1. Greetings to Sweden! From what I have read on the band myspace and the label web page, TERRA TENEBROSA consists of former Breach members, while Breach officially ceased to exist in 2007. What lead you to start a new band? Was it a spontaneous idea or a natural progression?

Hello there. Actually Breach ceased to exist a lot earlier. Around 2002 I think. After we had recorded the last album we did I think two shows and then it kind of just faded into to nothing. Because we hadn´t ended it properly we decided to make the reunion show in 2006. Kind of a farewell and a closure. It took a lot of energy and hard work to make it happen. Since we hadn´t played together for several years we had to learn the songs all over again and since this was going to be the real end of the band we wanted to make it special. We ended up playing 18 songs I think and a lot of them were songs we´ve never played live before so we rehearsed everyday for months. Speaking for myself, after the show, after all that hard work that led to two hours on stage, when everything just went quiet and it was really over I got really depressed. I played with another band for a while but it just wasn´t any fun so I decided to give up music for good. But I always have music in my head, kind of an annoying buzz that makes me uneasy, and the only remedy is to record it. So I started building my own studio and started fooling around with ideas, a couple of them I originally intended for Breach, and all of a sudden I had two, three tracks laid down that I thought really had potential. I sent the tracks to friends of mine i´ve been playing with in different constellations, one of them Breach obviously, and they came up with a few ideas. All of a sudden the project came alive and here it is!

2. There is practically no existing info about the band. Of course, I do not want to anyhow disturb your aura of obscurity, but maybe you could at least mention who plays what instrument...? (which could in a way give a hint about what we can hear on "The Tunnels")

We switched intstruments back and forth and on some tracks I play all the instruments. But what you hear is bass, guitars, drums, syntheziser and some sampled stuff.

3. Certain elements reminding of Breach are to be heard on the album, but overall, the music is really different. Do you agree or does TERRA TENEBROSA symbolize a different approach to a similar theme? Was it clear from the beginning how the result will sound or did you just let the ideas flow?

I was very clear on that I wanted to do something dark. Something that would reflect the darkness I always carry inside and something that also mirrors the world we live in today. Apart from the two songs I wrote for Breach we just let the ideas flow. And we didn´t want TERRA TENEBROSA be a continuation of what Breach was doing so we had to explore different kind of approaches to the music. The darkness is there and the tuned down guitars but apart from that I think that we managed to do something different from Breach.

4. How were "The Tunnels" created? Does each member have his given place and task in the band or did you write the music in a more collective-based way?

No, I write the songs and usually record a guitar track that I present to the others. Sometimes I add some synthezeisers to further create the atmosphere I want to express. That way I dont have to explain every detail to the others. That is usually something that has lead to arguments in the different bands I´ve been in, that people just dont get what I´m trying to get across. Then they come up with ideas, second guitars and stuff, but in the end everything is filtered through me. TERRA TENEBROSA is not a democracy.


5. The only info known about the "The Tunnels" is that the album is a journey through the dark soul of the TERRA TENEBROSA leader, The Cuckoo. Is the album centered around this particular theme or can it be understood in a different way?

Well, the dark AND sad AND angry soul. During the recent years I´ve been doing a lot of soulsearching, trying to figure out who I really am and who I really want to be. I´ve been in and out of depression and medication, and I kind of have opened my eyes on the world we live in. Maybe I just have gotten soft or maybe the world really becomes crazier everyday. Anyway it´s all processed within and the music comes out of my mind, or soul I you like.

6. On your YouTube channel, there is an album teaser and the visual presentation of the band is very interesting. Can we expect something else in this direction? Maybe a video?

I´d like to work more with the visuals. But since I´d like to be in control of every aspect of TERRA TENEBROSA that might take some time. Time is something I lack. I am a father, we are currently recording new songs and we´re working at taking Terra Tenebrosa to the stage. But I think the visuals is an important aspect of TERRA TENEBROSA so someday.

7. When it comes to your future plans, do you have any or are you planning to adapt to how the time will go? Is TERRA TENEBROSA going to be a studio project or is there any possibility that you will present the band on stage?

As I said before we´re planning to play live. And we´re working on a new album.

8. The record is a quite a complex piece and I have heard a few slightly familiar elements. Where did you draw your inspiration from? Is "The Tunnels" influenced by other bands' music? If so, what bands could you mention?

My head is flooding with ideas so I really dont have to look for inspiration. As I mentioned before, everything I see and hear is processed within me and eventually comes out as music. It can be anything. Sometimes even a line from a book can trigger something. And nowadays I only listen to music while going for walks trying to relax. I´ve been listening a lot to Miles Davis lately. And one of my favourite bands are Radiohead. I dont think you´ll find traces of them in our music. Of course while growing up I´ve been listening to a lot of metal, punk, indie and what not. And the band I discovered at the age of five, the band that made want to play music in the first place, Kiss. But I don´t think you´ll hear any Kiss in us either.

9. Especially on Last.fm one can notice that it is difficult for many to label your music by a genre. Do you feel closer to a certain genre than to the other genres? Do you find yourself to be a strictly metal band?

All the labellings and sub-genres just makes me confused. When speaking of TERRA TENEBROSA Sludge and post-metal is common. I dont know what sludge denotes and what the hell does Post-metal really mean? Everything is post-this and post-that. And if you tune down your guitars and play your songs slow it´s doom. If you were to have blastbeats on the same songs, then it´s Black metal. I dont see the point with labelling everything like that. We are more of a metalband than a popband in any case.

10. How long did it take you to create the album? Was it a natural process and everything was easy and with a good flow or did you encounter problems the way it is usual with debut albums? The album has (in addition to other pros) a great sound. Did you do the mastering yourselves or was it done by somebody else?

I think I laid down the first track for what became "The Tunnels" in 2008 but sometimes months would go by without recording anything. You could say it was a natural process and that it ran smoothly but sometimes I got manic periods when I would sit in the studio day and night, forgetting to eat and shower, totally consumed by an idea. When snapping out of one of those moods I always get a bit depressed and questions like: is it worth it? Start to arise. When I have one of those periods I neglect what matters most, namely my family. And about the sound, thanks! We did all the work in our studio but a friend of us mastered it in his studio.

11. There are many different vocal types and "throat noises" to be heard on the album. Were these performed by a single person?

Except for some samples, the angelic choirs for instance, I made all the vocals.


12. I have already mentioned the visual presentation of the band. Who is in charge of it? Are these your ideas or do you consult the visual side with somebody else? Do the masks symbolize anything particular or are they a more of an abstract subject? How does the artwork correspond with the spirit of the album?

I have always liked masks, both collecting masks and making masks, and I wanted something that would visually correspond to the music and the atmosphere I wanted to get across, so together with my friend who took the photographs I decided to use some of the masks I had made.

13. What surprised me a bit (not only) when listening to your album for the first time, it was the sudden and unexpected end of the eponymous song (which I find praiseworthy, it leaves a really fascinating feeling in the listener). Was the song planned and composed like this from the very beginning or was it just a sudden idea?

I wanted the whole album to be kind of a inner journey for the listener, sort of a sonic pathworking or guided meditation and the abrupt ending of the record is the snapping of the fingers to awaken the listener from the hypnosis.

14. Thank you for the interview. I would like to ask you to use this space to tell us what you think that the listeners should know but I did not ask about it. I wish you success for the future.

Thank you! I´ve think we´ve covered about everything.