Today ConSouling Sounds have released the split album between the Italian band Vanessa Van Basten and the Belgium band Hemelbestormer. Daniela Patrizi recently reviewed it for Ech(((o)))es and Dust (see here) and she decided to get to know something more from these two bands that seem to perfectly complement each other on this six track split release.
(((o))): Hi guys, how is it going?
HMBSM (Jo): Everything's fine here at Hemelbestormer's HQ. Taking some time to prepare for upcoming shows and writing some new sounds.
VVB: Not so good…at the moment I have some problem with the regular job you know…just fucking crisis. But Rock ’n’ Roll will save us all.
(((o))): How’s life in Genoa/Belgium?
HMBSM (Jo): Life in Belgium is good, enjoying it...
VVB: I currently live in Trieste (Italy), a small town with a lot of good musicians, sea, top-class food. Social desperation is all around, but we have good remedies in this country after all.
(((o))): Where does your band name come from?
HMBSM (Filip): We absolutely weren't keen about having an English name. Though it should be easy to pronounce unlike some alienating Finish names. Hemelbestormer is a Dutch word that doesn't really have an English translation, but it should be something like "sky stormer". Someone who's called a hemelbestormer, means he's an idealist, who has got revolutionary ideas and wild plans.
VVB: It’s a joke…we mixed my ex-room mate’s name with the famous football player and then we played this metaphysic heavy stuff. Ironic. At least to us.
Hemelbestormer
(((o))): Let’s start at the very beginning. How did you get into making music?
HMBSM (Jo): Everyone in Hemelbestormer is playing music since their early teens. All members are coming from different musical backgrounds such as hardcore, death metal, rock, etc. Inspiration for getting into music is both spiritual as emotional. Making music for us is much more than just playing songs; it is something we need to do.
VVB: I’ve been playing guitar since I was 13 but my real ‘career’ started at 17 as a rock DJ. This helped a lot because I’ve listened to tons of music and all the styles through the years, making me able to understand what really happens in the ears of people. In 2005 I founded Vanessa Van Basten as a personal psychedelic experience (I used to smoke a lot of weed…), but the project became something more, involving other musicians, so we released 3 albums and some EPs, and we toured a lot as well.
Vanessa Van Basten
(((o))): How did the Vanessa Van Basten/ Hemelbestormer project come about?
HMBSM (Filip): In the past ConSouling Sounds released albums of my previous bands P:407 and Gorath. I know the guys personally and sent over some demo songs we made. Later ConSouling told me about the anniversary project they were about to set up. They wanted to release a batch of collaboration albums of artists connected to the label. First one out was the Alkerdeel versus Gnaw Their Tongues album, which is very good actually. ConSouling matched Vanessa Van Basten and us. Even though our styles aren't likewise, we both created a monolith of a song!
VVB: Everything came from Mike and Miguel of ConSouling Sounds. Our Psygnosis EP was one of the earliest release of their label, back in 2009. The split has born as an anniversary release and the idea was to find some points in common and share some minutes of music. Vanessa has a typical post-rock background but then we evolved in a very personal mix of nineties rock, Swans, Godflesh-esque stuff. At the end we’ve shared with Hemelbestrormer our passion for ambient and drone.
(((o))): I listened your Split EP and I think the way you complement each other is brilliant. The two songs you made together are very beautiful. How did you guys first meet, and what persuaded you to work together?
HMBSM (Filip): we never met in real life, though I'd like to meet mister Morgan some day. Like written above, ConSouling matched us. Initially, I would go for an ambient artist to work with, so we could make an ultimate dark mix of drones and heavy guitars. I knew Vanessa Van Basten as a poppy post-rock band. Anyway, Morgan and I started to communicate through mail and he showed me the song he had in mind for our collaboration album. I was stunned. Just like us, Morgan included loads of ambient and soundscapes to finish off his 20 minutes lasting track. In fact, our songs were quite alike, his being more poppy, ours being more heavy. Later on we mixed the ambient parts and glued one very lengthy song of about 40 minutes.
VVB: We have never met each other. We worked with a distance of 2000 km.
(((o))): Talk about the recording process of the Split EP. How was the recording of the album for you – was it a fun process?
HMBSM (Jo): The recording process was all DIY so it was real fun for us to do. We recorded bass and guitars at a friend's place. Drums were recorded at another place for the acoustics.
HMBSM (Filip): For years I've been working with producers and doing stuff in my home studio. The same can be said about Joris, who was taking care of the synths back then (he had to quit the band, because he moved to England). In the past Joris and I did many recordings together and decided to do it totally without any help or interference from the outside. It was cheap, we had some knowledge and most important: we didn't have any cash to rent an expensive studio. I'm really satisfied about the final product and would redo it again! It just took a lot of time and was quite stressfully sometimes. Joris did a mastering job for the Hemelbestormer track, like it's listed on YouTube, but Morgan made the final master of the CD which is slightly different.
VVB: Of course it was fun. We received the songs from Belgium some time in advance, so we started to figure out how to do it. From the beginning I imagined this strange structure, with our part in the middle and Hemelbestormer opening and closing the album. It’s like changing dimensions twice in half an hour. They liked the idea too. I still love it.
