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An Interview with Fredrik Djurfeldt and Ulf Lundblad of Severe Illusion
Posted: Monday, January 08, 2007
By: Matthew Johnson
Features Editor

Violent imagery is nothing new to the EBM scene, but where most bands write some lyrics inspired by Blade Runner or Terminator and leave it at that, Swedish duo Severe Illusion goes a lot deeper, exploring violence not only for its imagery and evocative qualities, but examining it through a deeper lens of historical and sociological criticism. The band's 2005 album, Accomplishments of Leopold II, is a concept album based on the brutal practices of the titular Belgian king while operating a colony in the Congo, while their newest effort, Shortcut to Civilization, lays bare the hypocrisy of 'fighting for peace.'

In addition to their work in Severe Illusion, Fredrik Djurfeldt and Ulf Lundblad also work with a number of side projects. Vanvard, for example, evokes the troubles of the Swedish healthcare system via abrasive rhythms and harsh distortion, while Instans provides the pair with an outlet for more club-friendly fare. Other projects include Knös, Djurfeldt's avian-inspired ambient outfit, and Emu Bomb, a collaboration with The Pain Machinery. ReGen speaks to Djurfeldt and Lundblad about their historical interests, label woes, and future plans, not to mention how a parrot ended up performing on the first Knös album.

Your previous album, Accomplishments of Leopold II, was a historical concept album about the Belgian colonialism in Africa. Is your new album, Shortcut to Civilization, a concept album as well? What themes does it explore?

Djurfeldt: The new album is a concept album, even though the concept is a bit more abstract and the approach is a little less obvious. The 'shortcut to civilization' we are talking about is violence as the true engine behind human evolution. We humans like to pretend that science and logical thinking are what make us go forward, while in reality, war and greed are much more important factors. It is not that we think an EBM album is going to save the world or anything, but hopefully we can expose some of the hypocrisy. Violence is one of the most despised activities there is, be it fisticuffs or starting a war, but at the same time it is one of the most common. It is a form of cheating, a way of getting things you want without having the real capacity to get it. Hence civilization throughout history has been defined by the winners, those best at cheating, not those who tried to focus on actual progress.

And by the way, Accomplishments of Leopold II is not about the Belgian colonialism in Africa. Fact is, Leopold ran his colony in Congo as his own private enterprise. It was turned over to Belgium just before he died in 1908. The album is about things that happened between 1885 and 1908.

Lundblad: Congo was exploited as a private enterprise, and the events there says just as much about the rationality of modern corporations as about colonialism.

You've explored historical events on several of your projects. How much research goes into an album like Accomplishments of Leopold II? What led you to do an album about colonial Africa?

Djurfeldt: We did not really do any research for Accomplishments of Leopold II at all. We have both been interested in the subject for a long time. We had been reading books and even digging in the archives at museums long before we made that album. The reason why we decided to go for Congo as a concept for an album is that it is such a clear example of how most people choose to look at history. In Congo, the genocide took about the same proportions as Nazi Germany did just a few decades later. Still, most people have never heard of it. It also has clear links to things happening right now. Leopold's excuses for killing people can be heard echoing from the mouths of those who wants to attack the Middle East and give them a democracy they never asked for, in exchange for natural resources they need for themselves.

What periods of history do you find most interesting, and how do your historical interests influence your approach to writing music?

Djurfeldt: I have always liked dinosaurs, and I find the studies of the early universe quite exiting, but it is not likely we will ever make an album about either of them, because it is not history itself that we find interesting. It is rather imperialism and the consequences thereof. In order to understand the present, the past must first be understood. Congo is just one example of how capitalism works when left unchecked. The 'war on terror' is another example of exactly the same thing.

Lundblad: The concept of power, be it from propaganda or brute force, is very fascinating and something that we can't let go of. We keep getting back to it all the time. So far, more or less all our releases have had a theme that deals with controlling people. Our first album, Discipline Is Reward Enough, dealt a lot with obedience and blind faith. Accomplishments... was about the logic of oppression, and now Shortcut is about violence as a driving force of human nature. In between, we also released the EP, Panopticon, that is about the safety of letting somebody else—the state, government, society or church—decide for you, protect you from both others and yourself.

Severe Illusion's sound seems very rooted in the sort of raw, rhythmic electronics of the early EBM and industrial scenes. What is it about these sounds that makes them so potent, even after two decades?

Djurfeldt: For us, the answer is probably that we are old enough to have experienced EBM and industrial back in the '80s. We grew up with SPK and later Nitzer Ebb and Skinny Puppy and The Klinik and all that. I got to hear SPK the first time in 1981 or 1982 or so because I had an older friend who listened to industrial music. My earliest attempt of composing music date back to the early '80s, when I used old tape recorders and telephones and whatever I could lay my hands on. I found ways to short circuit and cause feedback and did whatever it took to get new sounds out of them. Today there is the problem that there are so many record labels that almost anyone can get their work released, no matter if it is useless shit made with stolen software and no talent whatsoever. Back in the '80s, one still had to work hard to get music released, and only the best ones came through, because there were only a handful of labels to release them. Not to mention what has happend because of the Internet; that is not even funny. Fact is, the technology needed to make music is now available to almost anyone, but the number of really good albums coming out has not increased at all.

But there is still good music being created. We have bands like Spetsnaz and The Pain Machinery here in Sweden, Disharmony and KIFOTH in Slovakia, ESR in France, and yelworC's last album was very good indeed. In South America there are quite a few good bands, such as LastraX in Argentina and Homicide Devision and Aire'n Terre from Brazil. I bought some CDs from L White Records a while ago, and that also gave me some hope for the future.

What role does technology play in your music? Do you use vintage equipment?

