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LUGUBRUM (English version)

par Iormungand Thrazar › samedi 8 septembre 2007

Let's focus on one of today's most weird and great black metal outfit. Interview with Midgaars, guitarist and founder of Lugubrum.

1. On Lugubrum’s debut album « Winterstones », you displayed some good harsh black metal quite influenced by the Scandinavian scene and mainly Burzum. What is your opinion on that album released in 1995? I wanted to talk to you about this debut album since afterwards, starting with the split with Sudarium and the third album « De totem », you found the Lugubrum sound to my eyes. The duo became a real band with several members and the music evolved towards something more personal and more eerie. Can you talk about this evolution in the Lugubrum sound and compositions ? You also almost completely dropped the English language in your texts after that debut album (except on “Heilige dwazen”)…

M: I think after ‘Gedachte & Geheugen’ we found a certain direction, yes. We started adding thrash elements, blues, obscure samples and the rural theme in our lyrics... mainly we went for a more humoristic approach than before, under influence of alcohol and an increasingly cynic point of view. Also Black Metal was becoming a parody of its former self and I started listening to other music. The first two albums have some qualities in my opinion, although I now wish we would have spent more time and effort on them. We’ve always been lazy and back then we had no idea of what we were doing, but in a way that’s also the charm of those works, indeed of all Lugubrum material, what it lacks makes it unique. Basically they’re good songs but I can’t listen to those recordings anymore without getting annoyed. On the other hand covers, like Fluisterwoud did of Aardmannen, may be much better played / recorded but still lack the atmosphere of the original. We started using Dutch lyrics on that first album and continued using them, as it works just as well and fits the obscurity of it all.

2. I like to talk about the past of a band when doing an interview, to follow some sort of progression. When I first listened to «De totem » (I discovered Lugubrum with this album), I said to myself : «What is this ? ». I think I was not ready for the shock. Several listenings later, I came to the conclusion that « De totem » was an excellent record, a breath of fresh hair while displaying some black metal as it should be : raw, violent, vicious. The recording session must have been something wicked, tell us about that period, and what does « De totem » represent in the history of Lugubrum which had become a band by then, as opposed to « Winterstones » and « Gedachte & Geheugen » where it was a duo. It also marks the birth of the « Beer us or die logo » with the bottle and the carrot held between spiked arms. True black metallers would be shocked at that you know? Have you ever received death threats by the oh-so-mighty black metal mafia ?

M: We got a lot of bad press at the time (which was very different with the re-release); for most people it was a bridge too far, the crude sound, primitive recording, use of banjo and weird samples and imagery. The songs are very good though and in the end it became perhaps our most popular album to date. I don’t remember much of the recording, except that we drank too much and spent a lot of time in our local bar. These were wild days spent oudoors shooting and looting, we didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about our actions.The beer / carrot logo we introduced at our first live show in ’98 and was an instant succes. We never received any kind of threat...any horse heads in our beds were left there by ourselves...

3.Where did you get that sado-masochistic excerpt in French on the outro of the De totem album « Oui maître » ?

M: I can’t name you the title of the film unfortunately as we lost the tape, but it was taken from Barditus’s former private collection, which he sold to buy beer. I still love that bit. Perhaps one of your readers will have recognised it...

4.You sometimes referred in the past as Lugubrum being « Boersk blek metle ». Care to talk about this ?

M: ‘Boersk’ referred to our old recording techniques – or lack of- and the fact we operated in a rural area and spent a lot of time outdoors, the windows of our studio were always open and often manure smell filled the room. I don’t mind if people still use the term as it fits our postion as outsiders, even though we rehearse and record in the city now.

5.In 2004, the « De vette cuecken » album got released. It displays a great artwork made by yourself, I gotta to say you’re really talented at it. Have you ever thought about a career in pictural art haha ? This time Lugubrum explores way beyond what had been done in the past of the band. The result is still raw and violent but there is an overall feeling of unease and disgust. How did the idea of introducing banjo and saxophone into somewhat unusual black metal came to you ?

