when did DREAM INTO DUST form and what does it mean to you. is it a way of life?

DREAM INTO DUST formed in 1997 from the ashes of my previous project. itıs the musical expression of my obsessions with the dark side of life. i'd rather not go into detail about the name of the band. it can be taken in a lot of ways, and i want to leave them open to interpretation. even though certain things seem negative, a positive inspiration can come out of it. it's a way of life in that it's the way i view things. i don't expect everyone who listens to it to live the way i do.


how do your tracks usually evolve? lyrics or music first? where do you get your inspiration and who are your main influences?

sometimes a musical idea will suggest a title or lyrics. sometimes the rhythm of words becomes the basis for music. often i find that disparate elements float around until they connect with each other and become a song. the catalyst or inspiration can be a book, a movie, a stray thought, an overheard phrase.


some of your lyrics seem very emotive. do you think that there is a limit to the subjects which can be covered with lyrics?

it's true that i tend to write lyrics from an emotional perspective. but sometimes lyrics come from dreams, visions, or symbols, which may not really be about a particular subject, so lyrical content is as infinite as the mind and the worlds it's able to see.


is there a certain 'scene' which you would like to see DREAM INTO DUST associated? and not associated?

that's not really for us to choose. people from various 'scenes' will be interested or disinterested. obviously it makes sense to direct promotional efforts toward those areas seeming to favor the dark side of things, whatever form that may take. there are many 'scenes' that are both attractive and repulsive.


list your favourite top ten albums in order of preference.

i have literally about a thousand albums. i couldn't even narrow it down to twenty, much less ten. i can't give an order of preference, that constantly changes. certainly pink floyd's "the wall" would rank highly. generally i like albums that work as a whole, not just a collection of tunes.


do you think that your musical following is greater in the states or in europe? why?

our contact list has more people from the u.s., but that's because of greater local promotion. that may change as misanthropy does more european promotion and distribution.


do you notice any cultural void, living in the USA?

absolutely. most of what culture is here, is borrowed. most of what isn't borrowed is vulgar and mundane. one possible exception to that would be jazz music, but in recent years its most visible exponents have become as homogenized as the rest.


as an american, what would you say to those who say that hollywood is trying to rewrite history?

i don't pay much attention to hollywood. as for rewriting history i can only hope such films will inspire people to seek out the truth, or at least something other than what is regularly rammed down our throats.


what is your opinion about politics & music? do you think that musical trends should be used as vehicles for beliefs?

i don't want to put down anyone for expressing their beliefs in their art. unfortunately sometimes it can become a bit overbearing. i think obvious political music is boring, and merely getting on a sonic soapbox is artless, whether i agree with the politics or not.


do you believe in an afterlife? if so, what do you anticipate for yours?

what i think about that changes constantly. we'll never really know until we find out for ourselves. preferably later than sooner.


i know that you are very active on the internet. do you think this is really the future?

i'm less active than i have been. i'm disgusted with most newsgroups. still, the net's a great tool for seeking out information and contacts. we'll see what happens with it. there's a lot of fear in america now, from right-wing and parent groups regarding content, and from technical people saying it's expanding too much and it will all collapse. i think right now we are living the future predicted by various people, from nostradamus to george orwell.


you are a vegetarian. today, many people are moving away from meat. what are your opinions on this?

i think meat's a bad thing to eat for a lot of reasons, but i'm not a strict vegan or an activist. i think it's a choice each person needs to make. personally i've felt much healthier since i stopped eating meat, but others swear by it. i could never give up cheese, so i understand their viewpoint.


the images, lyrics and even the title "no man's land" provoke a bleak, lonely oulook (maybe personal?) tell us about the lyrical content of "no man's land".

the lyrics are entirely my point of view, although i'm sure sometimes the others feel the same way. "no man's land" itself is the area between two fronts during a ground war, a desolate place no one can survive. while writing these lyrics, themes of war became more prevalent in my mind; not to glorify it, but to show it as the horror it is, and use it as an allegory for other aspects of life. part of it is from the brutality shown in theo angelopoulos' excellent film ulysses' gaze. after seeing this 3-hour epic i was completely drained and went straight home to create the wind loop and some of the lyrics in "seasons in the mist". the other major lyrical influence is the symbolism of various magickal traditions and other beliefs. on one level, there is a kind of poetry in the symbols, but people who know what they represent will get the deeper meaning.


i would assume you draw influence for your music from the gothic/industrial spectrum. would goth/industrial be a fitting label for your music?


the problem with such labels is they're widely misunderstood and misused. if industrial and gothic still meant what they once did, then i would agree with you. all of us like many of the bands of the past 20 years who've been filed under those genres, and they have an influence on us. but so do artists like beethoven, laurie anderson and pink floyd. i'd like to hope the more conventional aspects of "gothic/industrial" can lead people to deeper waters. i think we exist in several areas of dark music, but if you try to lump us into just one category we don't quite fit.


what is your favorite instrument?

my first instrument and love was the piano, which has translated into keyboards and samplers. they're comfortable to work with. however for different types of expression i moved on to bass and then guitar. since i'm somewhat limited in the latter, i try to create a unique approach to the instrument. however, everything is secondary to the composition. sounds that most would consider "noise" as well as the recording studio itself become additional instruments. i try to turn any limitations into strengths.


do you think we can say that the story of humanity proves that dreams fall always into dust?

that's one way of looking at it. there are several interpretations of the band name, which i'd rather not explain in detail. while most people would say all of them are negative, they encompass truisms that we all have to deal with: death, disappointment, dreams, reality, and so on. facing these issues is better than avoiding them.


what is for you the strangest thing in this world?

the pettiness and pathetic attitudes of the majority of the human race. you would think that people would learn a few things after thousands of years on this earth.



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