Interview: Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik

Whilst on my travels around the Vampire Freaks website I stumbled upon a band called Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik, when I heard their music I was amazed. It’s electronica with classical vibes yet with a little splash of brutality added to the calm ambience. Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik come from Ukraine, so I had to let the world know a little bit more about them. So what happened when Grave Concerns Ezine caught up with Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik? Read on and you shall see J.

Phill – Hello and thank you for giving Grave Concerns Ezine this interview, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – Hello! Thank you for asking – it’s always a great pleasure! My name is Ievgen Smoulsky aka Iezhy (I have a polish ancestry, so I often tend to write it in Polish manner – Jerzy) aka Strixson. Electronic musician from Kyiv (or in soviet manner – Kiev), Ukraine, mostly known as a founder of Aus dem Geiste der Musik. Apart from being musician, I’m working on my Ph.D. research on Slavic neopaganism in modern Ukraine and as a volunteer take part in archaeological expeditions (mostly Palaeolithic and Neolithic).

I have a long experience of being a frontman in different alternative bands, and after the last one disbanded, I somehow lost “faith” in collective creative work – so now I try do all the stuff by myself. The second member of Aus dem Geiste der Musik is my beloved Ria. Despite of not being involved directly in creating our music, it’s really difficult to overestimate her role. She gives me inspiration, she’s the main critic, the one who says “that’s good”, “that’s bad” or “that’s ugly” (o.k., she’ve never used the last one yet =) ). But the main thing is that she’s the one who encouraged (or I should even say FORCED) me to make my first release, ‘cause I’m always not satisfied with results of my work.

Phill – You are in a league of your own with the amazing music you produce, what gave you the inspiration to mix the electronic sound with classical and traditional vibes?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – I really love experimenting with music, trying to mix some stuff that at first sight sound too dissimilar to fit within one track. Once it seemed interesting and funny to blend post-industrial, electro and latino, so I created Juan Augusto von Freiburg and his band [los_locos]. The project realeased only one mini-album named ‘Nuclear Salsa Dance Contest’. There are two more almost ready albums, yet I just don’t have enough time to get my hands on them and make some finishing strokes, hence today [los-locos] are in a deep coma.

The same thing with Aus dem Geiste der Musik. I see it as some kind of bastard from cinema score music and big beat who still remembers his glorious industrial forefathers =). The conception took its place on one sleepless spring night in 2012. I’ve been listening to The Prodigy and till the sunrise I already knew that I just HAVE to do something like that. At that time I was already fascinated with soundtrack and score music, so it naturally came that I should use it in the new project. At the end I just added a little bit of trip-hop, and voila...O, and don’t forget Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas affect Aus dem Geiste der Musik and define its main thematic focus. I was so excited with those new perspectives that it took me only around a week to create the first album (‘Die Geburt der Tragödie’). So if we want to find a brief formula, it might look this way: Aus dem Geiste der Musik = (The Prodigy + Hans Zimmer + Portishead + Nietzsche + experiments + spring +insomnia) x post-industrial.

Phill – How much influence of the music of Ukraine manifests itself in your music?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – I hesitate that it does at all. At least I didn’t mean to involve any Ukrainian music in this project. Yet maybe there are some minor subconscious influenced caused by blood, you know... =)

Phill – What sort of audience do you think your music attracts?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – I spoke to some of them – there are industrialists, goths, metalheads (yup, that’s kind of odd =) ) and just civil people of different ages. But sure, mostly alternative and subcultural persons.

Phill – Is there any era of music or in particular any composer’s work that you would wish to add your own flair to?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – Well, my recent passion is ethnic and tribal elements in music – it strongly influenced my main project ‘Strixson’ and even new Aus dem Geiste der Musik release will include few tracks with tribal samples. Sure, it seems that XVII-XIX centuries’ classic music fits Aus dem Geiste der Musik’s style best. But more widely I can’t say that there is any particular era or composer I’d prefer to work with. Someday I’m planning to work with early jazz, French chanson and sample some stuff from old soviet vinyl. Would it still be Aus dem Geiste der Musik or some other project – I don’t know.

Phill –How many instruments can you play?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – Guitars (acoustic, electric, bass), keys, harmonica, drumpads/sampler, a little bit drums. Recently I’ve restored my grandpa’s button accordion and now tryin’ to embrace it. So yeah, sorry to disappoint some of you, but all that stuff you hear at my records are synthesizers, samples and keyboard-played sampled instruments. =)

Phill – So far what has been the best way to promote your music?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – Mostly there was nothing like ‘real promotion’. I’ve just used social networks to send hundreds of letters like ‘Hi there! Would you like to hear new music? It’s totally free! Hope you’ll like it! P.S.: Don’t forget to share it with your friends!’ And it worked.

Phill – Are there any bands/artists that you would like to collaborate with and if so what is it that attracts you to them creatively?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – If we’re talking about only Aus dem Geiste der Musik, it would be interesting to collaborate with those who influenced it’s music the most: The Prodigy, Aphex Twin, Portishead, Das Ich, Hans Zimmer – it might help finding some new colours of sound. If we’re talking about music at all, than definitely Leæther Strip and Tim Skold. Claus Larsen is a kind of patriarch, so no comments. And Skold seems to be one most interesting, talented and versatile musicians on modern dark scene. His works with KMFDM and Manson seem to be among the best in their discographies and Skold’s own releases contain great songs with rather multiple genre flavours.

Phill – What era of music do you feel holds the most creativity?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – I believe that our days hold the most creativity. Modern technologies bring you capability to embody almost anything you can imagine. Creativity without any limits. And what’s highly important – it’s rather affordable. Could I play something like Aus dem Geiste der Musik even 20 years ago? Practically impossible! Think of how many talented musicians are lost for humankind just because they didn’t have any opportunity to bring their ideas to life!

Phill – You have released all three of your albums free to download, why did you decide to do this?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – I just never took it too seriously. It was just a good way to express some ideas, to have fun, to experiment over sound and form. And, by the way, it always was a kind of spinoff from my main project named ‘Strixson’ (I’ve been working on it for about a two years and it seems that at the beginning of summer I’m having the first live show). It’s great that people like it – so why shouldn’t I share it? Maybe someday I’ll make double releases – free and paid ‘platinum’ with bonuses or something.

Phill – Your music has an amazing element of romance to it, is there a genre of music to you that also has that air of romance to it like your music has?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – I don’t think we should talk about any precise genre. It all depends on how you feel. One can find that romance in Sting’s spleen and in Emilie Autumn’s hysteria, in Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’ and in Wagner’s ‘Der Ring der Nibelungen’, in Lacrimosa’s ‘Allein zu Zwei’ and in Nachtmachr’s ‘Hochmut’, in ‘Passion of Lovers’, ‘Lucretia, My Reflection’, ‘Tree Imaginary Boys’... You know.

Take a listen: Aus dem Geiste der Musik - Der Siebten pt. II

Phill – Thank you so much for giving Grave Concerns this interview, is there anything you would like to add?

Aus Dem Geiste Der Musik – Thanks to everyone who supports us and cares of what we’re doing!

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Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/AusDemGeisteDerMusik