- Interview with Metal library -

-Stijn, first of all I would like to ask You introduce Yourself to our readers - for those who maybe know nothing about You or for those who maybe know nothing about You but like Your music.

These days i’m a bit of an all-round audio-visual artist. I’ve had this creative side for as long as i can remember and the music part is probably the most known today of all the stuff i do. I only got into music and composing or experimenting with sounds some ten to twelve years ago. Once i started playing more instruments and figured how to record more than just one track at once i really got into the actual arranging and composing of songs. Things just evolved from there onwards and since i wanted to have control of all aspects i did the recording and mixing myself and designed cover art and CD booklets as well. Both the technical and visual side grew in importance and now i have my own small audio-visual studio and besides music i’m also into 3D design, animation and effects, sounddesign and editing and recently i took up writing again. All this im trying to combine with a job at a screen printing company, which is proving to be rather difficult and quite stressing.

-Where were You born? How can You describe Your hometown? And, well, do You ever mind to leave Belgium as for example Kostas from Pantheist has done?

I was born in Aalst and still live in that city. There’s nothing spectacular about it from my point of view and i never really bothered with how it looks since i spend most of my time indoors and away from the more crowded city center.
Many times i have tought about leaving Belgium, it’s a closeminded country with a failing government, but i’m more or less settled in here and learned to ignore what happens around here. Moving to another country would be too much hassle right now, but who knows, there’s definately more options for someone like me outside of Belgium. Past few years have been especially frustrating since i started working after i finished school, as time and time again i end up dealing with totally incompetent people or people who always try to rip you off. I tought i had seen it all at school, but apperently it’s far worse in the so called ‘professional’ world. The problem is that i seriously doubt that it’ll be much better in other countries.

-I've asked it for I've seen today in Euronews the report from Brussels about some mass disturbance. What is Your mention about it?

I really have no idea what it’s about, probably another strike causing some drama in certain economic sectors or yet another large company announcing to lay off a few hundred employees. These things get more common here.
Maybe it’s about the formation of the government, which after almost 6 months after the elections still isn’t finished. It’s been in the news for ages now and foreign newspapers and tv-channels are covering it as well. You know here in Belgium we don’t bother voting for the most competent politicians, it’s a matter of selecting the least retarded ones. It’s downright ridiculous watching the people you elect and you expect to keep their promises act like a bunch of 5-years olds bickering about toys. In the meanwhile we don’t have a real goverment capable of attending to any problems that might come up.

-And from here we began our discuss about Your music. How long ago You started to compose the music? And which song was Your first? Can we listen it on some of Your bands or it never was publish?

I don’t remember what my first real song was, the first tracks evolved from prototypes that had more in common with ambient or soundscapes than with real structured tracks. Of the music that i released, ‘they never hope’ and
‘careless, painless, far away’ are probably the oldest songs, with their earliest versions written about 9 to 10 years ago. There are a number of tracks that were never released, and probably never will, there has been one tape demo and a CDr split that has some older material on it, but these were only released in very limited numbers. I still have the demo tape hidden away somewhere and i have been planning to put these tracks on my site, but the CDr is more or less lost for good.

-I find it strange coincidence: just yesterday thinking about our interview I've bought CD "Bells of Russia" - the record with melodies of Russian church bells, it's like a continuation of old Russian bell sound traditions, something that sounds through the centuries without any changes. Also I've read accidentally an article about (+ hmm+ seems it was Pifagor) one Ancient Greek scientist who used certain sounds combinations and tones to heal the people. So how do You see the role of Your music from this point of view? Where is the source of Your art and how can it influence unto listeners?

There’s no denying that music can have great effects on the people listening to it, if they get really into the right state of mind and allow themselves to become susceptible to it. I don’t really look for ways to actively influence other people with my music, it has an influence on me in the first place and that’s what matters to me. But quite often i had people telling me that my music ‘helped’ them in one way or another or allowed them to experience new things, which proves the point of music being able to have strong effects and of course not limited to the stuff i write, although this genre and these sounds are probably better at it than your average popular band these days.
Most of my inspiration comes from personal experiences, feelings and dreams, and some tracks are nothing more that fictional stories. I never intended for the personal elements to be upfront so tend to turn them into abstract versions of themselves, so the details become blurred and can be interpreted in various ways. The general idea, however remains upfront and probably influences the listeners interpretation of the whole track, it works as a sort of guide. Somebody in the right mood and ‘open’ enough to this kind of music will definately find some of that central idea when listening.

