My Kingdom Music Artist - Lethe Interview is up








1. Lethe is a band of fringe sounds and ideas. How would you explain Lethe to someone that has never heard the band before?

THS: i don't know.. it's a mix of different ideas and things, from different genres and styles, so i think people need to listen to it, and make up their own mind..

2. Your Debut Full length was released on D.M.P why the move to My Kingdom Music for this new album " The 1st Corpse on the Moon"

THS: i don't want to go into the details, but dmp didn't share our vision, and wanted to change clauses in our agreement.. so it was time to move on.. my kingdom music has been very supportive and understanding, so making the choice to work them was an easy one..

3. What is the theme behind The 1st Corpse on the Moon and how does the art play into it's theme?

THS: there's not a specific theme, actually, except that there's a common thread going through everything lethe does: that we mainly draw inspiration and motivation from real life events and experiences.. the idea behind the cover artwork was/is that costin listened to each song, and made a drawing based on his interpretations.. this also tied the songs more together, into one entity.. like a novel instead of a collection of short stories..

4. There are many vocal styles Male and Female Sung vocals. Spoke Vocals, Some a bit more aggressive and even some Rapping I would say . Where and how did all these ideas come into play and work as you wanted?

THS: we always have soo many ideas and things we would like to try and experiment with.. and some of these might end up on an album.. or not.. no specific reason for what we decided to use on the album, except that both me and anna had to like the song(s).. personally, i never plan things when i make music, i let my 'scatter-brain' impulses and 'gut-feelings' guide me.. so in that sense, i'm just a tool to get the music out of my head.. i do a lot of electronic music, so working with a bunch of external people is refreshing and inspirational..

5. I would say Lethe is Experimental Electronic Heavy Rock with a Gothic and Trip hop/Break beat element to it. Would you call Lethe  " Metal" at all as you both seem to come from a very Metal and Extreme music background?

THS: no.. i personally wouldn't use the word metal in any connection with lethe.. i am absolutely not a metal guy, haven't listened deeply to metal for years and years.. apart from a few exceptions, i find metal to be too conservative and kind of boring, too traditional for me.. i listen to a lot of experimental electronic music, weird hip/trip-hop, etc.. normal music is for boring people..

6. What Band do you think you would want to tour with if you could and why?

THS: i am not interested in touring, so i don't know.. but if we ever play any shows, it would be awesome to play with some eccentric or radical artists.. like dalek, burzum, flying lotus, godspeed you black emperors, darkspace, shpongle..

7. If you could make a proper video for any track on The 1st Corpse on the Moon which would it be and why?

THS: don't know.. any of them? the song a video director gets the best ideas from, perhaps?

8. How do you feel Social Media has change the musical landscape?  Especially for underground music .

THS: to the worse.. absolutely.. nowadays people want 'bundles' like spotify, etc.. attention span has gone down the drain.. and the downward spiral just escalates.. music has become a commodity like electricity or tap water.. there's nothing special with anything anymore.. lately, i have been thinking a lot about not releasing any more music ('professionally'), as i have very little motivation to be part of this..

9, Norway is a very eclectic musical nation where do you think you fit in all of that Nations musical adventure?

THS: i hope we don't fit in anywhere,actually.. i'm not interested in being part of any 'clique' or milieu or scene.. but norway has a pretty high percentage of 'different' artists and bands.. for some reason or another..

10. What musical artist are impressing the both of you in 2017?

THS: 2017.. hmm.. can't think of much interesting things, actually.. oh.. the slagmaur album is awesome..

11.How does both of you musical pasts influence what you are creating with Lethe?

THS: musical 'past'.. i don't think in terms of past/present/future much.. i don't stop one thing and start another, everything flows and gels into other things.. panta rei.. but some techniques and ideologies accumulates over the years, i guess, so people tend to get a kind of 'signature sound'.. i have no idea what my 'signature' is, if i have one :-)

12. For me this seems like a real renaissance in musical creativity . I know people thought Digital music would be the death of album artists but I think you see more of it now then ever before. Why do you think that is?

THS: there's a lot more possibilities and bands and artists, for sure.. but there's also a LOT more crap and totally uninteresting stuff.. if you like music that is a bit 'on the sideline' of what's considered sellable or 'normal', it becomes harder and harder to find good stuff.. there's far too much 'i want to be famous'.. it is totally depressing and demotivating.. the high threshold for getting an album deal, and having you music released 'properly', as in the old days, meant there were at least a little bit of quality control.. not so much anymore..

13. What are both your loves out side of music any interesting books you have been reading?

THS: i don't listen much to music.. books,  same thing.. i read mostly programming documentation and manuals, some philosophy, some science stuff.. and movies.. i watch a lot of crap to pass time, like all those idiotic superhero, marvel movies that has been coming out lately.. crap story and stuff, but nice cgi/fx..

14. Where do you see future Lethe material heading more experimental, darker, heavier , ethereal etc?

THS: i have no idea.. nobody knows.. i don't know if there will even be any more lethe albums.. time will tell..

15.  Thank you for the time any closing thoughts here

THS: thanks to you too!

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