Proveniente da Holanda, este é o projecto a solo de S., que toca também em ... e Deep-pression, este último com ajuda de RH -, o português Malignus e Vrangsinn (de Carpathian Forest), que já teve também a colaboração de Trist ( de Trist da República Checa) e de Hètre (de Triste).
Isa é utilizado para expressar algo mais do que S. conseguiria com o seu outro projecto a solo, Hypomanie. Isa é frio e distante, como o próprio S. o descreve.
Até agora há apenas um lançamento, sob o nome de Eindeloos, que foi lançado pela Valse Sinistre Records, numa edição de apenas 150 exemplares de alta qualidade.
O som criado por S. pode ser traçado como seguidor da linha formada por bandas como Paysage D'Hiver ou Vinterriket. Confirmem-no através do MySpace oficial e dêem opiniões:
http://www.myspace.com/isaofficial
Nesta semana, S. teve o prazer de responder a uma entrevista efectuada por mim mais uma vez para a Ritualis Metallum Infernalium.
As perguntas e as respostas podem-se encontrar em baixo:
1 – Hails S.! I’m much honored that you accepted our interview request, being Isa such a mysterious and silent entity. First of all, please tell me how was Isa conceived and what’s the purpose lying within the creation of this entity? Could you also explain why have you chosen the name Isa and what does it mean?
A good evening Pedro, I am probably just as honoured as you to see that some people are actually interested in my music. I started with Isa somewhere the beginning of this year, I wanted to express more than I could do with Hypomanie, Hypomanie is very personal, Isa is just cold and has a certain distance to me. Something I really needed at that point. The name Isa was chosen for a various amount of reasons, if you would look it up at various dictionaries, you will find various meanings of this word, in Hebrew it can mean Jesus, in Icelandic it can mean ice, and in German it can mean "the strong willed". Isa, as in name of this project, is actually a mix of the last two meanings of this word, the strong willed is like a synonym for me, and the meaning "ice" stands for the cold, and emotionless distance it has. Besides that, it is just a very beautiful word.
2 – Isa is a relatively unknown band in the black metal underground and few are the people that had the opportunity to listen your first and actually only release under the Isa name, “Eindeloos”. This first release came out on July of this year on CD-r format but with a limit of 150 copies, contained in a DVD case with a heavyweight cover and a special silverprinted insert card. This makes “Eindeloos” a very unique release and rather unusual for a band nowadays. Why have you decided to make your first release this special and with such attention towards the buyer, instead of for example, doing a simple tape and releasing it with a higher number of copies?
Well, it was actually not me who decided this all, I got in contact with Robert from Valse Sinistre Productions, he was interested in my music and was interested in releasing it, I actually let everything over to him and Kagaion Art, including the logo, I knew he worked with Vinterriket and other bands that have pretty much the same elements in their music as Isa. After telling them what the idea was behind Isa, I just let them come up with their ideas and visions on how it should look. It actually turned out amazing. They both really felt the music, because everything just was so right with the music. I also really want to thank Rh-, he wrote the lyrics for the third song: Changes, a part of that lyric is written on the inlay card.
3 – The themes of your songs deal as far as I know, with Nature and depression, two issues that I find rather important and are sources of discussion throughout the world. I suppose that these themes that are contained in the lyrics draw most of its inspiration from personal experiences that you’ve passed through or that you assist regularly. In that case I think it’s pertinent to ask you what’s your relation with Mother Nature and what do you think of mankind’s with it as well, nowadays? Also, what worries you the most and brings you to a more melancholic state?
Nature is actually only a pretty small part of Isa's music, it's actually pretty hard to explain the relation between nature and Isa/me. I am pretty bad with words in some cases, but altough, I will give it a try. The first song of the album is called "Eenzaamheid" wich translates to loneliness in Dutch. Loneliness is actually a pretty big part of my life, I have no problems with it, it is what I have chosen for. The reason why I have chosen for this, is because I have much problems feeling comfortable among people, the only places I can feel comfortable is totally alone in nature. I for example really felt in love with Norway, but also just the dunes, and the wide, open beaches of Terschelling (wich is a small island in the northern part of Holland). Besides that I can also enjoy simple walks in the park. The second place where I am able to feel comfortable, is ironically in the centre of the city, among so many people, it just doesn't matter anymore. I hope this explained enough my relationship with nature.
