Lets us start this interview with the latest news we heard from SOPOR AETERNUS and you, which was the release of the BOX-set ?Like a Corpse standing in Desperation?. Do you have any knowledge how the fans received this product and what their main reaction was?
No, I haven?t. Sorry. I never really get any feedback whatsoever, which can be a bit of a double-edged sword. It is good and bad, really. In a way I even prefer it being like this, because it keeps you from pondering about what other people might think of your work. You can just concentrate on what you need to express ... and that?s it. On the other hand your entire process of creation might become somewhat like feeding a giant black hole ... ? you just give and give, but nothing ever comes back to you! So, I have to admit that it can be quite nice when once or twice a year you get to hear that this and that person seems to like what you have done so far.
I am always catching rather obvious contrasts in the music of SOPOR AETERNUS. Quite often you are having happy melodies, but the songs become scary, as they are filled with Anna-Varney?s painful vocals and piercing screams. What is the reason for such heavy contrast in your music?Balance, I suppose. This is one of the things I generally can?t do very much about, it just comes naturally when I am working on a track. I may start with a certain preconceived idea in my head about how a piece should perhaps sound like, but it is only a question of time when the ?vibrations? of the lyrical content start to kick in. Quite often it may happen that I would like to keep a track rather short and simple ... yes, I might even start working in the happy knowledge that what lies ahead is certainly going to be an obvious piece of cake ..., but then out of a sudden it takes me ages only to get to the first verse. That is the trouble when your work is multi-layered, when you have lyrics, voice and music ... and all three of them are delivering a different aspect of what is to be expressed. Therefore it can happen that the lyrics tell you one thing, like for example ?Yes, I am the most sinister person in the entire universe. I am utterly evil and I never laugh!? ... (yeah, boo-hoo!) ... but at same time the music might sounds like you are right in a Punch and Judy show. Here the message would obviously be something like ?Well, my dear ... I suggest you take a closer look at yourself!? However, often it is even simpler than this: you see, everything in our universe strives for balance ... that?s just how things are. So, the more depressive the lyrical content becomes, the more cheerful the music might get, and vice versa. Well ... what can I say ... ? I am Anna-Varney. That is the cause for everything I do. It just couldn?t be more obvious.
I suppose, you believe that everything has its opposite in this world. Like for example: if there was no good person, there would also be no bad person ...
Aha ... well, OK ... I think can see your point ... ? go on.
Well, mankind is destroying nature. We are getting closer the end of world day by day ... and it is people who are responsible for this ... ? what do you think about these people ... and who or what would be the opposite of them??? What is balancing them ...??I would say ... people with courage ... with a sense of responsibility ... people with their hearts and minds in the right place ... emotionally mature ... people with knowledge and understanding ...
I suppose you have always been working with Apocalyptic Vision Records and to this very day you have always refused to give any live-concerts. Did you ever feel any pressure about this particular issue?In what way? Pressure from the record label, trying to convince me to appear live?
Yes, I mean, what is your label?s attitude about this subject? Because you also don?t give too many interviews, and if you do, it is always in written form. People never get to meet you. This is such an unusual behaviour for an artist. So, I wonder: has this ever created any problems between you and your label?No, not at all. It was quite clear from the very beginning that I had no interest in doing silly live-shows for human audiences, people I have never met before ... and who I probably wouldn?t even like. It was rather obvious that the music and artwork of SOPOR is a matter of auto-therapy, which the label seemed to understand at the time, even considered it to be an ?interesting? attitude. Huh ... well.
These days the situation has kind of reversed, as I found out, when we were in Slovakia packing the limited box-edition of ?La Chambre d?Echo?. The others wanted to have lunch, so they dragged me along to some ...well ... restaurant-grill-bar-general-get-together-pub kind of place. Of course, it was only a matter of time when the obligatory question whether to do a gig in Slovakia came up (if only out of politeness just to get Anna-Varney add a few words to the conversation), and to my surprise Alex (head of the label) jumped in and proclaimed that this would never happen, SOPOR generally doesn?t do concerts at all and that this situation would never change. It was kind of funny to hear, because I generally tend to enjoy it a lot, when other people are explaining my own work. For one thing, because I obviously don?t have too much of a desire to talk about SOPOR myself ... well, certainly not in public ... the other point is that you get to know a little of what the person trying to explain your work is thinking about it. This incident turned out to be a bit of a surprise, when it became evident that now it is the label, that doesn?t want me to appear live ... ? ever. Well, if that isn?t a challenge to change my mind.
