Interview with Dense Vision Shrine

_Hi! How are you? Where are you?_
I am doing fine. By the time this is published I will be back in Ennis, Ireland.

_When did you start producing music? What were your first influences?_
I started creating music in 1994, when Penitent saw the light of day. The main influences back then were classical music, along with all sorts of atmospheric music. These influences are still present even today.

_With hordes of Black Metal bands in your home country Norway, was there ever the temptation of picking up a guitar and growling about Satan?_
Not really. Back when I started up there were also popping up more and more black metal bands, and for me it became more interesting to start off doing something most people weren’t doing. I have always been more interested in doing things different from the majority. Always doing my thing, and not thinking of wether or not other people are doing it or what other people would prefer to listen to. I always believed that if ones creation is good enough there will always be an audience for it, no matter the style.

What personally fascinates you about dark ambient?
I think what fascinates and also interest me the most when it comes to dark ambient, industrial and experimental music is the fact that the boundaries are so wide, and in some cases there aren’t really any specific boundaries. There is no specific formula one has to follow. There is above all freedom to do things in ones own way.

_After years of using pseudonyms, you only now decided to release an album under your own name. How come it took so long? Does that mean that your other compositions are in any way less “personal”?_
There’s really no specific reason why it took so long. It just happened to be so. The main reason for putting out an album under my own name is that I had a bunch of tracks that I wanted to be released, and somehow I felt they couldn’t be put out under one of the project names. By releasing them on an album under my own name I didn’t have to think if they were fitting to a specific project idea. I do not think my other compositions become less personal because of this, as all comes from me no matter what.

_Is there a basic principle behind Dense Vision Shrine? How would you describe the music behind this project and how does it compare to other projects of yours?_
If there is a basic principle behind it would be more in the direction of Dense Vision Shrine being thought of as a multi-media unity, which is based upon the concept of the opposite principles that merges into Art. One could say that album recordings represent the controllable part while the live performances would represent the uncontrollable instincts, but with the borders between the two elements of expression not being too clear. This because as time has gone by the borders between the controllable and uncontrollable elements has become less and less clear, as I decided to turn the live shows into a multi-media related expression. It soon became clear to me that this is something one can’t do without any prior planning, at least not if one would like it to be done in a proper way. Though there are elements in the music that are to be performed as part of the live-show which will not be controlled and 100% planned prior to the show. The music of Dense Vision Shrine could be described more as soundscapes (landscapes created by the use of sounds). The music doesn’t necessarily follow a certain genre, like the other projects do. This should be more evident when listening to each of the projects.

_What is the usual point of departure for a Dense Vision Shrine composition? A sound? A melody? A harmonic progression?_
There is no specific starting point when doing a new Dense Vision Shrine composition. It can start with a single piece of sound, a melody or an idea of the general atmosphere of the composition.

_Many reviewers have characterised your music as “dark” and “depressing”. I was wondering if you feel the same way about it? I thought that even though your work clearly has an affinity with darkness, there never quite seems to be a total absence of light…_
I have noticed that reviewers put the descriptions “dark” and “depressing” on the music. I don’t feel the same way about it, nor have I set out to make the music of Dense Vision Shrine as dark and depressing as possible. Some people find it to be this way and some don’t. There will always be a difference in opinion between different people. There are certainly dark apects in the music, and as you point out there aren’t a total absence of light.

_With your interests divided between photography, design and music, I was wondering if these different fields actually serve as a mutual inspiration – could, for example a photography inspire a Dense Vision Shrine composition?_
Until this day a photo has never inspired me to create a song. I wouldn’t say it will never happen, just that it hasn’t done it so far.

_Furthermore, with your enthousiasm for “visual arts”, do you see Dense Vision Shrine compositions as “landscapes” for the listener to explore?_
I do see the compositions of Dense Vision Shrine as “landscapes”, which I hope that the listener will explore. They are there for the listener, perhaps for them to drift away into, into their own world of dreams, as a soundtrack accompanying their dreams.

_Am I right in assuming that you love total freedom when composing? Especially when it comes to arranging pieces, tracks can either have a clear structure or lose themselves while wandering. And there are some quite short ones, while your upcoming album on einzeleinheit, “Die my Ilusions”, consists of one single piece…_
I definitely love total freedom when composing. That is also a reason why some compositions are short and some are like “Die My Illusion”, one single piece. When composing I just put the sounds together without deciding how long the final composition will be. It is done when I feel it is done.

_How do you see the future of Dense Vision Shrine?_
I really don’t know, but I do hope to reach more people as time goes by. I also hope to be able to get out and do more live appearances. Since I for these live shows work with both sounds and visuals, they can take place in numerous types of places, be it in a art gallery, a club/bar/pub, in a school auditorium, even in someones living room for that matter. Basically anywhere as long as there are suitable equipment for a audio visual show.