1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
Z: We’ve played a few shows and are currently in the thick of our promotional campaign. But in the back of our minds, we have the outtakes from the recording session—which aren’t really outtakes at all, but rather great material for the next album.
K: Lots of people with questions.
2.You have a new album coming out in May, musically how does it differ form the stuff you have released in the past?
K: We have become much more mature and secure. Musically, it's still Wandar, just like it used to be. But we've grown up (laughs).
Z: The album ties in with Zyklus to some extent, but instrumentally it bears much more of the signature style of Karlsgrad and Totz. At the same time, however, you can also sense that we leave room for nocturnal romanticism. Kallenheim’s poetry, in turn, speaks for itself—its interpretive possibilities are wide open
3.This is also your first album in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about the long wait in between releases?
Z: We’re a semi-professional band in the sense that we can’t make a living from our music. We have regular day jobs, which means our creative processes are concentrated into shorter periods of time. But I don’t think our creative output should be underestimated, since our compositional energy builds up steadily over a longer period and then explodes during our sessions.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?
Z: As far as the lyrics go, Kallenheim can and should say something about that, since that’s entirely his domain. As for songwriting itself, there’s basically no formula for it, so it’s also difficult to trace any development in that regard. Often, a song lasting up to 10 minutes emerges from a small phrase conceived on the piano. Generally speaking, though, the way we work is that the instrumental framework is established first, before Kallenheim adds his lyrics.
K: I usually write fragments first and then place them on the scaffold. The basic themes are the journey to knowledge, death, loneliness, despair and confidence are recurring motifs. Tiefe Erde has become very dark and direct compared to the other albums. It is the final step into the great blackness, the loneliness of the will in a dying world. But at the same time, salvation, absolute silence and oppressive hope.
Whether I got better with it is for others to decide.
5.On your earlier releases you also covered some Paganism themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
Z: That’s something Kallenheim should really answer.
K: We are still dealing with these issues, paganism itself is probably our last weapon. The thought of a self with nature, without monotheistic religions, one with the elements, that inspires my heart. Unfortunately, we cannot always implement this. But we can take in the ancient deities and spread some of their wisdom. I think paganism is the only way to live.
6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Wandar'?
K: The word Wandar is a combination of forest and hiking. In the old days, we spent a lot of time in the woods. Wandered, stoked the fires and experienced the connection with nature.
Without the forest, Wandar would never have existed.
Wandar is in my opinion a strong word that defies the elements and shows the middle finger against any kind of religion
7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
K: The painting is by a gifted painter named Satiago Caruso from Argentina. We have been searching for a long time, for something that expresses Tiefe Erde. Then Totz came across the picture and we all fell in love immediately. That fixed gaze, the bald desolation and the renunciation of the individual … Tiefe Erde.
Thanks again to Satiago (www.santiagocaruso.com.ar).
8.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
K: I couldn't pick the best show since there were a few. Live shows are very emotional and exhausting for us. They are small rituals that express our unbridled love for this kind of music. We merge, I can blindly rely on Karlsgrad, Totz and the rest. We celebrate every note, inhale every word and let the storm out.
9.Do you have any touring r show plans once the new album is released?
K: We have already played the first shows and from the autumn we will be traveling more intensively.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
K: What a question. You know, I live in a rural area without a smartphone. And I'm online a few times a week. I know of some crazy people in France, Brazil and Greece, but nothing more. Maybe you can tell us?
11.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
Z: Personally, I'm involved in several other projects: the dark folk band “Neun Welten” and the stoner doom band “Planet Z.” Last but not least, I've been playing in a Beatles cover band for over 15 years, focusing on their later, more progressive era
K: Mara is active in various bands and also performs as a live musician, playing multiple instruments, including with the band “Boötes Void.” Last year, she released the album Menetekel with the band “Gorleben.” With another band, “Abglanz” (a black metal band on the label Vendetta Records), she is scheduled to enter the studio later this year to record a new EP. Currently, she is the most active member of the group in terms of live performances.
Mara repeatedly describes that the only moments in which she feels truly free and able to breathe are when she is on stage. For her, it is both a passion and a form of therapy.
12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
K: If I knew… I can't tell you because we don't set limits for ourselves. Wandar will always sound like Wandar, but in what way, only the stars know.
13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
K: Zazghul and I are two big GN'R and The Doors fans. Otherwise, I can only speak for myself. I'm a child of the 90s and of course I love 90s black metal. Without bands like Emperor, Gehenna, Samael or even Alice in Chains, my development would have been different. But I also listen to a lot of goth rock and neofolk. I think anything that has a melancholic, dark-atmospheric quality in it attracts me.
At the moment I listen to a lot of Devil Doll, Elend and the electronic Ulver. And we should definitely not forget Chopin's Nocturnes.
14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
K: Thank you for the interview. Support the underground of the black flame. The fire will always be the light.
https://facebook.com/Wandar666
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