Interview for AlternativePop between Karaluch and Gudrun by Lahka Muza &Hieros Gamos at 1/2005
AP: First of all tell me about Your last concert in Poland at Gothic.pl festival. It wasn't Your first time in our country, Your music is quite popular and Your album "Cesty Svetla..." was released by polish label. So, do You have that feeling that Poland became to be a part of Lahka Muza history?
G: Yes You are right.. It was our 4 th gig in Poland from 2000 and we prepare next for year 2005 too !.And this all thanks of good position between listeners of experimental and origin part of dark wave scene…Our 4 th album “Cesty svetla plynu temtou “ was publish on label Black Flames at 2000.So thanks of this facts we can say that Poland is very important for us by last 4 years history…and we hope that this good situation will have own continuity…
AP: Why did You decided to join Dangus label, what happened with Your cooperation with Black Flames?
G: After really successful co-operation between us and label Black Flames we prepared a new multimedia album “V zablesku vecnosti/In a flash of eternity” again for the same label . For this album we negotiated date for publishing on end of October 2003 ! But on start of September label Black Flames informed us (and also others artists) that they will publish all CDs maybe in second half of 2004.And because we didn`t want to wait so long for publishing, we cancelled our contract with Black Flames and we signed contract with great label Dangus from Lithuania. They published our album at April 2004.But we have interesting about some kind of co-operation with BF for project Hieros Gamos .
AP: How look the gothic electro scene in Slovakia? I think that is no good coz Your new album was released by Lithuanian label, last by polish.... Don't Youhave any stage or labels that are interested only on goth / electro music?
G: Yes You are right.. Slovakia is little state with very conservative kind of nation. Also very strong catholic religion plays very important thing in this situation. Therefore Lahka Muza and our friends from Last Days of Jesus – we must co-operate with labels outside Slovakia…on the other side it is very good for us…
AP: Do You think that fetish show or performances are more important than music or the same? Or the performance can't exist without it? And from where those fascinations?
G:I don’t understand, if You ask to Me about our position between music and performance or from universal view.. I will answer to You only from Lahka Muza`s view…We use some performance on live shows of Lahka Muza , but what is more important like live show is our music…We have 7 albums and for listeners of our CDs is not important our live presentation, but only music…On the other side we want also present on stage our visual imagination so we don t know the better scene for this like is dark wave scene…And about “fascination”…We started our music live more like 20 years ago…it was end of punk&new wave music history.. and was absolutely normal on the scene to have own image or show…and this things are very characteristic for dark wave scene…we are artists , not only musicians… it is our answer…
AP: When I've hear "Cesty svetla..." album for the first time, I fought it's very similar to the Cocteau Twins. Totally music minimalism and great female voices. Was Liz Fraser one of Your music and vocal inspirations? If not, tell me who was.
G: Excuse me, it is very good joke…Yes I understand for Your struggle about comparison, but linking with Cocteau Twins is very uninviting.. Yes, our music stays on base of minimalism with combination of female singing but my voice and power electro/guitar music sound is very different…and also with singing in Slovak language we form origin kind of sound…And around my loved voices ? I prefer male voices…I like Mike Gira from Swans&Skin or Gavin Friday from Virgin Prunes and course any great singers like male or female…
AP: In one of the interviews You called Yourself "The icon of the band". How looks the relations between other band members? I know, that the author of whole music and lyrics is 677 and usually the author of whole material is the leader. Quite different situation is in Lahka MUza....
G: You know I said this information about very import position of 677 in Lahka Muza in latest interview for Dangus . Because we don t have information about set-up of band on albums( we want present our artwork like result of unit Lahka Muza) and I am singer &performer – all the time people thought that Lahka Muza – it is only myself… but truth is that Lahka Muza are mainly two main persons -677 and Gudrun. And Gudrun does all voices , image , photos, performs, design, web mastering, management of band and all interviews…Simply we must sectionalize all this things for band between two persons.. And with relations – it is very clear - Lahka Muza are more like 20 years 677&Gudrun and others members are in position our co-operators. Outside 20 years on the scene we are living 10 years with 677 in together hominess so we create very close beings like in music also in live…
AP: I wonder what was the sense of beginning Hieros Gamos project? In fact, there are the same persons as in LM. Why didn't You started doing something new with LM? Is LM going to be still the same, or it's going to make some musical evolution inside?
G: I think that Your information about set-up of Hieros Gamos and Lahka Muza are not quite right …Lahka Muza are now 677 on guitar &programming , Gudrun – voice Voda – bassguitar , Cora – performer . Hieros Gamos are 677 – keyboard & programming , Me like singer &performer and 2 Black Cats – girl performers… And now something about genesis of Hieros Gamos…For birth of HG is very important that we wanted to have also pure electronic project with interesting performance on stage…I think that in Lahka Muza wasn` t so a big place for our interesting for electronic music and special visual performance…that was our reasons why arisen Hieros Gamos project at 2002.After 2 years with Hieros Gamos we see that this was very good idea ! And about Lahka Muza`s future ? We are still on the road like experimental kind of band …so I am sure that we prepare for our fans some news too…
AP: You wrote that in 2005 there is a plan to release the debut album of HG. Can You tell me something about this production, and why it's going to be soon after released of LM new cd? I also think, that last time You're full of musical ideas, last time Your project were very active, otherwise we had to wait for new Lahka Muza album for 4 years!
