Hi Alex, first off I’m happy to do the interview with you and we really appreciate the nice reviews you made of our albums. I think it’s a common misconception that our roots in black metal are any stronger than they are to any other musical genres. Yes, it’s true that some of us have played in black metal bands, but some of us have also played in pop bands, rock bands, folk music bands, jazz bands, and everything else, so our backgrounds are very diverse. In the metal community we are most known for our involvement with the metal bands, and that would perhaps mostly apply to Jan Axel but also the two others. I’m the one who had the least to do with this scene even though Carl and Lars also come from an entirely different musical background originally.

My situation is kind of similar. I came from a family where on my mother’s side she and her two sisters were all pianists. So when I was nine years old I was given music lessons in piano but I didn’t stick with it through my teenage years because I had other interests at that time. So I have probably lost the years that I would have been able to develop the most, but at the same time I feel I’m able to express what I want to express on the piano for the most part, so it wasn’t a huge loss. But of course I can always think where I’d be if I had stuck with it all those years.

I think this is a result of the background of the different members involved. We don’t really go out of our way to try to define it or label it, as we feel there is really no point for us to do that. We try not to set limits for ourselves for what we can operate within and we like to be able to do exactly what we feel like because either way nobody is going to know what to expect. Everyone talking about us seem to disagree on whether it’s called one thing or another, whether it’s more piano driven or guitar driven, whether the new album is heavier or softer than the old one, whether it’s better or not, and not the least what to compare it to. I’ve heard it called anything from black metal to doom, goth, prog, and the truth is we are not really any of those things. If anything we’re only happy about the fact that music reviewers don’t know how to categorize us because it makes them have to think outside the box. We never sat down and said to ourselves, let’s play this kind of music or that kind of music. From the beginning I would just write some ideas and then the other guys would use that to inspire ideas for their specific instrument. Nowadays we work more together in the whole process and we bounce ideas back and forth between each other. I still write most of the basic material but the other guys are much more involved than they used to be, and for the material we are currently writing it’s totally open and everyone can contribute to ideas on any song at any given time in the process.

Yes, our music is definitely based around the chamber ensemble feel and the combination of the classical elements versus the metal elements. It would not be entirely wrong to consider them a fifth member even though they don’t contribute anything to the creative process. We have to write all the string arrangements for them ahead of time, and then they just play what they are told. But they do add some personal touch to it as far as bow strokes and dynamics, etc. We will probably always use the string ensemble in our music but it might not be the same individuals every single time. That depends largely on who’s available at the time we need to record, because these people work in the symphony orchestra and they might have other things going on at the exact time. But so far we have been able to use most of the same people, which is good because the more they work with us and the more they get to know our music style the better job they will do.

You are completely right, in fact there are no keyboards or synthesizers on this record what so ever, and this is the first time we have felt we did not need any of that. The last time I would sprinkle some here, but this time there is only piano as far as my performance is concerned.

Carl and I have a very similar way of thinking and we have a high level of musical understanding for one another. We also do all the groundwork for our music together so the two of us have that responsibility while Jan Axel and Lars are responsible for additional arrangements and creative input. Lars is the one who writes the final string arrangements based on the ideas that I write, so it’s a process where everyone is involved in different levels of the production.

I write all the lyrics for our music and there has only been one exception to that rule, which ironically enough is the example you mention. I don’t really like to explain to the reader what the lyrics are about but they can all be viewed as philosophical or existential observations in some form or another. It’s not difficult for me to write in English because even though I am originally from Norway I have lived in different places in the US and Canada throughout my life, and I spoke both languages since I was young. It’s always funny to see people mention this because I’ve read things like “we have to give them some slack in the lyrics department since English is not their native language” etc, and little do they know I speak and write both languages equally well, so naturally this cracks me up every time.

I’m happy to see that there is so much interest in having us play live. I don’t think I’ve done a single interview this year where this question hasn’t been asked. We would like to do shows if circumstances permit it, but since we live in 3 different countries and are not able to rehearse, and because of the difficulty of transforming our sound to a stage and the financial implications of this, it has been decided that we will not tour for this album. We will re-evaluate this situation from time to time.

I know I would be there for your show, so please consider the US in your touring plans.

Actually, let me clarify this once and for all. It’s not accurate that we come from three different countries, we all come from the same country, which is Norway, but we now live in three different countries due to the fact that two of us moved away from Norway within the last few years. I live in the USA now and Lars lives in Finland. Carl and Jan Axel still live in Norway. So naturally we are not like your typical band, but having bands with members living in different countries nowadays is actually a very common thing anyway, so it works out fine. We’re only a plane ride away.

I feel like The End is the best label for us to be on, and I hope we will continue to feel that way as time goes by. We always have very high expectations from our record label and as long as they are able to keep up with us, which they have been so far, then I see no reason why we would change anything. The End has grown because of Winds and Winds has grown because of The End, so as you say it really is the perfect relationship between a label and a band.

This could be because a lot of bands are trying to project an image where they become characters within in the image itself. With Winds the band members don’t have an image, the concept and the visual expression is the only image, and we are just the musicians behind it. So for Winds it makes sense to be credited with full names in stead of nicknames, and I even think people will take it more seriously when this is the case.

My life isn’t terribly exiting on a day to day basis and I’m not too involved with the metal scene or anything else. I’m somewhat anti-social and I don’t get out much. Most of my days I spend writing music and doing stuff related to music such as interviews, emails, etc. There’s a whole other aspect of this that takes a lot of time, which is the business side of it all. There are decisions that need to be made and things that need to be taken care of. In fact it’s kind of a full time job. I also travel quite a bit because of the music, often many times a year, and when I don’t have anything going on I try to get out there and have some fun, and of course to relax as much as possible. I’m lucky that I get to spend a lot of time at home writing music since I don’t work in a “nine to five” environment like a lot of other musicians do, so I can in fact spend most of my days doing what I like to do, and that is very cool.

We would just like to say thanks for showing us your support and for being patient while waiting for us to finish this album. We also want to thank everyone who is actually buying our music in stead of downloading it from the Internet. It’s because of you that we are able to do what we do and we’re very grateful for that. And to those who steal our material without paying for it, just know that we can’t do this anymore if nobody is willing to pay. Records don’t make themselves and record labels won’t sign bands like us if sales go down. So if you keep doing it, the risk is that bands like us will not be able to do this anymore, and if you have friends that download illegally, let them know it’s not ok, because if you like our kind of music and if want us around, the only way to do that is to put a stop to piracy.

And I thank you for yours.