(((o))): Is this your first collaboration? What was it like working with Vanessa Van Basten/ Hemelbestormer on the music? Would you be up for another Split album?
HMBSM (Jo): Portal to the universe was the first release for Hemelbestormer so it was our first collaboration. It was real fun working with VVB, we each wrote our track and it was mixed to one whole. Another split album would be considered if the right band/artist crosses our path.
VVB: This is the third time that Vanessa made a split collaboration. We’ve already done it with Nicker Hill Orchestra and MoRkObOt. The guys of Hemelbestormer are very nice and helpful and the whole matter came out really easy. But we probably never collaborate on an album again in the future simply because… we’ve already done what we had to do with this release, and it’s out now! You know, it’s been a very special happening. But I will follow their next steps and I will support them in the future, if I can, and I hope for the same from them.
(((o))): What did you enjoy most? Were there any difficulties in the collaboration?
HMBSM (Filip): No, everything went smooth. We were merely focused on our ourselves and the recordings. The collaboration between both bands wasn't absorbing that much time and efforts.
VVB: No difficulties. As I said, I love how the atmosphere changes twice on the album. And their last song, ‘Omega’, comes like a liberation at the end. I like the way this drone (‘Portals II’) evolves into an apocalyptic, metallic assault. Like waking up after a long, strange dream. Or the opposite.
(((o))): The artwork for the album is really interesting and it’s brilliant for the way it encapsulates the balance between darkness and light I recognised in the album. How did you choose that particular artwork?
VVB: You have to ask it to Hemelbestormer, but yes, they made it very well.
HMBSM (Kevin): The inspiration for the artwork came from painters artists like Magritte, Friedrich and digital artists like Dave Mckean. It was very important to capture the balance between darkness and light, because it adds to the experience. The overall sound of the album is obviously very heavy, cold and destructive. But it’s absolutely not the only feeling we try to summon, we also try to shine a light on "the bigger picture”. So aside from the heavy parts, there are plenty of parts where the listener gets time to breathe and where he gets time to self-reflect. There’s obviously a lot of darkness in the world but it’s very important to remember that the world is always moving and developing. Darkness is never a permanent thing, and eventually it will cease to exist. It will die out, and that will be the beginning of something new. We’re all looking for an answer, the truth. The desolate landscape on the cover represents our mind. The enormous floating mountain represents “the truth”. The truth cannot be questioned and it is invincible. Its beauty and its unlimited power equal a greatness that can never be measured. It is, what it is. It can never be reproduced and it can never be imitated because it grew over time. In one way or another it stuns and numbs our soul, and it leaves us with new views. Those new views will eventually lead us to brighter paths... the portal to the universe. So, we do want to wear the listener out, but we also want to offer them hope, something to hold on to.
(((o))): What are your thoughts of composing a soundtrack for a film? And what kind of a film would it be?
HMBSM (Filip): That's actually something on my to do list. For years I'm thinking about writing a soundtrack. Not just some short parts, but one lengthy track for about one hour. The music will be dark, dissonant, bone crushing heavy and with loads of soundscapes. Imaging a post-rock version of Sunn O))). Good question. It's hard to say what the movie should be about. Most obvious should be a perfect match between visual art and musical art.
VVB: I really would like to. In the past I worked on TV documentaries and I know there’s a totally new creative universe behind this. If I could choose two movies, then I’d say ‘Eraserhead’ and ‘Begotten’.
(((o))): What are you working on right now?
HMBSM (Filip): At this moment we are booking shows to promote our portal to the universe. We've got some nice ones listed and are about to announce a few more. Further we're working on our debut full length. All music is written but needs to be fine-tuned. We don't rush things and put efforts in producing quality.
VVB: I’m working on three different fronts: the recordings of a new Vanessa Van Basten EP consisting of four cover versions from The Cure’s Disintegration, very heavy and hypnotic and featuring many special guests. Then I’m selecting stuff from our huge archive of live versions, outtakes, demos etc. for a retrospective compilation to release in fall 2014, and finally I’m rehearsing for a new project that I’ll probably bring on stage.
(((o))): What do you listen to when you’re not writing music?
HMBSM (Filip): We can drop a shitload of bands and various genres here. However it's of no importance. Hemelbestormer absorbs so many influences, ranging from the obvious musical ones to those spiritual, emotional and even personal. Listing down names would indirectly push us into a certain label which we don't like.
VVB: A lot of different bands, styles, ages of rock music. From Motörhead to Cocteau Twins, Distorted Pony, Unsane, Bad Brains, Scorn, The Secret, Grime, Swans, Ennio Morricone, Sonic Youth...
(((o))): Are there things you can only express through music?
HMBSM (Jo): Guess that's why we are in this band.
VVB: Yes. Our condition, to be put here in this world, without any certainty except death, a death that will come soon if we don’t use all our evilness, insincerity and selfishness.
(((o))): Thanks very much for your time; I’m a huge fan of the kind of music you produce so I’ll keep an eye on you. Any last words?
HMBSM (Jo): Let the music speak.
VVB: I would like to thank Mike, Miguel and the guys of Hemelbestormer for the great job done and of course you for this interview. Visit our official blog. A presto!
