| Band Members | ISEGRIM-ONE-MAN-PROJECT
Isegrim delivers an original music, between progressive and experimental metal. Particularly difficult to comprehend, Isegrim is the musical project and pseudonym of a single man. In this interview chiseled by Doc’, Isegrim unveils the secret of his compositions.
"The End", last Isegrim record !
Interview conducted by Doc’
Date: December 2008 by e-mail
MySpace Isegrim: myspace.com/myisegrimmusic
Radio Metal : Could you present your musical project for the readers of Radio Metal?
Roland Meinwolf : ISEGRIM is a one-man project which I started in 2006. The debut album, released in the spring of 2007, is called “Leviathan” and contains three songs. The second album, “Temenos”, was released in the summer of 2007 and contains two tracks. Finally, the new album “The End” was completed on November 21st, 2008. It has nine songs on it. The name Isegrim is a synonym for wolf and comes from the Middle High German words “Isen” (iron) and “Grinen” (growling). It symbolizes power, recklessness, greed, ferocity, viciousness but also clownishness. In Christianity (Old Testament), the wolf has been solely seen as the symbol of evil, as Satan who was confronted with the Good Shepherd, the servant of God. The songs are the expression of experiences and sentiments. Truth and fiction become one and often go hand in hand. The spontaneity thereby plays an important role. On the album “The End”, songs such as “Impulsiva” (as the name implies) and “Elementor” are products of this creative spontaneity! Both songs have been produced in one day. The impulse and background for the production are energies and thoughts which I am trying to transform as purely as possible. Those spontaneous songs therefore will be remixed directly and burned on CD.
How can we define your music? Prog, death? It’s very difficult to classify...
I define ISEGRIM as progressive grunge metal open to experiments and with a touch of melancholy.
I can hear the spirit of a band like CELTIC FROST, Swiss like you, because of your black metal influences. Do you agree?
Yes, CELTIC FROST have influenced and shaped me (the “Monotheist” album in particular). When it comes to this musical genre, PAYSAGE D’HIVER also had a great deal of influence on me, Wintherr has really captivated me. Thank you very much indeed! Some of my other influences are NIN, OPETH, TOOL, MELVINS, KATATONIA, PRIMORDIAL, and so on. All of them appear on my MySpace friends list.
ISEGRIM is your musical project. Do you play all the instruments or do you play with other people?
As I already mentioned, I record the songs myself. At first there is a craving, an idea, which mostly happens when I’m jamming the guitar or when I’m outdoors, in nature. Once the composition is done, I record the drums. The drum recording serves as a basic framework, the rest will be tuned and arranged accordingly. That is to say that guitars, bass, vocals and effects will be recorded afterwards (by ear since I am not able to read music).
You compose all the songs and music: is it difficult to follow the rhythm?
As one might have noticed already, I am not “the drummer”. I’m rather besotted with strings. Would I play better with a metronom???
The production could be perfected. Do you work on production on your own as well?
Yes, I work on the production myself. For this, my Boss digital 8-track recorder is at my disposal. I must record digitally (not with microphones) since I play music in a noisy environment and do not want to record the irritating side noises. The production could be better, my thoughts exactly. Unfortunately, I currently do not have any other possibility. I must wait and see what happens next.
(Isegrim) : « As one might have noticed already, I am not “the drummer”. I’m rather besotted with strings. Would I play better with a metronom??? »
Do you think production is the next step to put ISEGRIM on the road to success?
I agree. Because the music isn’t really catchy and rather complicated, a clean recording would be advantageous in order to relieve the listener.
There are many pictures on your MySpace. Why is that?
I made this choice because I paint pictures besides making music, and I predominantly take pictures of landscapes. I get my inspiration and ideas for music through morning trips into nature. See tracks such as “Elements”, “Elementor” or “Temenos”. The titles are all very much in tune with nature.
When we see these pictures, we don’t see a real link with your music. But could we say, for example, that your music is influenced by the beautiful landscapes of Switzerland?
I think it’s impossible to make art without incorporating something from the environment, intentionnally or not. As I already said in the previous question, yes, I am inspired by nature and landscapes. However, this is not only limited to the Swiss landscapes. Generally speaking in every place that I am, what I’m hearing or feeling will have an influence on my artistic work.
Just a few words on the Swiss metal scene to conclude: is it difficult for ISEGRIM to reach a great audience?
Until now, I haven’t paid much attention to that. I am looking forward to finding out how “The End” will be liked. So far, the only kind of advertising has been made through MySpace.
Do you want to tour to promote your music? What are your projects for the future?
Going on a promotion tour is a great idea. But as I am playing every instrument myself, it might be relatively difficult to handle it. Furthermore, I have something in mind with a stage setting that ISEGRIM deserves, but it’s nothing definite yet. Besides, there will be a new album coming out next year. Two of the songs (“Urchu e Archa” and “La mi la”), which are sung using the Bernese German dialect, are already available for listening on MySpace. Lately there hasn’t been much painting, that’s what I’d like to continue to do. I would like to paint a stage scenery for a live concert.
LAND-SCHAFFT-FOTO
Fotodokumentation von roland meinwolf
| 
KUNST/ART:WWW.ARTPLATTFORM.COM/MEINWOLF> 
