | but I can' t remember ever having felt such a feeling of urgency about an album. |
| [04:33.139] | Or maybe I have and I just forgot about it, |
| [04:35.027] | which I tend to do. So... |
| [04:39.082] | I know I am repeating myself, |
| [04:41.545] | but ... in my case ... |
| [04:46.194] | there is no separation between life and art. |
| [04:51.402] | And I believe this is true for every artist, |
| [04:53.793] | or every true artist, |
| [04:54.618] | regardless of talent and or skill ... |
| [04:57.320] | and, really, |
| [04:58.162] | there shouldn' t be a separation. |
| [04:59.481] | How can there be? |
| [05:01.383] | Life and art ARE one. |
| [05:03.567] | They are the same thing. |
| [05:05.928] | They influence each other, |
| [05:07.276] | as they are forever intertwined ... |
| [05:10.359] | because they are the same thing. |
| [05:17.959] | So, as I tried to find a solution to my ... umm, |
| [05:22.358] | situation ... |
| [05:25.916] | I encountered something that caused me even greater pain. |
| [05:30.163] | I mean, it was ridiculous. |
| [05:32.157] | There I was hoping to change things for the better, |
| [05:34.804] | but it only got worse. |
| [05:40.089] | I hadn' t felt so extremely miserable in a long time. |
| [05:45.088] | There were days when I was crying on my way home ... |
| [05:50.338] | in broad daylight ... |
| [05:53.307] | and those were the good days. |
| [05:54.853] | On others I couldn' t even get out of bed. |
| [06:02.168] | But ... |
| [06:02.655] | ... it was all neccessary. |
| [06:04.835] | Again, this may sound strange to some people, |
| [06:10.976] | but ... I am eternally grateful for this. |
| [06:15.007] | I learned things that I not only had never encountered before... |
| [06:27.872] | but that I tought were impossible. |
| [06:31.304] | Yes, it was painful ... |
| [06:35.450] | but it was also very interesting ... |
| [06:39.430] | and very educational. |
| [06:43.392] | Question number two: |
| [06:46.467] | Can you explain the fact that you needed to explore the question of loneliness and the need for companionship at this moment of your life? |
| [06:58.838] | AVC: Umm ... no ... things just ... happened. |
| [07:06.706] | It was meant to happen. |
| [07:09.696] | It was simply time, |
| [07:11.663] | I guess. |
| [07:14.534] | A natural consequence of the things that had happened before. |
| [07:19.902] | I don' t wish to appear rude, |
| [07:21.328] | but I really cannot be more specific. |
| [07:24.885] | After all, the details are really nobody' s business. |
| [07:31.241] | It' s just ... when I left the, |
| [07:35.840] | umm, " other side" to put it this way to reenter the ordinary world, |
| [07:44.968] | which I had abandoned so many years ago, |
| [07:48.645] | I was instantly reminded why I had left in the first place. |
| [07:53.457] | I just didn' t belong here, |
| [07:56.373] | I had no part in this. |
| [07:58.126] | No place in it. |
| [08:02.555] | It' s one thing to be alone on the other side, |
| [08:05.591] | where there are creatures, |
| [08:08.138] | things, you can surround yourself with ... |
| [08:11.240] | or even create to a certain extend ... |
| [08:14.969] | but being alone in the hostile ordinary world ... |
| [08:19.077] | well, that is different, and I cannot recommend it. |
| [08:23.999] | So, my first reaction was to turn around on the spot and go straight back into darkness, |
| [08:30.525] | but ... I couldn' t ... not this time ... |
| [08:36.403] | because that wouldn' t have solved anything. |
| [08:39.442] | It would have meant stagnation, |
| [08:42.329] | and, ultimately, death. |
| [08:46.198] | So I kept on walking. |
| [08:49.570] | And that was ... yes, |
| [08:54.121] | almost two years ago now, |
| [08:56.123] | and it' s kind of ... |
| [08:58.853] | I hate the word amazing, |
| [09:01.192] | I really do ... |
| [09:03.501] | but, looking at it now, |
| [09:07.489] | that' s really the best way to describe it ... umm, |
| [09:11.303] | the things that happend in those two years, |
