Joe/Cryptic Inscriptions: I like to thank you Simon for taking the time to take part in this interview. Give a brief history of Atrium Carceri, the name bio etc. What made you decide to form the band and are you involved in any other musical projects besides Atrium Carceri?
Simon/Atrium Carceri: Atrium Carceri has from the start just been an outlet for me to express my inner vision and experiences from the start. I am involved in quite numerous acts besides Atrium Carceri, but we are in a point on the timeline where single-mindedness is cherished and so I refrain from guiding anyone to my other projects. Those who are free of mind are free to experience my ups and not just my enlightened downs.
Joe: I noticed that most of your albums were released yearly with the exception of the gap between Kapnobati and Pthail. I noticed you took another almost 2 year gap to release your newest album Reliquaie, was there a particular reason for this? Also why did you choose this title for the record?
Simon: Well CMI was on ice for awhile, but I actually completed a shorter album last year but after much consideration and listening I decided that I would have to release longer or album to fully portray my experiences. When nearing completion I felt that I could either release a double CD with 43 minutes on each CD, or fine-tune the album down to one fully packed CD. I did the latter and Reliquiae now spans 19 tracks. This decision felt the most fair to everyone. I also had to wrap my head around the entire theme of the album quite a bit. The title Reliquiae seemed fitting for an album revolving around the destruction of time, beliefs and the ego.
Joe: Do all of your albums have different concepts or do they all follow each other in one long strange bizarre story?
Simon: Both, they are all part of the same dwindling storyline and each album is set after the previous one in "time" if you will. The earlier albums were more physical and horror like I guess, because the physical senses are the first wall that needs to be razed to reach the next level of awareness and the more we move down the timeline (as do I personally, as this is in much a reflection of own journeys) we come to the acceptance of reality as an illusion and breaking down of the lies that surround us, accepting the true shattered self, being reborn into a higher state and seeing the worlds in a completely different light and so on. If you listen to the albums in order there is this sense of progression of thought, like an unveiling of your own mind. At least for me.
Joe: I love the artwork to all your releases they really coincide with the actual soundscapes being portrayed. Apocalyptic, dark and leaving you with a feeling of loneliness and depression. Do you put the artwork together or does someone else do the art for the albums?
Simon: I put the artwork together, they are as important to me as the music in many ways and there are a lot of hints on to what is going on in the music in the artwork. For example in one booklet there is a depiction of Sumerian statues looking up at a cross, the new replacement symbol of power. "The pupil is now the master"
Joe: What gear have you been using to create your soundscapes? Has the gear usage changed over the years or did you stick to the same basic setup? Are you more into hardware based gear or software based gear or both?
Simon: I have used a wide variety of gear over the years; I think that the hardware-software discussion has been over for years as almost every piece of music nowadays are converted to digital bits in the end. What can be discussed is the emulation of hardware through software, which I think is getting pretty good as of late. But the most important part of gear for me are microphones which I use a lot.
Joe: If you could put your soundscapes in a movie which movie would it be and why?
Simon: My own…
Joe: Has Atrium Carceri ever played live, and if so has it been easy or difficult to recreate the soundscapes live?
Simon: I have played live a long time ago, I did not find the soundscapes that hard to recreate but the setting is just wrong when playing live sets with AC. On stage with spotlights and a crowd drinking beer, that is not how I myself enjoy experiencing music, I prefer a darkened room with no visual interference. I know a lot of my listeners share this kind of escapist tendencies and while other forms of music might be taken lightly, AC is not meant to be. It is meant to be dissolved carefully and whole. My test listeners are forbidden to use most senses except hearing when I do my experimentations and studies.
Joe: What’s the future of Atrium Carceri? Also what do you hope to achieve with the new album, and if you could change something on one of the past releases what would it be?
Simon: Although I have a good perspective on the future, I cannot really know what lurks around the corner but let's say this, I have yet more to tell. I hope to awaken peoples’ minds and greet both the sleepers and the ones already awake in the collective mind. If I could change something on my past releases I guess maybe go back and re-master Seishinbyouin and Cellblock, but then again they are what they are and reflect my experiences in their place in the crooked timeline.
Joe: If Atrium Carceri’s music was a painting what would it look like?
Simon: The imploding big bang.
Joe: Would you describe Atrium Carceri as the ruins of a city with no survivors or would you describe it as wandering the icy cold winter night?
Simon: Definitely a ruined city, the survivors are there though... they just don't know it yet.
Joe: Once again thank you Simon for taking part in the interview. Any last words to the readers about recordings, releases, shows etc?
Simon: Be free brothers and sisters!
No comments:
Post a Comment