• Translation
by:
Sugas
Banger
•
Questions
by: Bugra
(Collaborator Turkish)
•
Replies
by:
Nis Rode Larsen
USIPIAN
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TGZ:
Hail Nis, how is going your life? If you are
ready I will begin at once. |
Nis: Hey man. Well, everything seems
pretty good actually and right now I'm taking
my time to answer your questions late at night
while Celtic Frost are molesting my loudspeakers.
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TGZ:
My first question is how did Usipian come
together? Can we take a short bio. for our
readers? Separately, what is the meaning of
Usipian? |
Nis: In 1995 Toke (vocals) started
a band that Tais (guitar) joined shortly afterwards.
Those two are the only ones that remain from
back then and at that time they played some
kind of blackened inspired death metal Perhaps
a bit in the vein of old Dissection. I joined
the band in 2000 and shortly afterwards we
changed the name to Usipian. I think the changing
of moniker can somehow be seen as the birth
of what Usipian has become today. Since then
Jeppe (guitar) entered the band in early 2003
and Kent (bass) less than a year afterwards.
As Usipian we have released a demo ("The
Human Spirit Massacre"; 2001), a promo
("Promo 2003"; 2003), a 7-inch EP
("Clouded Restrainment", 2004) and
recently - finally I might add - our debut
album ("Dead Corner of the Eye";
2005). We have played live in support of bands
such as Vader, Macabre and Aura Noir, but
unfortunately not yet outside of Denmark.
That is bound to change. Usipian (or Usipi)
is the name of an acient Germanic tribe that
- according to the ethnographic writings of
the Roman historian Tacitus - was situated
at the Rhine between Lippe and Ruhr in what
is today western Germany.
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TGZ:
I want to congratulate your band for
the last album which name is "Dead Corner
Of The Eye". It has been hard and killer
work! Can you tell us how did it get ready?
Are the interpretations made you satisfied?
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Nis: I appreciate you like it! Maybe
you have noticed that the material on "Dead
Corner of the Eye" is quite varied and
to some extent inconsistent. The reason for
this is simply that the album is compiled
of tracks that has been written over a long
period. The oldest track "An Everborn"
is from 1998 and "World Without Skin"
was finished just in time for us to include
it on the album. Through all these years there
has also been several line-up changes and
disagreements in regard to which direction
the band should be heading. We managed to
solve these problems once and for all, and
there is no doubt that the current line-up
is the best we have ever had and that we more
than ever before agree on what we want to
aim at. You can count on that the next album
- which we are already working on - will be
more consistent and better structured. That
however does not mean we are not satisfied
with "Dead Corner of the Eye". On
the contrary! We believe it's a very strong
debut album, but it's important to stay focused
and to always possess the will to do better.
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TGZ:
For how many years did you come to a
solemn agreement with Metal Fortress Entertainment?
Are you satisfied and what are your expectations
from your company? |
Nis: The deal is for one album ("Dead
Corner of the Eye"), and in addition
an option for another album. If the option
is used we'll re-negotiate the contract. We
expect for MFE to support us by all means
possible. Right now we are quite satisfied
with our label and it seems that they are
promoting the album very well. That's the
main thing at this early stage. Also they
will set up some gigs for us different places
in Sweden this winter, which we are looking
forward to. MFE treats us with respect and
artistic freedom and that is definitely important.
When that is said, we hope to see the vinyl
version of "Dead Corner of the Eye"
out in a not too distant future and I'm sure
we will.
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TGZ:
I am very curious about your concerts to speak
honestly! (some day, I hope I would find an
opportunity for watching Usipian) How do you
prepare for concerts and if you have a comic
concert memory would you tell us?
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Nis: Well, maybe you'll be able to see
us someday. You never know. Anyway, a couple
of weeks before a concert we start to rehearse
more frequently than what we usually do when
no gig is in sight. We'll all agree on a certain
set-list and only rehearse those tracks that
are included in that particular set in order
to be able to play the material by perfection.
A particular funny live incident? Once I saw
a couple backstage where the girl was giving
the guy a blowjob without making the slightest
effort to be discrete about it. That was only
a few moments before I had to enter stage
so that was...ehh...kind of weird at least?
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TGZ:
What are the last events about Usipian?
Would you tell us? |
Nis: The last time we played
a concert was in August in support of Macabre
and since then we have mainly concentrated
on writing material for our second album.
For instance we have a new track ready ("In
Skinless Form") that is pretty fucking
wicked. Once again we have made Usipian logo
shirts available and soon there will also
be printed full-colour "Dead Corner of
the Eye" shirts with print on both sides.
Toke and I are busy answering interviews and
every week there are new positive reviews
of "Dead Corner of the Eye" popping
up. That's about the situation as I write.
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TGZ:
What are you busy with except music? Do you
have an extra job?
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Nis: Besides being busy with Usipian
- and also Strychnos in addition - I study
History at the University of Copenhagen. I
have a Bachelor Degree (BA) in History and
an elective module in Film and Media Studies.
I also work at an analysis institute, which
is pretty fucking horribly boring to tell
the truth. I have absolutely no idea why I
still work there. Coming to think of it, it's
actually quite a mystery.