| [09:15.919] | I honestly would never have guessed could happen. |
| [09:18.922] | I really thought that they would never even be possible. |
| [09:27.508] | number three: |
| [09:30.849] | Where did the idea to record a cover version of La Prima Vez come from? |
| [09:39.897] | AVC: Oh, the idea? |
| [09:41.938] | Uff, I don' t know. |
| [09:43.391] | It just developped, |
| [09:45.435] | as it is with art. |
| [09:46.938] | You know, it grows. |
| [09:52.045] | But what I can tell you where I encountered this song for the first time. |
| [09:58.359] | I was watching Wim Wenders' dancefilm PINA, |
| [10:04.062] | and on the songtrack there is a version of that song by ... umm, |
| [10:07.799] | gawd, what' s his name ... Logan 5 ...? |
| [10:14.326] | No, wait ... Owain Phyfe ... feifei? ... |
| [10:24.826] | I don' t know, whatever his name is pronounced. |
| [10:30.468] | I had never heard it before, |
| [10:32.314] | but I immediately liked it. |
| [10:34.936] | It had a beautiful melody, |
| [10:36.513] | and that' s what drew me to it, |
| [10:38.008] | that' s what caught my attention ... |
| [10:40.268] | and, as it is often the case with these things. |
| [10:44.331] | Sometimes, you may not neccessarily know what it is at first, |
| [10:50.675] | the thing that attracts your attention. |
| [10:54.795] | Quite often it' s entirely subconscious. |
| [10:56.730] | But once you take a closer look at it, |
| [10:59.385] | you see what connects you to it. |
| [11:03.062] | You see the relevance it has for you. |
| [11:06.813] | number four: |
| [11:10.762] | I have to ask you the same question for " Bang Bang" |
| [11:14.402] | why did you chose this song? |
| [11:18.892] | AVC: To be perfectly honest ... |
| [11:22.008] | I cannot remember. |
| [11:24.255] | I really can' t remember what gave the impulse ... |
| [11:29.869] | and that is actually a good thing, |
| [11:31.417] | because it means that the problem ... |
| [11:33.741] | or inner conflict, |
| [11:35.316] | if you wish ... has be solved ... |
| [11:38.284] | dissolved. |
| [11:43.041] | It' s a strange song to begin with. |
| [11:45.354] | Silly even in the original. |
| [11:47.419] | I mean, it was written by Sonny Bono ... |
| [11:51.149] | but for whom exactly I don' t even know. |
| [11:53.972] | Either Nancy Sinatra or Cher. |
| [11:57.417] | I don' t know who came first. |
| [12:01.612] | Iit doesn' t really matter, |
| [12:04.150] | anyway. Both versions are great. |
| [12:05.740] | Actually, Cher has many great songs. |
| [12:09.677] | I mean, " Gypsies, tramps thieves" is fabulous ... |
| [12:16.458] | but, of course, I cannot do that. |
| [12:17.720] | I mean, |
| [12:18.346] | for one the music sounds kind of like SOPOR anyway ... |
| [12:23.314] | to a certain degree, |
| [12:25.100] | so that would be pointless. |
| [12:26.776] | And, let' s face it, |
| [12:29.641] | I wasn' t born on the waggon of a travelling show. |
| [12:34.115] | Thank goodness for that. |
| [12:38.483] | But back to BANG BANG ... |
| [12:41.121] | yes, it' s a bit of a strange song ... |
| [12:42.636] | and, in my case, |
| [12:44.307] | it doesn' t just refer to one particular thing or person, |
| [12:48.987] | and even keeps changing perspective. |
| [12:51.971] | It' s more about a state of mind, |
| [12:57.159] | if you wish. |
| [12:59.601] | A neurotic notion ... a dependency ... |
| [13:03.216] | the sort of thing I dealt with on the Triptychon of Ghosts. |
| [13:09.033] | The interesting thing for me, |
| [13:10.719] | however, was that initially I thought I would ... |
| [13:14.086] | well, maybe not mock it, |
| [13:15.664] | but be kind of ironic about it. |
| [13:19.380] | Basically like I did it with Bonnie Tyler' s " Holding out for a Hero". |
| [13:25.869] | But when I was in the studio I couldn' t do it like that. |
| [13:31.564] | I had to do it seriously. |
| [13:33.903] | It was the only way. |
| [13:36.366] | And it makes sense, because there is no irony on the album at all. |
