the DARKLIFE fanzine - current issue extras

Issue n. VIII Spring 03 i[ ^{issue:
n. VIII spring 03 - web-only extras:}^{Gothminister
interview}]

GOTHMINISTER are really a new band to look out for. With their first single they surprised many and we hope their next one will do the same. A good blend of electronics and guitars that must be called electro goth. In autumn 2002 the full length album came out and you can read mastermind Bjorn Alexander dissecting his own work with anticipations about every songs, as the interview was conducted prior to the release.

DL: Where do GOTHMINISTER come from?

BJORN ALEXANDER: Geografically, GOTHMINISTER come from Oslo, Norway. GOTHMINISTER started out as a one man project, and still is, on record. Live we are 5 band members. The Minister, Rico Darum and Ted Skogmann ex-APOPTYGMA BERZERK, Bjorn Aadland ex-DISCO JUDAS and s, who also runs Angel Productions where the first demo EP was released. But GOTHMINISTER was first of all born out of the character with the pale face, top hat and a long black frock, who is preaching out the message to the people. Happiness through darkness. I grew up watching horror movies from the age of eight, and was increasingly fascinated by the gothic world. Because in the gothic world, which lies somewhere in between heaven and hell, there is so much beauty and creative inspiration in the dark and unknown. If you use the unknown forces of the dark to inspire you to create something, you will learn to know the world where GOTHMINISTER come from.

DL: Can you describe the music you make for people who have never heard of you?

BJ: The music of GOTHMINISTER is dark and kicking, with classical gothic elements as majestic vocals, doomsday choirs and strings, as well as modern industrial and technological elements.

DL: Do you see yourself as an electro goth band?

BJ: There are a million different opinions on what kind of music is fitting into the gothic genre, or some crossover genres to this. In my music I concentrate on dark gothic moods, but I also use a lot of electronic elements, so you may call it electro goth. But then again, I prefer that people make up their own minds rather than to categorise it. Because many so-called goth bands are to the mainstream not half as gothic sounding as GOTHMINISTER. Then again, many of those bands who seemingly are not suiting the term gothrock have at least as many gothic elements (classical term, so to say, not elements from the gothic rock music scene).

DL: Why do you make this kind of music?

BJ: It did not start with music. As I said, I always had a fascination for the dark and mysterious. It started with horror novels, inspired by thing I read or movies I watched. It was later that I developed these expressions through music. And I seriously believe that these kind of dark moods in general are one of the most important sources of creativity for mankind. When we are scared and a bit uncomfortable, our brains are forced to think creative. Think about it - what is fresh in your memory - one time you got really happy, or one time you get really frightened? And we need to express these feelings through art, so that other people can take part in the creative darkness. The music reflects my own darkness, which more than one time has helped me survive. Before GOTHMINISTER was born, I almost died bleeding to death at a concert after a throat operation - the wounds weren't healed, and off I went to the hospital for a new operation. I was sick almost a year, and wanted to end everything. But through GOTHMINISTER darkness, I killed my own. As for a friend of mine, a girl who was really down because her boyfriend killed himself with drugs, and she found him naked on the floor in their flat - as for her, I believe that after our 12 hours talk about the dark visions in our minds, she was relieved that she could confront this darkness and use it creatively instead of escaping it and letting it drag her down. Today she is happily in love with a new guy, and she is making art based on death and she is doing really good. Stories like that are few of many reasons that I make this kind of music.

DL: Can you tell us some more about Angel?

BJ: Angel is the second song that was written for the album. It is about these things I already told you about - there is a way out of the depressions, and it goes through the darkness. Angel is a very happy song, lyrically. And the angel is one side of the frames I put on goth.

DL: Are there other singles planned?

BJ: As I said, goth is interesting because its pretty indefinable, yet we know what it is and thus may be interested in more. Goth is something in between angels and devils. As the first single was called Angel, the second is called Devil, just to underline the opposite. And these are to important factors, for one the indefinable, unknown between heaven and hell, where we find goth. And for two, the contrasts between the frames angel (heaven) and devil (hell). These are keys to inspiration, which is one of GOTHMINISTERs goals; to inspire other minds.

DL: When will the album be released and what can you tell us about it?

BJ: The album will be called Gothic Electronic Anthems, and is due to release 2nd of September 2002. Here are comments on each song.

