Mr Alphavarg: Kromlek

Greetingsfrom The Meaner Project! How has the year been treating the band?

mr alphavarg: Namaste Anish andKaushik! First of all I wanna thank you for taking the time and the interest.Well this year hasn’t been marking a special phase in KromleK’s evolution yetthan 2009 did. My return in early 2009 and a lot of great, successful showsmade 2009 very special, beside the fact that it was our 5^thanniversary. In 2010 we also had some special moment like our first gig ever inSwitzerland which was a full success for all of us. But the main mark of thisyear is still to come: the release of our 2^nd full length albumcalled “Finis terræ”.

 Forpeople who haven’t heard about you, Can you tell us in detail what ‘Kromlek’ isall about? The concept of the band and ideologies.

mr alphavarg: The current conceptof the forthcoming album can be understood as URBAN PAGAN METAL, but to put itin a nutshell KromleK is about individualism. It all started in 2004 with acommon passion for metal music in general and a special focus on pagan metalwhich has always been one of my favorite subgenres. The very core is still andwill always be paganism but we differ ourselves from any scene dogma. Ourideology is the CHANGE, but without banning our roots.

 

 Howwould you best describe your sound in terms of a genre?

mr alphavarg: That’s not easybecause of the vast diversity but I have a try: We combine the bombast ofsymphonic metal with the catchy melodies of pagan metal, spice it all up withelectronic elements the like of sounds you find in industrial metal and graftit with atmospheric, progressive Melodic Black Metal.  

Howimportant are lyrics in your song-making process or approach to song-making?How does the band relate Man’s modern existence with universal pagan aspects inits lyrics?

mr alphavarg: Interestingquestion and definitely not easy to answer briefly. The lyrics are indeed asimportant as the music itself. Even though the lyrical concept is of littleinterest in a live performance, it is even more important for the albumconcept.

You mentioned thesongwriting-process. Well, to insure that the lyrics fit perfectly to the songI always start writing the lyrics when the song is completed musically.

The last part of your questiondescribes exactly the very core of what we call “Urban Pagan”. It is a simplefact that most of us are born and raised – and thus formed and influenced – inan urban situation. Everywhere around the most of us realize the outcome ofmodern society called “civilization”. I mean the quintessence of today’sproblem is that the more human beings live together in confined space thelonelier is the individual. My aim is not to protect the nature, because naturehas always been able to protect herself. This one lesson everybody has tolearn: Life will prevail, man will not. Man is not able to destroy neither theplanet nor life itself… and if it takes thousands of billions of years untilthe first flower will grow again, okay, so it will take that time! I want toawake the consciousness that Kali Yuga is already there.

I also use the term universalpaganism because the truth is not owned only by Norse tribes or Hindus orCelts. The truth is universal and that is why I use different mythologies,philosophies and cryptic images.

   

Giveus an insight into how you create your music.

mr alphavarg: Well, there’s ourcongenial duo consisting of NhéVanN [solo guitars] and HrísDólgr [keys]. Thesetwo guys are responsible for every KromleK track ever. It’s difficult for me toexplain because I’m not directly involved in the composing process but mostlyit works like one of them brings on a new melody or riff an during rehearsalsthey cultivate a complete song. That process can last for months as happenedright now for the forthcoming album.

Tellus in detail, about the evolution of your music from the release of your debutE.p KVELDRIÐUR right throughyour new album. Any changes in styles and moods?

mr alphavarg: EVOLUTION is indeedthe perfect word. That is exactly how I see it and want it to be seen. Thereare so many bands out there covering themselves from output to output. That wasnever my intention nor of the other members in KromleK. As mentioned above, theconcept of KromleK is expansion and change. With KVELDRIÐUR we released a verycatchy, merry and “party-compatible” output. The Humppa-tracks dominated theplaylist which was exactly what we wanted at that time: creating a trollishatmosphere like the early Finntroll tracks.

Then, two years later in 2007came our first album called “Strange rumours… distant tremors” on which one canobviously hear the difference: Our strong wish has ever been to break out ofthat image given by others namely KromleK’s a mere Finntroll-clone and partyband. But don’t misunderstand me here, our development from folky Humppa toserious, epic Pagan Metal was not forced by ourselves because of the mentionedimage, it was a natural evolution. Both of the composers always write the songsthey want to and not they have to in order to keep an image.

Right now “Finis terræ” is on theway and I got to state that this album will prove the potential and varietyKromleK is able to. There are so many different styles included that one canreally say this album is universal. Of course there will be songs on it fanswould describe as “typical KromleK” compared to “Sr…dt” but I can assureeveryone that  there will be a whole bunch of surprises nobody can andwould have expected.

Tellus more about your new album. What do you hope to achieve with its release?What is the approach that you’ve put into this album?

mr alphavarg: As alreadymentioned above the most obvious fact is the diversity in styles. Our “hope” isthat this output reaches more listeners; it is not only a tool to satisfy fansbut to open up our music for other people who are probably not into paganmetal. But I think I’m already answering the question below so let’s leave thisissue for some general details. “Finis terræ” will include an introduction and13 tiles with the following names:

ICreation's crowning glory
II Angrlióð
III Nekropolis’ Fall
IV the Cocoon
V Mantikor
VI Manjushri aus mir
VII Bastion
VIII Moritvrvs immortalis
IX Ad rvbiconem

X UrbanWarTune

XI yetunnamed instrumental track
XII Metropolitan Roots 

XIIIFinis terroris 

Therewill also be some very special guests on some of the tracks. So stay tuned, itwill be worth it!