| [13:40.994] | And that' s actually a thing that Mitternacht has in common with Poetica. |
| [13:46.816] | number five: |
| [13:49.915] | Do you consider " Confessional" the heart of the album? |
| [13:57.962] | We can understand the chorus, |
| [13:59.933] | the mantra of the song, |
| [14:01.275] | in a lot of different ways. |
| [14:03.005] | Is that a form of supplication? |
| [14:09.319] | AVC: Yes, |
| [14:10.067] | it is the heart of the album ... |
| [14:11.827] | and THANK YOU for recognising ... |
| [14:15.134] | and yes, |
| [14:16.568] | you may very well call it a prayer. |
| [14:20.755] | number six: |
| [14:24.258] | Is the albumtitle " Mitternacht" a reference to the heart of the night, |
| [14:29.771] | the symbol of the moments when the feeling of loneliness is at its strongest? |
| [14:37.426] | AVC: Yes. |
| [14:39.566] | It' s like a Dark Night of the Soul. |
| [14:45.757] | number seven: |
| [14:47.742] | When you sing ? Beautiful?, |
| [14:49.797] | do you think about someone in particular? |
| [14:53.970] | AVC: Sorry, but that I cannot tell you. |
| [15:01.033] | But, it is more than meets the eye ... |
| [15:05.024] | it' s a little more complex than it might appear at first glance. |
| [15:11.578] | It seems to be very simple ... |
| [15:13.464] | and it is simply ... |
| [15:15.523] | but it' s not onedimensional. |
| [15:23.353] | number eight: |
| [15:26.350] | You sing in a totally new way on certain songs like ? |
| [15:32.949] | You cannot make him love you? for example. |
| [15:36.221] | Could you tell me more about this experience of the voice recordings of MITTERNACHT? |
| [15:46.296] | AVC: There is nothing to tell, really. |
| [15:49.509] | Recording the vocals was the same as always. |
| [15:53.377] | You' re in the studio and then ... you do it. |
| [15:58.372] | If it sounds different than how I usually sound which I don' t actually think it does it because the song, |
| [16:09.414] | the content, demanded it. |
| [16:12.898] | number nine: |
| [16:15.965] | Do you think that the " quiet" feeling of the album is due to the totally new way that you had to deal with your energy, |
| [16:22.623] | as you explained on your homepage? |
| [16:26.811] | AVC: No, it has nothing to do with that ... |
| [16:29.170] | because I do not write the music in the studio. |
| [16:31.900] | When I go the studio, |
| [16:33.188] | as in when I rent studio time, |
| [16:35.798] | it means that the music is already completed. |
| [16:38.512] | Well, in theory anyway, |
| [16:40.812] | because it obviously still needs to be recorded. |
| [16:42.433] | But the writing is done. |
| [16:46.422] | Though, admittedly, |
| [16:47.516] | it' s never written in stone, |
| [16:50.265] | and there is always room for chance ... |
| [16:54.918] | fate, you might call it. |
| [16:59.197] | Sometimes things that suddenly fall into place. |
| [17:03.707] | And then, |
| [17:07.066] | yes, there are the vocals, of course. |
| [17:08.721] | I never know in advance what is going to happen there, |
| [17:11.833] | because ... as you know ... |
| [17:14.394] | there are no rehearsals. |
| [17:17.761] | Would you say... oh question number ten: |
| [17:23.689] | Would you say that this album is " quiet", |
| [17:26.115] | because you are in a quieter moment of your life? |
| [17:31.860] | AVC: Perhaps, yes. |
| [17:34.677] | number eleven: |
| [17:36.968] | Music box and theremin have become an essential part of your music |
| [17:42.097] | how would you explain this? |
| [17:44.031] | Now, I feel that those instruments are SOPOR AETERNUS |
| [17:49.505] | AVC: Yes, indeed they are, |
| [17:50.444] | aren' t they?! |
| [17:51.693] | I agree. |
| [17:53.281] | I have talked about the theremin or theremin inspired sound before, |
| [18:06.554] | as in it being this beautiful bridge between the " cold" synthesizers and the warm violins. |
| [18:13.559] | And, yes, |
| [18:14.897] | there is something quirky and childlike thing about the musicbox ... |
| [18:25.325] | and all those percussive plingplong instruments that keep haunting my albums, |
