1. Hello my friend, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.
Hey there, I am alright, thanks. Right now I am at home in my study or home office – or whatever you want to call it. Some nice guitars are standing to my right and some good books to my left, the screen of my computer in front of me as I am answering your questions.
2. For how many time has you been active with this project? And how has your sound evolved over the time. What has kept you inspired to continue creating music?
I started with the music for “Pfade” a little more than a year ago. Although, I had the concept in my mind even a few years prior to that. The idea of bringing together clean vocals similar to chants with heavy basic riffs was something that I found very interesting. Keeping things as simple as possible while aiming for a big effect is what I was trying to achieve. And it is what inspires me to create music and what fascinates me about music in general. Since the beginning of Tabernakel this has not changed.
3. Can you name some of the bands who you first really admired and helped shape your future in music?
My journey as someone who consumes music as well as someone who plays, composes and records music is going on more than half of my life. And as interests shift from time to time, I do not think it is of any use to name bands for that matter. What I am interested in a lot over the last few years are black metal bands that concentrate on the pure core of their music. Basic riffs, basic beats – but nothing is missing. This approach was very inspiring for Tabernakel.
4. As the sole member behind Tabernakel, how do you manage the creative process of writing and composing music, lyrics, and playing multiple instruments?
Well, usually it starts with a riff. Sometimes the riff and the drum beat are there in my mind from the start. Vocals are the last thing I am concerned about and most of the time I figure out how and what to sing by improvising first. I record everything separately, so this is no problem at all. It can be quite exhausting, though.
5. Before becoming a musician, were you self taught taking private music lessons at a young age or did you fully learn and adapt on your own from there?
I had lessons in classical guitar for many years which I started when I was about nine years old. That sure helped, but I would not say that it was absolutely necessary.
6. Your debut full-lenght “Pfade” was released some months ago. Are there any particular themes or influences that you're exploring?
I thought of “Pfade” as a kind of spiritual music which is also reflected in the artwork. Moreover, the titles of the songs refer to various stages and possible ways to deal with one’s own spiritualism.
7. Can you give us a glimpse into the creative process behind your music? How do you typically approach songwriting and arranging?
I have pretty much answered that question above, I guess. There is nothing more to add, I am afraid.
8. Were there any elements of the recording that proved particularly troublesome?
Performing vocals was quite challenging, since I am not that experienced with it. But mixing and mastering, which I did on my own as well, was the hardest part. I learned a lot in the process but there sure is more to learn.
9. What were the main challenges you faced in learning to mix music and how did you overcome them?
The main challenge definitely is to figure out what to watch out for. There is so much information floating around about recording and mixing music, especially on the internet. And a lot of it is pretty useless. I would not say that I have already overcome the main challenges but I have figured out by now that it is very important to accept that it will take a lot of time and energy, that it is a process of trial and error and that it maybe will not turn out exactly as you imagined.
10. What makes the perfect Tabernakel song? Is there one on the album in particular that encapsulates this?
I am quite pleased with all of them, but if I had to give an answer I would say that “Laie” embodies my ideas best: basic riffs, a fat guitar sound and chant-like vocals.
11. Your vocal performance on the album is intense, to say the least, can you tell us what they are supposed to convey?
The vocals in Tabernakel should help to set the mood for a listening experience which is similar to one of spiritual music.
12. Have you read any reviews regarding the album? Do you care about what critics have to say about your work?
Well, there have not been too many reviews so far, but I sure read them. If I can relate to the things the critics are saying, I care, otherwise I do not. But I would never really care as much about it that my approach to my own work would be altered or even worse – that I would try to please the critics.
13. Are there any plans for collaboration with other artists or musicians in the future, and if so, what excites you about the potential of those collaborations?
There are no plans for Tabernakel of any sorts for now. However, that absolutely does not mean that Tabernakel is over. But since it is only me who is involved, I can get to it whenever I want to and for now I do not feel the need for a collaboration, live gigs or new music.
14. Are there any external influences on the music? Anything you were listening to at the time – or reading, or watching – which you feel had an effect on the writing process?
There are definitely external influences on the music and probably I am not aware of many of them. For sure, a very important influence is dealing with the path of my own spiritualism. Another is the approach of keeping things simple whilst aiming for great effect. And a third one is the gear I used for recording, especially for guitars, and the recording process in general.
15. Live performances are an integral part of the music experience. Does Tabernakel have any plans for live shows or touring in the future? How do you envision translating your atmospheric music into a live setting?
I do not have plans for playing live with Tabernakel. Although, I would not say that it is completely out of the question. Therefore, I have not given too much thought about performing live. Generally speaking, I like keeping it basic as you might have guessed by now. I am not particularly a fan of wearing hoods or capes on stage, burning incense or lighting candles like many bands do. If done tastefully, that can really add something to the experience, but if exaggerated, it can easily become embarrassing.
16. As an independent artist, what challenges have you faced in bringing your unique vision to life and reaching a wider audience?
Recording your own music in proper or at least accepting quality surely is the first and biggest challenge of all. I do not really care about actively reaching a wider audience, since I foremost make music for myself. Of course, I appreciate it when somebody likes my music, though. The internet makes it quite easy to put your music online and if it is decent you will get some listeners without doing anything else. However, the downside is that there is so much music on the various platforms that one is just overwhelmed by the sheer amount. I think the average level of production and music is really good these days, but there also is a lot of mediocre or unoriginal music out there as well. So digging through all the music until you find something really appealing can be tiresome. Being able to put out music to the public very easily and having a crazy amount of releases daily are the two flipsides of our day and age for music enthusiasts.
17. Since music is universal and brings so much to the table, what is your philosophy and intake about what music means to you?
For me as a musician, music is a way of expressing ideas, concepts and emotions. Moreover, it is about the joy of creating, the joy of performing and also the joy of listening to one’s own music, maybe even while performing.
As a listener, being touched and fascinated by another one’s music, be it a composition, recording or performance, is something utterly inspiring, maybe even essential to me. It is beyond words.
18. Actually, Austria has many good black metal bands, but the concerts are often relatively poorly attended. What do you think, why is that?
I am not sure about that. It also really depends on what kind of black metal concert you attend. The black metal scene in Austria seems pretty separated into various sub-scenes to me. People going to a concert of depressive black metal bands are not the ones attending a blackened thrash metal concert and vice versa. So maybe it is that. But I also have not made this observation of yours, so I really cannot give a proper explanation. Most concerts I go to are well visited.
19. Finally, is there anything else you would like to share with your fans and the readers of this interview?
There is nothing else I feel the need to share but I definitely would like to thank you very much for this thoughtful interview. I appreciate your work and dedication!