Ľahká Múza interview – DarkNoise, Santiago, Chile 10/2004

Dark Noise: Well, first, thanks for your time to answer this interview and congratulations for the new release, how do you feel with this new release?

Gudrun: Thank you for your attention and I hope that you liked our multi medial album “In a Flash of Eternity.” The immediate feelings after the releasing of our album were of course very elevating and freeing. Artist always stays in certain “enchanted” state until the work is not finished and he does not have it in his hands. So now a year and a half later after the releasing we are glad from positive responses in a form of magazine reviews or good responses from our fans at the concerts.

DN: What is the inspiration for the lyrics of this new work?

G: This question is very frequent and I guess I know why. The simple reason is that in spite of very favorite “story” lyrics or original poems we use lyrics of rather philosophic type and formally we do not use the structure of a verse form. So in the first plan they may have some harder impact on a listener or reader for their use to more traditional types of music. In the end, our band is ritual so the lyrics relate to the same feelings of an individual in a connection to the Universe and I hope that despite their former demandingness the reader after revealing the message shall find the power (to search the solutions) that we put into them originally.

DN: How much time did the band need to record this album?

G: Because we work mainly in a way of as perfect preparing prior the recording, we always go into the studio with the material ready up to 100%. We definitely do not write, compose or improvise in the studio. We really need just a perfect recording of what is already prepared and ready in our machines and heads. And since this was already our sixth stay in the studio, all the work gets quite quick. We divide the recording into three parts. The first is the recording alone, ten mixing and the final dynamic mixing and pre-mastering. The most difficult we see the mixing part of the record. Because we do our own production it is advantageous for us to have detailed idea how is the recording supposed to sound like and then we just try together with the sound engineer to reach the idea as good as it gets. But it is true that any musician is happy when leaving the studio with a master copy in a hand and this reaches up to 90% of what is in his head. The ideal is unreachable.

DN: What do you think is the most principal difference of this cd and your other previous productions?

G: As we have mentioned in the beginning, this is our 5^th. CD. From the previous ones it significantly differs in the fact that it is multi-medial digipack and on the rear side you can find information about the content. There are besides the 9 songs as well data tracks with the complete lyrics also from our previous CDs, two video clips, the complete discography and special picture gallery with 252 pictures divided into 7 thematic sections. Besides music we devote to design, photo art and so we wanted to bring to the listeners also the visual experience. And about the musical development; this album follows its predecessor “The Roads of Light Flow through Darkness” but of course it is evolved closer to the dynamics in the rhythmic parts, the guitar and keyboard parts are structured in a different way and vocal also wandered to new areas of expression. Because we are not any stylish band and we completely let ourselves lead by the freedom of choice, surely certain moments surprise – as our listeners are used to.

DN: In Europe, the actual scene is invading with sounds called electro body music and other new styles, do you think that the classic old gothic school is dying or still survive?

G: Well, it is true that this tendency is known in Europe for a long time and it is quite reasonable. It is just a reaction to the mainstream of 90` which is clearly the dance scene. And this is just its harsher version. I have basically nothing against that. Ľahká Múza does not belong to the old gothic school and it always has been the experimental band at the borders of industrial/ electro/ guitar influences. And since we like performative side of purely electronic music, we react to these trends in our own way; which is the start of our side electro performative project Hieros Gamos for which we now prepare the debut CD. Hieros Gamos has been on the scene for two years now and it is very much in demand. So I personally guess any band should have its own special style definitely not locked inside of one, already conserved form, because this may in time mean sure artistic death.

DN: What are your most important influences and what bands do you like to listen?

G: You know, after some 20 years on the scene you get the feeling that you've heard it all and in today’s crisis of art and music and in this degree of exhausting there really still less really influential things. And creative artist in the end always listens most to his own inner voice… so after all those never ending CDs flowing through our hands we finally return to the gold fund and we are glad to dwell in the presence of Swans, Clock DVA, Stooges, and Death in June and so on… And after all those years it is a different kind of listening than in the beginning…it is full of ease and good atmosphere…

DN: What does the band listen now?

G: Truly said, mostly the rustle of falling leaves in the crowns of the trees, because here we have, in spite of you, the beginning of autumn, and everything begins to prepare for the winter.

DN: When should we see a live show edited in DVD format?

G: It is clear that each band wants to have a good quality DVD releases. But this here is purely economical question and basically it is a matter of the label. Because of we release records on a small independent label, we do not suppose, unfortunately, to make this much of real. Of course we have some material on DVD but these are basically amateur recordings and we do not want to spread them on a general scale. Let's see what the future brings. We look for a chance to make another video clip or DVD even without the support of any label. The work on our actual multi medial CD was already in our production, though it was extremely exhausting. Only the preparing of material for the data tracks took over one half of a year.

DN: Is the band touring this new album and where?

G: Ľahká Múza is not a band that takes general tours. We are neither rock`n`roll band that can produce every evening the same. With our shows we have certain ritual celebrations, and so we had decided to prefer appearances at more important European festivals. We started the promotion of course by a baptism in the magic city of Prague (Czech Republic) then we visited Vienna (Austria), later we kept on going at the festival of pagan and dark culture Menuo Juodaragis in Lithuania, next at the European festival of electronic music called Resistance, in our capital city of Bratislava, and the gothic festival Gothic.pl in Warsaw (Poland). At this moment the rest of the year belongs only to the Hieros Gamos project with which we are going to play at X. Prague Industrial festival and the New Year's Eve we shall celebrate on a castle party Excalibur in Poland. Next shows of Ľahká Múza are planned to continue early in the spring of 2005.

DN: Here in Chile is your name very appreciated and your music very respectable, what do you know about Chile?

G: It is true that about five years back started our cooperation with Radio Futuro from Santiago. Through the musical shows of Roland Ramos – such as “After Midnight” or actual “Sonidos el Mundo” there was a chance to present our music also for other fans of Goth sub scene. We have as well made several interviews for your magazines, lately for Abracadaver. And what do I know about Chile? You might wonder, but a lot. It is beautiful country in South America with original culture, very hearty people and bloody past… and for being one of those who like to travel (well, with the South America just with my finger on the map…) I know from the books and documentaries some of the unbelievable beauties of your national parks in the Andes, the Atacama desert, great Patagonia or the exotic Easter Islands, that are under the administration of Chile.

DN: Would you like to play in these lands?

G: Reactions from the people of South America is basically very good. We have nice contacts also with the fans in Brazil or Argentina. I can really imagine the line of a tour through South America, but for a European band that does not belong to the commercially significantly profiting ones it is rather unreal to make real an overseas tour. But because of we “never say never,” we would like to try it in the future. We will be working on this!

DN: To the end, can you say few words to all the readers of DARKNOISE MAGAZINE...

G: In the first place I would like to thank from my very heart to you for the possibility to deal with you the time dedicated to the realization of this interview. It is pleasing to know that also on the other side of the world there are hearts beating in the same speed as ours, European… the hearts are looking for close and kindred souls, they burn for the passions and love the same intensively as ours… and knowing this it is not important whether there is an endless ocean or some time distance between us! The real distance that divides us is only from heart to heart… and this is also the message hidden in our music… Muchos besitos para mi Chile! Angelo Negro Gudrun.