| [18:30.812] | like the toy piano, for example. |
| [18:34.571] | ...... |
| [18:53.509] | When the album was recorded, |
| [18:56.036] | it slowly dawned on me that the damn toypiano is in every bloody song. |
| [19:02.071] | Well, at least on the first half of the album. |
| [19:04.665] | And, admittedly, |
| [19:07.136] | I did worry for a second, |
| [19:09.191] | thinking " have I perhaps overused this?". |
| [19:13.795] | But ... well ... |
| [19:14.959] | there was nothing to be done about it. |
| [19:16.394] | That' s just how it was, |
| [19:20.457] | and how it has to be. But then again, |
| [19:23.952] | I always worry. |
| [19:25.527] | I can' t help that. |
| [19:29.190] | Twelve. |
| [19:33.979] | Is the perspective of releasing MITTERNACHT harder than it was with the previous albums? |
| [19:41.829] | You explained on your homepage that " it has to be done", |
| [19:47.396] | but the sharing of this work seems particularly delicate for you why? |
| [19:55.182] | AVC: Because... |
| [19:59.351] | Well, you have to understand that what you hear, |
| [20:05.325] | when you listen to a SOPOR album, |
| [20:08.440] | is not what I hear. |
| [20:11.840] | Remember that the music is like a byproduct, |
| [20:17.144] | a waste product, almost, |
| [20:19.176] | of a psychospiritual process and of magical work. What you get is only the endproduct. |
| [20:30.156] | Meaning, when you listen to a SOPOR album, |
| [20:33.619] | you only hear the " stories" ... |
| [20:37.520] | whereas when I listen to it, |
| [20:39.794] | I see and relive all the events that have led to this album. |
| [20:47.244] | So, what I am trying to say is, |
| [20:49.959] | it may very well be that what you hear is just a nice collection of singles with lyrics that may not neccessarily make any sense ... |
| [21:02.875] | whereas for me, |
| [21:04.344] | who has all the keys to its I almost said " symptoms"... |
| [21:09.519] | to all its symbols, |
| [21:13.031] | it' s incredibly intimate and revealing. |
| [21:18.912] | I feel naked and vulnerable. |
| [21:26.511] | Why does it seem more delicate to me this time than with the previous albums? |
| [21:34.497] | Well, |
| [21:36.103] | probably because I actually was naked... |
| [21:39.791] | and wounded. |
| [00:00.000] | It' s two o' clock in the morning. |
| [00:02.273] | On the Friday the 19th september. |
| [00:06.673] | Ah, 2014. |
| [00:08.839] | This is interview for the obskure magazine 23. |
| [00:14.651] | and the question by Mr. Tassy. |
| [00:22.139] | Question number one: |
| [00:26.550] | You explain on your official site that MITTERNACHT and POETICA work very well together and are " related". |
| [00:34.602] | It reminds me of what you had said to me when POETICA was released, |
| [00:39.002] | the fact that the album was your Poe, |
| [00:41.664] | your connection to Poe. |
| [00:44.604] | Is MITTERNACHT related to POETICA because it is particularly autobiographical? |
| [00:51.466] | AVC: Yes, I think that Poetica and Mitternacht do belong together. |
| [01:04.290] | Well, at least to a certain degree... |
| [01:06.783] | and, yes, Mitternacht is autobiographical ... |
| [01:13.521] | but then again, |
| [01:14.663] | so are all my albums. |
| [01:15.971] | I have always written only about myself, |
| [01:20.838] | I have never done anything else. |
| [01:23.632] | I mean, keep in mind that SOPOR is nothing but selftherapy. |
| [01:27.755] | It has always been. Besides, |
| [01:33.071] | what' s the one thing that all aspiring writers are being told? |
| [01:36.618] | To bloody stick to the things that you know ... |
| [01:39.952] | and, well, in my case ... |
| [01:43.481] | the only thing that I truly know and understand ... |
| [01:47.175] | well, sort of, anyway ... is myself. So, yes, |
| [01:52.116] | all my work is entirely autobiographical. |
| [01:55.189] | Including Mitternacht. |
| [02:00.061] | I think another reason why both albums kind of belong together ... |
| [02:05.571] | or, well, maybe not belong together, |
