http://blogs.myspace.com/einsamvuk
1. First, give the congratulations by this new work that we think that's fantastic. Where does the idea of creating "Arkona" and give the name of this band? Speaking briefly us a bit about how you started, as was progressing, that problems you had...etc.
Thanks for the congratulations! The album hasn’t been released yet, it will appear only at the end of October.
I’d like to tell about it:
It’s the heaviest and complex album we’ve ever done.
We worked over the album at different studios, and we produced and recorded it by ourselves, as we did with the previous albums.
In some cases the recording process was organized not even at a studio: for example, to record a chorus, we had to rent a big hall and bring all the recording equipment there.
Also one of the things I can point out about the recording is that we did audio mixing using old analog equipment, which resulted in specific sound. It took us more time and nerves than digital mixing would have, but the sound became more 'warm' and massive.
The number of people who took part in recording as musicians exceeds 40 people. For the first time the band used a full-fledged chorus and a string quintet, and the special pearl of the album is the 15 minute song called 'Na Moyei Zemle' that describes the journey of a Slav across European lands; the musicians from such bands as Manegarm, Obtest, Skyforger, Menhir, and Heidevolk took part in its recording.
'Our' guests on this album include the members from such bands as Svarga (Сварга), Rarog (Рарогъ), Kalevala (Калевала), Tverd' (Твердь). Plus a big number of folk instruments the parts of which were performed by Vladimir Cherepovskiy and the new band member Vladimir 'Volk.'
As a result, we had the tracking of a big amount of audio tracks, so mixing took a lot of time.
Now, having it all behind our backs we can say we've done really huge work.
I believe it’s the best work by Arkona for now.
As it’s written in our official bio:
The roots of Arkona are to be searched for in the beginning of 2002, when the members of local pagan community "Vyatichi" – Maria "Scream" Arhipova and Alexander "Warlock" Korolyov decided to form a band, according to their ideology and musical tastes.
But if you want to know more details, I can tell you them.
In fact, all the musicians of the then-newborn Arkona band had played in my band ‘Krovavaya Mery’ (‘Bloody Mary’) for about a year, the style was heavy/power metal, sort of akin to Nightwish, and probably we would have continued this if our drummer, Alexander ‘Warlock’ Korolyov, hadn’t gotten into the history and beliefs of pre-Christian Russia. It was him who brought me along to the celebration of one of the most important Slavic holidays called Kupala, connected with summer solstice. It was held by one of the biggest pagan organizations, Circle of Pagan Tradition, and that was the place where I understood that I had found what I had been looking for since forever. There I underwent the ceremony of naming (I’ve been hiding my real name since then, only my closest people know it), my second birth happened.
Then my creative work changed its orientation, I put my beliefs and ideology into it.
If there were any problems, they were personal; the other musicians of my band didn’t agree with my decision to follow pagan steps, they liked the music of ‘Bloody Mary’ more; but nevertheless we managed to record our first demo ‘Rus’, I believe the fans are familiar with it.
2. What happened with the member Alexander "Warlock" Korolyov? And with Eugene Knyazev, Eugene Borzov, Bogatyryov Ilya and Olga Loginova? Why stopped the band name of be "Hyperborea"? What was for you miss the members of Arkona? How you did it for reborn to band?
Back then I came across a demo of a band called Hyperborea, it performed ballad folk-rock, so I decided to dismiss it. Well, if I had come across the records of numerous bands called Arkona, I would have dismissed this name too, but it didn’t happen, and, for example, I found out about the existence of the Polish Arkona only after the release of our first album.
The fist lineup of Arkona had a lot of organization problems and had no real status. We performed at 3 concerts. The 4th one didn’t happen, it was some night fest with 17-20 bands taking part, and we were the last, scheduled for 7 in the morning. As a result, my colleagues couldn’t bear it any longer, and they left me…
But nevertheless the recording of my first album was planned, and I turned to my colleagues from Nagathrond asking them to help record the first album. They also were the members of the famous in Russia band Rossomahaar, experienced and mature musicians.
Then everything was as swift as an arrow’s flight. Our guitarist Sergey ‘Lazar’ is a good manager, he is well-connected and knows how to work, and by 2005 our band drew big audiences.
I believe that the reason why Arkona’s what it is now, lies in the will of gods and good concurrence of circumstances.
3. We would like you to tell us a bit about your project Nargathrond, Do continue active this project? How much material has composed with this project? Since what year brings alive?
It’s not my project, it’s the project of our guitarist. He composes music for it, and I have a part only in the third album ‘Neisbezhnost’. Before it there were 2 albums: «Carnal Lust And Wolfen Hunger» (1999), «...For We Blessed This World With Plagues» (2002)
It existed before 2004, since then nothing has been done about it, and now Sergey seems to have lost interest in it.
4. Who composed the songs? How long does it usually take to compose a song? Do gives a lot of work the compositions or you're fast composing? How to you did in concert for play without a keyboard player or some other kind of musician, since the songs contain with some instruments that don't appear on the list of musicians?
All the creative work for Arkona is made by me, I compose music, texts, arrangements, even drum breaks and guitar solos. It’s my child, I form it the way I need it.
The process of composing depends on my mood, and if I have inspiration I can make a song from beginning to the end in a day. The program-sequencer called Cackewalk pro audio 9.0 helps a lot, I write in it all my music and arrangements.
