Hoarfrost – interview for the magazine Pan O Ra Ma
So how has been the artistic evolution and musical development in almost 3years of musical career?And where from came the name and inspiration for HOARFROST name?
Hello Kerval. I think, that last three years, when I have functioning as Hoarfrost, were pretty productive and I am glad of them. Some releases had appeared, some others were planned, so still something going on and it is important. Every album is a challenge and one more step forward. Every next album is a new experience and lead me in new areas. I can stop in one place. So I can’t foresee what will be the direction of my next albums. One neared – yes, but others? Off course, there are general contours, an esthetic of Hoarfrost, but that is all. You ask about the name. I think that it is a good illustration of my music. When we think “hoarfrost”, we feel a coldness and see a calm landscape. Hoarfrost settles on people and things. It is closed but strange. It exist with world around, but it also create its own world. When we look at area, settled by hoarfrost, we sometimes think, that place, recently full of life, is already dead and the time stopped. My music is just like that.
Which were the principal aspects which influenced since the beginning for expressing yourself through a musical with the dark psychotic feeling as HOARFROST?
The music is my hobby. I am engaged on it – with breaks – for over a dozen of years. It is my breakaway from everyday life, complement and possibility of self-realization. From my youngest years I listened to different kinds genres of music. But dark, revolting music with some kind of messages is my favorite. As a teenager I was a guitarist in local rock and metal groups, next I sang poetry. Few years ago I started having interest in electronic sounds and that was how Hoarfrost appeared. I was always interested in pessimistic and apocalyptic themes. I listened to a lot of music of 80. – from Joy Division to black metal, from gothic to sung poetry. I like texts which asked the question without answers.
How has been the experience with HOARFROST in your personal life since the beginning until now 2010?
Creating music gives me much satisfaction. The satisfaction is bigger if I found listeners who feel in the same way and understand my message. Music allows me to meet many interesting people, who are looking for something more in their life, sometimes they also made their own art. I keep in touch with many of them. Our discussions inspired me in my artistic work. The concerts and places, which I visited with my music are important as well. Thanks to people, like Smiglo from Chain Reaction Promotions, I visited Ireland two times and explored many places in this country. Things like these stay in my mind for a long time and gives me a motivation to keep on working.
An aspect I really find so interesting in your debut release “Ground Zero” is how psychotic and well structured,dynamic your music sounds.so, is this the principal point you try to develop when creating an album? Or is originality and ideological patterns elements the most important at each release?
“Ground zero” – in my intention – should be music registration of catastrophe during act of creating. The intention of this material is one: make listener feels that he is in center of it. It is collision man with brutality of this phenomenon. It has to call up emotions. It was my intention when I wrote this material. I always work in this way – first think about whole concept. It is important for me, to have main theme for material. I try to prepare some vision of sounds and individual compositions. When my concepts already have a form, I sit down and try to realize my plan.
Which is the main source of inspiration for the musical aspects at HOARFROST? Does it reflects your own personality based on your obsessions, visions, thoughts experienced in this existence?
Hoarfrost is in fact a part of me, the darker part (laugh). Hoarfrost’s music comes from my considerations and visions. My inspiration is a man, his nature, especially its dark aspects. Empty landscapes. Apocalyptic atmosphere. My inspirations are also emotions, which appear when a man is in a situation without an exit. Man in critical situation is able to many things, sometimes crossing the rationality. And sometimes he gives up.
Due the transgressive, dark nature of your album “Ground Zero…”I asked you: is your intention with “Ground Zero” to focus the listener’s mind into a specific state in which they can feel, explore your music from deep within? And so, establishing a nexus between they and the essence behinds such amazing release?
The mission of the music is influencing on listener. Everyone, according to his mood, look for sounds good for him in the concrete moment. Of course, to be understood, the music has to find proper listener. When I have compositing “Ground zero” – I have aspiring to crash listener with world, breaking to debris, and vision of apocalypse. It is not strange or fantastic idea. We live at the time, when incident like this could happen not only on television screen or in SF literature. We have to understand, that everybody maybe witness of apocalypse of some place in some time. I intentionally haven’t told what is the kind and the reason of destruction. It is not necessary. Everyone can understand this album in their own way, basing on their own experience. I have only tried to show and describe some kind of situation.
Let’s talk about personal paradigms…so, do you think its great to let emotions as love, hate, obsessions, melancholy free to rule or the important is to have control over them?
I am not sure, if we could have a full control on our emotions. We can control only symptoms of emotions. There are theories that everybody can – in their mind – choose emotions good for him. But I don’t agree with this idea. The kind of reaction is qualified by individual, personal and cultural characteristic. Awareness of the emotional condition is more important than controlling them. Awareness of the emotions may be used in the process of creation. It let us experience ourselves. When we “listen to” feelings of other person, we could understand and come to one with him or her.
