Michael: Your last release Catacomb Resonator as well as its predecessor Unworeldes were released on vinyl. If we require the expertise of additional musicians or artists, they will be invited as guests of honour and lavished with fine wines, champagne and Cuban cigars, but typical ‘band’ dynamics are usually just a hindrance to the actual work at hand, and to be avoided. We have returned to the original Arktau Eos pact, a duo formation, and intend to keep it that way. & A.I.L., but interchanging other members from album to album?Īrktau Eos: It has never been a fluid roster really. Michael: What is the current line-up of Arktau Eos? Is this still a fluid roster, keeping the core members A.I.H. To this end, our records are travelogues and notebooks, quick sketches of eldritch spaces in mind or elsewhere (is there a difference?), cryptic but meant to communicate keys of access to others via suggestion and deep, universal symbols: beyond textual means, beyond sound even. One can only hope it is enough to create a sustained awareness in areas of transition, including the final one that awaits us all. This is not a statement of some inherent morbidity – we laugh too much to pass for the most ardent death-worshippers – yet it holds true in many senses, the basest one being that we realise the limits as to what can be accomplished in this lifetime at best.
We acknowledge Death as the grand initiator whose presence drives us to continue apace.
After all, Arktau Eos is a part of our respective life works, a point where our mutual interests and goals converge in a partially public context. Michael: Where do you see the future taking Arktau Eos? Should we expect another decade of releases?Īrktau Eos: Without any doubt. Then again, we can agree with Alexey Tegin from Phurpa, who is adamant that Arktau Eos – like his own group – in fact has nothing to do with music per se. Yet we have searched for a slightly better fitting description, using ‘elemental music’ on occasion, in reference to its primal origins, suggesting a step aside from the dominion of chronology to seek the eternal, while simultaneously recalling the Paracelsian tria prima and similar formulations: everything has its base in a few active elements from which things of great complexity may nevertheless be composed by skilled hands, aided by knowledge of nature’s mysterious ways. Granted, those terms are not entirely without merit and many of our listeners fall into the demographic no disrespect is intended. Being something of lone wolves and outlaws, we have, for instance, gradually drifted apart from categories such as ‘ritual ambient’ or ‘dark ambient’. Perceived changes usually relate to matters nearly wholly external. Aesthetics evolve, ideas are fine-tuned, our technical know-how improves, but as for fundamental changes – there have been none. We are certainly still on the same trajectory. Do you see yourselves on the same trajectory, following the same ideologies and aesthetics as when the group was first formed?Īrktau Eos: First, thank you for your kind words. Michael: Arktau Eos has been an essential group in the ritual ambient scene for more than a decade. In this interview we will be discussing the future of Arktau Eos, their greater relationship (or lack thereof) with music, politics and religion, their current views on physical, digital and video formats, analysis of Eremos and its context in the Arktau Eos discography, proper setting/atmosphere for deeper listening/understanding of their music, and quite a bit more! There haven’t been a large number of interviews over the years with anyone from the Aural Hypnox / Helixes collective, though the ones available are certainly worth seeking out! So, it is with great respect and privilege that I am presenting you with this highly in-depth interview with Arktau Eos, who also have authority to, and do, speak on matters of the label at large herein. Arktau Eos, like the Aural Hypnox / Helixes collective as a whole, exudes an air of authenticity and primal energy which is unrivaled by most, I would passionately argue. They have been among the top-tier acts in many of the most revered festivals in the scene over more than a decade. Arktau Eos are one of the most distinct and respected groups in the ritual post-industrial scene.