Black Plagve/Malignant Artist Hypsiphrone Interview is up
1. For most of my reader this will be
the 1st time they heard of Hypsiphrone . Tell how the project came to
be?
Hypsiphrone was conceived
almost three years ago, when I felt the need to manifest into sound a
certain concept I had in my mind, very abstract but intense. It
seemed that it was already there complete by itself, although I
didn't know that at the moment. But
as soon
as I started recording everything
fell immediately into place and every new idea that sprang into
my mind
harmonized perfectly with what
I
had
already
recorded.
2.Hypsiphrone
seems to blur the lines of Black metal, Doom, Noise and Industrial
music how did this sound come to happen?
As I already said the concept needed
only the suitable medium in order to be expressed properly and since
I am quite acquainted with these genres, my ideas had to merge with
the suitable aspect of sound so as to evoke a certain feeling. I am a
fan of many diverse musical genres and I have no inhibitions in
merging one with the other if it helps me complete
the puzzle of my vision. The
only thing that worried me was whether the
result would be successful or not.
3. Your Current
release is on Black Plagve home to Sewer Goddess how did you sign to
this fantastic sub label of Malignant?
I was always a great fan of Malignant
and that was why I got in touch with Jason through MySpace. When he
told me that he heard my project and asked me if I was interested in
releasing it through his label I felt more surprised than ever, since
Hypsiphrone was a completely unknown project, without even a single
demo! Needless to say I accepted immediately! Without his faith in
Hypsiphrone and his professional attitude none of this would have
happened. Our collaboration was flawless in every way and if it
wasn't for him and Vitriol, who did the artwork and some of the vocal
parts, Hypsiphrone would probably be almost nothing now...
4.
So Hypsiphrone perform live being a solo project or do you leave it
to studio for all you do?
That is something I have yet to decide.
I have no objections in playing live but it surely won't be an easy
thing for me to do, since I have to work a lot on the arrangement of
the sound on stage and use some more musicians, so that I don't have
to rely only on prerecorded layers of music. But all depends on my
desire to do it. If I feel that it is neccesary for me and I get the
chance to do it, it will be done.
5. Is there a theme
or story line behind the release And The Void Shall Pierce Their
Eyes?
Certainly. The whole project was
created for this reason. From my personal point of view it refers to
worship and ecstasy, though not to any particular deity, other than
what inspired me to manifest this sound. As Aleister Crowley puts it
“That which
causes us to create is our true father and mother; we create in our
own image, which is theirs”.
And for me the means to feel this ecstasy was through these
soundscapes and these particular themes. It had to do with plunging
in the abyss of my own self, manifesting what I found there and using
it as explanatory to the actual abstract meaning of the soundscapes.
It is obviously considered abhorrent or sick by
some, but if it was identical with the mundane none of us would have
the need to transmute it into sound or listen to it. On the other
hand the whole album deals with the acceptance that these things are
around us and in us, and their knowledge really turns one's world
upside down, even
though most
people want to convince themselves otherwise.
6. What's your
thoughts on the current digital age for underground artists? Does it
help or hurt with so many free download and social media outlets
to over expose a new artist before they have time to develop?
On one hand it is something positive,
since many bands and especially undeground ones
have the means to become known and spread their music. On the
other hand when there are so many releases appearing everyday most of
them go unnoticed, and some of them surely
have to be very good. Also it hurts most of the labels
a lot, which are created by people who love this underground
sound and try to keep it alive regardless of any financial profit.
Now concerning the fact that artists are exposed before they have
time to develop, I believe it is mostly their own decision, no one is
obligated to release anything if they don't want to. But apart from
all these, the most interesting thing in my opinion is that through
all the social network pages artists and audience
can communicate directly and more easily than in
the past, when the only way to get
in touch with someone was through regular
post.
7. Do you feel Myspace and Facebook are
all bands need today to promote themselves or would you like to
someday have a proper website and digital outlet just for
Hypsiphrone?
Surely these social networks help a lot
for promotion for all the obvious reasons, but I certainly want at
some point to create a proper website for Hypsiphrone, that expresses
also aesthetically what the project is all about and not just some
webpage with a common design for all users.
8. Where
do you see Hypsiphrone heading in future releases?
I believe it is a little bit too early
to comment on that. I don't know how the spirit will move me, but all
the key elements of the debut album will be there.
9.
I like to ask to to all I interview. What music/ sounds out
there is impressing you currently?
I listen to
a lot of music and many diverse genres as I've already said.
These days I am listening to Rasalhauge by Malignant Records, some of
the latest releases of Cyclic Law and Kalpamantra and a lot of
Hermann Nitsch's music.
10 Your from Greece what is the
scene for Extreme like in 2011 I know at one time there was a huge
Black/ Death metal scene going on..
There are still many good bands around,
some of them quite interesting and with fresh ideas. I don't know a
lot of people from the scene personally,
since I am a bit of a recluse type myself. I was a huge fan of the
whole early 90's extreme scene in Greece, one of the contemporary
bands that I enjoy listening to
these days
is "Sun of Nothing".
11. Do
you think Image and presentation are as important in Occult or
Blackened themed music. I see Corpse paint, Blurred Images, Grim
feels etc if done right add so much to the final ideals?
Sure, image is very important, even the
absence of image is somehow a declaration of the theme surrounding a
project. But image as with everything else is there to enrich and
accompany the music, explain it in visual terms and help those who
resonate to your stigma get attracted to your work. But to focus more
on the presentation neglecting the music, falls to pure
commercialism.
12. If you could sum up what
Hypsiphrone sound was in 3 words what 3 words would you use?
Ecstasy – Blood –
Annihilation.
13. Thank you for the time any close
thoughts here..
Thank you very much for the interview,
keep up the good work and support the underground.
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