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TGZ:
I compared your drumming with Dave Culross.
In my opinion, your style resembles his drumming
(meanwhile, I am a sick fan of Dave Culross).
In what age did you start drumming? In other
words, who provoked you to drum? Are there
drums that you take them as your model? And
lastly, how many hours do you practice in
a day?
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Nis: I definitely take that as a compliment
since Dave Culross for sure has inspired me
earlier on. I remember being completely blown
away by his drumming on the Malevolent Creation
album "Eternal" when it got released.
Not so long after that it was rumoured that
he would be playing for Suffocation on their
tour with Deicide and Konkhra. That was in
1995 if I remember correctly.
Anyway, I went to see the concert when the
tour reached Copenhagen and Culross did an
amazing performance, especially when you take
into consideration he didn't have much time
to rehearse the set with Suffocation before
they went on tour. I must admit I tend to
think his drumming was a bit more exceptional
on the early recordings he participated on
compared to his more recent recordings, but
maybe that's just because I was much more
easy to impress when I was a young teenager.
Personally I started playing at the age of
thirteen and I began because I was fascinated
by the double bassdrum-technics associated
with extreme metal music. However because
of that, I have only learned to play metal
music really and that can certainly be seen
as a disadvantage as a drummer. I'm aware
of my limitations so to speak. In the beginning
I was very much inspired by drummers such
as Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Stephane Provencher
(Gorguts), Sean Reinert (Cynic/Death), Gene
Hogland (Dark Angel), Pete Sandoval (Morbid
Angel) Brandon Thomas (Ripping Corpse) and
- as mentioned - Dave Culross, just to name
the ones that spring to mind right now. Unfortunately
I live far from our rehearsal place so I can't
play my drum kit as often as I would like,
but on days we are not rehearsing with the
band I usually practice at home for maybe
an hour, using a practice pad and a click
track.
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TGZ:
Jeppe Hasseriis who is your producer for all
Usipian albums and at the same time is Usipian's
guitarist. I want to ask how does he learn
this job (actually I should ask this question
to Jeppe)? And is he producer of another bands?
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Nis: I beleive Jeppe
has had the interest in recording for almost
10 years. He's in many aspects a talented
guy and did for instance do the recording
of the first Azalon demo himself, besides
playing all instruments. That was done back
in early 1996. He then spend 1999 taking courses
in a studio (Neverland Recordings) that offered
education in theori and general
'know how', and how to use it when recording
the various bands and projects the students
pulled in. He then took a half year course
on a music school that, besides having a lot
of bands that wanted to record, also had two
great studios that offered the same kind of
education as Neverland did. Because of his
previous knowledge, he could from the beginning
jump right in and start working with bands,
which in the end gave him a great deal of
experience I guess. He didn't take any further
education, but has worked as producer/engineer
with bands such as Koldborn, Denial of God
and Nortt, beside the Usipian demo before
he was even a part of the band. The last couple
of years he has also done mastering for various
bands such as Victimizer, Arghoslent and again
Nortt. He has also started working as a soundtech
for one of the major venues in Copenhagen
called The Rock. Because of this it came natural
that he had a lot to say during the recording
of "Dead Corner of the Eye". It's
absolutely perfect having a member in the
band with such skills!
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TGZ:
I have read that Norwegian and Danish
people have a discussion about being the real
Viking. I am curious about your idea in this
case. Is it true for you?
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Nis: Well, it's mainly
the Norwegians who are busy bringing up that
discussion, and I shall tell you why.  It's
called low self-esteem. You see, Norway has
always been the little brother of Scandinavia,
Sweden is the big brother and Denmark is the
brother in the middle. For four hundred years
Norway was under the Danish crown. However,
in 1814 we lost Norway because we had been
allies with the now defeated Napoleon. Instead
Norway was forced to be ruled by Sweden until
1905 when Norway finally got independent.
But what did they do then? They chose a Danish
prince to become king of Norway and they created
a national flag that is obviously connected
to the Danish flag. The Danish flag - dating
from 1219 - is literally the oldest national
flag in the entire world. As it is well known,
a little brother always have to prove himself
to others and especially to his older brothers.
Because of this the Norwegians have become
very nationalistic (nothing wrong with that,
but in a rather childish way) and they emphasize
an indeed proud part of history in which Norway
wasn't under Danish rule. That is all very
understandable, but it gets absurd when you
once in a while hear some ignorant Norwegian
whining about Norway as being the only true
land of the Vikings.It's true that it was
mainly Norwegian Vikings who - by crossing
the north-atlantic - found new land (Iceland,
Greenland and Vinland), but the deeds of Danish
and Swedish vikings are just as spectacular.
I could write a hundred pages about this,
but as an example Danish vikings conquered
England and installed a Danish king, forcing
the English to pay huge taxes (danegeld) to
us. That's a part of history, which English
school children don't really learn very much
about since it's obviously an embarrassing
fact for a once so mighty empire as the British.
We even completely sacked Paris in 845, forcing
the French king to pay huge amounts of money
as a tribute basically to make us go away.