  

 Do you think there’s a considerablemarket worldwide for the kind of music that you guys make?

mr alphavarg: As I said that isour “hope”. But I’m definitely convinced that it is possible. The potential isgiven and the only thing missing is someone who’s able to spread it as wide aswe would like it to.

 How does Kromlek’s music incorporatelanguages like Sanskrit, German, Swedish and Latin? Tell us more about yourpersonal interest in Buddhism and Hinduism. How did it all start?

mr alphavarg: For me this hasbeen natural since I wrote my very first text. I think that has to do with mypersonal credo that everything should be as authentic as possible. And itunderlines the universality. So when I’m dealing with lyrics about Kali Yuga itis just natural for me to use Sanskrit, the same with lyrics about crossing theRubicon – it feels just right to include Latin verses. Swedish seems to be arelic from the very beginnings of KromleK. My first two texts ever written forthis band [Han som rider & Träskens näve] were in Swedish and I kept thatuntil today just because I like writing lyrics in that language. German is mymother tongue and I simply love experimenting with the harsh spelling.Sometimes German supports the “impact” much better than English.

Haha, well, mr alphavarg’sinterest in Buddhism and Hinduism finally caused the split with KromleK in2008. There are two different aspects I think. The one is what I’m interestedin and what I like to deal with in my lyrical concept such as for exampleNorse, Greek and Roman mythology, urban aspects, social tensions and so on. Thesecond aspect is what I personally and individually believe in. And that is acomplex mesomerism of Buddhism and Hinduism that – of course – influences mylyrical concept as well. But this second aspect is just mr alphavarg, notKromleK. Through the “negotiations” about my return we all agreed that I canuse these influences in the future, too, but not only them. In 2008 I tried toreform the whole band into a cult-like ethno metal band with only Hindu andBuddhist influences. That did not work because I ignored the wishes of theother band mates. In the final analysis it’s all about compromises.

It’s very difficult to name aspecial date or “beginning point” for my interest in far eastern teachings. Atthe age of 14 I started dealing with Norse mythology seriously. Some yearsafter, maybe at the age of 17 I also cultivated a spiritual interest in Buddhismand Hinduism because I have always been in search for the universal truth, thecore that is identical in every religion, philosophy or whatever. And throughmy research about similarities in Buddhism I found myself within theseteachings. That’s how it developed. KromleK is in constant evolution but mralphavarg as well. That’s a sad issue to talk about because there’ssurprisingly and upsettingly a lot of ignorance and intolerance within the“pagan” scene. Some so-called hardliners are trying to establish dogmas for thebehavior inside that strange microcosm. Sad and funny alike. They’ll have toface a lot of reincarnations! ;-)

Incountries like India, Piracy and downloading becomes imperative owing to thefact that a lot of music is unavailable in music-stores. What are your thoughtson that? What are your views on Piracy?

mr alphavarg: Piracy in generalis bad for musicians, especially for the smaller ones like ourselves. Ifsomebody downloads a new Metallica output illegally it’s a sad thing but itwon’t be their economical ruin. But the smaller bands are in need of every soldrecord. Of course one can argue that the selling of merchandise is moreimportant for bands than the record itself but in my humble opinion this isstill about music, right?! I know that a lot of people get to know KromleKbecause of illegal downloads [especially in Russia]. It’s good for us to becomemore known to people all around the world but if that ruins our “band economy”how could we be able to present another album without the money needed?

Tellus about your influences. Musical and otherwise.

mr alphavarg: Musical influences:the only constant band we all are still fascinated of is Windir. Every bandmember has another very individual music taste. Inside and outside metal music.Other influences: I can only talk about my personal influences for my lyrics.There we got the ones mentioned in question 9) and furthermore things like theRenaissance, Plato’s philosophy, Machiavelli’s writings, psychology, different aspectsof science like metaphysics etc. society models, society’s outsiders, historyand of course everyday life. 

Doyou guys have any added Visual effects to your live set?

mr alphavarg: From 2005 to 2007we used Viking-like costumes with furs, tunics and red/black warpaint. I wore aleather helmet and used an axe in order to underline my words. In 2007 I got myhair cut and we left out any paint. Just black shirts for keeping the unity.Then in 2008 I tried to force the band into that cult-like appearance withblack/red/golden tilakas like the ones Sadhus use in India. I wore a blacksuit, a mala and wrote “Kali Yuga” in Sanskrit in my belly. But the audiencenever understood anything about it. Since 2009 we’re trying to develop an“urban” metal style but the search hasn’t ended yet. In one show in 2007NhéVanN and Forað spitted fire but this was for a DVD shot. Nowadays I use asickle… sometimes… ;-)

 Any Indian bands you might haveheard of?

mr alphavarg: Oh I think thatnobody else in KromleK knows any band from India. I know Demonic Resurrection.I like their keys but the thrash parts are not my taste. I really like Rudra[okay they are not Indian but Malaysian] but I appreciate their style calledVedic metal.

Anylast words for your fans in India?

mr alphavarg: Namaste friends,fans and followers! We hope your interest will grow and we will convince youwith the forthcoming album!

It would be great to present it toyou live, so if any organizer needs a unique style-hydra just book us! I’mlooking forward to a cultural exchange! ;-)



The Meaner Project is:Barua, Anish Bhattacharjee