-There is the introduction to this bell record, it contains interesting sentence: "In the quantum cosmological conception there is an understanding of emptiness or vacuum. This emptiness in the modern physics is being understood as a source of the whole universe not depending on time and space. According to the idea of the world unity the vacuum is the basement of universe. The vibrations of this emptiness, which cannot be described in the human languages we are able to hear on the Earth as the (bell) sound. By using the idea of the physical vacuum they are explaining elemental particles geneses and even the very beginning of the universe expansion. In the view of this conception, geneses and evolution of the universe vent and is going on now according of some internal plan encoded in the physical structure of vacuum. While being inconceivable chains of information on the vacuum level these structures have some basic space code which contents the main programs of the universe' evolution. This fundamental space code is nothing more than the bell sound"
Uff+ How can You describe Your music considering this such conception? And what do You think about this theory? - it's not necessary to bind it to any bells, just to the music.

It starts of like an interesting theory, but linking waveforms on the elemental level of the fabric of reality itself with music, which is something that only exists within the minds of intelligent self-aware beings as a definition given to complex combinations of vibrations of which we can only hear a limited amount in the first place, goes to far and is not very credible. Music as such doesn’t even exist down on the level of elemental physics. It’s going a bit too far for me as a musician and composer to make this comparison, it almost feels like giving your music magical or supernatural characteristics although i like and can enjoy my own music and will admit that it can have a noticable effect on those that listen to it. Perhaps my scientific background, as i’ve studied a lot of physics, more exactly theoretical and astrophysics keeps me from making such links which are more metaphysical than scientific between music, a human creation and the forces and elements that brought this reality into being. I’m too humble as human and as composer and on the other side have my own well-defined theories of reality and physics in general to give this kind of theory any credibility.
I can understand why the Russian bell sound can end up being linked to something like this, if i recall some history on the matter correctly, i believe that no bells were allowed to be sounded in Russia for a long time starting from the early 1900s. Russia has several established foundries and the bells created by these were give almost sacred characteristics by the people. This theory sounds like an overreaction of contentment or of justification after the decision was made to allow bells to be sound again in Russia, which some will undoubtedly see as a victory over the communist regime that were resposible for the measure in the first place. Another interesting fact is that bells have played a very important role in the history of religion, especially in the East-european regions and are some of the oldest instruments we have, these facts still linger in many people’s subconciousness and give the bell a sacred feel even in a modern society.

-The music of some of Your projects are guessed as "funeral doom". What do You think about this genre and it's tendencies? I never understand it as "funeral".

Funeral in the religious sense is both grief and celebration, a lot of ‘funeral doom’ is downright negative, and probably is better off being called extreme doom, while the ‘real’ funeral doom could be the kind of music that still retains the negativity but binds it to an epic (not necessarily religious although that link is easily yet wrongly made), almost celebrative element, mostly purely musical, in the slow, plodding, march-like music. The most obvious example of what i’m trying to say is Chopin’s Funeral March - the music is about sadness, bereavement but retains a certain dirge-like ode to the life or perhaps to death itself.
In the end however, i don’t really care what it ends up being called and wether or not some of my stuff falls in the funeral doom category or not. I don’t want to limit myself by setting up these bounderies and trying to belong 100% to a genre. You can’t really completely skip the genre politics, in the end it all needs a simple name and obviously you look for something that describes it as much as words are capable of describing music such as this. I think the term was first used for Skepticism’s first album and rightfully so, of all genre names i think ‘funeral doom’ sounds really good and actually does a decent job of giving a first impression of what the music might be like.