Gothic Anthem is the first song that was written. It sums up all that GOTHMINISTER stands for, both musically and lyrically. In the beginning, there was only one spokesman for the new gothic breed. I see the end of the traditional gothscene as the start of a new one. The lyrics, "Last man standing in the fields of scorn so come on" sum it up pretty well, I believe. Many parts of the early gothic scene are a scorn to me. I have received a lot of critics for my attempts of changing the whole gothic scene. But GOTHMINISTER has potential to reach out to the masses, and they also want to listen to what I say. In my opinion, when someone has great success, others always will criticise. That is a sign of jealousy - which is positive, because it estimated that people envy you your skills. Angel, my second "child" is a song that describes my most important mission - to help those who needs creativity and self confidence to rise again, "Take my hand just to be my love, the time has come to rise above". The Holy One was mainly written in frustration of the lack of style and values of the new representatives of the Norwegian Kingdom; "You will never be the holy one, if lack of values leads to waste". But this is a heavy debate in Norway too intricate to comment more on here. Post Gothica is the outro of The Holy One. The song Pray is about the essence of people's prejudice against those who are into more dark activities - they nail you as a satanist or as possessed by evil forces. "I pray for you, for you are not the same" In my opinion, some non-creative people actually could grow strong on being possessed by evil. Beyond the Gates is the intro for Devil and Devil is the opposite of Angel. This is a kick to the fanatic leaders. There is no secret that heavy religious influences lie behind the origin to the Norwegian black-metal scene, and also the satanism part of this one. "Hey, Devil - would you enjoy if fanatics won? Without religion you would bevno use". In a way, the fanatics actually use the Devil to promote their God, and more vicious ideas than that will be hard to imagine. Wish is a slower song, with beautiful choirs in the chorus. It is an example of the message of The Minister - the self-rule process. "Do you wish to be invincible? Do you wish to rule the world? Before you even think of this, you must learn to rule yourself". The song Hatred is critical to circumcision, which is a pretty bizarre overruling of a little child. I once saw a little girl at the year of eight, held down by grown up people, and the local barber cut off her clitoris with a dirty razorblade, and she was shivering in pain, screaming, and she did not know what had been taken away from her. I strongly condemn these actions. Mittelalter is only instrumental, the name says it all. Darkness is an epos written on September the 11th 2001. It reminded me of an old battle, and inspired me to write one of the greatest songs on the album. I believe it is a blend of techno and metal in a way no one has mixed it before. It is actually a club-song, it starts out pretty easy, but gets more and more heavy. I'm looking forward to hear this vicious one on the dancefloor. The outro, Post Ludium, sums it up pretty well, the whole scene, the whole mission: "we are the ones, and now we have opened your eyes to see the dark - we are the ones, and when we are gone we remain unknown for some - but you will know by then - its too late to mend..." And peoples fascination for darkness and horror will never end.

DL: How do you start making a new song?

BJ: Its depends on my mood. First one must get inspired. I have chosen to live in a great gothic mansion from 1859 (late gothic style, both outside and inside), and it is easy to get inspired in my own home. I get inspired to write music not so much by listening to other kinds of music, but more by dark moods in general, as watching beautiful architecture, walking alone in the woods, watching horror movies etc. My music is written either on guitar or on keyboards. My lyrics are mostly positive, as I see darkness as a positive source, used the right way.

DL: Can you tell us something more about your link to APOPTYGMA BERZERK?

BJ: The link started with Rico Darum and Ted Skogman quitting APOP because they got bored by non-organic music. I contacted them for a production job, and they thought my songs where so good that they later joined the live band. Now they are producing the whole album. I believe Ted and Rico are much more satisfied now, because they are into this kind of music much more than the APOP-thing. And they are brilliant musicians and producers. They deserve more than playback concerts with a plastic orchestra.

DL: Can you tell us more about the production work of Moxnes?

BJ: Moxnes is co-producer. He is an old friend, keyboardist from our old band DISCO JUDAS, which was industrial metal. He did March of The Dead on the Angel single, and will do one more track on the album. This summer I believe he will tour as a session musician with Norwegian black metal kings SATYRICON.

DL: What are your plans for the future?

BJ: GOTHMINISTER has a contract for two albums and one option on Tatra Records. So far it has gone pretty well with the first single (no 10 on the German DAC list and top ten many other lists), and the sale so far has been good. But one of the plans for next year is a animated music video with GOTHMINISTER and goth comic babe Nemi, created by Lise Myhre. She is a good friend, and we wish to blend our to characters into an animated music video. Else, we plan to tour Europe this autumn or early next year. And we are going to put on a hell of a horror show live, so you better look out for the Minister and his men on the road, coming to a theatre near you.

