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.
Thank you for speaking to me, I’m doing very good today. At the moment I’m sitting in my home studio where I keep all my instruments and recording gear.
2. Vosforis is a black metal band blending dark, philosophical themes with industrial soundscapes. Care to explain to the unknowing precisely where in the world you emanate such an aura of darkness from?
My therapist would say it comes from childhood, but I think it’s something more abstract and has an ancient/atavistic source deep within our evolution and genetics. Theres seems to be this primordial current of darkness in our psyche. It could almost be described as something like original sin. I’m merely sifting through the ashes on the outskirts of my mind.
3. Vosforis has been active for over two years now. How has your sound evolved over these years, and what has kept you inspired to continue creating music?
Vosforis, I would say, is more of an expression of many years of trying and failing with various bands/projects. Each time I write a new song or work on new music, I feel like I am getting closer to the sounds or the ideas I am trying to express. I’ve been playing music since I was 11 and started writing seriously around the age of 19. I’ve been obsessed with music for most of my life and I have nothing else if I can’t express myself. Inspiration used to be hard to capture when I was younger, but these days I can find it in almost anything. The difficult part is sculpting the inspiration into something meaningful and aesthetically pleasing. Musically I find inspiration in some of my favourite bands such as Satyricon, Type O Negative and Nine Inch Nails. Conceptually, I take inspiration from psychedelics, UFOS, the occult and the absurdity of spacetime.
4. Vosforis is basically a duo, how do you guys inside the band divide the compositional work?
The initial compositions are written by myself, and then I usually work with Anabelle Iratni to improve the arrangements and vocals before sending them off to Adrian, who replaces all the demo drums with his final parts. It’s usually at this point that the songs take on their final and completed shape. Guest musicians are usually included at this point. The production and engineering is a huge part of the sound too. Making a Vosforis record is a collaborative effort relying on many talented and kind people.
5. Let´s about your debut album “Cosmic Cenotaph”, it is pretty well produced – in which studio did you record it? And who took care of the mixing and mastering?
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by the legendary Russ Russell in Kettering, England at The Parlour studios.
6. How did you work over this album? What did you plan to put into it?
The ideas, concepts and music kind of evolved over time. I had a rough framework at the beginning, listing and detailing concepts I wanted to discuss, but I landed up having to turn a lot of it into bumper stickers for the sake of brevity. Many of the concepts were far too complex and verbose for 9 or 10 songs on an album. This is good because it means I won’t run out of ideas on the next one!
7. The songs take listeners on a harrowing journey through themes of cosmic horror and philosophical nihilism. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the songs and how it felt to release your message to the world?
From a practical and emotional perspective, it was very satisfying to complete and release the album. It was cathartic for many reasons and also bitter sweet.
Conceptually, when I first started thinking about this album, in a cliched sort of way I thought of it like a triptych similar to Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’. Each panel being a collection of ideas to draw inspiration from for the lyrics.
I abstracted this idea into a circular hierarchy starting at a single point on earth with an individual, then increasing the radius of the circle to include the planet, nearby planets, and alien life. Then lastly to increase the radius of the circle to include the universe and the outer edges of spacetime that decay/breakdown into chaos.
8. What I like the most about the album is the combination of the most brutal moments and the eerie atmospheres featured on some of the tracks. What would you say are the inspirations behind the band’s music?
Musically I take a lot of inspiration from 90’s black metal, industrial and goth music. Bands such as Satyricon, Nine Inch Nails and Type O Negative are very big influences on me. I’ve always really liked the sound of analog synths and heavy guitars.
9. Vosforis offers a deep, cathartic experience, inviting listeners on a profound journey through cosmic themes and human psyche. So those lyrics are more kind of an observation of the world and humankind, than being an introspective thing? Tell me also how do you see the things that are going right now in the world.
I think the lyrics were observational about the world and also how I felt about it, so certainly quite introspective, but also projective in trying to place my consciousness elsewhere and maybe observe some impossible things.
In some ways the world seems to be in trouble and on the verge of calamity, but I am also constantly reminded of how much we have achieved in science in less than 100 years compared to the rest of recorded history. As much as I feel like we’re on the verge of something bad, I can’t help but feel like I was born at possibly the most important time in our technological and social evolution to be able to witness something great. I think we might see something like a relativity revolution.
10. When you release a record how much attention do you pay to things like track order, lay out and art work? How planned is everything?
The track order and song length was quite important because I wanted it to fit on two sides of a vinyl record. I think the track order flows really nicely from one side to the other, in a way that was quite surprising to me. I can’t claim to fully be in control of that, because as I arranged the songs in order, the final list appeared to me by accident in a very pleasing way.
11. How do you feel about different musical formats (vinyl, cassette, digital etc) both for appreciating other music as well as how you want your music to be appreciated?
The album was mixed and mastered specifically for each format, as I wanted the experience to be as consistent as possible. I wanted listeners to have the choice of format that made sense to them and to have it sound great in each context. For me personally, I really like the access I have to music when using streaming services, but simultaneously, I love collecting physical formats.
12. You seem pretty mature and experienced musicians, maybe you can help by passing on some wisdom. What is the main conclusion you have learned during these years about life and music being two inseparable things?
Everything in life and music costs something. There is a price to be paid at every step of the way. Everything in life is a lesson, and sometimes not even a good or useful lesson. Everything is difficult and we have to keep moving forward. Nothing is easy and even the difficult things may not offer any meaning.
13. In general: What fascinates you about metal music? Is it the possibility to express aggression? Is it the energy which is usually conveyed in this music? Or is it something entirely different?
I think there is an element of abyss gazing in metal and alternative music. I find the whole thing very strange. As I alluded to earlier, there seems to be a current running through these types of music that attract certain personalities. When I was younger, it felt like metal music was about aggression, or expressing negative emotions. Now I find it to be completely hypnotising and the more I interact with the art form, the more I uncover about myself and the tools I use to make music. There is another dimension without form that I feel like I am knocking on the door of, and music seems to be a tool of getting closer to that formless something. This is maybe what the experience of something like the Egregore is.
14. What’s your view on the value of music today? In what way does the abundance of music change our perception of it?
In short, I’m glad people are listening to music of all genres. I’m happy that people are happy with whatever they like to listen to. Music is commodified, simply because it is abstract and requires a huge amount of work and effort to manifest. Unfortunately there has to be a commercial aspect. I do feel that a lot of music has become an extension of egos, corporations and financial interests and this has sadly pushed artists on the fringes to either sink or swim. You have to play the game to make art. I think you can safely claim value in music even if you have to sign a record deal to make that happen. I think there are few examples where music is totally without value, but it’s not worth pointing out those ‘artists’
15. 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?
Thank you very much for your questions and taking the time to read mine. To the fans and anyone out there reading this: thank you for your support and please buy the new album. I’m in a lot of debt.
* Official Website: https://innerhellrecords.co.uk/pages/vosforis
* Bandcamp: https://vosforis.bandcamp.com/
* E-Shop: https://innerhellrecords.co.uk/
* Facebook: http://facebook.com/vosforis
* Instagram: http://instagram.com/vosforisofficial
* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InnerHellRecords
* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3S942Ke5gnWilleJV00Uer
* Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/vosforis/1736150368
Comments