15 Questions to Void of Coil
TobiasI’m fine, thanks. Now I’m at home with my girlfriend, enjoying a coffee and very interested in this interview.
What’s on your schedule right now?
I’m awaiting the release of my first album “Deadly winter snow” in December. Will be out here in Argentina and Spain in a limited edition 500 numbered copies. This album is the first part of a trilogy. So basically I’m waiting and composing the next two future albums.
How would you describe and rate the music scene of the country you are currently living in?
Well, I don’t know if this is only in my country, but here, we are constantly discovering new artists, but they remain in the spotlight just for a couple of years. Nothing new and original. But why do these artists only manage to stay on top for two years? Cos they make music for the youth... and the youth is in constant movement.
I really miss the bands that play with their heart and soul, those bands that are giving their best, without observing trends or fashions. Of course, when I was young. I discovered Heavy Metal in his stage of growing up, but it has survived all trends, because it is music written from the heart. So, I can rate the music scene in my country as POOR.
Do you see yourself as part of a certain tradition or as part of a movement?
I see Void of Coil as a part of the horror movie soundtrack’s tradition into the atmospheric dark ambient movement. So I think that it represents an interesting mix of both. I make visual sounds with a story contained within them, where people can imagine different situations based on these sounds. My album “Deadly winter snow”, which will be out soon, is a concept work about the story of a strange man living along in the Siberian Mountains. Through Void of Coil’s music you can imagine, feel and hear a about this man’s life.
What, would you say, are the factors of your creativity? What stimulates you to write music?
I write this kind of music cos I need to get out my dark and deep feelings. Void of Coil is the dark side of me. I write about the deepest and darkest feelings. I must say that night is the most important factor of my creations. I always write music at night.
How would you describe your method of composing?
I start experimenting with some atmospheres, with computer programs, bass and synths, trying to recreate the images I have in my head, recording ambient sounds and embedding them into the track. Then, I close my eyes and listen very carefully. If what I hear produces in me a deep and mysterious effect, it will become part of a new album.
In which way, would you say, is your cultural background reflected in your work?
Honestly, my cultural background has nothing to do with my music. There is nothing that is reflected in my work.
How do you see the relationship between sound and composition?
I constantly experiment with sounds. Real sounds, which are nothing but timbre on their own, but mixed with different atmospheres will become part of a composition. Creating many ways to transport the listener to different times and places, real or imaginary. If I’d merely gather many sounds and record all of them together, it would be very difficult to see in there a composition, but those same sounds, mixed with various synthesized and atmospheric textures, go to form a composition.
How strictly do you separate improvising and composing?
Not so strictly. Perhaps in many cases improvisation is just the beginning, when the musician starts without a specific idea. After that, improvisation is turning into composition.
What does the term „new“mean to you in connection with music?
I think that in the world of music, everything has already been created. It is very difficult for me to find something “new” or different. So for me, the term “new” is basically the kind of music that transcends everything that has already been done.
Do you personally enjoy multimedia as an enrichment or do you feel that it is leading away from the essence of what you want to achieve?
I really think that multimedia is a different tool to achieve what I have in mind. Of course that the old composer’s era was more difficult. We are privileged in this technical world.
What constitutes a good live performance in your opinion? What’s your approach to performing on stage?
The next year I’ll perform in two Argentinean pubs, with my computer and a synth player. I've created a short film taking different natural images, which will serve as visual effect on Void of Coil’s music. I think that the most important thing for a live performance is the shocking impact on the audience, musically and visually. When the people enjoy a complete show.
How, would you say, could non-mainstream forms of music reach wider audiences without sacrificing their soul?
Being honest with oneself, creating music with heart. But not always work that way.
You are given the position of artistic director of a festival. What would be on your program?
Nothing which would turn me into a millionaire. In this short time I’ve found some really good international artists, but they haven’t gathered all that many fans arround them. So this festival, “The underground monsters of rock” would be a failure, but I’d enjoy it fully.
Many artists dream of a “magnum opus”. Do you have a vision of what yours would sound like?
Like Beethoven's ninth symphony ...mmm I don’t think so.
Homepage:
Void of Coil
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