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I think "Oberon" generated most interest in countries like Germany and Italy. I mean, the feedback I got from the both the German and Italian audience was always very passionate. Always very soulful and uplifting. On "Mysteries" again you worked with a lot of musicians, but most of the instruments are played by yourself - especially the wonderful piano. I think that's the reason why most of the tracks sound more orchestral and classical. "Mysteries" is still wonderful ethereal and melancholy music but no typical darkwave or gothic album. What's your opinion about this thesis? I never set out to make a Gothic or Darkwave album... My only ambition is to make great music. I am aware that a lot of people associate OBERON with Gothic music, which is ok. I like some of the aesthetic aspects of gothic culture, but that's basically it. Once you start to categorise something, it looses its purity. I love to play piano. It has a very visual sound and it really takes you away from the world. Paul McCartney once said something along the lines that the guitar was a very intimate instrument, like a woman that you clutched and held to your body, while playing the piano was more like pushing her away from you. I see his point, but the piano takes you places the girl could never have taken you, and shows you things that girl could never have shown you. I think that when you've played an instrument for some time and you begin to have control over your playing, like you can express every inch of your being through that instrument, then you are able to understand the real magic of music. Because it's not only in your mind. You can feel the music with your entire body. You have to become every single note and every stroke of the keys. Then the world ceases to be. Is there some kind of concept behind this release and why did you choose the tittle "Mysteries" for this musical output? The title was originally adapted from the novel "Mysteries" by one of my fave writers at the time, Knut Hamsun. This is by far one of the most bewildering works of literature ever to emerge from a poet's hand. Ever since I read that book, I knew my album was going to be called MYSTERIES. It covers a lot of different things, both musically and lyrically. From the very early stages of writing MYSTERIES up until its release, I had a series of vivid dreams, where I dreamt the end of the world and a lot of other strange things in my life. Very symbolic and foreboding. In one of them, I was standing by the sea, on some rocks not far from my house, and I heard some dreadful cracking noises coming up from under the surface of the water. I understood its message very clearly. And I was alone with this terrible knowledge. The world will end. I ran over some hills until I came to a plane just at sea level where people stood frozen like statues, gazing out across the sea, waiting for the ocean to rise and devour them. It was a fantastic sight. I knew that we could all have been saved if they would only listen. But the vastness of this apocalypse, the terror and wonder, was greater than any instinct of survival. I was left with a feeling of hopelessness. Such dreams come to me now and then, and I have no problem with calling back that special feeling. The sea, as a symbol of change, eternity and the fluidity of the mind and my dreams is very strong in songs such as "Tearing Me Apart". "The End Of The World" also has this dreamlike quality which for me conveys images of the sea, rising to claim [the world]. Other songs like "Reveries" speak of the sad state of mankind, the ignorance and the emptiness that slowly eats out civilisation from the inside. It doesn't matter if I am on my own. Even if [tomorrow never comes], I know that, [...] I shall be complete and pure. If people wonder who I am and which thoughts or concepts formed the basis for my work. I mean, I may say it's about life, death or love or whatever. The words I write down now will never quite suffice to cover all of it. I have never been able to explain the "nucleus" of what I do because it's very subjective - a contemplation, or transcendence. And people will always experience my music according to how they perceive things. We are so close, yet we are worlds apart! The track "To Spring" is influenced by the work of William Blake, so I'm wondering if you're interested in other poets like E.A. Poe or Percy Shelly, too? It's been a long time since I read any of Poe's work, but I have a few collections of his short stories, and what I read I loved. Stories like "The Oval Portrait", "The Premature Burial" and of course the classic "The Telltale Heart" are all amazing. I also saw the film, The Masque of the Red Death from the late 60ies or early 70ies based on Poe's short story. I am such a big fan of movies from that period in time. "The Fearless Vampire Killers" by Polanski, "Rosemary's Baby", "Caligula"... Very surreal stuff in a way. By the way, "The Masque" reminds me a bit of Camus' fantastic novel "The Plague" which I think is a really important book. Everyone should own a copy of this book. When it comes to literature, over the past year, I have gained a wild interest in more contemporary writers from our own century. "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand and Robert M. Prisig's "Lila" are probably some of the most illuminating works I've ever read. I also like Carlos Castaneda a lot. I also used