Djurfeldt: Technology plays a huge part in our music, and we often let technology take some control of what we do. We use analogue and digital synthesizers, we use computers to generate sound, and we use some acoustic elements as well. On Shortcut to Civilization, some computer-generated bass lines and drums were recorded through a broken guitar amplifier using a microphone. And as the house I used to live in while we made that album was being renovated, I intentionally recorded some tracks while walls were being knocked down in the background.

While your music has definite similarities to classic EBM, the use of distortion seems to share some influences with power noise in that it combines dance rhythms with more abrasive elements. What do you think of today's noise scene? Who are your favorite artists at the moment?

Djurfeldt: I don't know if there is much of a noise scene at the moment. There is of course the power noise pop scene, but that has nothing to do with the noise scene as far as I am concerned. It is either tech house or hard trance with a lot of distortion applied to it. It is rather SPK and Esplendor Geometrico from the '70s and '80s and Brighter Death Now and Con-Dom and The Grey Wolves from the '90s that have inspired the use of noise in Severe Illusion. We both listen to Winterkälte and S.K.E.T and Caustic and some of that newer pop noise too, but it should not be seen as a real influence on the music we play. If I have to mention one favourite noise act still active in 2007, it should be Cold Meat Industry artist Institut, whose music is being played here a lot.

Lundblad: Not to forget our friend Barrikad, who also made a remix for us that will be released on our upcoming EP.

In addition to Severe Illusion, you participate in a number of side projects. You recently released a harsh rhythmic noise album under the name Vanvard, for example. For the benefit of fans who don't speak Swedish, can you explain some of the ideas behind the Vanvard album?

Djurfeldt: Vanvard started a little bit by accident, because Ulf was staying for two months at my place, and we needed something to do during the evenings. I had a small red house in the countryside, and Ulf was working for a local newspaper in the area. Then we had been talking for a while about making music with a lot of distortion in it, with lyrics in Swedish, but not necessarily with the 4/4 rhythm pattern that is used in EBM. Then, half a year, later Martin from Deathpropaganda Records turns up and asks if he can release the album, and we said 'yeah.' We have serious plans for another release, but so far nothing has been recorded.

The artwork for the Vanvard album, with its stylized 'No Wheelchairs' symbol, has generated a bit of controversy. Why did you choose this image for your cover art?

Djurfeldt: That is meant as a symbol of how we treat our fellow citizens. If you are disabled, it is easier to just shut you out than to help you in any way at all. This problem is part of what I do for a living, so I know how serious this is. Then again, we could of course just mention this in our lyrics and put something nice on the cover of the album. A cute little kitten or something. I believe the point would then be missed by everyone.

Lundblad: The cover probably makes more sense for those who speak Swedish. 'Vanvard' means 'mistreatment' and the album title refers to hospital care.

Your side project Instans is a bit more club-friendly. Can you tell us a bit about this one? What sets Instans apart from Severe Illusion's more dance-oriented work? You've had some complications in getting the Instans album out. How did you come to work with Advoxya Records? Are all of the problems sorted out now?

Djurfeldt: We started Instans because there were so many things we wanted to do within the Severe Illusion concept that there was not room for all of them. It all happened while we were working on the Leopold disc, back in 2004. Instans got signed to Black Flames Records, but then they released Retractor and that seems to have been the end of them. We still had the Instans Web site up after that, and through there we learned that more and more people wanted us to release the Instans album. So finally we did. Marc Tater from the E-zine Chain DLK had heard some of the Instans tracks and showed them to Dima at Advoxya, and yes, all problems seem to be sorted out by now. Within a few months, we will probably be working on the second album for Instans.

You're also part of Emu Bomb, along with Anders Karlsson of The Pain Machinery. How did this collaboration come about?

Djurfeldt: We have been friends with Anders for years. He made the artwork for Accomplishments of Leopold II, Shortcut to Civilization and Common Ground, and we released a split 12-inch vinyl disc with Severe Illusion and The Pain Machinery. So making music together with him was somehow inevitable. Emu Bomb has evolved slowly, because The Pain Machinery and Severe Illusion have taken too much time. But every now and then we try to work on it, and eventually there will be an album.

Last but not least, you have the industrial ambient project, Knös, which has just released a two-CD set on the Modul3c label. The second CD of this release was an album you recorded several years ago, but never released until now. Can you tell us a little about it? How does the new Knös material compare to that first album?

Djurfeldt: They are not very different from each other. The older is made entirely with hardware synthesizers, samplers, analog radios, and a microphone to make recordings of birds. A few tracks were made together with Karl Jonsson, one of Severe Illusion's previous live drummers, and on some tracks a parrot called Scrongo was playing percussion. The newer disc also contains computer-generated sounds. Japanese writer Kenji Siratori has written all the words for one track, and his voice is heard speaking them. There is no parrot playing percussion on the newer disc.

What was the reason for the long hiatus between the first album and your revival of the Knös project?

Djurfeldt: It is quite simple, really. It is because of Art Konkret. They were very encouraging and had me do that first album back in 2002. Then, when I was just done with it, they changed their minds and released someone else, so I moved my power focus elsewhere, so to speak. Then I played some of it to Christoffer at Plutonium Distribution, who also runs Modul3c. He liked it, and I decided it was time again to work on that project.

What's next for Severe Illusion? Do you have any other side projects or releases you can tell us about? Are you planning to tour in support of the Shortcut to Civilization album?

Djurfeldt: We are working on a Severe Illusion CD EP that is meant to come out this spring, with some new music and some old music in new versions. When that one comes out, we will hopefully hit the road again. We have been playing live in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine during the last few months, so now we have decided to stay home and write some more music.