an interview recently discovered with no record of who it was done for.
originally answered in 1998 but edited and augmented extensively in april 2003.




What are the sources for your inspiration? Is the very inspiration an instigation from your part to all those who will take you seriously?

sources of inspiration are life experiences, books, films, music. it's hard to be more specific because it depends on the period of time. for example, the film "ulysses' gaze" had an influence on no man's land, and a prison for oneself is a tribute to 'the prisoner' tv series. a few compilation tracks we've done in reaction to specific themes presented to us. other than those instances, we don't really want to be just a signpost for other people's work. we have our own unique experiences and viewpoints, and the same influences cause a different result from us than from someone else.


Is there any major difference between what you really are and what you allow others to see in you? Can we assume that the real features emerge best of all on top of the mask?

the thoughts and feelings i have the majority of the time are reflected in my work. of course, art does not equal life exactly. it's a portrait, a condensed version. in some ways it's more true to myself than i've been able to be in everyday life. i suppose the main element that doesn't come through in lyrics or interviews is i actually do have a sense of humor, even if it is often warped.


Don't you think that many of the groups from the underground scene today assume a mysterious air only to attract greater interest and draw the attention of the media?

i think it's clear when people are being fake. they parade the same list of fashionable influences which clearly have no effect on their life or art. i don't think we do that. anything we've ever spoken about in interviews - and this goes for bryin too, though he's only been interviewed regarding his other projects - has been an honest representation of our interests and beliefs at the time. i can't say we'll always stand by those statements because people change. the same is true of the lyrics. if they project an air of mystery it's because i don't believe in giving everything away. i like having to think about the meaning of words and images.


Why do you think the media started to encourage the collective narcissism? Why did so many people start writing music after, apparently, they hadn't been born to be composers? Why did so many people suddenly rush to the Temple of Knowledge, after this temple had always been built only for a few? How could you explain all that? What has to be undertaken in order to evade delusion? What should we accept to be art if we all become equal in brains?

i don't believe the media actively encourages this in particular. it's a by-product of information being widely available, combined with people being unaware of their limitations. if people understood their true nature, they might not be in music, or they might be doing better music because they wouldn't overextend themselves. i'm not saying one shouldn't grow and take chances, but everything should proceed at its own pace. the main thing that can be done is not support bad music. there is an attitude of "support the underground", at all costs. it's not generally accepted in underground music that there is nearly as much shit there as in the mainstream. i support underground music as much as possible, but i would sooner spend money on an excellent mainstream band than a bad underground one. the good ones are few and far between in either, considering the volume of material being released.


Name some reasons because of which a man is worth to be totally devoted to art.

because one can't live without it.


Have you ever felt lonely although surrounded by people? What do you think this feeling is due to? Is the loneliness the best friend of a creator? Don't you think that a person remains all alone only in his death?

being alone is an essential part of anyone's life, musical or otherwise, but there are times when some others should be let in.


Let's talk about the closed societies. What do you think - is this the best way of keeping a faith or a doctrine in their pure form? Don't you think that the deities are opium, from which the young minds gasp with exultation and non-affiliation to oneself?

there's no way to keep things in a pure state. change is inevitable, some good, some bad. this is why groups split into smaller sects, because at some point issues are raised that divide the members. i think that any faith that places too much power in the hands of others, whether they're human or deities, is in danger of neglecting the power of the self, which is the most direct power at our disposal.


What do you think - is the madness just a condition of wisely mixed-up senses? Could we talk about madness in art as another dimension of the consciousness?

definitely. as logical as i might sound right now, there are times when i've approached madness for one reason or another. i can see things in a totally different way. it's frightening, almost as though you're having a nightmare, but you realize the nightmare is actually the reality you've awakened to, the rest of your life has been a safe little dream. i sometimes wonder if those that society calls insane are jusy in a different state of consciousness, maybe a state more real than the one we normally dwell in.


Good and Evil ... An eternal dilemma! Each person accepts them individually, relying on one's own logic, finding suitable excuse for this eyesore contradiction. Could we then agree that the Evil in art doesn't behave as Evil, but manifests itself as over-personal ideas? Doesn't the Evil manifest in your work? Have you tried to build your own personal logic through it, which is entirely subordinate to the vision of another world?

i think everyone has their own logic about those things. some people make conscious decisions to be evil, some make conscious decisions to avoid it, but may end up being evil anyway. i, like most of us, don't believe that i am evil or that i inflict evil upon others. whether this is really true or not i can't say.


