Interview for Dangus with Gudrun from Lahka Muza, 5/2004

D: So, recently the 5th album of Lahka Muza was released and presented by solo concert in Prague - how are your impressions of this new beginning?

G: Yes, we celebrated it on May 16th in Prague`s club Matrix. We had very good impression from this show. This impression came in few levels - 1. our promoter, Neosfera did very good promotion, 2. the club, and especially English based sound technician Collin did great job so the sound and the scene were perfect, 3. we noticed the critics from the main Czech music press such as Rock&Pop and Rock Shock and also from the Gooba magazine from Vienna, 4. there came in our releaser and finally the most important thing - the audience had a good time, the atmosphere was increasing track after track so we gladly played some more bonus tracks… What is left to wish? Some more shows like that!

D: You are a Slovakian band, but it seems that you play concerts in Czechia more often than in your homeland? Could you say some words about your releation to Czech scene and about differences between Czech and Slovakia scenes?

G: Yes, that`s right.… We have played lately in Slovakia at a large festival Pohoda 2002. Another show shall be as a part of the festival of european alternative music Resistance in august of 2004. Two year distance is based on still smaller number of music clubs in Slovakia that are interested in this kind of music…well and it is also the matter of audience…Slovakia is very catholic and conservative country that sees our activity as an attack on its integrity… We used to play round here quite a lot, but how increases the power of this catholic-slavery of the state, the chances get lower…in the end, the festival Resistance is organised from London and only thanks to this we are going to play there… Nice paradox, ain`t it? And the Czech republic? There is different social situation - it is possibly the freest European country, but unhappilly the most suffers of the spasm of capitalism and money… That is why there is only minimum of projects that are making noncommercial art and even those because of poor conditions suffer…But we have in Czech republic a good name…Our beginnings are joined with Czech underground of the 80. and Prague has always been our bastion! Despite the dividing of Czechoslovakia in 1993 they still accept us as their "domestic" band and we consider Czech Republic as our sphere of acting and we hope it is going to stay that way…

D: "V Zablesku Vecnosti" is really impressive album with its own sounding. For me it is surely the most impressive creation from all Lahka Muza releases that I have heard. Do you feel anything special in contents of your latest album? What main ideas it carries?

G: The whole work of Ľahká Múza is based on our conceptual attitude…This means that we move from album to album in both, form and content sides… I am not sure whether you had the chance to listen to all previous albums, but this actual one is a very logical sequel and conclusion of the previous. We as the authors can hardly judge our own work, indeed we are the same satisfied with all our cds and we are glad if they keep good artistic value… And certain leading message could be searching for the substance of our being in something so untouchable as this Universe is… In the end, the names of our previous albums are pointful enough: we started in Schizophony (something as Chaos) to come through the ages of painful Innocence, suffer in The Shadow of Pain, vibrate alongside with the Vibration of Absolute, to dream The Dream of a Defined Life and understand, that The Roads of Light flow through the Darkness… And after all this we hope to have a bit of right on The Flash of Eternity…

D: Are into practising some magic system(s) or magic influences for you are only artistic expression basis?

G: All the activities in our lives are basically of a magical character and it doesn't matter whether we realize this or not…The base of it doesn't change… In our work and in our private life, which we do not separate one from another, have the magical principles significant influence… and since we are artists, so unlike the pure magics that practise their occult rituals, we do create something alike with our artistic presentation… Because we live near the mountains aside the industrial centers, we prefer the power of nature in all its aspects… That is why our music is so full of yearning bursts of the wind, noisy lightning and thunders, so in the final part always can from behind the clouds appear the healing Sun!

D: Your songs doesn't include stories in lyrics, as I hear them - they are series of dark passages and impressions. What things are the main inspiration for your lyrics? Do you create spontaneously or have some particular order for this?

G: Yes, you're right. Our lyrics are not of epic or story-like character…They are rather no rhymed poems with the philosophical subtext… Our lyrics writes 677, who likes taoistic poetry, so maybe because of this sometimes comes that strictness and depth of the message… I have created as a singer my own way of interpretation of such a text and I like it very much.
The inspiration sources I have already mentioned in my previous answer… Of course besides these elemental questions of life we are inspired also by the themes of relationships and Love… Lyrics come into life as inspirative thoughts and impressions, which need to be fixed into the definite shape… and I work with the lyrics in the final phase…

D: When you create a song - is it a form of artistic expression and intuition, or you make some esoteric ritual with some purpose? Do you see a difference between artistic and real ritual?

G: I think I cleared this phenomena in my previous answers the way we see it… Considering the identical content of the rituals we do not present at our shows something we are in contradiction to only for certain higher effectivity of an artistic gesture… We try to avoid such attitude…

D: From you biography we know that Lahka Muza have played at the presentation of D.Cronenberg film "Existence", and in your interviews you mentioned D.Lynch. Are you fans of these movie directors? What importance do you find in their works?

