Exclusive
CVLT Nation Streaming: WOLVSERPENT
“Within the Light of Fire” //
In-Depth Interview

WOLVSERPENT
Perigaea Antahkarana
Relapse Records 17 September 2013

Perigaea Antahkarana is an evolution of 2012’s demo Perigaea, which in itself took a long time to come about – how does the new record compare to the original sounds that you created (for anyone that didn’t hear the previous release) and did the album move forward in a way that you expected or even wanted it to?

Perigaea Antahkarana sounds better than the demo. We recorded and mixed with producer/engineer Mell Dettmer. She has worked with Earth, Asva, Sunn, Boris, Eyvind Kang and Gamelon Pacifica, among many others. We recorded through a killer vintage Trident board onto two-inch-tape which has given this album a very interesting sound. Our performances were better on this record than any in the past. I am very happy with how the pieces have progressed musically. There is probably 40-45 minutes of new material. It really is the difference between a demo and an official release. I hope that our fans will enjoy both.
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/audio/02 Within the Light of Fire.mp3|titles= Within the Light of Fire]

How collaborative is the Wolvserpent process? Do you bring separate ideas to the table or work on things together?

Wolvserpent is a very collaborative project. We basically do everything together. But we are also very open to the unique ideas that we develop on our own. Our material is best when we develop it together. One of us may bring an individual idea to the table but we work on it until it becomes Wolvserpent. We each have our own strengths and that is very helpful when one of us gets stuck on an aspect of composition or atmosphere, the other can provide starting points to the solution.

What is the progression of Wolvserpent as you see it for the future?

This is a very good question, I have found myself thinking of this very question often. Finishing an album can be difficult at times. You get the feeling that you just hung all of your old work at the gallery and now you are staring at a blank page at home. To be honest, I am not sure where we will end up musically on the next record. We have several ideas to go on so that is nice. But, as usual, whatever happens will happen organically and the outcome is unknown until the end of the writing process.

What drives you both to create and are they the same things as when you started?

I think the reason behind our drive to create is constantly changing as we grow and change in our own lives. So in many ways, reasons differ from when we started. A common thread over the years has been an unidentifiable need to play music either as a therapeutic practice or a way to express different aspects of our selves, our world and our feelings that we cannot express in any other way. If you listen to the music that is the best way to understand where we are coming from.

The instrumental tracks on the album deviate from the style of your debut, is that an evolution that came about organically or something you were interested in bringing into the new record?

I assume you are talking about Blood Seed. To me this new record is really a combination of Blood Seed and another album we released via Crucial Blast called Gathering Strengths. If you hear both of these records you can understand more of what we have done with Perigaea Antahkarana. We released these two albums as a double CD. At the time it may have seemed like these albums represented two different sides of Wolvserpent but we never really saw the approaches as being separate. I feel that our ideas for Perigaea Antahkarana grew in a very organic way. It is really the sound of us growing as a group- part of this can be observed in the transition from the demo to the official release.

The tracks on the new record sway from beauty to darkness and have an almost classical edge, how do you incorporate such differing styles into a cohesive piece?

We see a lot of similarity in what these musical styles are attempting to convey. I get many of the same feelings from classical music as I do from some funeral doom, black metal or folk. Same with minimalist music or drone metal and modern ambient pieces. So what appears to be very different on the surface aesthetically, is very similar in expression and feeling. We tend to take these differing styles and weave them together as one.

Wolvserpent live has a feeling of extreme intensity and a ritualistic nature that is often described as “transcendental” – is that something that you agree/disagree with? And how do you prepare for such an overwhelming experience?

It makes me happy that people have experienced our live performances in this way. We definitely experience that cathartic and transcendent feeling when the audience and the band are on the same page. I hope that our live shows provide a respite from the struggles and pains of daily life, a chance to stand away from those things that cause stress and fear. Some people I have spoken with say that it has been a very cleansing experience. I think that is wonderful, as that is what Wolvserpent provides for us. For me, performing in Wolvserpent can be a very intense experience. I have had to learn a lot about myself in order to perform in a healthy way. It has gotten much easier recently to find balance and leave feeling replenished instead of exhausted.