OVSKUM interview
V 2009

A sort of dissonance or discord is specific to Ovskum's music, as opposed to shallow harmoniousness of thousands of bands. Does perceiving this dissonance as a reflection of distance between cold "self" and banality of life is correct with your intention?

I have intention of representing certain physical and mental states which characterize me as well as possible. I do not believe that there are dissonances within music. For me personally all notes match perfectly together and we perceive them as tuneless when lines and melodies differ from what we are used to hear. When composing I try to deprive myself, as possible totally, from all the things I have ever learned, all the things that surround and might influence me and everything that may be associated with my mind and thought. I am convinced that the best way to represent ourselves is to be able to give the entire space to primeval instincts which come from inside of our ego and which reflect our purity and the lofty way we are. The negativity of my sound is simply the representation of my most hidden emotions.


Demo 2008 is more depressing than your previous recordings, which I perceived as expression of negation devoid of human feelings - on the other hand depression usually brings an atrophy of emotional layer. Would you call sorrow an emotion and do you think that a higher man should be free from feelings?

From my point of view it is not possible to eliminate emotions and I believe that contextually are emotions that raise differ ourselves from each other. Negativity does not necessary mean to renounce the vital force which lies in us. Negativity often corresponds to a more clear and critical vision which needs more strength and willingness to be faced.

Negativity is a state of transition, a drive which helps to overthrow it, because the most significant thing in a relationship with us is the ability to defend our own ego in any circumstance. I like the negativity which represents me but it does not possess me and it will never do because I am only fascinated of it and it represents the most intimate and deepest state of my personality.

My music is a daily battle with my internal contradictions from where my most internal truths emerge and my ego is divided. I represent a variety of my senses which sometimes are gloomy and depressive and sometimes triumphal and Wagnerian and my music reflect that.

The alienation has been emphasised a lot because that is what represents me more. But I get out of it by using often a form of the maximum integrity and by looking over the alienation. The chaos which is predominated by the order, a perfect balance of emotions is even short, the highest aspiration.

That is what makes my ego to overcome my weaknesses and fears. The order which proceed it is not the negation of feelings but the consecration of my vital force.

If a higher man were free from feelings he would not even make music…

Under all aspects (music, covers, titles) Ovskum seems to be an expression of ascetic nihilism. Is this a right perception of your works?

Personally I would separate asceticism from nihilism. What concerns asceticism I believe that I do not take part of its values. Talking about nihilism I never follow any philosophic discussions, as I do not take part of the values which characterize ourselves it does not mean that it necessarily refuses them. My vision does not depend on them: if you negate something it means that it is yours, while I do not nourish any adherence towards the fundamental “weltanschauungen”. My music does not come from a philosophy but from a pre-critical compulsion, an instinct which comes prior to the thought and does not depend on it.


731 Urkved demo is so close to Ovskum's style that I wonder why has it been released under the sign of a separate project?

The projects are separated from each other, because they depend on different reasons. Ovskum is my personal physical need and I am strictly tied to the expression of these emotions. The Ovskum project has a cathartic function and that’s why it is more internal. If you listen accurately to 731 Urkved you will be able to notice easily the differences instead of similarities, just by starting from the voice expressivity and finally going to the compositional e rhythmic structure. The approach is more immediate and less introspective even if (and maybe is this what combines both projects) the members are the same but the time of the pieces is very short. Before composing Ovskum I have to go through certain extreme and sporadic mental states, where everything has a limit which is a fundamental characteristic in order to make the piece come out well. The 731 Urkved is a group based on different personalities whose primitiveness is influenced by a total vision. Actually I suppose that the sonority of the Ovskum-Morke project is more realistic than that of 731 Urkved, which is able to give the same attitude but in a more declining viewpoint even if there is one rhythmic session missed. This declining viewpoint is characterized by environment, drone and rumoristic in the second work not published yet.

Ovskum is a Estrema Corona Fano member. What is the purpose of this congregation?

Estrema Corona Fano represents a strong collaboration between the local groups. Valak (R.I.P), Necrolust, Ovskum, Morke, Ovskum/Morke, 731 Urkved, Oncixo, Wij are all the participating groups. Even if there are a lot of projects we are only some people being involved. We all match together because of the way we compose and live our music and our environment we are strongly proud of.


Are you familiar with the existentialist thought, philosophical pessimism or phenomenology, or do you reject all outer theoretical constructions based in the inner sickness being the life of a conscious man?

As I have already said, I never base my existence on any type of metaphysics. This does not mean that I do not share some aspects of the currents you were speaking about. Even if I am not fully conscious I do really draw near to the thought of Nietzsche when he speaks about Zarathustra of the three metamorphosis of the spirit. Generally speaking there is an evident getting out of the nihilism from the existentialism and from the philosophic pessimism in it. Those philosophic thoughts which are fit in the view of this famous direction are anchored to the spirit of the lion. Even if they reject the systems and values of our western culture (think about Leopardi); these philosophic thoughts still need to surpass the existence. The spirit of the child goes beyond: “the child represents the innocence and oblivion, a new beginning, a game, a wheel that goes round on itself, a first movement, and a divine yes”.


Your tapes were released by Insikt - I wonder if the choice of this label was due to the kinship of austerity between your and Hypothermia's music? IMO Ovskum has an advantage of ascetism over a sort of redundancy and lack of restraint of music created by Hypothermia and many other bands from DSBM circle. What do you think about it?

As you can see and hopefully understand we can’t consider ourselves as a depressive group. I do not participate and even subscribe to the ideology even if I respect and follow it. There are several points why we decided to publicize the second tape with Insikt; we were looking for someone who was near to our style and we were interested in only some copies of an analogical medium then I knew already the Hypothermia whose works I appreciated very much.

Personally I hold Kim in great esteem. Of course we are different characters because we are different persons and of course the visions and the sonorities are different but if we made the same music one of us would surely make a mistake. The music represents me and my oneness and I believe that it is the same for Kim, even if unfortunately it is not the same for many other groups.

Nearly all of Ovskum's cover arts include characteristic Morte404 drawings (which highly fit the musical content btw) - do you permit a possibility that his drawings will be absent on any future release of Ovskum?

I think that the Ovskum project could never be difined like that without the stylistic contribution of Morte-404.

It is impossible to immagine that the Ovskum music could be seperated from the creations of Morte-404 or vice versa in the future. Our ideas and typical styles emerged and will die together. They influence each other and they strongly depend on each other. We decided to not adopt the Morte-404 design only together with the split with the fellow-citizens Necrolust because the book should rappresent both bands in an equal way choosing an immagine which should take back both groups to the common origins.


Are you abnegates in your daily life?

I life a quite typical life with a job, a house, friends, interests and vices. I have never killed someone and I have never been in a prison J. The diversity should not be seen in evident behaviours but in the autonomy of the thought.


Ovskum

http://www.ovskum.tk