G:. Myself and 677 are people of a renaissance type and so we love art in all its extent… not only its selected parts… All is a part of the whole and there is no worse use of partial attitude to the theme than in art of philosophy… Of course we like grat pieces of Cronnenberg and especially D. Lynch… I like very much The Twin Peak series…but all the production of David Lynch is highly impressive… Excellent combination of image, music and art skill and most of all its philosophical message… In the end, I was reading somewhere that our music is the soundtrack to the film that haven't been made yet…

D: I also noticed that once you have played at "Rock Lietava" festival - is this place Lietava somehow connected to Lietuva (Lithuania), because I wonder about name sounding similarities... and continuing Lt theme - you will be playing on MJR festival this year. What could you say before this performance?

G: It was a benefitial concert to support the rescueing of the Lietava fortress. (In Slovakia there are many fortresses and castles - many of them only in the form of ruins.) Regadring the name Lietava, I do not know the exact explanation of this word and its history, but it is not excluded that we could find certain connection… Slovakia used to be very important middle age crossroad with many foreign influences… And yes, we are glad that after the last year festival of Kunigunda Lunaria we are going to play again for you at the festival in Kernavé. When I saw the first pictures from Kernavé, my savage heart was pleased by fascinating magic countryside with moderate hills… Immediately I imagined other beloved places as Stonehenge and the rituals full of fire and magical power of the surrounding nature… I think there are not many places more fitting to our music than this charming countryside!

D: Are you superstitious persons? Meaning the catalogue number of this album on Dangus should have been #013 and you asked to change it to another... Have you any other "strange" superstotious beliefs, for example about black cats crossing your way or some national Slovakian tricks...? :)

G: I think it is not the superstition or some false prejuditions… It`s about truly existing informatic fields of numbers studied by the old Cabbala… And from this point of view exist certain number combination such as 6 or 13, which bring with them strong complications. And especially for those aware of their massage… But I guess I don't have to explain this into any details to the people living in a country of such magicians, as Lithuania is…Of course on the other hand these numbers have its strong power of attraction. That is why we try to avoid them if it is possible, despite the surrounding world sees this as an example of obscurantism of the Middle Ages… And about the black cats, we are not bad in this, when you just imagine that in the Hieros Gamos project we have on stage actually two black cats that get a quite bit of walk!

D: Gudrun, you are very imperious personality and seem like pushing engine of Lahka Muza. What are your relations with other band members, aren't they dissatisfied sometimes because of your domination? Are there any other relations between group members except musical?

G: Regarding the band - Ľahká Múza - that is 677 (author of the music and lyrics) and Gudrun (songstress and the icon of the band.) Other our collaborators are actually Voda and Cora. Other members stay with the fand for some time and do not have real chances to change the mode of the band. The true "leader" of the band is 677 and I am only a speaker of the band... I speak in the name of the band, because I know exactly what I and 677 want… Furthermore, some time ago we realized we had to divide the internal matters in the band and so if we wanted him to compose, write, hard programm and maintain the complicated machinery, there was left nothing else but to unburden him from the organisational part of our band which includes also the interviews… That is why I seem to be on the outside No1., but the truth is somewhere else… And as to my "domination"… I and 677 are both Lions and also The Dragon and The Snake… So these are maximally strong star-signs and it is so… We are very energetic people and we have balanced energetical relationship.… There are no things between us not possible to consult or to deal with the same opinion…Even though sometimes after longer debates… Well, important may also be the fact that we are married and we`ve been living together for a long time… And other personal relationships… Our collaborators respect their role in the band and try their best to support and help the project…they`re the types of coworkers…Happily! In one band there cannot meet too many creative types, that is often the beginning of its end… There must be certain hierarchy and balance…all must be suitably supplied, only then there is some chance for results… To finish the question, of course besides playing we are friends…Cora collaborates with also in the Hieros Gamos project.

D: When listening your music I tried to find any relations to other artists, but it was so difficult... What bands Lahka Muza is compared to by critics? What music do you listen most often, and are you a fan of some bands?

G: When I get to the reviews of our music, I always read them. I am interested in how our music is seen from the outside. What feelings, impressions and messages the reviewer finds… And with pleasure I see that the reviewers only occasionally use comparing with other band and if, then just to pick up a selected detail…More or less they try to put it into some style genre…Even while by the non-genre band there always appears this problem. We never try to copy our favourite artists or to limit ourselves by putting us into the centre of some style…In the art we need to feel the freedom in all its aspects and so we do it our way… Also we are affected by some tearing out of the context of a country, where we live in cultural isolation… And in the corner of an artist's soul there dreams certain effort for a movement and originality of his work… Music spectre we like is really wide… 677 likes music of 50. and 60. and I don't know of what other ages, while I prefer the music of 80… Of course we like original ethnic music and because of this is very close to us production of your bands… From the single interprets I would certainly mention Swans, Diamanda Galas, Huun Huur Tu, Skin, Einstuerzende Neubauten, The Doors… And when someone interesting arrives to Prague we surely visit the show… We like the atmosphere both on the stage and in front of…

D: Besides gothic scene Lahka Muza was performing also on metal music events, and appeared on metal magazines. Do you like metal music? What bands?

