Dani: It has been eleven years since your
debut album. Did you ever thought that Arcana would become so popular
and you'll become a famous artist?
Peter: Well, I guess everyone
that is a musician of any kind has the fantasy of becoming a famous
artist, but no, I never expected it to be this big.
Dani: First you were in Cold Meat
Industry, and then moved to Cyclic Law, and now to Kalinkaland
Records. Is there any particular reason for those changes?
Peter: CMI began a more harsh
approach and that was nothing for Arcana. I felt that we were a bit
misplaced at the label, and at the same time I thought about moving
on with my own label. Cyclic Law was never a label that Arcana were
signed to, but the label we made a split-release with on the 10-year
anniversary album “The New Light”. Frédéric Arbour, the owner
of Cyclic Law, and I have been friends for many years, so it was a
great solution to make a split. Kalinkaland Records has the approach
Arcana have looked for, not pure industrial, not pure goth, but a mix
of many different genres. Harald Löwy is a very good friend and I
believe Arcana have found a great label for the future.
Dani: How are things with your own label,
Erebus Odora? Is it still operational, do you have any plans for it
or any upcoming releases?
Peter: Erebus Odora as a label
does not exist anymore, but Erebus Odora as a studio exists. We don’t
have the finances for more releases and since I have terminated
Sophia, signed Arcana to Kalinkaland Records and Gustaf Hildebrand
and Make Pesonen is on Cyclic Law, we decided to skip the label.
Dani: When you look upon your older
albums, like "Dark Age Of Reason" or "Cantar De
Procella", how do you look on them, would you change anything in
them now?
Peter: I never listen to my old
albums but if I would do that I don’t think that I would change
anything. One develops as a musician and that was the kind of
musician I was then. Time moves on, and so do my creativity and my
skills. That was then, this is now.
Dani: You are playing lot of concerts, so
I bet you must like them. How do you feel when you get on the stage
and perform, does it have any meaning to you? Do you think that your
music receive something while played live or maybe loose something in
this form?
Peter: Well, I don’t think
there are that many concerts, but some, sure. It is nice to travel
through Europe and meet the fans. I am not that fond in leaving my
daughter at home, being away from her is nothing I like. But when you
are on the road, it is fun. There is a big difference from gig to
gig, and a big difference depending on which band you perform with.
The sad thing about Arcana it is hard to make a great performance,
because it is impossible to play 100% live. And then some of the
music loses its charm. Still, with a good atmosphere, good lights, a
nice bottle of Montenegro and a great audience, things work out for
the best anyway. When I perform with my punk-band or my metal-bands
there is a big difference. Then everything is live and we all have a
blast.
Dani: With so many concerts played,
didn't you thought about releasing a DVD with one of them?
Ia: We have thought about it, but
whenever we record a gig the sound is terrible or we sound terrible.
;) One day we will make a fantastic gig and hopefully that one will
be recorded. We try to record all gigs, and have about 4-5 of them on
tape, but none of them are good enough to release.
Dani: Both Arcana and Sophia albums had
great covers and inlays that really worked with the album (like for
example in "The Seduction Of Madness"). It seems you are
always trying o make it a whole, one concept, visually and musically?
Peter: The music is not all. A good layout with nice photos/artwork can lift a mediocre album to a higher level. Since I make all the music I let Ia make the covers.
Ia: I was very happy when Peter
asked me if I wanted to make the cover for Sophia’s “Herbstwerk”.
It was a new experience, and it really was a great thing to do. Since
then I have learned a lot about layout and I learn something new with
each release. I am very happy that Peter has given me the chance of
showing what I can do, since I have no skill in making music.
Dani: And this moves to my next
question. How did you come to work with Polish artist Agnieszka
Szuba?
Peter: Agnieszka e-mailed me some years ago and told me that she used to listen to my music when creating her art. She showed me some of it and I was stunned and so was Ia. I asked her if she wanted to make a cover for the next Arcana album, and she accepted. It was more of a collaboration between us, since I sent songs I made for the album and she painted with the music on the stereo, and vice-versa.