At the concerts we manage (-1), the parts that are not performed live are produced by a portastudio. It’s a common practice, many bands use it when session musicians can’t be afforded or there’s no possibility to invite them for live shows.
5. Why recorded in the biography of the album "Vo Slavu Velikim" as the most complicated and varied? We would like to inform us a little bit about the famous collaborator to Arkona named Cherepovskiy Vladimir. Who's exactly? How did you find this musician? Still currently collaborating with you? Will also is with you in the lives?
In the bio there’s a more accurate definition – ‘at that time’, because exactly at that time it was the most varied and complicated, and the next album, ‘Ot Serdtsa K Nebu’, was far more complicated, but it all pales before our upcoming album ‘Goi, Rode, Goi!’ That’s where we unfolded down to the limit.
The person who is responsible for all ethnic instruments that you can hear at our recent albums is called Vladimir Cherepovskiy (bands: «Pfeyffer» «Los Gaiteros de Moscu», «Coda.») He can play many wind instruments, some of them sound at our albums. For example, gaita gallega, small pipe, hurdy-gurdy, tin whistle, low whistle, sopilka, zhaleyka, flute, okarina, zafun.
We got acquainted with Vladimir at one of his performances, back then he played with a folk band called ‘Mervent,’ in one of Moscow clubs. We were impressed by his talent to elicit sounds from such a big number of instruments and immediately suggested collaborating with us.
Vladimir was a session musician all that time, he didn’t like heavy music. We had only one live concert with him, it can be watched on the DVD ‘Noch’ Velesova.’
Now at concerts we collaborate with his apprentice called Vladimir ‘Volk.’
6. Your new album, entitled "Noch Velesova" has been for us, a great album that reaches highlight of Arkona but we would like to know, what are your views on this new job? Everything went as wanted or had some mistake or some kind of complaint about this new work? Was it well received by your fans? Do you have raised presenting this CD, nationally or internationally?
We’re very happy that it was released and people liked it. As I remember, at that concert there was a problem in the beginning: the man who was responsible for scene decorating got late, so the schedule went awry, and we started basically without sound check. But we coped with it and the release saw the world. The fans were satisfied.
This work is widespread because it’s released and distributed by Napalm Records.
7. Where did you had come to play in lives and where would want get to play? Do you want to give a show, here in Spain? What you have lives proposed for this new year? Do you have some kind of problem or new ideas to this new stage? What does it mean for you tap RagnaröK Festival with bands like Battlelore, Haggard, Primordial, Turisas, Skyforcer, XIV Dark Centuries ... etc.?
To tell the truth, it’s best to perform at a concert where only one band performs – yours. This makes it possible to make everything your way and perform for the audience that came specially to see you.
But at the same time I like festivals, they let us get to know wonderful bands including the ones you listed.
We’ve never performed in Spain, but sometime, I believe, we’ll visit your country too.
8. Already signed with a record company? If not so, What kind of label you're looking? If you have any label expected, Would you have or can have soon one? Would can you speak us on this label and you are glad of have this record label? What will have Arkona for this new year?
We have a contract for 4 albums with Napalm Records. By the way, the previous album ‘Ot Serdtsa K Nebu’ was released by them.
Up to the end of this year we have only one concert planned, the presentation of our new album ‘Goi, Rode, Goi,’ and in the autumn of 2010 we hope to make a tour and visit all the places where we are expected.
9. What's mean for you the ancient Slavic culture? What's the nature for you? What do you think on the little important that's being given now to our great mother nature? What does it mean for you in paganism? We would like to put a question on today, the plight of this beautiful animal that is the wolf who suffers possible extinction ... What do you think about this disaster that an animal as beautiful as are the wolves are losing it in our lands?
These are my roots, my blood, my history, that shouldn’t be forgotten.
A pagan is somebody who lives by the rules of harmony with surrounding nature. From ancient times our ancestors got from nature everything: trees to build houses, animal meat to feed oneself and one’s family, animal fur to keep warm in the cold time of the year, because without this men couldn’t have survived.
When a fisherman went fishing, he bowed to mother-river, a hunter bowed to a forest, and never our ancestors did take more than needed, they didn’t kill for fun.
Nature was generous to us, it appreciated the respect and solicitude that men showed, using its gifts, and its resources didn’t run out. People, wolves, deer… everybody was in harmony with each other…
Now, when the link with the surrounding world is lost, when rivers and the air are poisoned and forests get cut down for profit, many live creatures die, because their habitat is getting destroyed.
Wolves are the most widespread species on Earth, they exist almost everywhere, even in deserts and the Extreme North. By the way, dogs’ genetic code is quite similar to wolves’, so we can say they are wolves of some sort too. At the global scale the extinction of wolves is not going to happen soon.
But nevertheless the existence of many types of wolves, for example the Arctic Wolf or the Arabian Wolf, is under threat. And such types as Japanese the Honshu and Hokkaido Wolf, or the Newfoundland Wolf have disappeared forever… I believe people should keep that in mind!
10. And to finish this interview we would like to ask, do you want to add any comment, statement or make any kind of information for your fans who read this interview?
Care about nature and your family. Remember your roots! Honor your ancestors and the culture of your people! Glory to Gods!
Rising Darkness