G: Our music - mainly in the past - used to be very heavy and so we have especially in Czech Republic - which is the Eden for the metallists - quite many fans…That is why we got an invitation to the greatest festival of metal music in Czech Republic Brutal Assault… They invited us to present the branch of non metal but hard music… In concerts our music sounds much harder and rawer than from a CD, so even the metal audience was satisfied… It was a nice change for us … I know 677 likes for example Bathory or old Motorhead… Those newer races for one's breath and the athletics on the guitar calliper somehow didn't catch his interest.

D: I see that theatrical fetish performance is very important for you. And do you try hard to keep your body in perfect form for tight gothic clothes and plastic dance? Maybe you have some good figure secrets for our female readers?

G: When the character and mainly the size of the stage allow it, we like to present also the performance side… In the end Hieros Gamos is basically a performance project…Since I design myself various extra costumes, already when making it I think that we want to move in it. Well, then there are also some clothes suitable only for certain position… Those are made for a photo gallery or for a video clip. And the figures and costumes… As we travel the European scene, I may say that what I saw at Kunigunda Lunaria were pretty and slender ladies… So they don't need any advices… On the other hand I know that there are also the men that gasp for more solid shapes so in the end everything's actually as it has to be…

D: Please tell us more about your idea of using Cora as living sculture on stage. Do you have some special attraction to feminine sex, or your acting on stage is just performance?

G: At the show in Matrix Cora was really in a role of a living statue… And I think that it looked quite good… What are we going to do next is out there…Our shows might be full of dynamic or static performance… The show of Hieros Gamos is much more dynamic based on the fact, that there are two performeres. And the ladies part in our show… we are an artistic band and we want to present certain forms of beauty… Of course I myself prefer nice men at the scene… If only there were more of them… But I think that since I am the front man of the stage, I see this as a better combination… In the end we are also limited by those who work with us…For example our bass guitarist Voda isn't interested in our aim for an artistic image… Despite this he plays with us… And if you think of some lesbian presentation… Women as such are always half lesbian anyway… So we can nicely use this in our work… There is no need to look for something more beyond…

D: It is noticeable that covers of your albums are all of different color and concept. None of them has Lahka Muza name in front. What is the concept for "hiding" band name and why you choose white color for "V Zablesku Vecnosti"?

G: Not presenting the band title has really always been our aim… In the first place we always want to present the work alone… To catch the attention of a listener by the pleasure from discovering - what is it? Who is it? But as the time flows this concept is still less real… The labels want to have on the cover the name of a band, serving in the end only as an advertisement of a producer… From the marketing point of view it is clear… But we have our own opinion about it… Finally, when you look at the covers of our CDs, the band or album's title would graphically only disturb… Indeed with the actual cover, based on a painting of our friend… So there should be his name instead? And the colour… The first CD was purple, the second red, third alchemically gold and the fourth red/ black and the new one white with green image. It looks slightly gently and ethereally like sensual angels from the central motive… To the title "In a Flash of Eternity" there was nothing more suitable than this…

D: "In a Flash of Eternity" ... what is the main idea and concept? Is it existentialistic impression or...?

G: As I mentioned in my previous replies, it is another stadium in the evolution of Ľahká Múza. And also in ours as authors…The album covers the period of the last three years full of hopes and failures, downfalls and phoenix flightovers… With the desire to catch the moment - by the sound or by the pictures… And since the album contains 252 pictures and two video clips, it is really wide catching of the moments from our lives, that are already in the gardens of the escaping time…

D: And please tell us why you choose name Lahka Muza? It means a muse of light, but your music is really dark...

G: The original translation is the Light Muse, not the Muse of Light… That is the unlucky effect of the translation into English… But over here is possible to use this title with slightly pejorative meaning to mark something valueless, at the edge of any interest… And that is why this title seemed to us so appropriate. Because also our ways lead through the worlds, which enter only few… Our society prefers to face that these worlds don't exist and slowly deals in erasing of them… That is why we try to bring out from our Arthur odysseys into the depths of human being to the listeners the messages worth to think about… And whether to step out this direction? If yes, then only with the knowledge that on the roads to our own substance we always walk alone!

D: Have anything to add...?

G: We`ll see in Kernavé!!!!