Dani: How do you choose artists/musicians
you work with in Arcana?
Peter: First of all, they need to be good friends and we have to have fun together. Then, of course, they need to know and feel the music.
Dani: How it became, that you decided to sidetrack from Arcana and created Sophia and why eventually did you decided to shut it down?
Peter: I wanted to explore more harsh music, with more rhythm. I was never interested in the political scene around the music that some people tend to think. The first album was at first made to be music for a live performance, but then I wanted to create more. Sophia had the kind of music that let my aggressions be shown. But when people started to invite us to neo-Nazi gigs, I wanted to change approach. I started to use a more Punk style and added more of my personal views on the world. After I made “Deconstruction Of The World” I felt that it was time to leave the project. I have so many different bands to think about and Sophia was of least priority.
Dani: Now with Sophia gone, do you have any plans for any new side-project?
Peter: I have plenty…he he. But I guess not all will please the fans of Arcana. I have my punk band that I have been a member of since over 16 years. It is called “Meanwhile” and is hardcore crust punk and I play bass in that band. Then I have restarted my old death metal band “Crypt of Kerberos”, a band I released albums with before I started making Arcana. I will not talk about the rest, because it is bands that are more or less just for fun. But Ia and me counted a while back, and then I had 16 projects… that was three years ago. Since then I have started at least 5 more.
Dani: Can you tell us something how did it come to collaboration with Gustaf Hildebrand?
Peter: Gustaf and me have been friends since I met Ia. They were friends before I came along. We both are part of a “secret society”-kind of gathering. Since he is a musician and I was thinking about making music with a little bit more occult feeling to it, I asked him to join in. The result is the “Out Of The Darkling Light – Into The Bright Shadow”, which we released back in 2005 on Erebus Odora.
Dani: You have released more than 10 albums altogether. From where do you get the inspiration or ideas for your music?
Peter: Well, I get most of it from feelings I get in my mind and my body. It can be everything from love to death, happiness to hate and depression to aggression.
Dani: You have participated on 2 different tribute albums for Dead Can Dance. How was it to make covers for their music?
Peter: It was fun. No one can ever make music as good as Brendan Perry but I wanted to give it a try. I am quite pleased with all three covers, but in my opinion the Project tribute (“Summoning Of The Muse”) had a better feeling to it, than the Black Lotus (“The Lotus Eaters”) release.
Dani: Can you tell us what do you do in your free time, any jobs, hobbies etc?
Peter: I work part-time for the art museum here in Eskilstuna where I make 3D manipulations for the exhibitions. Sometimes I work at a large studio in Eskilstuna, helping out with their recordings. They have just changed to Mac and ProTools and I know the programs and computers 100% so they decided to ask for my help. Hobbies? I don’t think one should call ones daughter a hobby, but I love spending time with her. Otherwise music is my life and music is my hobby. But, when one makes music one can also drink beer and hang out with friends, and that is what I do. We are a bunch of musicians here in Eskilstuna who loves to hang around in our studio and drink beer and just have fun. Markus Pesonen (Karjalan Sissit), Gustaf Hildebrand, Micke Lindblom (Sub Luna), Daniel Bragman (Vinterland, The Black) and so many others are good friends to us.
Dani: You have been in Poland, few years ago now. Do you have any good memories from that visit?
Peter: Oh yes, it was a great journey. The Bolkow castle was fantastic, and the village was ever so nice. But I must admit, I have never seen such lousy roads, anywhere. People drove like crazy and we never thought we would make it to the ferry. ;)
Dani: What are the plans for the future for Arcana? Is there any chance you'll visit Poland again?
Peter: I don’t know when we will be visiting Poland again, but we will probably go to Lithuania in June. Otherwise the future plans are the release of the sister-album to “Le Serpent Rouge” and the next full Arcana album. In September we will perform in Holland and Belgium and maybe another few gigs later this year.
Dani: Thank you very much for the interview. Do you have any words for our Polish readers?
Peter and Ia: Thank you for listening to Arcana. Poland has always been a country where we have had a lot of support. We sure hope to be back soon.