| [02:07.436] | but certainly work well together, |
| [02:10.466] | is because one followed so closely after the other. |
| [02:16.717] | I have said this before, |
| [02:17.658] | but every album is not only a consequence of the one s that came before, |
| [02:26.643] | but it' s also a preparation of the one s to follow. |
| [02:33.741] | The thing about Poetica was ... |
| [02:40.092] | is ... that it ended on a very sad note, |
| [02:45.177] | and I couldn' t leave it like that. |
| [02:51.812] | You know, depression may be kind of romantic at the age of 16 , |
| [02:57.140] | in a twisted sort of way, |
| [03:00.417] | but, believe me, |
| [03:01.470] | it certainly isn' t anymore when you have reached my age. |
| [03:05.884] | To tell you the truth, |
| [03:06.817] | I was terrified. I was really afraid. |
| [03:09.995] | I could not leave it like this, |
| [03:12.869] | I could not let this final note linger, |
| [03:18.891] | echo for all eternity, |
| [03:21.744] | without dissolving, rechannling it ... |
| [03:29.325] | because I just couldn' t go on like this anymore. |
| [03:35.731] | I could not allow this to be, |
| [03:39.327] | because I felt ... I feared ... |
| [03:47.281] | that it would be the end of me. |
| [03:49.835] | I had to find a solution. |
| [03:51.897] | Quickly. |
| [03:55.828] | Which might also explain why I was under such an enormous pressure ... and why, |
| [04:05.004] | consequently, |
| [04:07.425] | this album was and still is so very important to me. |
| [04:15.458] | In fact, |
| [04:17.659] | and that' s perhaps a strange thing to say ... |
| [04:20.526] | considering the contents of my past albums ... |
| [04:26.104] | but I can' t remember ever having felt such a feeling of urgency about an album. |
| [04:33.139] | Or maybe I have and I just forgot about it, |
| [04:35.027] | which I tend to do. So... |
| [04:39.082] | I know I am repeating myself, |
| [04:41.545] | but ... in my case ... |
| [04:46.194] | there is no separation between life and art. |
| [04:51.402] | And I believe this is true for every artist, |
| [04:53.793] | or every true artist, |
| [04:54.618] | regardless of talent and or skill ... |
| [04:57.320] | and, really, |
| [04:58.162] | there shouldn' t be a separation. |
| [04:59.481] | How can there be? |
| [05:01.383] | Life and art ARE one. |
| [05:03.567] | They are the same thing. |
| [05:05.928] | They influence each other, |
| [05:07.276] | as they are forever intertwined ... |
| [05:10.359] | because they are the same thing. |
| [05:17.959] | So, as I tried to find a solution to my ... umm, |
| [05:22.358] | situation ... |
| [05:25.916] | I encountered something that caused me even greater pain. |
| [05:30.163] | I mean, it was ridiculous. |
| [05:32.157] | There I was hoping to change things for the better, |
| [05:34.804] | but it only got worse. |
| [05:40.089] | I hadn' t felt so extremely miserable in a long time. |
| [05:45.088] | There were days when I was crying on my way home ... |
| [05:50.338] | in broad daylight ... |
| [05:53.307] | and those were the good days. |
| [05:54.853] | On others I couldn' t even get out of bed. |
| [06:02.168] | But ... |
| [06:02.655] | ... it was all neccessary. |
| [06:04.835] | Again, this may sound strange to some people, |
| [06:10.976] | but ... I am eternally grateful for this. |
| [06:15.007] | I learned things that I not only had never encountered before... |
| [06:27.872] | but that I tought were impossible. |
| [06:31.304] | Yes, it was painful ... |
| [06:35.450] | but it was also very interesting ... |
| [06:39.430] | and very educational. |
| [06:43.392] | Question number two: |
| [06:46.467] | Can you explain the fact that you needed to explore the question of loneliness and the need for companionship at this moment of your life? |
| [06:58.838] | AVC: Umm ... no ... things just ... happened. |
| [07:06.706] | It was meant to happen. |
| [07:09.696] | It was simply time, |
| [07:11.663] | I guess. |
