Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: I want to thank you guys for taking part in this interview. For anyone who doesn’t know give a brief history on Beyond Sensory Experience, why did you choose the name and was there another name before this, and discuss your previous endeavors ie: Mz412, and your solo projects?
Drakh/Meizter:The foundation of Beyond Sensory Experience was formed only a few weeks after the two of us (Drakh and K. Meizter) first met. This was in 2001 and the name was set later that year to reflect our musical and thematic vision for the project. We then embarked on a long recording session that in the end became the 2003 Old Europa Cafe trilogy. After the compilation Korrelations in 2004 we moved on to the legendary Swedish Cold Meat Industry label to release another set of 3 albums over the years 2005-2008. Now BSE have just signed with Cyclic Law and will embark on a new journey starting with the album Modern Day Diabolists out in late 2011.
Before BSE - from the 90’s and onwards - Drakh has been involved in several Swedish acts such as MZ.412 and Nordvargr/Drakh. In 2010 his first solo release as Drakh (Bethlehem) came out on Essence Music. K. Meizter’s early music projects were based around experimenting with digital sounds using Atari and Amiga computers. Since BSE formed, he has released 3 solo albums (the latest on Old Europa Cafe in 2009) and collaborated with the Polish industrial nostalgic Horologium.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: All of your albums are based on different themes, what was the message behind your first three releases (Tortuna, Urmula and Ratan) do they all correspond and why did you decide to record and release them in such a short period of time?
Drakh/Meizter:These albums make up the 2003 Trilogy which is based on BSE’s three cornerstones – Music/Life/Numbers – and was part of our initial plan for BSE.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: I read that “Tortuna” was created during the Nordic absence of sun. Please elaborate on how that helped with the creative process of the record?
Drakh/Meizter:The absence of light promotes focus and creativity. This could perhaps be hard to imagine without having experienced this type of cold darkness.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: How did the idea come to make the DVD “Dimension Upsaliensis”? Was this your idea, the labels idea or someone else’s idea?
Drakh/Meizter:Dimension Upsaliensis was recorded in 2004 to add a visual dimension to the 2003 trilogy and is also a tribute to the town we lived in at the time, Uppsala. The film was screened at The Uppsala Short Film Festival the same year.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: With the “Pursuit of Pleasure” is the idea behind that album about the animal instinct of the sexual experience, the emotions that lie beneath, or both?
Drakh/Meizter:Pursuit of Pleasure is not meant to be an explicit album, it’s dealing with the concept of pleasure which of course is very diverse and individual. The album is the first in our CMI trilogy concerning life.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: On the album “The Dull Routine of Existence” the album basically describes life as being mundane and repetitious. Do you guys still feel the same way about life now or have opinions changed since then?
Drakh/Meizter:The Dull Routine of Existence is the second part of our Life Trilogy moving from pleasures to mundanities which we believe is an equally important ingredient of life.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: The album “No Lights in our Eyes” seems very sullen and dark. Was the album based upon death, loneliness and the notion that there is no life after death?
Drakh/Meizter:No Lights In Our Eyes is the third and final part of the CMI trilogy and deals with the ultimate end point of life that we all share – the way to it, the event itself and what comes/don't come after it.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: All of your albums were either recorded during the absence of light or have to do with light being nonexistent. What does the absence of light represent and what does it mean to you guys as artists and individuals?
Drakh/Meizter:Through empirical studies we have discovered that when Sweden goes from perpetual darkness to a few months of light, creativity makes a halt.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: You guys have done several different collaborations with Nordvargr, Kenji Siratori, and Moljebka Pvlse. Do you feel that collaborating with different artists adds a different depth and opens you guys up to new ideas as artists?
Drakh/Meizter:Collaborations are a way for us to extend the BSE platform in new directions – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: What do you guys all use when recording your albums? Do you rely on synth programs and keyboards or do you use some guitars and bass on the recordings as well?
Drakh/Meizter:We use a very broad spectrum of audio tools; from Albanian two-string Çiftelias to state-of-the-art software.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: Is it hard to recreate your recordings in live shows? Do you guys use a lot of visuals in your live shows?
Drakh/Meizter:Backtrack plus improvs using keyboards and computers make up the foundation of the show, and we always use a video backdrop to try and capture the general atmosphere of the show.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: I know you guys are working on a new album. What is the title and when is it coming out?
Drakh/Meizter:It’s entitled Modern Day Diabolists and will be out on Cyclic Law in Nov/Dec this year.
Ashley /Joe:Cryptic Inscriptions: Anything else you want to say to the reader as far as shows, recordings etc?
Drakh/Meizter:Keep a regular eye on www.bse.se for the latest developments.
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