It can also be noted that all Vikings were
known to speak what was called 'Danish Tongue'
at the time. I also got to know about a funny
fact when I for a short while studied archaeology
at the University. As you might know, the
best preserved and most beautiful vikingship
that has yet been found - the Oseberg ship
- was uncovered in southern Norway. It is
now located at a museum in Oslo and the Norwegians
are - understandably - very proud of the ship.
It's always used on postcards etc. and generally
as a symbol of the viking age of Norway. But
what most Norwegians (and Danes for that matter)
don't know is, that the Oseberg ship according
to scientific archaeological research most
likely is a Danish ship. That's actually a
credible theory that many archaeologists (also
Norwegian ones) agree on. You could then perhaps
ask why Danish archaeologists don't really
voice this fact, but the thing is that we
don't really care in Denmark because we have
a somewhat different mentality. The Norwegians
can therefore continue to live in happy ignorance
in the false believe that the Oseberg ship
is 'their' ship. Another interesting fact
is, that if you study which place-names in
Scandinavia are derived from the Germanic
god Odin - which gives a clear indication
of where he was most widely worshipped - you'll
find out they are mainly to be found in Denmark,
a few places in Sweden and almost not at all
in Norway. For instance the third largest
city in Denmark is called Odense. I only mention
this as a greeting to the hordes of Odin-worshipping
Norwegian 'Viking-metal' bands, hehe...
To sum it up, the three Scandinavian countries
have a love/hate relationship towards each
other, but we are definitely culturally inseparable
and personally I very much like both Swedes
and Norwegians in general. Hell, my Swedish
girlfriend would probably kill me if I said
otherwise.
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TGZ:
If we have to talk about Mp3 do you
think that it is useful? Most people prefer
downloading than buying albums. What do you
want to say about that? |
Nis: It's a good way to check out music
in order to find out if a certain album is
worth purchasing. At least that's the reason
I download music. If I like what I have heard
I will always try to purchase the record.
If I don't like what I have heard I will delete
the files anyway - thereby no harm done. I
have already found several pages on the internet
where people are downloading "Dead Corner
of the Eye" and actually it only makes
me a bit proud somehow. We can't make a living
by playing death metal anyway so economical
it's not a problem for us personally that
some people are downloading our album instead
of buying it. Who knows, maybe some of them
will end up buying it anyway if they like
it, and probably some people would not even
consider purchasing it if they had never had
the opportunity to download our album? In
this perspective the file sharing of music
can actually be beneficial for both the band,
the label and the listener. However if the
only purpose is to avoid paying money, then
I feel bad for our label since they take a
financial risk in everything they are doing
for us, and indirectly it will also affect
the band because our album will have to do
well in order for us to get a bigger budget
for the next release. To answer your question
I do find mp3's useful, but for the purpose
of finding out which vinyl’s I need
in my collection.
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TGZ:
Imagine that you are in a boat with
two people; You ,George Bush and Eminem and
you are caught in a storm and your boat takes
in water, for that reason you have to throw
one person to the sea. Which person do you
throw to the sea? And why? |
Nis: George W. Bush would have to walk
the planck and my only regret would be if
the sea wasn't filled with sharks.
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TGZ:
What do you think about the sequence
of terror events, which have repercussions
in the world? Moreover, the last one happened
in the England and English people have a bad
opinion of Muslim people. According to you
is it true that sometimes the innocent suffer
along with the guilty? |
Nis: He who sows wind will reap storm.
I believe those countries that the coalition
consist of - and unfortunately that includes
Denmark - asked for it and are now tasting
a bit of their own medicine. Does that mean
I support Islamic terrorism? Absolutely not.
I demand the right to equally hate both sides
in this extreme conflict. How on earth could
I also support a stupid Israel-praising, money-greedy
christian fundamentalist (there's the reason
you were looking for in question 12) or an
ignorant illiterate person who kneels five
times a day with a forehead-to-carpet prostration
at the call: "Allah Hu Akbar"?
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TGZ:
Are you interested in football? Denmark
couldn't go to Germany World Cup, did you
watch the match? |
Nis: Yes I am. At least when it comes
to the European Cup and especially the World
Cup. As a kid I used to play football in different
clubs until Metal got more interesting. Denmark
didn't really deserve to qualify for the World
Cup as bad as we played, but of course I also
blame Turkey. How the hell can Turkey qualify
(are you mad now, hehe...?), but not a proud
football-nation like Denmark who are even
former European Champions? Well fuck it. We'll
be back!
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TGZ:
Let's put an end this interview. Here
is my last questions Nis; I want to know about
the song you would like to be played in your
funeral and which album do you want to give
for your enemy? I hope you reply the questions
with pleasure. Hope you will be successful
at future! |
Nis: I want "Angel of Death"
to be played at full volume while I march
to the kingdom of the dead. As for my enemy
he can choke on the cute wedding tunes of
Dimmu Borgirs "Stormblåst".
Or would that actually be too cruel? Thanks
for the support! It was a delight to answer
an interview with questions a bit out of the
ordinary!
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