| Saelok Interview Conducted via email during the nuclear winter month of April, 2002 by Daniel Starkey D- What is your Birthdate? S- The seventh day of March. D- At what age did you decide that you wanted to become a musician? S- I have always known it, I sang as a girl-child, was always performing and involved in competitions. I received private vocal training since the age of eleven and onward. Music can reach inside me to my very core, it is part of my breathing. I have always thought it an honour to translate my emotions and dreams into the form of music and feed it back out to the world...perhaps it will awaken others. D- During Ancient's recording session of "Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends" it has been said that their was alot of turbulance between the band and songwriter Thorne. Will you elaborate on this? S- No. It is not in my nature to spit upon others I have worked with, we were all working towards the commen creative goal of recording the album Mad Grandiose Bloodfiends and that in itself is a positive endeavor. I have no negative emotions of Thorne and wish her the best in all that she seeks to accomplish, because that she is out there offering in any form is to be admired. The Ancient family of the past knows what unfolded in the studio...I prefer to leave such tales for us to cackle over on our journey... D- In speaking with Lord Kaiaphas, he stated the reason you both were asked to leave Ancient was because the 2 of you wanted to take the band in "a different direction." What direction would that be? S- There are several reasons we wanted a different direction... I was always coming against conflict during Ancient when I performed as a strong dominant female and would scream and growl, I felt that it intimidated others in the band sometimes. This is myself, though, and I would not deceive and be a delicate flower crooning...unless the mood struck to take a twist on it somehow. Lord Kaiaphas always supported this as we worked so well together. Musically we both desired a more tribal and diverse element to be added... to bring about a depth yet; still kepp it dark, in fact go even darker...with lyrics also. I always felt that Ancient could be such a phenomenal band if they just became serious...Lord Kaiaphas and I simply desired to take it deeper. Aphazel is amazing in composition and I believe that Deadly Kristin is a gorgeous Italian female vocalist and her work with Aphazel has indeed taken Ancient to a different level. I do not really know if these are the reasons that I was aske dto leave the band as I never actually was "asked". Scorpios wrote to me that a female fan had mentioned she was to be the new female vocalist of Ancient and he was confused as Zwaznu and I had plans of seeing him soon. It is said that it was because we refused to move to Europe, which is not so either as Zwaznu and I were in the flux of re-locating but decided instead to build a studio in New Orleans after Scorpios mentioned such things. Truley; who really knows...? I have moved onward long ago. D- How would you describe your time in Ancient with 1 word? S- Sacrificial D- It was rumored that you would be doing a project with former Ancient Vocalist Lord Kaiaphas, what, if anything, has become of this? S- I became so immersed with Spiritus Tenenbrae and Lord Kaiaphas in his own band Oroboros that we have not yet come together to collaborate. I have always thought that Lord Kaiaphas is an amazing musician and that we blend well together. We shall see what the future unfolds. We are currently on seperate paths, but I regard him as my brother and we shall come together again... D- exactly how long have you known Zwaznu? And How long have you been performing with him in Spiritus Tenebrae? S-I have known Zwaznu ten years. He was involved in a black metal project at the time and was seeking to take it in a different direction. As we are both nomadic and have the depth of chaos always in our lives we travelled and would record at various studios (private and even a church) and compile the music further each time. There is a pattern of tragedy in our bloodstream which causes our recording studio, musical equiptment and personal posessions to be stolen or destroyed. This is devastating, but we always re-build. D- How would you describe Spiritus Tenebrae's music to people who may want to check it out? S- I would describe it as dark, tribal, atmospheric...there are so many diverse elements within...there are world instruments throughout the release "Temple of Anguis." The subject matter of this latest release deals with the Twins (Zwaznu and I) murdering an angel and drinking its blood for ritual to transcend and each of our journeys from this...with death, dreaming, our Nomadic Wandering and wisdom revealed therein. Some fans have said it sounds like magick and japanese atmospheric music...the music is a soundtrack of our souls. There shall be more informatio on these vibrations as well as lyrics in the Spiritus Tenebrae website. Place your eye to the glass....and look and look. If any are interested only contact us and we shall offer you a taste. There are also a few songs available on Mp3.com and this shall soon be updated with others. D- What of your solo project Nahema ov Nashimiron? Is it in the same musical style as S.T? S- Nahema ov Nashimiron is where I translate music that does not fit with Spiritus Tenebrae. The themes are twisted fairy tales and folklore, with a few containing samples from films. I feel it is in a different vien than Spiritus Tenebrae in concept. D- After reading lyrics to your "adagio" tack from N-o-N I cant wait to hear the mp3 sample. When will we see this? S- My intentions are to have not only "adagio" but a few others available in Mp3 format by Winter...as well as the album complete and available. I shall be placing more lyrics up also for some of the songs on my personal site. D- Are you still constructing bone jewelry and making your own clothes? S- Yes, I am always sewing and designing clothes for Zwaznu and myself and we both have our bone boxes which we check to see if the ivory of the bones is just right to be cleaned and worked into jewelry...I have also taken up the art of stained-glass and have designs to incorporate stained-glass against the ribcage and wrists. D- When do you see S.T touring, or at least performing live? S- We have offers, but would like to find people whom could aid us in a live performance. We have a stage performance designed for such and seek out those whom would be involved. We are currently working on our next album and this is the main focus at this time. When we do tour, it will more than likely be in Europe with a few select shouws in the US. D- What can we the fans expect next from you? S- There will be the release of the new Spiritus Tenebrae album as well as Nahema ov Nashimiron and I am always available to any whom contact me...beyond I can be tracked more closely at these websites... SplinteredShardsOfSaelok: www.angelfire.com/la/azhriaz/ Official Spiritus Tenebrae: www.spiritustenebrae.com D- Any closing words? S- Mine thanks to all of you who have supported me in my endeavors...May mine dead and demons come to kiss your slumber. "You listen to other voices in my painful voice. Lament of cold mouths, blood of old supplications. Love me, companion. Don't forsake me. Follow me. Follow me, companion on this wave of anguish." Much thanks to you, Saelok!!! |