And from such quotation are for you love & hate the same feeling .just individuals gives a name to determinates the role of both in their lives?
Love and hate are two poles of the same thing, the same feeling. The same law appears in many other cases. Let’s see: “the light” and “the darkness” – there are also one thing. We could talk only about the difference of the gradations between two poles of the same phenomenon. Where “the darkness” ends, where “the light” begins? Similarly love and hate – they are on opposite poles and between them there are gradations of feeling. Point zero is when we can’t qualify, if we liked or we don’t liked. So names in this case are only for describing the function of concrete feeling in life, show its place on one pole.
From your own perspective, are instincts based on principles as mental strength,freedom,knowledge,pride,being your own god and master are what humans must have to develop in order to find a well-definite inner power to evolve in this existential plane?
As Schopenhauer said: “Everything perfect, grows slowly”. We have to looking for, experience, watch, ask and answers the questions – it is the method to create our own personality and own value system. For many people asking questions is a problem. They wait for a ready resolution and accept it uncritically. People, who are impressionable, become marionettes in hands of other people. They leach themselves their personality. People illness is lack of purpose, lack of awareness that I am here and now, that I am responsible for who I am. It depends on me only. People are too often conformists in their life and it pulls them down.
HOARFROST has been developing a lot live performances….so, give us a clue of what listeners can expect when hearing your compositions at stage? Is important for you to cause a visual /audible art which reflects the HOARFROST’ message?
The concerts are the right time and the right place to fully realize the message carried by my project. In my opinion this kind of art need image as replenishment. In ambient or industrial music spectrum of possibilities to express emotions is limited unlike – for example – rock concerts (which are often assisted of visualizations too). So – in my opinion – using images to complete ambient, music of background is necessary. We live in time of technology, images has become one of the most important medium. So they have to be presented on this kind of concert, to show was understand by listeners completely.
By the way I haven’t heard “Decline” album,(By the way,I heard it now,so review below-ed)I want to know,how was to cooperate with Inner Vision Laboratoy in such release,and please let tell us more about this release please?
Writing this album there was idea of Karol from Inner Vision Laboratory, who proposed to me the collaboration. It takes some time before we started working, but when we get down to composing, everything went smoothly. Our intention was to make album in a little different from music we play in our own projects. We understood with Karol great and composing the album was a very nice experience. We are both glad for accomplished effects. And from releasing it in Zoharum, which has cared about every detail involving the promotion. And about music – I recommend just listen to it. I think that everyone can find in it something interesting.
What comes with HOARFROST, any new material ready to be put out soon? Any new surprises with the new opus?
I have many plans, unfortunately, time and everyday life doesn’t allow me realize everything I want. I have to resign from some things, and some things have to wait for their moment. But presently limited release appears by Exploratory Drilling Productions. It will be recording of concert I played in 2009, in Enniskillen, Ireland. Besides, there are the split Hoarfrost and Polish project Multipoint Injector. When mastering was finished, we look for a label for this material. I also have invitations for two albums with remixes. And I slowly try on to make my new material. I have also other plans, but I had better not to talk about them at this moment
How perfectionist are you when creating music or going to studio? Does perfection a limitation or a reality based in conformism?
I always try my albums sound just I have previously planned. It is natural, that everyone have their own visions about their sound. I usually work on many compositions at the same time, but only some of them go to album. It doesn’t mean that others go to trash. I work on them as long as the effect is satisfying. The primary concept is sometimes quite different from the final effect.
Before closing with this effective conversation, we want to know more about if there is any idea behinds to express yourself through any other musical project or another form of art.?
All my attention is concentrated on Hoarfrost. I don’t plan, at this moment, create others music projects. Maybe the reason is the fact, that in Hoarfrost I haven’t determined any bounds so I can afford the music experiments. Therefore I don’t feel forced to composing music under other names. Except music I make some videos and visualizations for the concerts. I am also the author of video clips which were published on “Ground zero” and “Decline”. I think about Hoarfrost as comprehensive project, composed of music and image. I am also fascinating in photography but, until now, I haven’t tried myself in this arena. Maybe someday?
From our side was a pleasure to talk to you jouni.your final breaths here!!!
I would like to thank you for the interesting conversation. I also thank everyone, who assists Hoarfrost from the beginning until now. It is difficult to call everybody, because there are a lot of people. But – what is important – each of these persons has their own passion, own avocation. I wish everybody would be aligned in something in their life just like them.
November 2010