| [07:14.534] | A natural consequence of the things that had happened before. |
| [07:19.902] | I don' t wish to appear rude, |
| [07:21.328] | but I really cannot be more specific. |
| [07:24.885] | After all, the details are really nobody' s business. |
| [07:31.241] | It' s just ... when I left the, |
| [07:35.840] | umm, " other side" to put it this way to reenter the ordinary world, |
| [07:44.968] | which I had abandoned so many years ago, |
| [07:48.645] | I was instantly reminded why I had left in the first place. |
| [07:53.457] | I just didn' t belong here, |
| [07:56.373] | I had no part in this. |
| [07:58.126] | No place in it. |
| [08:02.555] | It' s one thing to be alone on the other side, |
| [08:05.591] | where there are creatures, |
| [08:08.138] | things, you can surround yourself with ... |
| [08:11.240] | or even create to a certain extend ... |
| [08:14.969] | but being alone in the hostile ordinary world ... |
| [08:19.077] | well, that is different, and I cannot recommend it. |
| [08:23.999] | So, my first reaction was to turn around on the spot and go straight back into darkness, |
| [08:30.525] | but ... I couldn' t ... not this time ... |
| [08:36.403] | because that wouldn' t have solved anything. |
| [08:39.442] | It would have meant stagnation, |
| [08:42.329] | and, ultimately, death. |
| [08:46.198] | So I kept on walking. |
| [08:49.570] | And that was ... yes, |
| [08:54.121] | almost two years ago now, |
| [08:56.123] | and it' s kind of ... |
| [08:58.853] | I hate the word amazing, |
| [09:01.192] | I really do ... |
| [09:03.501] | but, looking at it now, |
| [09:07.489] | that' s really the best way to describe it ... umm, |
| [09:11.303] | the things that happend in those two years, |
| [09:15.919] | I honestly would never have guessed could happen. |
| [09:18.922] | I really thought that they would never even be possible. |
| [09:27.508] | number three: |
| [09:30.849] | Where did the idea to record a cover version of La Prima Vez come from? |
| [09:39.897] | AVC: Oh, the idea? |
| [09:41.938] | Uff, I don' t know. |
| [09:43.391] | It just developped, |
| [09:45.435] | as it is with art. |
| [09:46.938] | You know, it grows. |
| [09:52.045] | But what I can tell you where I encountered this song for the first time. |
| [09:58.359] | I was watching Wim Wenders' dancefilm PINA, |
| [10:04.062] | and on the songtrack there is a version of that song by ... umm, |
| [10:07.799] | gawd, what' s his name ... Logan 5 ...? |
| [10:14.326] | No, wait ... Owain Phyfe ... feifei? ... |
| [10:24.826] | I don' t know, whatever his name is pronounced. |
| [10:30.468] | I had never heard it before, |
| [10:32.314] | but I immediately liked it. |
| [10:34.936] | It had a beautiful melody, |
| [10:36.513] | and that' s what drew me to it, |
| [10:38.008] | that' s what caught my attention ... |
| [10:40.268] | and, as it is often the case with these things. |
| [10:44.331] | Sometimes, you may not neccessarily know what it is at first, |
| [10:50.675] | the thing that attracts your attention. |
| [10:54.795] | Quite often it' s entirely subconscious. |
| [10:56.730] | But once you take a closer look at it, |
| [10:59.385] | you see what connects you to it. |
| [11:03.062] | You see the relevance it has for you. |
| [11:06.813] | number four: |
| [11:10.762] | I have to ask you the same question for " Bang Bang" |
| [11:14.402] | why did you chose this song? |
| [11:18.892] | AVC: To be perfectly honest ... |
| [11:22.008] | I cannot remember. |
| [11:24.255] | I really can' t remember what gave the impulse ... |
| [11:29.869] | and that is actually a good thing, |
| [11:31.417] | because it means that the problem ... |
| [11:33.741] | or inner conflict, |
| [11:35.316] | if you wish ... has be solved ... |
| [11:38.284] | dissolved. |
| [11:43.041] | It' s a strange song to begin with. |
| [11:45.354] | Silly even in the original. |
| [11:47.419] | I mean, it was written by Sonny Bono ... |
| [11:51.149] | but for whom exactly I don' t even know. |
| [11:53.972] | Either Nancy Sinatra or Cher. |