Some of your songs sound like our childhood play songs ...Yes, I suppose they really do
... but yours are filled with scary vocals. If you don?t want to answer this question, it?s not a problem, because I do respect your private life. Still I would really like to know did you live through bad things in your childhood? How was your life with your family?Ah, well ... today I would say that it is all relative ... and a question of perspective. Things can always be worse than they are, so there is always an even more vicious alternative thinkable. The point is: we are all individuals ... with individual strengths and weaknesses. For example, a few hard words might hardly elicit a shrug from one person, whereas the same words might very well break someone else?s heart ... ? and that goes for all things! It is just that some souls do not seem to be equipped enough for an existence in this cruel world.
When it comes to family and childhood, it probably was the same like for any other trans-gendered, fragile, enchanted little fairy: a working father, who was always absent (and therefore non-existing) ... and a dominante, control-freak of a mother, who constantly physically punishes you for things which you don?t even understand ... or for things you haven?t even done. Yeah, well ... the classical double-bind situation: food and blows. And, of course, how else could it be, you grow up in an environment, where any form of ?art? (or ?beauty? for that matter) is completely meaningless ... ? worth less than shit. There are no role-models, you have no friends ... so sooner or later (that is, if you are lucky enough) you discover the one place where no one else can get to ...
I believe the name SOPOR AETERNUS translates as ?eternal sleep?, or ?Sleep of Death?. What is the story behind this name?Oh, dear ... there are far too many aspects playing into this for me to give you a detailed analysis of its meaning. However, as with all things in this universe, it has a tendency to change in the course of time ... ? as all living things evolve. For quite a while now I find it very hard to actually bear the sight of the word AETERNUS, which made me abbreviating the name to just SOPOR, which now only means ?Sleep?. The reason for this strikes me as rather obvious, as the ?task?, if you wish, is to eventually ... well ... awake.
Could you please tell me about your daily life? How do your average 24 hours look like? Please say so, if this question is a problem for you? In a way, it really is a problem indeed, because quite often I have no recollection of where all the hours have vanished to. I sometimes sit down with a cup of tea ... and when I get up again it is already getting dark. I do feel like the days are really flying by ... three whole weeks are just passing like nothing ... it?s in the blink of an eye that suddenly an entire month has disappeared, or even a season, and I just don?t know where it went to. I am seriously beginning to sense this increasing ... well ... absence of all sense of time, as I have no real reference points that would help me to distinguish one day from the other. To me it is all just ... well ... one.
What are you thinking about institutionalised religions like Islam, Christianity or Judaism.
Well, if you need it ... and if it makes you truly happy ... ? fine. I mean, it is perfectly understandable: we ALL long to be part of something, be it a group, a community, family etc. ... Being on our own makes us fear/feel that we might get lost in this big, cold and terribly lonely universe. Well, so far so good. Generally speaking, the problem is usually never religion as such, but the people practising it, and their very own ?interpretation? of what is written ... ? or rather ?re-written?. Whenever I get to hear one of those stupid motherfuckers (be it Moslems, Christians or Jews ... there is absolutely no difference) drivelling on about the purity of faith, honour, God and all that shit (excuse my choice of words) ... then it is so bloody obvious that deep down inside they only want ONE thing, and ONE thing alone ... ? and that is: POWER ... power over other people !!! Period.
I suppose you?re more interested in spiritual religions like paganism or shamanism. Do you believe in any concept that involves the idea of destiny or even a god?Well ... destiny ... hmm, yes ... I cannot deny it. I fear and worship it at the same time. But God ... now that is a complex question. Well, to cut it short, let?s just say ?God? is one name for the dreamer who is dreaming our existence.
