1. Almost two years have passed since the last time Mortem zine got in touch with A FOREST OF STARS. What happened in The Gentleman’s club since then?

The Gentleman: Well, for starters the Club bath house is now complete, which during the current spate of unseasonable warmth (for our fair isle at any rate) is an unequivocal delight. Then there’s been correspondence, the meeting and making of many fine, solid friendships (and even more enemies), the occasional public performance, a lot of months lost to opiate-induced hebetude, and somewhere out of that a second set of recordings sprung forth.

2. In the last interview you told us that your next album won’t be released sooner than in two years. What happened that two years were more than enough to finish everything and release it?

Gentleman: I’ve absolutely no idea. It just goes to show you can never trust your own judgement and speculation, most especially when you can’t even see straight, let alone think. I’m amazed I can still stand upright sometimes. Well, constantly, to be frank.

Kettleburner: One theory was that we were pressed to raise funds, although I suspect that we just got a bit ahead of ourselves in all fairness.

3. Personally I find “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring” even more colourful than debut. Production has not changed very much although the sound is a bit heavier. But I think that certain motifs are more finalized. It almost seems that “The Corpse of Rebirth” was only an augury of what we could expect from the new album.

Gentleman: It was, for the most part, a natural progression. There was never any desire to stay where we were, though equally, we did not set out to actively be or do anything different. A considerable amount of material was discarded during that process, more so than what was used, and that, along with the procession of the months led to us to the album.

Kettleburner: It was in some ways more difficult to compose than “The Corpse of Rebirth”. I feel that having a certain level of expectation surrounding the writings forced me to push myself further than I would have done otherwise but also gave me the confidence to push further into some of the articles that I began conceiving on the previous recording.

4. ...or can it be easily explained that you never limit yourselves in your work and dedicate purely to your passions which are currently floating around you?

Gentleman: That, in essence, is the key to it, yes. We do what we do because we want to; there are no calculations or considerations other than “do we enjoy it?”, as it’s us that have to put up with the songs, and the (admittedly poor) reputation they generate. Thinking about it, perhaps nom de plumes were a good idea after all...


5. It would be really foolish to omit question about something truly important in A FOREST OF STARS. So what are the lyrics and general concept of “Opportunistic Thieves of Spring” about?

Curse: The lyrics are, in the main, the result of mental turbulence following the blatant murder of a good friend of mine. There is also a fair amount relating to a bit of near death experience type action that I was fortunate enough to experience. Other than this, there are stabs at the plastic world we live in and its plastic manipulators. Oh, and the usual existential crisis / non-crisis / no-nothing stuff that tends to run around my head when I’m trying to sleep on a night…

6. Plenty is squeezed into a length of the album - it evokes various emotions and feelings. Stupor, fascination, fear, sadness... Should we be after listening left purified or destroyed? Or both? To be honest I cannot really describe it properly.

Gentleman: What you depict is quite accurate when compared to what we experienced during the recording, so with that in mind, could it be said that some of that rubbed off on the final outcome? There was genuinely no intent on our part to force the listener into one state of emotion or another, more that people should make up their own minds, which you clearly have. I suspect a lot of people will just as easily find it dull rather than stuporous, boring rather than fascinating, laughable rather than sad and so on. And again, I see nothing wrong with that.

Curse: It will surely be down to the individual, but my overriding feeling upon a successful listen is that of hope and uprising.

7. There is a statement about the album on your label’s site reading: “an unearthly journey from the rise of mankind to the Golden Age to its decline in the Kali Yuga”. Kali Yuga is Hindu term. Is it somehow connected to Victorian stylisation? After all India, the great foundation of Hinduism, was colonised by British Empire for some time.

Gentleman: In all honesty, that is the gentlemen in charge of our label’s description, not ours. I think our own would be considerably less flattering. Referring back to the last question, one assumes that to be their personal interpretation of what the album means to them, which if that is the case, is entirely ingratiating. It has to be said that there is definitely an Eastern influence to parts of our music - the powerful, tribal shamanism and ritual of certain religions and cults is a fantastic, deeply rich inspiration.

8. During the age of Kali Yuga mankind is degenerating for its alienation from God. Do you think this ancient description has a objective relation to reality?

Kettleburner: Greed, ignorance of balance and one-upmanship are not mutually exclusive to alienation from God: They are ideals that have been with us all of the way. Apparently we have been in Kali Luga for the last 5,000 years and seeing this world through my own eyes I see no evidence to the contrary.

Curse: Well said sir!


9. Do you know about certain fans which were brought to you through visual stylisation? Those who are or were intrigued by your image but music did not reach them?

Gentleman: Interesting. I’m absolutely in the dark on this, as I have neither the means nor the inclination to survey every individual who ever listened to our (lack of) music. I could completely understand that someone might see a group of well-dressed, young (though unfortunately not easy on the eye) musicians and believe they had something of genuine worth to offer. I imagine it’s a great disappointment to actually hear our awfully lacklustre ramblings. But also quite funny. From our perspective.

Kettleburner: Particularly in the first year or so, we hid ourselves away from public view. This was partly to prevent us being prejudged on the basis of our standing and dress sense and secondly to help disassociate ourselves publically from our activity, the old chestnut of plausible deniability. The veil slipped however.

10. Gentlemen clubs were always a male business and it’s only recent that they have opened for ladies. How is Lady feeling in your club?

Gentleman: Well, as of 1890, I wasn’t aware the rules had changed, but that’s what happens when one languishes in a haze instead of keeping up with current affairs. Katheryne was inducted because we’d rather have a puissant ally than a powerful enemy. And she’s good at beating the servants into submission, something the rest of us never have the energy to do anymore. So, while a lady would never publicly nor privately display her feelings, I’ve no doubt that somewhere, deep down, she has some. Though what they are is anyone’s guess.

11. My colleague was bidding your farewell two years ago and now it is up to me. Long live A FOREST OF STARS.

Gentleman: Thank you for your kind words, and long may your fine publication continue!

Curse: Farewell indeed!