M: I don’t paint as much as I should or would like to; inspiration seems to come mainly when I work for Lugubrum... in a way I’m stuck to this band like to a ball and chain. My family don’t understand why I keep creating these miserable works, but I need it to overcome some severe childhood trauma perhaps... I don’t know. Maybe I’ll be freed from it someday and be able to paint stuff people would want to buy or put in a museum, but probably I’ll be demented by then and start painting with my filthy diapers, or dead. As I said before we don’t think much about what we are doing, at the time of ‘De Totem’ I was learning to play the banjo and it seemed logical to use it on our recordings. When we were rehearsing ‘DVC’, Bhodidharma was living close by and he came in to jam one day and it worked rather well. With Lugubrum most things happen by chance, bad luck or good, one thing leads to the next.

6.In 2005/2006, you released the Heilige Dwazen album. Before talking about in in details, I’d like to come back to this fucked-up period where the owner of Blood Fire Death (also creator of Krieg) disappeared from the face of the earth. The album was released but unavailable for some time, due to the owner’s disappearance/laziness (I had to struggle for 2 years to get the Heilige Dwazen album, the Blood Fire Death version, with many mails that were unanswered until I got this package with lots of stuff). Care to talk about this ?

M: you told most of the story in your question, I don’t want to go further into it simply because there isn’t much to tell. I’ve had no word from the man since the album was supposed to be released. Suddenly I was being swamped with mails from frustrated fans... until I got frustrated myself.

7.As I said, this seemed to have been a turning point since the positive thing coming out of this is the creation of your own label Old grey hair records (from the name of a song on Bruyne Troon). The label is destined to release Lugubrum stuff and related projects only it seems. What has the creation of your own label, thus auto-producing and releasing your stuff changed ? What does it enable you to do that you were not able to before ? Will there be releases from other bands/projects on OGH one day ?

M: At least now I can get a release out on the day I planned for it and the fan can order it straight from the band. However it’s not so easy as it seems; to get distribution deals being a small label selling only one band isn’t easy and takes time. Also many people order cd’s in large quantities from big e-stores, understandebly to save on postage. It’ll take time, but at least I have complete freedom to do what I want and perhaps one day I’ll take on other bands. I’m keeping an eye out but before I sign someone the music will have to be something I am really passionate about... and I don’t want to loose money by releasing something no one but me will be able to get into... time will tell.

8.Ok, back to the “Heilige Dwazen” album per se. You took a more psychedelic approach with this one, something you started doing with “De vette cuecken” in my opinion. Even if labels and categories are annoying sometimes, I’d say that to call Lugubrum « Black metal » with that album is an understatement. If you do, you miss a very important dimension of the Lugubrum art in my opinion. Do you share this too ? Are the titletracks of each songs to be read as one sentence haha ? I had this impression several times : « Holy fools embodied the kiss on the anus at the base of their tail. Though chained, we slyly sucked on stolen bread on anemone meteorites ».

M: You are very right, the titles form a sentence which makes perfect sense. The anemone meteorites I’ve seen with my own eyes; floating in space entirely covered with short, light blue tentacles, quite beautiful. I don’t care what label people want to stick on it... I think the name Lugubrum says plenty by now; you can expect the unexpected, an album that is not easily digested. Every time a new album comes out people say they preferred the previous work, as long as they keep saying that it’s ok I guess, it just takes time to get used to.

9.After that album, you released your first live album. Considering that good black metal live albums are scarce, this was a really good attempt, even if I missed the banjo part on Ratteknaeghen from the De totem album(what the fuck ?). Was the recording prepared or the idea came out quite spontaneously when maybe you saw that it was possible to record from the soundboard of the venue ? Let’s talk about Lugubrum live. I’ll witness the live experience one day, I haven’t for now, but I will for sure. For now, Lugubrum has played a lot in countries like Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands but few dates out of that area. You were telling me you never played in France (also I really wanted to have you on the Lyon date with Nuit Noire and Peste Noire). What is the problem, is it because you don’t receive serious offers for tours or because you can’t leave for many days, because of your job maybe. It seems to mee the Lugubrum live dates are quite isolated, I mean they’re not part of a 2-week tour for instance. Tell us.