| [11:57.417] | I don' t know who came first. |
| [12:01.612] | Iit doesn' t really matter, |
| [12:04.150] | anyway. Both versions are great. |
| [12:05.740] | Actually, Cher has many great songs. |
| [12:09.677] | I mean, " Gypsies, tramps thieves" is fabulous ... |
| [12:16.458] | but, of course, I cannot do that. |
| [12:17.720] | I mean, |
| [12:18.346] | for one the music sounds kind of like SOPOR anyway ... |
| [12:23.314] | to a certain degree, |
| [12:25.100] | so that would be pointless. |
| [12:26.776] | And, let' s face it, |
| [12:29.641] | I wasn' t born on the waggon of a travelling show. |
| [12:34.115] | Thank goodness for that. |
| [12:38.483] | But back to BANG BANG ... |
| [12:41.121] | yes, it' s a bit of a strange song ... |
| [12:42.636] | and, in my case, |
| [12:44.307] | it doesn' t just refer to one particular thing or person, |
| [12:48.987] | and even keeps changing perspective. |
| [12:51.971] | It' s more about a state of mind, |
| [12:57.159] | if you wish. |
| [12:59.601] | A neurotic notion ... a dependency ... |
| [13:03.216] | the sort of thing I dealt with on the Triptychon of Ghosts. |
| [13:09.033] | The interesting thing for me, |
| [13:10.719] | however, was that initially I thought I would ... |
| [13:14.086] | well, maybe not mock it, |
| [13:15.664] | but be kind of ironic about it. |
| [13:19.380] | Basically like I did it with Bonnie Tyler' s " Holding out for a Hero". |
| [13:25.869] | But when I was in the studio I couldn' t do it like that. |
| [13:31.564] | I had to do it seriously. |
| [13:33.903] | It was the only way. |
| [13:36.366] | And it makes sense, because there is no irony on the album at all. |
| [13:40.994] | And that' s actually a thing that Mitternacht has in common with Poetica. |
| [13:46.816] | number five: |
| [13:49.915] | Do you consider " Confessional" the heart of the album? |
| [13:57.962] | We can understand the chorus, |
| [13:59.933] | the mantra of the song, |
| [14:01.275] | in a lot of different ways. |
| [14:03.005] | Is that a form of supplication? |
| [14:09.319] | AVC: Yes, |
| [14:10.067] | it is the heart of the album ... |
| [14:11.827] | and THANK YOU for recognising ... |
| [14:15.134] | and yes, |
| [14:16.568] | you may very well call it a prayer. |
| [14:20.755] | number six: |
| [14:24.258] | Is the albumtitle " Mitternacht" a reference to the heart of the night, |
| [14:29.771] | the symbol of the moments when the feeling of loneliness is at its strongest? |
| [14:37.426] | AVC: Yes. |
| [14:39.566] | It' s like a Dark Night of the Soul. |
| [14:45.757] | number seven: |
| [14:47.742] | When you sing ? Beautiful?, |
| [14:49.797] | do you think about someone in particular? |
| [14:53.970] | AVC: Sorry, but that I cannot tell you. |
| [15:01.033] | But, it is more than meets the eye ... |
| [15:05.024] | it' s a little more complex than it might appear at first glance. |
| [15:11.578] | It seems to be very simple ... |
| [15:13.464] | and it is simply ... |
| [15:15.523] | but it' s not onedimensional. |
| [15:23.353] | number eight: |
| [15:26.350] | You sing in a totally new way on certain songs like ? |
| [15:32.949] | You cannot make him love you? for example. |
| [15:36.221] | Could you tell me more about this experience of the voice recordings of MITTERNACHT? |
| [15:46.296] | AVC: There is nothing to tell, really. |
| [15:49.509] | Recording the vocals was the same as always. |
| [15:53.377] | You' re in the studio and then ... you do it. |
| [15:58.372] | If it sounds different than how I usually sound which I don' t actually think it does it because the song, |
| [16:09.414] | the content, demanded it. |
| [16:12.898] | number nine: |
| [16:15.965] | Do you think that the " quiet" feeling of the album is due to the totally new way that you had to deal with your energy, |
| [16:22.623] | as you explained on your homepage? |
| [16:26.811] | AVC: No, it has nothing to do with that ... |
| [16:29.170] | because I do not write the music in the studio. |
| [16:31.900] | When I go the studio, |
