Bliss-Illusion Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

1. Hello, I'm glad to accept your interview. Recently, we are preparing for our second album. There's no news to tell. Anyway, it's been a tough year. I hope the world will be better soon and all of us will be safe。

2.So far you have released one full length and an ep, musically how do they both differ from each other?
2.First of all, my first album involves a lot of Buddhist themes. Generally speaking, it is a complete album. As for my EP, leave abhassara Deva, which is completely separated from the former theme concept, I want to continue it as a conceptual work. The theme of this song is from my personal novel "the kingdom of the north", which is full of divinity. I have been very interested in Romanticism and divinism since I was very young. This song is mainly about the love between two people in the Deva, which reflects the love between me and my wife in another parallel world. I love my wife very much in real life. She paid a lot for me in my most difficult days. She is like my teacher.

3.A lot of your lyrics cover Buddhist, Taoism and Confucianism themes, which aspects of these religions do you bring into your songwriting?
3. I respect all faiths in the world and I think they should be equal. It's just that people's ways of tolerance and acceptance are not equal. My first album is about equality. I want people to feel calm when they hear our music. That's the concept 

4.You also cover some poetic themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

4.My mother is a Chinese teacher, she has a deep influence on me. I like Chinese very much, but when I was a child, my academic performance was very poor. Almost all the teachers thought I was crazy. They found that I hate all the other courses except Chinese. I have great respect for Dante Alighieri. He is a man full of divinity, my EP inspiration is from him. I think he must have gone to an eternal place, with his Beatrice forever. And Beatrice, for Dante, I think she's gone beyond belief. I also like Johann Wolfgang von goehe, a German writer, who also has a good mother.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the releases?
5. The first album is mainly about the equality of all things and the pursuit of nirvana in Buddhism. The essence of everything we live in this world is void. Although they exist, the way they exist is not real. The concept of time is an illusion of people. Without time, time is just a representation point of the state of the universe. There are only innumerable present moments, which are our thoughts, our thoughts, all of our previous lives, this life and the next life, all of which are causality. As for the theme of that EP work, I would like to say that it is my vision for another space, but I know that the place is still an illusion, which can not be called nirvana in Buddhism, but it is really beautiful

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. The band's work is mainly innovated by guitarist Wang Xiao and me, but he is in charge of the main part. Our EP work was almost created by him alone. He is really a very good guy. He always brings surprises to everyone. As for the live performance, we just express as we like, there is nothing to say. As for myself, I hope I can enter a state when performing: a state without self-awareness, a state of being able to accept and understand everything, but it has not been successful yet, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

7.So far you have worked with Infected Blood Records, Totenism Productions, Anesthetize Production and Tear Water Records, do you feel these labels have been very supportive when it comes to getting your music out there heard?
7. I really appreciate the brands that help me release songs. They are really great. I really appreciate the people who helped me. And our French good friend William, who is a very kind person, I am very grateful to him

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of post black metal?
8. I seldom surf the Internet and pay attention to people. I only know that there are many people supporting us in China. I'm really happy. I hope we can bring our works to everyone in the world and make them feel happy.

9.When can we expect another full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9. We have said before that we are planning the next album, we can't guarantee anything, we will try our best to finish it. Recently, I am also doing my own single band: 水树. At present, only music platforms in China can hear it, and I haven't registered for bandmap.

10.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?
10. Sigur R ó s is a band I will never forget, and J ó NSI is a great man. My wife recommended this team to me when I was in the toughest time in 2012. They are really great for me.
Lifelover
Sun Devoured Earth
Hypomanie
Nocturnal Depression Anadopin（China）
Lantlôs
Alcest
Coldworld
Envy
Sadness
Archivist
Gris
Gorgoroth
Dark Throne
Celtic Forest
Violet Cold
Falaise
Cult Of Fire
Silencer
Airs
DeadWood
Nord Frost
Marunata
Mpamop
Møl
Eyelessight
Akaitsuki
Tanpopo Crisis
Claro De Luna
An Open Letter
Kauan

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

11. I like playing games very much. I like collecting old game consoles: FC, SF, Atari, praystation1234, Nintendo 64, NDS, GBA, wonder swan, Nintendo game cube, Mega Drive, sat Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox, Nintendo switch PSP, psvita, hahaha. I like to watch movies at home with my wife. We seldom go out. I am a goalkeeper in an amateur football team. If I go out, I will play football. Ha ha

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. Thank you very much for your interview. I hope we can take good care of ourselves and our family and cherish everything we have. The thing you want to look for all the time is actually looking for you. It will be good together. Finally, please say hello to your family on behalf of me. Thank you.

  https://www.facebook.com/Bliss.Illusion.cn/

Bliss-Illusion/Leave Abhassara Deva/Tear Water Records/2020 EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  China's  Bliss-Illusion  which  continues  their  mixture  of  post  black  metal,  depressive  rock,  shoegaze,  Buddhist  and  Chinese  folk  music  and  the  ep  was  released  in  2020  by  Tear  Water  Records  and  called  "Leave  Abhassara  Deva".

  Ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  ep  while  also  using  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  while  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Elements  of  post  rock  and  shoegaze  are  also mixed  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  depressive  black  metal  screams  are  also  utilized  briefly

  Clear  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  while  whispers  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  Clean  playing  is  also  utilized  into  a  lot  of  the  music  along  with  the  guitar    leads  and  solos  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them. 

  Chinese  and  Buddhist  style  folk  instruments  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  added  on  one  of  the  tracks,  both  songs  stick  to  a  slower  direction  and  the  second  track  also  adds  in  some  session  work  from  Laang  as  well  as  being  a  re-mixed  version  of  the  first  song.  The  production  sounds  very  profesisonal  while  the  lyrics  cover  Buddhist  Philosophy,  Poetry,  Introspection  and  Human  Emotion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bliss-Illusion  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  post  black  metal,  depressive  rock,  shoegaze,  Buddhist  and  Chinese  folk  music,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  8  out  of  10.

https://tearwaterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/leave-abhassara-deva      

Bliss-Illusion/Shinrabansho/Anesthetize/2019 CD Review

  Bliss-Illusion  are  a  band  from  China  that  plays  a  mixture  of  post  black  metal,  shoegaze,  Buddhist  and  Chinese  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Shinrabansho"  which was  released  by  Anesthetize.

  A  very atmospheric  sounding  post  rock  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  keyboards. Clean  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  shoegaze  elements  which  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  depressive  black  metal  screams  while  Chinese  folk  instruments  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording. At  times  the  music  also  brings  in  the  more  ritualistic  side  of  Buddhist  music  along  with  some  melodic  chants  and  throat  singing  also  being  utilized  at  times.

 Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  melody  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  as  well  as  one  of  the  tracks  being  an  instrumental,  clean  playing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  growling  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  are  also  utilized.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Buddhist  Philosophy,  Poetry,  Introspection  and  Human  Emotion  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Bliss-Illusion  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  post  black  metal,  depressive  rock,  shoegaze,  Buddhist  and  Chinese  folk  music  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sunyata"  "Pass  Away"  and  "The  Age  of  The  Last  Dharma".  8/5  out  of  10.

https://anesthetize.bandcamp.com/album/shinrabansho