Peter Jan Van Damme

www.gothminister.com

photos Sandra Jensen

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Issue n. VIII Spring 03	i[ ^{issue: n. VIII spring 03 - web-only extras:}^{Gothminister interview}]

	GOTHMINISTER are really a new band to look out for. With their first single they surprised many and we hope their next one will do the same. A good blend of electronics and guitars that must be called electro goth. In autumn 2002 the full length album came out and you can read mastermind Bjorn Alexander dissecting his own work with anticipations about every songs, as the interview was conducted prior to the release. DL: Where do GOTHMINISTER come from? BJORN ALEXANDER: Geografically, GOTHMINISTER come from Oslo, Norway. GOTHMINISTER started out as a one man project, and still is, on record. Live we are 5 band members. The Minister, Rico Darum and Ted Skogmann ex-APOPTYGMA BERZERK, Bjorn Aadland ex-DISCO JUDAS and s, who also runs Angel Productions where the first demo EP was released. But GOTHMINISTER was first of all born out of the character with the pale face, top hat and a long black frock, who is preaching out the message to the people. Happiness through darkness. I grew up watching horror movies from the age of eight, and was increasingly fascinated by the gothic world. Because in the gothic world, which lies somewhere in between heaven and hell, there is so much beauty and creative inspiration in the dark and unknown. If you use the unknown forces of the dark to inspire you to create something, you will learn to know the world where GOTHMINISTER come from. DL: Can you describe the music you make for people who have never heard of you? BJ: The music of GOTHMINISTER is dark and kicking, with classical gothic elements as majestic vocals, doomsday choirs and strings, as well as modern industrial and technological elements. DL: Do you see yourself as an electro goth band? BJ: There are a million different opinions on what kind of music is fitting into the gothic genre, or some crossover genres to this. In my music I concentrate on dark gothic moods, but I also use a lot of electronic elements, so you may call it electro goth. But then again, I prefer that people make up their own minds rather than to categorise it. Because many so-called goth bands are to the mainstream not half as gothic sounding as GOTHMINISTER. Then again, many of those bands who seemingly are not suiting the term gothrock have at least as many gothic elements (classical term, so to say, not elements from the gothic rock music scene). DL: Why do you make this kind of music? BJ: It did not start with music. As I said, I always had a fascination for the dark and mysterious. It started with horror novels, inspired by thing I read or movies I watched. It was later that I developed these expressions through music. And I seriously believe that these kind of dark moods in general are one of the most important sources of creativity for mankind. When we are scared and a bit uncomfortable, our brains are forced to think creative. Think about it - what is fresh in your memory - one time you got really happy, or one time you get really frightened? And we need to express these feelings through art, so that other people can take part in the creative darkness. The music reflects my own darkness, which more than one time has helped me survive. Before GOTHMINISTER was born, I almost died bleeding to death at a concert after a throat operation - the wounds weren't healed, and off I went to the hospital for a new operation. I was sick almost a year, and wanted to end everything. But through GOTHMINISTER darkness, I killed my own. As for a friend of mine, a girl who was really down because her boyfriend killed himself with drugs, and she found him naked on the floor in their flat - as for her, I believe that after our 12 hours talk about the dark visions in our minds, she was relieved that she could confront this darkness and use it creatively instead of escaping it and letting it drag her down. Today she is happily in love with a new guy, and she is making art based on death and she is doing really good. Stories like that are few of many reasons that I make this kind of music. DL: Can you tell us some more about Angel? BJ: Angel is the second song that was written for the album. It is about these things I already told you about - there is a way out of the depressions, and it goes through the darkness. Angel is a very happy song, lyrically. And the angel is one side of the frames I put on goth. DL: Are there other singles planned? BJ: As I said, goth is interesting because its pretty indefinable, yet we know what it is and thus may be interested in more. Goth is something in between angels and devils. As the first single was called Angel, the second is called Devil, just to underline the opposite. And these are to important factors, for one the indefinable, unknown between heaven and hell, where we find goth. And for two, the contrasts between the frames angel (heaven) and devil (hell). These are keys to inspiration, which is one of GOTHMINISTERs goals; to inspire other minds. DL: When will the album be released and what can you tell us about it? BJ: The album will be called Gothic Electronic Anthems, and is due to release 2nd of September 2002. Here are comments on each song. Gothic Anthem is the first song that was written. It sums up all that GOTHMINISTER stands for, both musically and lyrically. In the beginning, there was only one spokesman for the new gothic breed. I see the end of the traditional gothscene as the start of a new one. The