| [16:33.188] | as in when I rent studio time, |
| [16:35.798] | it means that the music is already completed. |
| [16:38.512] | Well, in theory anyway, |
| [16:40.812] | because it obviously still needs to be recorded. |
| [16:42.433] | But the writing is done. |
| [16:46.422] | Though, admittedly, |
| [16:47.516] | it' s never written in stone, |
| [16:50.265] | and there is always room for chance ... |
| [16:54.918] | fate, you might call it. |
| [16:59.197] | Sometimes things that suddenly fall into place. |
| [17:03.707] | And then, |
| [17:07.066] | yes, there are the vocals, of course. |
| [17:08.721] | I never know in advance what is going to happen there, |
| [17:11.833] | because ... as you know ... |
| [17:14.394] | there are no rehearsals. |
| [17:17.761] | Would you say... oh question number ten: |
| [17:23.689] | Would you say that this album is " quiet", |
| [17:26.115] | because you are in a quieter moment of your life? |
| [17:31.860] | AVC: Perhaps, yes. |
| [17:34.677] | number eleven: |
| [17:36.968] | Music box and theremin have become an essential part of your music |
| [17:42.097] | how would you explain this? |
| [17:44.031] | Now, I feel that those instruments are SOPOR AETERNUS |
| [17:49.505] | AVC: Yes, indeed they are, |
| [17:50.444] | aren' t they?! |
| [17:51.693] | I agree. |
| [17:53.281] | I have talked about the theremin or theremin inspired sound before, |
| [18:06.554] | as in it being this beautiful bridge between the " cold" synthesizers and the warm violins. |
| [18:13.559] | And, yes, |
| [18:14.897] | there is something quirky and childlike thing about the musicbox ... |
| [18:25.325] | and all those percussive plingplong instruments that keep haunting my albums, |
| [18:30.812] | like the toy piano, for example. |
| [18:34.571] | ...... |
| [18:53.509] | When the album was recorded, |
| [18:56.036] | it slowly dawned on me that the damn toypiano is in every bloody song. |
| [19:02.071] | Well, at least on the first half of the album. |
| [19:04.665] | And, admittedly, |
| [19:07.136] | I did worry for a second, |
| [19:09.191] | thinking " have I perhaps overused this?". |
| [19:13.795] | But ... well ... |
| [19:14.959] | there was nothing to be done about it. |
| [19:16.394] | That' s just how it was, |
| [19:20.457] | and how it has to be. But then again, |
| [19:23.952] | I always worry. |
| [19:25.527] | I can' t help that. |
| [19:29.190] | Twelve. |
| [19:33.979] | Is the perspective of releasing MITTERNACHT harder than it was with the previous albums? |
| [19:41.829] | You explained on your homepage that " it has to be done", |
| [19:47.396] | but the sharing of this work seems particularly delicate for you why? |
| [19:55.182] | AVC: Because... |
| [19:59.351] | Well, you have to understand that what you hear, |
| [20:05.325] | when you listen to a SOPOR album, |
| [20:08.440] | is not what I hear. |
| [20:11.840] | Remember that the music is like a byproduct, |
| [20:17.144] | a waste product, almost, |
| [20:19.176] | of a psychospiritual process and of magical work. What you get is only the endproduct. |
| [20:30.156] | Meaning, when you listen to a SOPOR album, |
| [20:33.619] | you only hear the " stories" ... |
| [20:37.520] | whereas when I listen to it, |
| [20:39.794] | I see and relive all the events that have led to this album. |
| [20:47.244] | So, what I am trying to say is, |
| [20:49.959] | it may very well be that what you hear is just a nice collection of singles with lyrics that may not neccessarily make any sense ... |
| [21:02.875] | whereas for me, |
| [21:04.344] | who has all the keys to its I almost said " symptoms"... |
| [21:09.519] | to all its symbols, |
| [21:13.031] | it' s incredibly intimate and revealing. |
| [21:18.912] | I feel naked and vulnerable. |
| [21:26.511] | Why does it seem more delicate to me this time than with the previous albums? |
| [21:34.497] | Well, |
| [21:36.103] | probably because I actually was naked... |
| [21:39.791] | and wounded. |
YouTube Results (More on YouTube)