1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the project these days?
Good evening. I’m currently in the middle of planning the production of the album but it’s still in its early stages. While I already have enough material to release it today, there remains a matter of improving the sound quality, mastering, proper production and pressing.
These things don’t take up a lot of my time and I try to keep focusing on posting something new online every month or so.
2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material?
I would probably place it under the heading of atmospheric black metal. Things haven’t changed a lot since forming the project. I think I’ve been using more (dual) clean vocal sections and the blast beats aren’t as aggressive as they used to be. Also, I’ve been paying more attention to the clean guitar sections in an effort to balance the intensity of the black metal parts and the soothing effect the clean vocals bring forth.
3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the project explores with the music?
The lyrical themes throughout most songs are deception, morality, etc and these lyrics are usually written from a naturalistic point of view. Looking down to the world from a bitter angle and describing its festering ugliness. You could say that the self-extermination of mankind and the inevitable collapse of earth are some of the main topics I keep circling back to. I’m trying to write something that’s not as obvious and above the surface as your average black metal-lyrics (no praising goats and mjölnirs or whatever for me).
4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the projects name?
Percht is a moral figure that appears throughout history in nearly all cultures in one form or another (not always under that name). The main idea is when you do good things you will be rewarded, and the other way around. I’m building my inspiration on the premise that everyone is ultimately bound to destroy themselves and everything around them, either by their own hand, another hand or the general malefic zeitgeist of humanity. It’s depressing I know but I find this topic to lean on most towards the mixed feelings I get when listening to my songs.
5. Currently there is only 1 member in the band do you feel this gives you more freedom to create the
actual music that you want and would you use a full band in the future?
I think there is little to no chance that there will ever exist a full band that will perform under this name. Percht is a project of my own and I’m not really looking for input from other people. I think that when dealing with other musicians there is always going to be a certain presence of their influences, while I only want to explore my own capabilities with this project. I’m not saying that I won’t be interacting with people that are willing to assist in terms of drum recording, mastering, etc. but the core of the project, which is the writing of the music and lyrics, will be without input from others.
6.Does Paganism or Occultism play any role in the music?
No. I find it to be a lot more interesting to explore general human emotions and morality in my lyrics rather than place myself under the paganism - or occultism banner. For one I think that, sad as it is, those two terms have already been boiled down to mass exploitation throughout the metal community nowadays and for two, I consider religion or any form of devotion towards a god-like figure an utter waste of time. Separation of ‘church’ and music leaves more room for experimentation on all fronts, in my opinion.
7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
There have been a few positive reviews of the demo and sometimes I’m contacted by people who appreciate my music but that’s about it. As for feedback in general, I don’t really have a clue. I guess that’s one of the disadvantages of having a one-man project, you don’t really get a lot of feedback because you don’t do any gigs. It’s tricky to find the right audience when the only means of communication are the social media. That’s why I’m relying on the people who like my music to recommend it to their like-minded peers.
I’m currently using Facebook and Soundcloud actively and I’ve seen a steady rise of fans/followers on both pages in my project’s two and a half years of existence. I guess things will change when I’ll release my album in the future, but for now the attention drawn towards my project has been relatively mild, with the addition of a few new fans every week.
8. Are you currently involved with any other musical projects these days?
I’m currently forming a band that will play atmospheric black metal with post-rock aspects, in which I will be playing rhythm guitars (and quite possibly backing vocals). I’m also planning to do a split-album (probably) late 2013 with a similar project a couple of friends are engaged in. More on that later.
9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases/
I’m hoping that I’ll be able to release an album somewhere in the winter/spring of 2014. I don’t think there will be a lot of changes in terms of the music itself but I hopefully will see the production and mastering improve during that time (speaking about better drums, maybe synthesizer/piano tracks, mastering, etc).
10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Wolves in the throne room, Year of no Light, Enslaved, Alcest, Agalloch, Bathory, Negura Bunget, Omega Massif, … Anything atmospheric can be considered an influence. I’m not just talking about metal bands. Pink Floyd and The Sisters of Mercy have both had a great impression on me in terms of ‘out-of-the-box’thinking, that’s why I try to cross the lines I’ve drawn for myself.
Nowadays I’m (non-stop) listening to the following albums: Fimbulvinter by Kroda, Diadem of twelve stars by WITTR, Terma by Sadhaka and Elizium by Fields of the Nephilim.
11. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
I’m glad to see that the project has been and is slowly reaching people who appreciate my music. I can only hope that word-of-mouth publicity helps people to discover Percht even more, because that has worked out fine so far.
Every song that appears on Soundcloud, (Myspace) or Facebook can be downloaded freely (the same goes for the demo). I believe that as long I’m not putting any financial effort in the project, I shouldn’t be asking money for it either. And for that matter, I think that, especially, in this early stage of development, money shouldn’t be another barrier you have to cross to get in touch with the music you like. Or don’t like. At least I’m offering you a free choice to find out for yourself. Thanks for the support and subscribe to the Facebook page in order to stay updated on new songs and future plans.
Contact info:
http://facebook.com/perchtmetal
http://soundcloud.com/percht
http://facebook.com/ferre.bulte
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