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Srodek

Hey there … how is the winter in Sweden? Here at the northern shores of Germany, it seems already gone by and hardly any snow can be found.
Hello! I can say that I’m growing sick of this winter. It’s cold and we are almost drowning in snow and it keeps coming more all the time, I fucking hate it by now!
  Srodek is not a particular a new band, but has already released one album earlier to Förfall. Would you mind shedding some light on the history of the band?
Well, I don’t know if there’s that much history to tell about Srodek. I started in 2007, released my first album 2008 on Lokisson Records, recorded Förfall and here we are.
  As not many are able to understand Swedish, could you translate the band name as well as the titles of your releases into English, please? Furthermore, could you also provide some of the conceptual background that these deal with?
The name Srodek is actually polish and means “in centre” or “middle”. I stole it from a song that a friend of mine did, and named Srodek, because I thought it sounded cool. It wasn’t until some years later someone wrote and told me the meaning of the word.
My first album, En Hälsning Till Döden, means A Greeting to Death and this album, Förfall, you can translate into Decay.
There is no particular background for those albums.
You have been active in two bands before – Död and Eldrit – and currently listed as a session member of Svarti Loghin. How do these experiences affect you as a musician? Have these involvement shaped the way you approach song-writing and black metal in general?
Only Svarti Loghin. SL is a master in writing killer riffs. He has really inspired my way of making songs and making something different..trying to take black metal to a new level.
 Could you lay out the style of the bands Död and Eldrit a bit?
  Död sounded a bit like early Watain, while Eldrit was more old-school black metal.
Around three years lay between the two releases. Why did you take it so long to get another release done? Were you not satisfied with the results or did you want to spend a lot of time on the music in order to get the song-writing as well as the atmospheres done right?
Förfall has been ready for about two years now and I honestly don’t know why it has taken this long for it to be released. I signed with ATMF around the same time that I finished the recordings of the album and the plan was to release it in 2009. Something didn’t go as planned.
But I’m not the type of man that needs to get things done quickly or to have an album released the same moment it’s done. I really don’t care that Förfall is two years delayed.
An aspect that might strike the listener is the amount of layers of the music. Bleak for instance has a nice and hardly distinguishable melody in the background, while others have a nice bass line for instance. So, do you want listeners to play close attention? Should music be an experience that does not unravel itself from the beginning?
Yeah I like when music has those unexpected twist and turns. It becomes more interesting that way. I tried to make something similar with Srodek’s music but I don’t know if I’ve succeeded.
 Is there a particular reason you use this ‘hollow’ kind of screaming; which comes with some reverb and an additional second voice in a fraction of a second after the first? Why no typical black metal screams or the stuff that is being used in the depressive branch of the black metal scene?
Cause’ I don’t have the voice resources to scream in a depressive style or whatever. That on the record is what came out of my useless throat.
Are all lyrics in Swedish? Some of the titles suggest otherwise. Is it easier to express yourself in your native tongue or do you also use it due to aspects aside this: special sound of the words, rhythm and the like?
  All except for Bleak. That’s the only one in English. I choose to sing in Swedish because it was easier to express myself and what I felt when I wrote those lyrics. It’s like right now for example..it’s a fucking pain in the ass trying to answer your questions.
The music on Förfall is generall midtempo, atmospheric and has a good amount of hints on the depressive genre. What makes this type of music so special to you? Why is it important for you to have a steady beat in the compositions without many blasts or aggressive parts?
  I think it’s more stimulating to make this kind of music. Creating something beautiful and yet dark and sinister. Well I can’t say that I think it’s important..it just went that way.
How would you in your own words describe the music of your band? What are the core essences of your art?
I don’t think I’m the right person to describe my music. I leave that to those who buy it.
  Could you name some artists that have influenced you over the years? Are there some albums you like to return to again and again for inspiration?
  Darkthrone, Shining, Lifelover, Twilight to mention a few. No, not really. I mainly seek inspiration from other things. People I meet, things that happens around me in my daily life.
The cover art shows an abandoned (?) house or at least something that does not look to be in the best shape. As such, it creates a rather depressive impression, something the music is actually unable to create on such levels. Therefore, how does this picture fit into it all? By the way, who made it?
Yes, that house represents the title of the album, decay. Slowly falling apart, giving itself to nature. That’s the only reason I choose to have that particular picture on the cover. I took that photo.
  Where did you take the folk parts from or did you record them by yourself? They remind a bit on Garmarna or Triakel. Why do these only appear at the beginning and the end of the Förfall album?
Na, I did not record them myself, I found them somewhere on the internet. I just thought they would be good as an intro and outro, that’s why.  
Symbolism does not seem to play such a great role in your concept, while corpse-paint does; judging from the promo pictures at your MySpace profile. Why did you choose this kind of emphasis and why are there no inverted crosses and pentagrams?
Because I do not need to use pentagrams and inverted crosses for Srodek, it’s not that kind of band anymore. The only reason I used corpse paint is that I’m so fucking ugly that I needed to hide behind something.
What about your first release? The Metal Archives lists it as having no more than 100 copies. Is it still available? In case it is not, do you plan to re-release it at some point in the future? Looking back at it, are you still satisfied with it or are there facets which you would like to change?
Yes, that is true. There were no more than a 100 copies made. No, I don’t think you can buy it anymore and no, I have no ambitions to re-release it, not now and not in the future.
I can’t say that I’m proud over it. But what’s done is done.
 Where can people buy your albums?
I have no idea. I have searched the internet for my first album but I haven’t found it anywhere. As for Förfall I guess you can buy it from ATMF.
  What would be the best way to contact you?
Via ATMF, since I’m gonna stop using MySpace. I fucking hate the new MySpace and the same goes for that stupid FaceBook!
  Some final comments if you like …
I’m sorry for my crappy answers..but interviews are not my thing. Honestly.. I hate interviews.

Intervista di  Dimitri Borellini