G: Yes, we prepare debut album of Hieros Gamos like CD-extra form together with data track with special picture gallery with 160 photos for year 2005 ! Debut album of Hieros Gamos will be pure electronic music in combination with my vocal mixed with interesting artwork by data track. Like I informed on start of this interview, we planed our 5 th CD of Lahka Muza for end of 2003 and to publish debut album of Hieros Gamos at 2005.But like You know our destiny wanted all other…and problems with label incurred this movement…And when will be a new album of Lahka Muza ? I think that if we will have the great music ideas and the feeling that become the right time for publishing…You know in art can t plane all like in business…therefore is sometime so hard to find synchrony with labels…
AP:How looks the promotion of new album? What events, performances or other projects are You going to show us in Europe?
G: We are very satisfied with co-operation by Dangus…They are great label&agency from Baltica.We have found in Lithuania great audience with a deep of understanding for our ritual& magic kind of artwork…Because we have own little agency , we combine promotion for our new album like good co-operation between Dangus and Silver Snake Agency.And results ? A lot of great reviews of album in all important magazines like Zillo,Orkus,Oblivion,Sonic Seducer,Kaleidoscop and etc…interesting intereviews also for magazines from South America and live on-line music show with Lahka Muza on radio Futuro from Chile .And live shows of Lahka Muza at 2004 ? Great events in Vienna , baptized gig in Prague, unique festival of dark&pagan artwork Menuo Juodaragis in Lithuania ,the participation on the big Europe` s festival of new electronic culture – Resistance in Bratislava and like latest on Gothic.pl – 1th Birthday in Warsaw. With Hieros Gamos we played on interesting festival of tattoo &piercing in Bratislava at Summer and now at December on X.Prague Industry Festival.
AP:I know that Hieros Gamos will play on the Excalibur New Year Eve in Bolkow. What can we expect?
G: What a pity , this party was cancelled in this days…but I have a good news for all fans …we prepare gig of Hieros Gamos thru Walpurgis Night in Poland ! Really I can t imagine better date for this special woman &magic rituals ! And what can You expect ? I hope that great music &performance in attractive “packing” !
AP: Listening the new album i think that is more massive and expressive than the last one..."Cesty.." is for me very calm production but the new album is some kind of majestic and monumental..On the other hand, the title "In the flash of eternity" is very good for this
G: Yes, You are right...our last album is very monumental &ritual . And title „In a flash of eternity“ represents also his lyrics ,philosophy and heritage… On the other side very good joined on 4 th album – like by music so by theme… On this album we again experiment with vocals , ornament guitars and ambient atmosphere with strong final…and results of our work is very satisfactory..
AP: Congratulations coz i think its the best album in Your career, in fact, one of the best in this year on dark wave scene. I've hear some orient stuff on the album in few songs, Your voice seems to be quite orient sometimes...From where that sounds?
G: Thanks for nice words ..We like all our albums so we can t say like artists if is the best one…but one is truth…it is very complex artwork…outside a new songs he contains multimedia presentation with videos and special picture gallery…so we prepared this all longer like pure audio album…And about my “orient” singing… You know, we use in our music our origin language…and also combine some ethnic impression with modern minimal music…I like very much good ethnic &world music, so is not nothing surprising to use also this kind of voice experiments…I think that this way is very exhilarative in dark moods…
AP: Like I said, for me the last album and Your voice was like Liz Frazer:) and now i must say that it seems to be Siouxie :) Expressive beats, guitar and monumental but i think very basic production. Was the work in studio with that kind of sounds was difficult?
G: Hm, interesting comparison with Siouxie…But I think that my style of singing is origin &special…I use a lot of voice technics from ritual declamations thru ethnic till opera`s singing…and Siouxie has her own style…Yes,You are right…is not easy to record all this very different kind of sounds for studio…and after to do good mix and dynamic mix with final premastering…our music is very dynamic and it was hard work in studio…
AP:How looks the proces of creating of music and words on this album?
G: Because all music and words was created by 677 and Me we combine 2 basic style in our work…one we play only some new music fancy and second we write some lyrics…this things are independent…and if we have some concrete idea about new song we take from all lyrics the best for this new music…and after we arrange all music with lyric into one great unit…
AP:lats one..not about the new album but interesting to the rest.. Do You remember the moment, when You decided: I"ll be a proffesional singer? What happends in Your musical view to the world that You've decided to sing?
G: Hm…my way for singing wasn`t so clear…is truth that I have some years of playing on piano but I wanted to be woman of science…and therefore I studied on Naturalistic University…but in time study I got occasion to sing in one punk band and here started my other career like singer …I never knew that I have so good voice parameters…but long years with singing made from Me happy woman with power &original sound…and it is not a little…because exist too much very good reproductive artists but only fragment from there are original…