What do you think about Death? This subject is always omnipresent in all of SOPOR?s lyrics. Do you think that Death is the end all of the things ... or merely a door which opens to a new world?A while ago it kind of dawned on me that I might have something like a tiny obsession with this subject indeed, which is not much of a surprise really, because we all tend to get obsessed with things that we fear. When you are young, let?s say, in your teens ... even if you are suicidal, perhaps especially then ... you do feel in a way (if only on a subconscious level) that you are immortal. But if eventually you pass a certain age ... and you see friends and/or members of your family die ... childhood places disappear ... everything changes and there is nothing you can do about it, because this simply is the course of this world ... you do feel lost, alone ... extremely insecure ... and naturally you tend to cling to the things you know ... that you have treasured all your life ... ? and Death ... well ... he is the constant reminder that NOTHING ever stays the same, that absolutely EVERYTHING changes ... ? and that we are born only to die. Such is the only constant factor in everybody?s life: THE END.
But do I believe that some form of existence continues after the death of our physical bodies? Well ... I have no way of telling. Do I believe in reincarnation? Well ... I fear it.
In some of SOPOR?s songs your screams sound like an insane person might feel. Have you ever been close to the experience of what people generally refer to as insanity?How am I supposed to know that?! Again, there is no way of telling ...
There are some musicians of the Metal genre, who are praising SOPOR AETERNUS, saying that they love your music, because it really touches the heart with its emotional depth.Oh, thank you. That?s a really lovely thing to say.
Well, my question naturally is: do you like Metal music? Are there any particular bands in the metal-scene that you are interested in?No, not really. The thing is that metal as such doesn?t do anything for me. I mean, I can of course appreciate a good production, a brilliant singer, or an interesting artwork ... ? but that?s it. I do get to hear a lot (relatively speaking that is) of metal-stuff when I am at Joachim Luetke?s place, as he is kind of perceived as the Golden God of the metal-artworkers, so consequently his studio is filled with entire batteries of metal CDs that he gets sent to from all over the world ... but ... - well, how can I say this without making it sound like an insult? - ... it just gets on my nerves after a while. Well, it?s simply a matter of taste ... there is nothing one can do about it. Sorry.
What are the things that influence you most, when you are creating your songs? What is it that inspires you to do such great music? I am asking this, because I once read an interview, where you said that you are not really creating the music, you merely receive it ?Oh, influence ... well .. .everything that you perceive with your senses also has an influence on you ... ? this way or another. That?s just as it is. Period. I also believe that creation as such is not really possible for a human being, as everything already exists ... somewhere ... in this great, big ?book? ... the hidden chronicle of the universe. So, consequently, all we humans can do, is to find ... or ?remember? ... what has been written there before the beginnings of time. If you are lucky (or talented) you may discover that you can be a happy ?finder? of things (like inventions, compositions etc) ... ? nothing more. But actual ?creation? from sheer nothingness is impossible.
When it comes to music (or art in general), the poor composer (singer/song-writer) has another serious problem these days, which is: there is only a very(!) limited number of possible combinations of notes! So, if you seriously want to follow this highest idea of pure originality ... well ... then you are simply fucked !!! Because I believe that every single tune that is possible has already been composed, sung, played and/or recorded already ... somewhere on this planet. The same goes for emotions: there is nothing new in store, millions have trodden down every possible path before ... ? you might feel like a pioneer ... but nope! It has all be done before!!! Sorry, my dear.
But what does all this mean for an artist? How can s/he justify her/his work? Well ... there is only one thing that comes to my mind: TRUTH. Well ... truth & necessity. In my case it is music. The question is not whether you are truly talented or not. The point is: what is it that constantly fills your mind. What is the first thing you think of, when you get up in the morning (or whenever) ... and what is it you dream of, when you are asleep?
It is not important that you might be a crap singer, as long as your songs truly come from the heart!!! So, if you like to call yourself an ?artist?, where does your desire to create come from? Your heart ... or is it merely your ego?!?
I can always hear a lot of medieval elements in your music. Is this a conscious preference?Ah ... well ... sort of. It just happens, you know. I guess it is because of the more or less simple structure of so called ?medieval music?, the often cheerful tunes, which ... at least to my ears ... kind of sound like children?s songs. And ... well ... if you look at it close enough, you will discover that this is basically what I do: music for children ... ? well, dead children, admittedly.
What do you think about medieval times, about ancient art?Medieval times?!? Oh dear ... ? smelly, dirty and bloody hard ... that?s what I think it was like.
