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An Interview with Heidi Solberg Tveitan of Star of Ash
Posted: Sunday, April 27, 2008
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

Heidi Solberg Tveitan has garnered quite a bit of recognition in the music community over the years. Also known as Ihriel and collaborating with her husband Vegard (a.k.a. Ihsahn of Emperor) in Peccatum, she was already experimenting with classical modes of songwriting and arrangements when she began work on Star of Ash, releasing Iter.Viator in late 2001. While generally regarded as a solo project, Star of Ash sees Tveitan not only working with a wide range of guest musicians and co-songwriters, including Ihsahn and Ulver's Kristoffer G. Rygg, but moving away from the gothic metal of Peccatum toward a more progressive and classically-minded sound wrought with choir vocals and complex string arrangements. With Peccatum now disbanded, this year saw the release of her second album, The Thread, which continues down the path forged by Iter.Viator, with Rygg returning, as well as further contributions from the likes of Markus Reuter, Halvor Strand, and Japanese cyberpunk author Kenji Siratori, adding even more diversity to the sound of Star of Ash. Besides that, Tveitan is also a member of Hardingrock and co-runs Mnemosyne Productions with Ihsahn, marking her as a powerful and productive force in modern music. With several new projects lined up in the coming months, Tveitan provides us with some insight into her working process and just what destination she expects her musical journey to take us to.

The Thread comes more than five years after the release of Iter.Viator. In the time between the two releases, how has the sound of Star of Ash developed, and how does The Thread exhibit these changes?

Tveitan: For this album, it has been my wish to build on what I myself liked best in my debut, but taken in another direction. With more experience as a songwriter, I have also grown the confidence to allow myself to be more focused on the actual themes and structures. Simplicity is hard to master, and instead of filling in, I have tried to take away anything that interferes with the always-present main theme. The musicians I have on board on this album have also contributed to the difference between my two albums.

Iter.Viator, translated from Latin, means 'road traveler.' As much of the cover imagery for The Thread shows you standing in front of an automobile next to the water, in what ways could The Thread be viewed as a continuation of the themes you explored on Iter.Viator, if they are at all?

Tveitan: The road feel of the cover imagery was not intended as any conceptual follow up to Iter.Viator. The car was simply just standing there during the photo shoot, and I just posed in front of it for fun, really, so it was quite funny that the car photo was amongst the ones we ended up using. I still don't know whose car it is, so I can only hope that the owner will like his or her car on this album cover.

Quite a number of guests appear on The Thread, including German composer Markus Reuter, Japanese cyberpunk author Kenji Siratori, and Ulver's Kristoffer G. Rygg, who also appeared on the previous album. How did you come to associate with these various individuals, and how have their contributions affected the outcome of the album and the overall sound of Star of Ash?

Tveitan: I am working with a mixed group of people, and they have all brought on board different elements, making this record into what it is today. Some of them have gotten in touch with me, others I chose for particular parts, and a couple of them are long-time friends of mine. For the songs I did with Markus Reuter, I recorded the basic skeleton of the songs and sent him the files. He would then interpret this material and arrange and record his parts in his studio in Austria. I really enjoyed this file-swapping way of working, as the element of surprise would keep the material fresh for me, too. This was also the procedure with Kristoffer G. Rygg and Halvor Strand, whereas the other musicians would come here to Symphonique and record their parts. Some were pre-arranged and some improvised.

In the interim between Star of Ash albums, your other band, Peccatum, disbanded after the 2005 release of The Moribund People. As that band was more rooted in experimental metal than Star of Ash, how did working in Peccatum affect your approach to making music in Star of Ash, which has more of a classical and electronic sound?

Tveitan: My work in different projects has surely contributed to my development as an artist in general, so in that sense it is all connected. For this album, my work method was unlike the way we've been working with Peccatum, for instance, as all songs were written on piano, and when I felt that it worked there, I took it further in the studio. It was important to me having the compositions work in their basic forms before I started layering, as it is so easy to get lost in the arrangements during the writing process. This way I was also more confident and had a clear vision on the songs' expression before I brought in additional musicians. I also feel that this form of writing has allowed the material to be very melody-driven, and that is what Star of Ash is a lot about. I have been experimenting quite a bit with samples on The Thread, and that is something I wish to follow up more in my music in the future. Last but not least, being alone as a composer in Star of Ash, that also differs a lot from co-writing music in a band. I like both ways of working.

On The Moribund People, Peccatum's first and only music video was produced for the title track. Are there any plans to produce a video for Star of Ash? What do you feel a video for a Star of Ash song would entail in terms of the relation between the visuals and the music? Which song would you do a video for?

Tveitan: Kenji Siratori has made a video installation for the song we did together. This song and video, 'Neo Drugismo,' is also added as bonus material on The Thread. It is a rather avant-garde piece of work, though, and does not have anything to do with the actual album. It would definitely have been cool to do a video for the actual album, but since this has not been an issue for me yet, I have not considered which song to do images for and what kind of imagery that should be. It would perhaps be natural to view my songs from my character's perspective. For the first time, I have tried to introduce characters in my writing, with more or less success, but I aim to get better at this in time.

You're also a part of Hardingrock, which, like Peccatum, merges elements of experimental metal and folk music. Being so ingrained in the metal scene as you are, is it ever a consideration for you to return to that sound or take it in another direction with your future Star of Ash material?

Tveitan: I doubt that I will take Star of Ash in a more metal direction, but I would definitely like to work more within the metal category in the future. How, when, and with whom I don't know, though.

You also co-run Mnemosyne Productions. How difficult is it to balance your time between running a label and working on your own music? What sorts of considerations are there in terms of how one affects the other?

Tveitan: I am actually one of these people who likes more administrative kind of tasks, so label work comes easy for me. I like the great variation it gives me, especially when combined with my own musical endeavors. It's really is a win/win situation for me.

Are there currently any plans to perform live shows for Star of Ash? What would a live performance for Star of Ash entail in terms of the visuals and the personnel involved?

Tveitan: At the present, I have no such plans. However, this might change in the future, and if so I will keep you posted.

What's next for Star of Ash?

Tveitan: This spring I have some smaller projects to follow up, like doing some guest vocals, another Kenji track, and I'll be starting on a movie project with an Irish filmmaker. By autumn, I will hopefully be on track with new Star of Ash material.