-Sure it is right to name it "cosmic" for example+ Such as Your Beyond Black Void or Ethereal for example. Once I was reading the book about theory of "big explosion" (theory about universe' beginning) and listening Skepticism. The book and the music seem was created each to other! Can You recall themes are suitable for funeral doom? What is it for You?

The cosmic theme definately seems to have a lot in common with the purely musical side of funeral doom. The grandeur and the rhythm seem to be perfectly suitable to each other. There are quite some cosmic elements presents in my music, though not very upfront.
Other themes that i believe are equally well suited for funeral music include nature, more exactly grand forests and depending on my mood, either fall or winter as well.

-Beyond Black Void "Storm Over Jupiter". How did You select such conception for Your song? I am not sure but it longs in about three hundred years+0

The idea behind that album was to take a very short moment in time (short from a human point of view) and stretch it and reveal all detail that would be lost otherwise. This of course in a semi-fictional and theoretical manner. The album also had a strong cosmic theme and Jupiter being the largest planet in our solar system and the seemingly neverending storms on that planet are a source of mystery but also have a certain threathening aspect about them. All this combined pretty good with the idea i had in mind for the musical side of this project : very slow, very heavy and minimalistic.

-In The Mist "Lost": I think that it is one of Your most interesting masterpieces. It was born from UDOM's song with same name, wasn't it? What did You try to reproduce with this composition?

It’s one of my favorite albums. If i had written the UDOM song much later, it probably would have never ended up on an UDOM album but would have been a new project from the start. Back then, UDOM was more varied and all-out ambient soundscapes were placed on the same CD as ambient-funeral doom tracks. The sound itself was in my opinion very nice and interesting, the actual track had several very different versions which i condensed into one long track for the In The Mist project. I don’t remember if i had an actual concept for that album, but somehow the music always reminds me of early fall, or late summer with the first traces of fall.

-What is Your favorite UDOM's song? Why?

I’d have to go with ‘Soon...’ It’s a track that has been in the works for several years and the first rough version comes from the same period when i wrote the ‘Absence of Life’ album.
Why it’s my fave track, i don’t really know. It feels like the most succesfull track in combining several elements while haveing just the right sound for what i’m trying to create with the track as well as for the concept behind it.

-I know two things which are suitable to In The Mist, they are American movie "Silent Hill" and Russian cartoon "Hedgehog In The Mist" :-) Did You see any of them? :-)

I saw Hedgehog in the Mist only once and quite a while ago, i remember it was quite dark for a childeren’s movie, but very suiting to the story. The mist and shadow effects throughout the movie are very nicely used and create an enchanting atmopshere. The original music fits very well, too, i can’t tink of any other music it could be replaced with. If you go all the way with dark oppressive ambient it’ll change the feel of the entire movie too much and i think you’ll lose the innocense of the main character.
I heard of Silent Hill but perhaps only saw a few minutes of that movie and i’m not sure if it would work at all with In The Mist. In the past i’ve had people tell me that the music could suit plays or horror movies. The music is written without anything visual in mind, though, yet it has always seemed to fuel many listeners’ imagination.

-The Fall Of Grey-Winged One: How did You find such poetic and powerful title? Is it hard to search new names for Your bands?

I don’t recall having much problems finding project names or track titles, i don’t really force myself to come up with stuff that would be easily accepted or understood by any audience so i’m very free in what i can do with those elements.
This particular name is a variation on the fallen angel theme, something that returned a few times in my older works. Angel here has nothing to do with any religion in what it represents but it’s a different kind of human, not better, not less, but simply different and sort of an outcast. The contrast between an angel which is usually regarded (either in fiction or religion) as a beautiful being, and it’s fall or broken wings on the other side creates a strong mysterious background, a complex, beautiful yet distorted, tortured soul.

-Don't You mind to start another one music project? Are You satisfied with such number of projects?

If i have ideas that don’t fit in any of my current projects i will make a new one. In fact i have more projects than people know about and only recently i’ve been considering to start yet another one.

-Can You say that all of them are alive and You may publish another one album of The Fall Of Grey-Winged One or The Ethereal or Tear Your Soul Apart or In The Mist? Or some of them are dead anyway?