M: we always record our shows, but often sound is crap. The Paradiso crew (comment: the venue where Lugubrum recorded its live album) is very experienced and made a very good mix, we’d never had such a good live recording. Plus I could use the entire recording including breaks, which I liked a lot. We just took the tape straight to mastering. Banjo is tricky live; I did it once and it was hardly audible, we’d have to do an acoustic set I suppose. Lugubrum is not a touring band, I guess two or three gigs in a week will be difficult, that usually takes us a year. But if we have to travel far playing just one gig would be a waste I guess. Anyway things will probably change; we’ve been going through a weird and unpleasant phase lately; a medical soap of sorts... we’re being treated by a team of doctors and psychiatrists, resulting in new medication, amputations and strict diets. Barditus has been banned from drinking any alcohol for the rest of his life... (!) so I don’t have to tell you what this will do to him; he’ll enter a whole new dimension... Alcohol has been his best friend since childhood, so he’ll have to find a new one. On a positive note; Stain is back on bass, at least for the new album and live shows. If our physical / mental conditions stabilise or improve we will be in good shape to play live again with a perfect line- up, we might even do a mini tour!

10.Now, let’s have a word about the 7th full-length album of Lugubrum, released in 2007, entitled « De ware hond » : the grey dog. Care to explain the album title as a start ?Again it displays great art by yourself, perfectly matching the album musical content. This is the most psychedelic Lugubrum album to date, four long tracks, going everywhere at a time, with organ , saxophone, tablas. It is a masterpiece as far as I’m concerned, you’re so away from modern music we are over-served with these days (even in black metal) that only a few people relate to what you do, well, at least this is how I see it. Lugubrum is criminally under-rated in my opinion, do you feel this way too, or you just don’t care ?

M: hehe no, it translates as ‘the true dog’, the idol of the greek cynic philosophers, Cerberus, the watch dog. (comment: excuse my Dutch!). The cover I painted after a scene from Herzog’s ‘Auch Zwerge...’, which we watched during the recordings. (comment: ‘Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen’ by German film director Werner Herzog). In the end I am fairly pleased with the album, although it even took me sometime to get accustomed to... that’s what you get when you record live, not really knowing where things are going. I was also very surprised by the critical acclaim from the very start, I had imagined the press wouldn’t touch the album with a stick. Then the fans were very positive too, we even won quite a few new ones I think. Some old fans complain but I am sure we lost them a few albums ago. Anyway we tried something new and the result is quite unique...that’s that done with and on to the next! Sometimes I agree we are underrated, especially when I notice another band being hyped, discovering once again it’s mediocre crap... But then I know a lot of great young professional musicians who live for their music and who no one has heard of or is interested in... they deserve it much more than we do.

11.Explain us the idea of recording one half of the album on digital equipment and the other half with analog equipment ?

M: this is just the way things turned out... we play with the cards fate deals us and tuck some up our sleeves.

12.I also wanted to talk to you about the back cover picture which is just great. Is the light on that picture as well as the light in the booklet picture natural ? It’s so yellow that one could think it has been modified. You hold your leg in your back on that picture, which gives a very wicked meaning to the image, what was the point behind that position, it really looks like you’re one-legged. Where were these pictures taken ?

M: These pics were taken by h. in the Ardennes (Stavelot), the forest behind our chalet to be precise. They’re analogue photos and were not modified with computer, the yellow effect was obtained with a color lense. There was some fog that day and the natural lighting was weird to begin with. I happened to stumble upon this huge, green bone on the forest floor and tried it on as prothesis.