What's the point of liberating ourselves from influences and imitations and looking for our originality, after we had kept their old meanings and continue to depend on traditions and logic?

there are a thousand ways each to view all things. after gaining knowledge it's important to meditate on it and develop your own version of whatever aspects move you. in the process you may come up with a new aspect that will influence someone else, and so on.


Do we have to make sacrifices sometimes, in order to endorse a cause in which we believe? Have you ever felt as a scapegoat?

any causes worth fighting for are going to generate strongly different opinions. so, going out in support of one viewpoint or another is always a risk. i have felt like a scapegoat at various times. all i can do is state my side of the story, move on, and learn from the situation. some will believe or agree with me, others won't.


In personal aspect, how do you accept the challenges offered by the fate? Do you believe in the predestination? Is the fate favourable to you?

i believe in a certain amount of predestination in the sense of following emerging patterns. if the patterns aren't changed, the conclusion becomes clear. divination is about recognizing those patterns and making a change when necessary.


Is the success achieved early a bad influence on a group's work? Do you manage to put aside all that when you are working on a new material? Do you strive for outgrowing yourselves or are you satisfied with what you have achieved in your early compositions?

success or lack thereof are the same thing. if you're overly concerned about it, you will change based on others' reactions to your work. if you create from an inner drive, you will follow that no matter what. i know what i'm pleased and not pleased with about our work, and those are the criteria i take with me when working on something new. to me the real success is achieving what i set out to do. at that point i can move on and push the envelope a little further the next time.


Could we talk about hierarchy in underground?

theoretically there shouldn't be any. it should be people working together or alone for a common goal, which is to create and disseminate alternative information and art. but people play the same power games in the underground as they do elsewhere. with some it's as though they never left high school.


Are the prejudice enemy of art?

absolutely. art should be judged on its own terms, albeit with some background knowledge. but when preconceptions overshadow a piece, either the artist hasn't succeeded in communicating strongly enough, or the audience hasn't opened their minds enough to consider the piece in its own light. or both.


What will the mystery always be for you? Why do you think the mankind still stands as a small child in front of the mysteries of the Universe?

because people are in some way children forever. some learn how to conceal that fact better than others. it's important to retain a degree of childlike quality, but often people keep the worst aspects of childhood and throw away the best. one of the great mysteries for me is that people fail to see the correspondences between themselves and those they strongly disagree with.


What you couldn't do during the last 2-3 years and what do you intend to do from now on? How do you feel looking back through the years?

i feel a sense of loss, mostly of time. although, time passing has also allowed good things to develop, so it balances out. also, some people i have known have slipped away, either out of my life or out of life altogether. i try to use my time more wisely now.


What do you understand by the phrase "Pure Art"? Is it possible for a certain art to be serious if it's not connected with some philosophy?

i'm taking the word "philosophy" in this context to mean "intent". i believe even if someone says they're unphilosophical about their art, that they're doing it for enjoyment or to pass the time, that's a philosophy in itself.


The Underground - If you had to go back (in the very beginning), what would you do counting on the experience you have now? Wound you dare to pass it over again? How long would you think can such a band survive if it is denied media and public approval and recognition? Would you say any of these mattered if you are genuinely given to art?

i would have done more things myself sooner than i did. what drove me to that end was an attempt to get into the mainstream record business and finding that they want to change everything until you are no longer you. they have preconceived notions that are creatively damaging, even if they say they're "artist-oriented". obviously, i needed that experience as an impetus to be more independent, because before that i didn't understand the underground vs. the mainstream, it was all just music to me. i had no idea at first there was a possibility of self-released work. ironically a self-released cassette ('hope for nothing') caught the attention of a good label (MISANTHROPY). the label folded, but the band still continues, because the will to create and disseminate exists regardless.


Does tiredness foreshadow the coming end of one creative work or the losing of the faith in the ideas?

not necessarily. i think it's because your brain isn't receiving the right kind of stimulation, or too much of the wrong kind. at some point body and mind become burnt out. although not impossible, i think it's much harder to create when you feel as though you're swimming against the tide.


Your appeal to all those that should try to comprehend you.

open your mind to both the familiar and the unfamiliar.




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