Some are on hold, like ‘Tear Your Soul Apart’, since i don’t have any new material planned for those anytime soon. Except for one or two projects there is new music being worked on for everyone of them.

-You are very prolific as the musician; also You make all of the art-works for Your album, isn't it? Are You a painter? Do You paint art-works for other bands? And which one was Your first art-work? (and please send it to the interview too)

I’m not a painter, though i have made a few paintings it’s never been something i had the patience for. Most of my visual artworks these days are purely digital. Once in a while i start from hand-drawn scetches which get improved and finished on the PC. For my 3D models i do quite alot of scetching during the entire process of creating a complex model.
I don’t remember what my first artwork was, probably something in a horror/sci-fi/fantasy setting from the time i was still doing comics, but none of those drawings are still around.

-If You could chose any place in the universe to Your concert+. To the concert of one of Your project where would You like to play and what would You like to play there?

Any place in the universe? A few hundred kilometers below the rings of saturn, with the stage positioned in such a way the make-up of the rings has the feel of a sky. Anything else will be pretty trivial at that point.
I’d probably be playing UDOM or BBV then.

-How often do You receive offers from another labels? Which of Your projects are most popular from this point of view?

I’ve received quite some offers over the past two years, mostly for UDOM, either it’s labels interested in re-releasing the first two albums or who want to released whatever next album i finish. So far i declined all offers as i think it’s too soon to start worrying about the next release and in case of the first two albums i believe a re-release won’t really do those works any justice, they are fine the way they are.

-What new with NULLL records? Which bands are into it now? (well, and which album of Zaraza You have produced onto it?)

There’s not much planned at the moment for NULLL records, i have very little time as it is and if i have to choose between my own works and NULLL, obviously i will go for the first. Besides my own projects i don’t have any active deals with any other bands, most deals i’ve done in the past have always been for only one album.
The Zaraza album ‘Life Is Death Postponed’ has been reissued through NULLL.

-Few of Your albums are free for download. How did You decide to make so? What do You think about sharing the music through Internet by mp3?

I could try and describe my music only using text, but most of the time it’s simply not possible to give someone who’s interested an accurate idea of the music, one has to be able to hear the music itself. I’ve always placed a lot of mp3s online and several complete albums and will continue to do so as i think it’s the best way to promote the music.
As for the sharing of mp3s (or movies, anything copyrighted and without consent of the artist), im against that. For several years now i’ve tried where possible to make people aware of the damage they’re doing, but so far without much effort and i gave up on it a while ago. Not only because it would be near impossible to change the mentality of the people who do it, but also because of the fact that the big labels and even the performing rights organisations are coming up with measures that force people more than ever before to download the music illegally instead of buying CDs. This is not about money, this is about respect, about understanding the artist and the conditions that full-time professional artists work in (and i don’t mean the likes of britney spears and all those bands that only exist to make money, since they contribute to the problem).
For my music i have found a way to deal with it. If people can’t pay proper respect to my works, if they still have to resort to illegal downloads despite me already putting about two thirds of all my works online for free, then i can’t but decide they’re not worth of getting any more of my music. There’s no respect from the scene, so i figure my music is not wanted, so about half of the stuff i’ve written over the past two years simply doesn’t get released. I make this music for myself in the first place and could really do without the hassle of releasing it since, apperently, there is no demand for it judging by how it is treated.

Marche Funebre Production (Russian sub-label of Stygian Crypt) has published The Ethereal CD and Beyond Black Void. Are You satisfied with such collaboration. And do You plan to deal with them for some time?