to read some of Lovecraft's works which are slightly reminiscent of Poe, just darker. However, I don't think OBERON has many literary influences. Most of the things I write about are personal things that I experience here now. The Blake poem struck me with it's beauty as soon as I laid my eyes on it. I had already written some of the music for "To Spring" and then it just sort of dawned on me, that the lyrics would fit the music perfectly. It's the first time I actually put music to somebody else's words. There are other poems I'd like to use as well. But it has to feel right for OBERON. I think you love animal, because there's a photo of you with a dog in the booklet of the new CD. Is this you dog and if yes, how important is this dog for you and your life? Oh, she's a lovely creature. We belong to the same pack. She's really a very good friend and she has a strong and independent personality. And she's such a beauty... She contributes a lot of joy and comfort to my life. Many people say, that animals are more honesty and faithful than any human. What do you think about this thesis? Animals can be very cunning, and they will always go for the option that serves them best. But their cunning is aimed at survival and I wouldn't call it deceit, or as the Biologist Lyall Watson calls it: Strong Evil. Also, they don't know pity or compassion as we do. And they never seek to justify their actions to no one. They are what they are and that's all there is to it. But of course we have an intellect animals cannot match, and our cunning is even more intricate and complex than that of an animal. But in the end, we've all got the same instincts. As for man's mindless destruction of the planet... It's like Lyall Watson also commented: Give a flock of chimpanzees access to the world's nuclear reserves, and they'd wipe out the world in less than ten minutes. By the way, did you ever hear the story of the Norwegian lemmings who in times of overpopulation get demoralised and run to the sea in order to drown themselves? Isn't that what mankind is doing just now? There are some of us, though, who see through this and loathe it, but a main difference between man and animal is that we occupy so much space and control such a horrible machinery of death, that if our fellow human beings go down, we are facing the terrible possibility of going down with them! The name OBERON is part of a poem by Huon de Bordeaux, but also this name stands in connection with the wonderful work of William Shakespeare. Did you ever heard of king OBERON the king of faerie and the husband of queen Titania. Faerie is a mystical land beyond the boundaries of the mundane world and its ruled by a the beautiful queen Titania who was once a mortal like you and me. Have ever heard about this tale and are you interested in fairytales? Taking OBERON as a name was not due to the poem "Huon de Bordeaux". Nor was it inspired by Shakespeare's work. I've read quite a few of his sonnets, and years ago when I went to school (In my early youth, I spent a year at the Rudolf Steiner School), my class was doing a rendition of "A midsummer night's dream". That's about all I have read and seen by Shakespeare. When I was a kid, my world was made up by fairytales. Later I read C. S. Lewis, Tolkien and eventually I got into Sumerian and Norse mythology which isn't exactly fairytales, but still quite evocative for a young teenager. Nowadays, I don't really read a lot of that stuff. Like I said, I have a great passion for writers such as Rand and Prisig. I still get the occasional kick out of reading Assyrian Myths, though. I am imagining these huge empires and civilisations that laid the foundation for much of what is considered to be the moral and religious norms in the Western world today. There's obviously some weird connection somewhere between the various myths from Asia to the Middle East to the far North. Like the story of Noah's Arc. There's an almost identical story found on some old Babylonian stone plates dating back to 4000 BC. My favourite is yet another similar legend from Australia where this guy was building a boat in the middle of the forest. His god had told him this huge flood was coming in and wipe the land clean of all the human mistakes that were wandering about. His brothers and fellow tribe members kept asking him why on earth he was making a boat in the middle of the forest, and if he'd considered how to get the boat down to the sea. The man smiled at them and said "Just wait and see"... At least they had a sense of humour. Maybe you'll play perform "live" on stage with OBERON in the near future and if yes, do you have some kind of concept for this performance? I have some ideas, rough sketches and outlines lying around as to what OBERON would be in a live situation. I want it to be visual, intimate and atmospheric. I also want to do some video projections, but when it comes right down to it, it's all a matter of money and time. Do you have some more plans for the next twelve months with OBERON and if yes, what can we expect of OBERON in the near future? Whatever happens... I have been working on new material for quite a while, and some of it will (hopefully) be recorded in the summer. After a lot of back and forth, MYSTERIES has finally surfaced. It's a great album and I am happy to finally hold it in my hands. Another stage in my life has ended. Now the future will bring whatever it has in store for us. Alea iacta Est!!!  |