lyrics, "Last man standing in the fields of scorn so come on" sum it up pretty well, I believe. Many parts of the early gothic scene are a scorn to me. I have received a lot of critics for my attempts of changing the whole gothic scene. But GOTHMINISTER has potential to reach out to the masses, and they also want to listen to what I say. In my opinion, when someone has great success, others always will criticise. That is a sign of jealousy - which is positive, because it estimated that people envy you your skills. Angel, my second "child" is a song that describes my most important mission - to help those who needs creativity and self confidence to rise again, "Take my hand just to be my love, the time has come to rise above". The Holy One was mainly written in frustration of the lack of style and values of the new representatives of the Norwegian Kingdom; "You will never be the holy one, if lack of values leads to waste". But this is a heavy debate in Norway too intricate to comment more on here. Post Gothica is the outro of The Holy One. The song Pray is about the essence of people's prejudice against those who are into more dark activities - they nail you as a satanist or as possessed by evil forces. "I pray for you, for you are not the same" In my opinion, some non-creative people actually could grow strong on being possessed by evil. Beyond the Gates is the intro for Devil and Devil is the opposite of Angel. This is a kick to the fanatic leaders. There is no secret that heavy religious influences lie behind the origin to the Norwegian black-metal scene, and also the satanism part of this one. "Hey, Devil - would you enjoy if fanatics won? Without religion you would bevno use". In a way, the fanatics actually use the Devil to promote their God, and more vicious ideas than that will be hard to imagine. Wish is a slower song, with beautiful choirs in the chorus. It is an example of the message of The Minister - the self-rule process. "Do you wish to be invincible? Do you wish to rule the world? Before you even think of this, you must learn to rule yourself". The song Hatred is critical to circumcision, which is a pretty bizarre overruling of a little child. I once saw a little girl at the year of eight, held down by grown up people, and the local barber cut off her clitoris with a dirty razorblade, and she was shivering in pain, screaming, and she did not know what had been taken away from her. I strongly condemn these actions. Mittelalter is only instrumental, the name says it all. Darkness is an epos written on September the 11th 2001. It reminded me of an old battle, and inspired me to write one of the greatest songs on the album. I believe it is a blend of techno and metal in a way no one has mixed it before. It is actually a club-song, it starts out pretty easy, but gets more and more heavy. I'm looking forward to hear this vicious one on the dancefloor. The outro, Post Ludium, sums it up pretty well, the whole scene, the whole mission: "we are the ones, and now we have opened your eyes to see the dark - we are the ones, and when we are gone we remain unknown for some - but you will know by then - its too late to mend..." And peoples fascination for darkness and horror will never end. DL: How do you start making a new song? BJ: Its depends on my mood. First one must get inspired. I have chosen to live in a great gothic mansion from 1859 (late gothic style, both outside and inside), and it is easy to get inspired in my own home. I get inspired to write music not so much by listening to other kinds of music, but more by dark moods in general, as watching beautiful architecture, walking alone in the woods, watching horror movies etc. My music is written either on guitar or on keyboards. My lyrics are mostly positive, as I see darkness as a positive source, used the right way. DL: Can you tell us something more about your link to APOPTYGMA BERZERK? BJ: The link started with Rico Darum and Ted Skogman quitting APOP because they got bored by non-organic music. I contacted them for a production job, and they thought my songs where so good that they later joined the live band. Now they are producing the whole album. I believe Ted and Rico are much more satisfied now, because they are into this kind of music much more than the APOP-thing. And they are brilliant musicians and producers. They deserve more than playback concerts with a plastic orchestra. DL: Can you tell us more about the production work of Moxnes? BJ: Moxnes is co-producer. He is an old friend, keyboardist from our old band DISCO JUDAS, which was industrial metal. He did March of The Dead on the Angel single, and will do one more track on the album. This summer I believe he will tour as a session musician with Norwegian black metal kings SATYRICON.
	DL: What are your plans for the future? BJ: GOTHMINISTER has a contract for two albums and one option on Tatra Records. So far it has gone pretty well with the first single (no 10 on the German DAC list and top ten many other lists), and the sale so far has been good. But one of the plans for next year is a animated music video with GOTHMINISTER and goth comic babe Nemi, created by Lise Myhre. She is a good friend, and we wish to blend our to characters into an animated music video. Else, we plan to tour Europe this autumn or early next year. And we are going to put on a hell of a horror show live, so you better look out for the Minister and his men on the road, coming to a theatre near you. Peter Jan Van Damme www.gothminister.com
	photos Sandra Jensen
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