1. Iscuron was born in 2020 as a one man band, why did you decide to create Iscuron? Why did you choose the name Iscuron and what does it refer to?
I’m in undergroud black metal since about 20 years and i have also played in multi-member bands, however Iscuron is a solo project by design, my goal was to have the full governance of any musical and atmospherical component, including production. Iscuron means “in the darkness” in the local dialect of the remote place in the mountains where i leave. I like this name since it represents the mood of my music and it’s locally linked to the place where i come from.
2. Shortly after forming Iscuron, he released his first album “The Nothing Has Defeated Atreyu”, an album that roughly gathers influences from atmospheric, folk and medieval classic black, sprinkled with electronic and symphonic elements, however this first album somehow In a way, it also seems to be the result of many years of work. How did you approach the composition and recording process of this first album and how long were you working on it? How would you define the sound of the album for those who haven't heard it yet?
I believe that in your question you described my sound better than myself could do. I can add that for me the main goal is the overall atmosphere.I’m aware that both my execution and production are far from being perfect, however i don’t mind as far as the outcome gets close to the atmospheric goal that i have in mind. I’ve been working on the first album for about one year. Not that long then, however it was during Covid-19 lockdown, in Italy has been very long, that probably helped in being very productive in a relatively short time. Also, doing everything by yourself helps in speeding up the whole process.
3. With a short space of time you have released your second album “The Pursuit of Unhappiness” which in some way maintains the essence of the first album but better defines the differentiating elements, how do you think the sound has evolved between these two albums and where? Have you found the inspiration for the composition? How is your way of working in the process of composing and recording your music and what brands of instruments do you use throughout the process?
I didn’t actually play to evolve my sound when composing the second album. I think the difference from the first album comes from a physiological technical improvement of mine in arrangements and production. To be honest with you i’m still struggling with the outcome of the sound of “The Pursuit of Unhappines”: in fact i feel like it came out “cleaner” when i actually wnated it to be “rawer”...it’s kind of disappointing. The inspiration and the composition process for every song is always the same. Either a place, a book generate an atmosphere in my mind that takes the form of a melody. I play that melody as a basic guitar riff not to forget it. From there i usually chronologically compose bass, drums, keyboards, classical/folk instruments, guitar and finally vocals. Usually i compose, record and give a first mix to a song at the same time, one individual riff after another. This may sound weird, however it is a priority for me to deep dive into the atmosphere i have in mind in that moment and translate it into music as soon as possible before it fades. I try to concentrate as much as possible the working time on an individual song.
4. A remarkable aspect in your music and your lyrics is their medieval theme. Where do you get the inspiration to deal with these themes in your lyrics and why do you consider them important to deal with? Do the lyrics adapt to the music or vice versa?
Since i was a child i loved both actual and fantasy medieval history, litterature, imagery. Living in Europe i had the opportunity to visit medieval towns, castles and ruins during all my life all across the region. Where i live it is enough to walk out the door and look around, signs of middle age are always there, you don’t even need to search for them. My lyrics are inspired by feelings and things that are happening today but i try to express them through medieval inspired metaphores. I think that feelings, situations, social structure, values are always the same through the historical ages, what we call “progress” are just minor temporary “nuances”. I find the middle age as universally significant and symbolic in its essential, simple and explicit structure and then perfect to use for this purpose. In my composing process music comes first, then the lyrics are adapting to the music.
5. A little unlike the first album that had a more minimalist cover for this second album, the work of Silvana Massa Art is much richer in nuances, how did the possibility of working with Silvana Massa Art come about? album cover and how it relates to its content?
For the first album i choosed an existing artwork of a Russian artist that i felt it was fitting with my music and i still think so and love that artwork. The approach to the cover of second album was different. The artwork was created tailor made by Silvana starting from some specific inputs of mine that she perfectly summarized and improved. Aside black metal i’m a “Dungeon Sinth” listener and i appreciated a lot Silvana’s works for some other artists in that environment. The cover painting includes quotes of titles and lyrics of 3 songs of the album: the boat (from the titletrack lyrics), the village and the monastery. I thought that this “cinematic” approach would have contributed to the atmosperic consistency and to anticipate a glimpse of the atmosphere to the listener. As a listener covers are super important for me, a key element of an album.
6. One man bands are no strangers to the world of black metal, do you feel the need for Iscuron to remain faithful to the non-incorporation of other members in order to develop your own recognizable sound for you?
Absolutely, Iscuron will remain a solo project. I’m accepting the limits that this choice means.
7. For the edition of this second album you have had the record label Vacula Productions in digital format, how did the possibility of working with Vacula Productions for the edition of the album arise? Have you received offers to make some kind of physical edition of the album ?
Actually i got in contact and deal with Vacula Productions with the goal of releasing phisical CDs of both the first and the second album. However Vacula was based in Ucraine (they now moved to Portugal) and my CDs were supposed to be produced and released exactly when the war in Ucraine started in the beginning of this year. The war blew up all plans. I still hope that Vacula Productions will soon go back to be able to produce phisical supports, including mine, i know they are working to start again all operations.
8. How were your beginnings in music: first concerts you attend, first albums you buy? What happened in your lives pushed you to want to be musicians?
I started with classical heavy metal, the first album i purchased was a tape: “No prayer for the dying” of Iron Maiden. I bought it because i liked the “horror” cover, i never heard Irons or heavy metal before. Shortly i moved to death metal becasue it was more extreme and my first death metal album was “Covenant” of Morbid Angel. I probably started to play music because of Trey Azagthoth guitar style. Finally “Hvis lyset tar oss” of Burzum changed my musical life that became totally dedicated to Black Metal for the time being.
9. What album represents for you the essence of black metal? What recent albums have you bought?
“Hvis lyset tar oss” of Burzum is THE black metal album for me. Together with “Filosofem” Varg Vikerness managed to early disrupt an already disruptive new born genre. Recently i am liking very much a band from Switzerland called Aara.
10. What future plans do you have for Iscuron in terms of upcoming releases or reissues?
I’m currently working on composing the third full lenght album that i hope to release both in digital and physical format in 2023. I hope to be able to issue the first 2 albums in physical format before the end of 2022. I trust Vacula Productions and obviousy what happened it was not their fault.
11. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Iscuron fans, this is the place. I hope the questions are to your liking.
Listen and play black metal the way you like, however don’t get influenced by mainstream and trends. Consistency and authenticity will be remembered, conformists will just pass by.Thank you very much for this space and for your interest, i liked the interview very much.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario