Interview to LEAVING LIFE (Germany)

1. Hello Elend, 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.

Right now, I´m sitting in front of my little van at the coast of Portugal, looking at an orange tree.

2. Let’s start with the boring basics. Care to explain to the unknowing precisely where in the world you emanate such an aura of funeral doom?

In my freetime I often go hiking in the swedish mountains. There I´m exposed to the natural vegetation, like storms, lightning and freezing cold nights. But I also experiening the beauty of untouched nature.

3. How much exposure did you have to extreme music growing up? And what is the spiritual ideology or philosophy that drives you both as individual?

My first contact with extreme music was at the age of 13. One of the first albums I listened to was Obculum Obscenum by Hypocrisy. I also got Immortal’s At the Heart of Winter from my sisters boyfriend at the time. To express anger, sorrow and grief in such a way really got me and still gets me today. Those emotions aren`t represented in popular music too well. Sometimes I really struggle with humanity and I´m trying to find a way to deal with myself being a part of it and extreme music plays a really important role for me in this process.   

4. As the sole member behind Leaving Life, how do you manage the creative process of writing and composing music, lyrics, and playing multiple instruments?

Most of the lyrics I wrote during a long distance hike and this year I lived two months in a tent again. There I came up with the ideas for the lyrics. Sometimes also a melody appears. Then I try to sing it into my phone. Back home I tried to connect to the feeling again and develop the music. I start with guitar and drums, then I add the vocals to it. The base is the instrument I play the worst, so I play it to smooth things out. But I’m really looking forward to write some better baselines in the future.   

5. Are there any specific challenges or advantages to working alone?

Sometimes it´s really exhausting, but at the end it´s nice to have control over the whole process. I also painted the artwork, recorded and mixed the EP and it was very fulfilling to see all the small parts grow to become a generic sounding piece of music. I sometimes struggle with being creative after work and it´s hard to give things the time they need. I am not a professional musician and so I have to accept my own limitations. It doesn’t make sense to write music, that you’re not able to play at the time. I tried to write the best EP, I could write at the moment.

6. Self-titled EP is your first studio recording. What were the goals you had in mind when you started to record it, any elements you definitely wanted to have on this EP?

First of all, I wanted it to be a natural sounding piece of music. So I listened to albums like Wolverine-Blues from Entombed, old Asphyx stuff and asked myself, what keeps up the fascination for these albums for so many years. I figured out, that it‘s more the stuff they decided not to put on an album. No dead triggered drums, small variations in speed, that create a feeling of a band that plays together instead of processing everything. That really influenced me.   

7. Looking at your artwork, songtitles and such; there are certain visible romantic aspect related to nature. What draws you to this and how does this relate to your music?

Yeah, you’re right. When you’re living in a country like Germany, it’s hard not to get influenced by all the impressions you‘re getting in everydays life. I mean, almost everyone is looking for professional success, security and material well-being. My wish, not to depend on these ideas for a fulfilled life, is deeply connected to my longing for a life in swedish nature, far away from civilisation.  

8. How do you created the songs? Is it predetermined process, or do you leave substantial space for improvisations?

I start with the riffing and after I have created the main riffs, and some rudimental drums, I try to improvise. I really like to add some nice little melodies and thats a process. I like monotone parts because they sound like the feeling you get, when you’re hiking long distances. So I always listen to the song again and again during several days and try to figure out, if it’s a nice addition, or if it destroys the feeling of the song.

9. Your compositions evoke a wide range of emotions, from rage to haunting melancholy. What drives you to explore such diverse emotional landscapes in your music, and how do you achieve that balance within your compositions?

It’s nice that you say that. I tried to create music as close as possible to the story of the EP. It tells the story of someone who’s leaving his car in a traffic jam, runs into the woods and finally stays there. I imagened it to be an emotional process, starting with the powerful feeling of doing you`re own thing, continuing with the regrets that you spend so mush energy to achieve goals that society forced on you and that have never been your own. After this devastating insight, the character  experiences all the physical pain, being out there in the cold, trying to survive. And finally he makes his peace with being a mortal, vulnerable creature, trying to survive, be happy and free, till he’ll finally die some day, like every other living being. 

10. To me doom metal has its own aesthetic. How much do you think about the way things should look to be doom?

I try not to overthink the categories. I don`t want to be the guy, saying, what doom should look like, I’m just trying to create music theat creates a certain atmosphere that goes well with the lyrics.

11. You’ve chosen to self-release your material.  Have you considered shopping the material around for additional distribution or are you happy doing everything independently for the moment?

Good question, and sadly there’s no real plan behind it. I’m interested in the process of creating music, but I’m really not a business man. Of course I’d like to spread my music, but I also consider the costs. Not only financially, but also the time I have to invest in things, I really don’t like, for example social media. I’d like to interact with people, who really care about extreme music and not only about money. Maybe I just haven’t met the right people yet.  

12. 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?

I’m very open to collaborations and to get an insight in other people’s creative approaches. I sure got some friends who are talking about making music together, but for now, it`s just ideas. But we’ll see.

13. Do you have any ambitions of spreading your creative and musical wings into another genre, say a black metal side project or something?

Yeah, I already play in a punkband and I’m trying to write some acoustic stuff. Maybe one day, I’d like to start something more forward, like Turbocharged, Totenmond, or Martyrdöd to express my rage and anger about all the fucked up things, that are going on nowadays.  

14. As far as my knowledge goes, Leaving Life has never performed in a live audience,s o far. Did you ever think of re-cruting some more members in order to create a live unit? Or is this something that is simply out of the question?

For now, I’m just writing music. You can’t play a live performance with the material of one EP, but I’m really open to perform live someday. I even got some ideas for visuals, but we’ll see.

15. American or European doom. What unique has offered each continent to the genre?

I’m only listening to a few doom bands, like Asphyx, Ahab and Konvent and they’re all from Europe. But as I said, I don’t think to much about categories.

16. Have you had the chance to travel much over the years? Any places you would insist people must visit at least once in their lives?

Haha, nice question. I’m now travelling for eight months and almost everytime I meet other travellers, they highly recommend their favorite places and I really don’t like stuff like this. My advice is, to just travel anywhere and be open minded. Then you’ll find beautiful people and landscapes all over the planet. For me personally, the most beautiful place on earth is the north of Sweden. It sounds a bit over the top, but I’m crying everytime I have to leave there.  

17. What do you do other than the band, for fun/work and do you like being in Italy?

I’m working in the social field and at the moment, I’m trying to write a book. Besides that, I’m painting, shooting photos and I hike and travel the world. But most of the time, I’m a normal guy, who likes hanging around with the ones I love and having a beer from time to time. I enjoyed my time in Italy, except the driving. I never had such a strong feeling, that someone is trying to kill me than on an italian highway.

18. Before we wrap up this interview, I like to thank you for your time into doing this. Any final thoughts or words to the fans reading this?

For everyone, who listened tot he album, thanks for your time. There’s so much great music out there, thanks for picking mine.

https://leavinglife.bandcamp.com/album/leaving-life