I read in the SOPOR AETERNUS forum that some of your fans actually pray for your, burning candles for you, hoping to make you feel better. I know that you're interested in the spiritual things, but have you ever really felt those people's prayers or wishes for you?Oh, I wasn?t aware that people do such things. But, I suppose, it is not too unusual, if you think about it for a second. I mean, at first it might sound extraordinary to someone, who doesn?t really care about any form practised religion, or who is inexperienced with this subject, but for a ... let?s say, ?typical? Christian ... it is probably a very normal thing to do. You would perhaps pray for anything at all times, like: at the breakfast table, when you?re stuck in a traffic-jam, before you go to the dentist, while you?re at the dentist, watching your football-team on television, before, during and after a date ... ? oh, dear ... the list of occasions is endless. Usually, a ?typical? Christian starts praying more or less each time an emotion comes up ... so, well ... do the math.
But don?t get me wrong. I know this might sound like I am making fun of people?s faith, but that?s not my intention at all. It is just that ... well ... when I hear someone saying a phrase like: ?I will pray for you? ... my spontaneous reaction will be ?Oh, pray for yourself, you arrogant piece of s[...]. You need it far worse than I do !!! ? ---
You see, the thing is, if you are really serious about wanting to help another person on an entirely spiritual level, if you HONESTLY (!!!) feel from the bottom of your heart ... (and I mean the HEART and not the ego!!!) ... that you need to ?pray? (in the widest sense of the word) for this person ... ? well ... than you just do it ... in private ... without turning it into a big show, letting every man and his dog know about it !!!
Do you believe the world can be explained by means of science and equations, or do you believe that there is a deeper truth behind all things, a hidden meaning that words can never describe?Well, yes ... there is a deeper truth behind all things, after all, everything is connected. But I also tend to believe that, if you happen to be an enlightened scientist who manages to switch to the right ?channel?, you might very well be able to explain the entire universe just by means of equations ... ? ha, the only question is: who else but another enlightened scientist would understand it?!
I feel you are really very supersensitive. Well, did you ever fear the possibility that your music and lyrics might get misunderstood? Or, for example, if someone says negative things about you and/or your music, how does this make you feel? What would be your reaction?Oh, as with everything else there are only two alternatives: something is either true ... or it is not true. If what has been said is true ... (whether I may like it or not) ... well ... then how can I possibly argue?? And if it isn?t ... then ... ?why bother? ?? It is as simply as that.
In my mind ?All good Things are Eleven? is the greatest, most gloomy (or any other good adjective I cannot think of at the moment, because it?s really hard for me to explain how I feel about this track) instrumental piece of SOPOR AETERNUS. What is the story behind this song? What did you feel when you were writing this track?Sadness, depression, pain, fear ... ? the usual.You just mentioned, and I have read this statement from you in another interview before, that the music of SOPOR AETERNUS is for dead children. Who are these dead children?The weak and the wounded ...
Why are you hiding your identity in real life?Sorry, but I don?t understand what you mean?
I heard that you stay at home nearly all the time, and that the only thing you are sharing with the outside world is your music.Oh, I see. Hmm ... well, yes ... I have to admit, that sometimes it does make me a little sad when I see or hear how other people get to meet friends on a regular basis, and have a rich social life ... ? all things I know nothing about.
I remember a few years ago, when I took the bus home from the studio ... the sun was setting, and the compartment was all tinted in these soft golden colours, when suddenly the spirits granted me vision of my future self at the age of about 60! It was, as if the veil of time had been lifted without warning ... and I was literally looking at my older self, standing there, face to face!!! It was quite scaring ... and ... so very ... sad.
If your music and lyrics reflect your personality and emotions, do you think there is nobody in this world who would understand the way you feel?Maybe there is ... maybe there isn?t. That?s not really the point, is it? Understanding is relative ... and only half the story. It is the action, or ?behaviour?, that arises from this supposed understanding that really matters.
I have come to the end of my questions. Do you want to add something, any comments for your Turkish fans?Well ... just be nice to each other. Treat others the way you want to be treated ... ? that will make things a lot more pleasant for everyone concerned.
Thank you for your answers, I hope you get to will feel happier. I really want this for you.Thank you, very much. That?s a wish I gratefully accept.