When we started talking about possible releases on the -then- brand new label, there were 3 albums MFP wanted to re-release : The Ethereal, Beyond Black Void and the first two UDOM albums. The The Ethereal album had already been re-recorded and remastered some years before for a deal with another label that ceased to exist even before the CD could be released. The new MFP label was going to be extreme and funeral doom only, so it would be the perfect choice. At the same time the label also expressed interest in the Beyond Black Void album and seeing i always liked that one more than The Ethereal, i figured this would be a good opportunity to expose this kind of music to a potentially larger audience.
The UDOM rereleases is a different story. So far i’ve had four of five labels ask me if they could re-release those albums. It’s impossible as the recording quality is not something i’d want to see put on a professional CD, but it’s also an important part of the atmosphere of the music, so simply re-recording it to give it a ‘better’ sound as most of those labels requested, would create an entirely different album and i didn’t want that. The original version is as good as it gets for this particular kind of music and i don’t want to tamper with that. As with most of my tracks i did have several different versions of them, and i have been considering releasing a few of these alternate versions but with the new UDOM sound. In the end i agreed with MFP to release an album with several older tracks, from the first two albums, rerecorded, re-arranged where needed and with a new sounds and add several new tracks on top of that. At the very moment i’m recording the tracks for this album. As for release date, it will be somewhere in 2008.
So far i’ve been very satisfied with MFP, we will see if there are possibilities for future releases, if MFP still wants to release more works from me in the future, i’d be glad to cooperate with them again.

-Why do You think a lot of people like Your music? Dare I say we are both (me and You) can understand that it's quiet abnormal fact :-). Is it some kind of masochism? I say it considering Your extreme projects of course.

I don’t think my music is that extreme, firstly. But why do people like it have no real idea. I’ve known people who were into electronic and dance music and could appreciate certain UDOM tracks yet couldn’t stand anything metal. I wouldn’t call it masochism either, i think this kind of music, although with negativity in general often as concept has a positive effect on the listener, at least it has so on me.
Another thing is if you compare my stuff with what is popular these days, i think i can say without sounding arrogant, that this kind of music has more to offer than 90% of what you hear on radios or see on TVs these days...

-It said unto Your web-site that Beyond Black Void is "minimalistic drone funeral doom" and The Ethereal is nihilistic funeral doom+ How do You define such terms as "minimalistic" and :nihilistic"? :-) Or is it just the names?

I try not to waste too much time on describing my bands, i make sure there are plenty of mp3s on my site, so people who are interested enough to listen to those will have a much better idea of what the music sounds like than i could ever describe in words.
There’s a few terms coming back in the descriptions of different projects but i try to be consistent. Minimalistic speaks for itself, while with ‘nihilistic’ i usually mean the concept is also of a more extreme nature, but in the end they’re still just words with all their limitations.

-Which of Your bands are most important for You?

That’s hard to say, there are a few projects that are not as important as others since they mainly exist for a experimental and purely musical purpose. Amongst the most important there’s definately UDOM and BBV.

-Well and really difficult question: what is new will we hear from Stijn Van Cauter in nearby time? Which albums do You plan to release?

I have at the moment about 9 albums (BBV, FOTGWO, UDOM x3, IDNM, FF, ITM, TE) in various stages of completion, but little time to work on them, some of these are basically finished and just need a bit of recording and mixing. I can’t say when i’ll be able to finish them and if they’ll be released at all.

-Few simple questions at last. How do You spent Your ordinary days or holidays?

I don’t care much for holidays, in general when i’m not at work and not asleep i’ll be in my studio most of the time, working on one or other project.

-What kind of music do You prefer now?

Lately i’ve been mostly listening to ambient and a wide variety of music from the 60s and 70s.

-What are Your favorite movies and cartoons?

I don’t really watch many movies, i really prefer books. As for cartoons, i like ‘Dexter’s laboratory’, ‘Samourai Jack’ for their original styles, i’m also into japanese sci-fi cartoons such as Gundam, Crest Of the Stars, Space Battleship Yamato and Macross and the old short cartoons like Tom & Jerry and various others from Disney (not the movies, though).

-Do You have any home pets?

There’s two stray cats that live here for several years now. Fed them once and they never left since then, we get along pretty well.

-What is Your motto?

Life’s to short to waste your time coming up with mottos.

-Beforehand thanks for Your patience and for Your music of course. Best wishes to You and Your family. Would You like to say few words at last to our readers?

Thanx for these questions, it’s been a pleasure to do this interview. For all interested parties, there is alot of material on my site for you to check out : mp3s, 3D images and animation previews and some of my sci-fi writings, all at http://svc.nulll-void.com