13.As you know, “Winterstones”, “Gedachte & Geheugen” and “Bruyne Troon” are hard to find these days. Do you think of re-releasing them ? I also read about a Lugubrum vinyl collection, meaning all the pre-De vette cuecken albums on vinyl format. Care to tell us more about this ?

M: we are planning for a limited vinyl collection and a shirt, yes. Included will be the first five works. Re-releasing on cd format has no charm for me... I don’t see the point anymore right now. We’ll be doing this for the real fans. There are also plans to create a unique Lugubrum beer for this occasion, and to commemorate the fact Barditus won’t be allowed to sample it, which is quite bizarre if you think about it. However we might just drink the whole supply ourselves in front of his eyes and not share with the fans. But plan is to organise a couple of exclusive live shows where this beer and collection will be sold... I imagine it will be quite a feast.

14.« In 2008 Lugubrum plan to re- capture Belgian Congo... with Boersk Blek Metle! The band’s 8th full length (follow-up to the widely acclaimed ‘de ware hond’) entitled ‘ALBINO DE CONGO’, will be another daring expedition into the heart of brown-ness and is scheduled for live- recording in a Kinshasa based studio, late 2007. » This news is so Lugubrum. Can you tell us more about that new album and maybe the musical direction of it all ? Going even more psychedelic this time ? Can you also talk about the concept of the album. You must be joking, you’ll be recording this in Belgium right ? (you never know with you guys, and that is what’s good).

M: Our great king Leopold II ‘donated’ Congo to Belgium, so we will be recording on Belgian territory, yes. Our colonial past is so Lugubrum... I could not have come up with a history like this in my wildest fantasies. Barditus’s beard may have been taken from us by doctors, but he is still the re-incarnation of our greatest king. Once we enter the Ituri forest the thing will start growing like mad again (comment: Ituri is an Eastern district of Congo). And we will travel light; we will need but half the number of porters now that B. can’t drink anymore.( which reminds me I urgently have to sell my Interbrew shares). Bon, the music... it’s becoming more concrete now that Stain is back, we are completing the songs now, there’s still room for improvisation and free parts, but it’ll be a more structured affair, with smaller instrumentation, but more tempo and mood changes. You could say we took ‘de ware hond’ back to an earlier period, which is basically our way of working; after a leap into unknown territory we re-group at the source and start all over again... that’s how we keep the Lugubrum vibe intact I guess. We will see after this project is finished, perhaps it’ll be our last if we encounter more setbacks, one of us drops dead or is institutionalised... lately I just want to get old sitting in a rocking chair strumming blues on my acoustic guitar, overlooking a nice patch of nature from my porch while my 3 Pygmee wives are cooking dinner and my sons are out hunting hippo on the river...

15.Bonus question . As fine connoisseur of Belgian beverages, advise the reader on the best brand(s) of Belgian-made beer(s). You should really invent one with the « beer us or die » logo brand on it…

M: as I said before, we are working on it... Beer or any beverage or food depends on personal taste. For instance you have people who mix beer with cola, or who are into sweet fruity beer... (We live in a democracy, but I would have those morons shot) I don’t drink anything but water / tea & coffee, beer and wine, so I don’t like beer with a lot of sugar in it. Al those caramalised dark beers may be a succes, I don’t drink them. I do like honey beer (Barbar, Biere de Miel). Also bitter Gueuze (Boon), Duvel, Achel, Orval, Westfleteren... biological beers (Saison Dupont, Kikbier) ... Most of the large brands (Interbrew) have loads of chemicals in them, so I drink them only in emergency (i.e. when I’m offered one, which is often enough). There are in fact more brands than one can sample in a lifetime, as some disappear and new ones are invented, you should try as many as you can and decide for yourself...

16.I let you conclude….

M: thanks for the interview, hopefully we will meet in France next year.

Lugubrum official website
Old Grey Hair Records official website
Old Grey Hair Records on Myspace

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Dernière mise à jour du document : samedi 8 septembre 2007