The way nature has been treated for the past 200 years is of course, sickening, but we have more than 6 billion people on this planet, and they all need food and a place to live. We can't expect that all these people will try to protect nature. Society is always stronger than some individuals, so the fact that people treat nature this way sickens me, but I also realise that society just grew to this point. A point where making money and food, and giving everybody a place to live is just more important than protecting nature. Especially in a country like the Netherlands it's almost impossible to keep protecting our (once) beautiful nature. The last tree not planted by humans was already destroyed several decennia ago.
What worries me the most and brings me into a state of melancholia, is something I am still not sure of, it's just a part of me, I really feel comfortable with the way I am. it might sound weird but I feel comfortable with melancholia. Most of the people can't live alone, or in a state of melancholia, when you actually have no other option, or in my case when it's just there, with for me (until now) unknown reasons, you have two options: trying to find another way to live, wich can lead to moving, switching job, or even, in the very worst case suicide. Or you can just live with it, and try to find happiness in the smaller things in life, not so called 'true' love, or tons of friends, but small things like a good conversation, or even just a nice song you're listening to. I chose the second option, and when you "know how it works" it can feel so good. Ever felt euphoria, just by hearing the telephone ring?
4 – The sound present on “Eindeloos” is raw, but absorbing and atmospheric enough to let a person feel the cold emitted by it. Most of the time, it seems like the tracks were recorded in the middle of a snow storm, as the freezing wind is almost constant, penetrating on the bones of the listener, a sensation that I also experienced for example while listening to Paysage D’Hiver records. How did you record and create this pummeling wall of sound, capable of envelop the listener in a matter of seconds?
I am not gonna tell you rubbish about kerosine driven guitars, and signals that go through 100 liters of ice cold salt water, it was just a very old Les Paul guitar, with lots and lots of sustain on it. Although it doesn't look as cool, and "black metal" as for example a Jackson of B.C Rich. It's perfect for creating this very cold sound. Reverb and delay pedals do the rest of the work. Just take your time to experiment, and look further than all that modern, cool looking equipment. The comparison with Paysage D'hiver is of course made pretty fast, I also have to admit that the sound that Wintherr creates is something that worked very inspirational during the recording process. Although there is much difference in atmosphere and emotion to be found...
5 – Speaking of the recording process, I must confess that I listened to several black metal/ambient projects, but your work has a spark that not most of them have. The sound is very simple and light (the absence of a bass guitar removes a lot of the heaviness), but the lack of a bass guitar is compensated with ethereal keyboard melodies the dwell beneath the harsh shrieks and moans, the dynamic guitar and the relentless drumwork. Could you explain me the reason why you opted to not use the bass on your album?
I first want to say that exept for the first 12 minutes of Eenzaamheid I never used any keyboard, all the sound/ambience you hear is just guitar, the reason why I don't added any bass is pretty clear for me. The use of a bass guitar is mostly to make a sound thicker, and get the full sound spectrum, including the low tones a bass guitar creates. I chose to make the sound as thick as possible, with using as much mid and high tones as possible, and let the only low tones come from the bassdrum. I wanted to get an ice cold sound, and ice cold sounds are mostly not created with low tones, I needed as much mids and highs as possible. Besides that basses are not as good for creating ambience as a guitar, actually, they mostly ruin the sound. I want the only pulse coming from the drums, not from a bassguitar.
6 – “Eindeloos” is comprised of 41 minutes of pure frostbitten black metal, divided by 3 tracks, “Eenzaamheid”, “Isolatie” and “Changes”. It is very hard to pick a single song as the best, since all of the three are very well composed and every single one is its own unique identity. At this time, my question would be if you are satisfied with the final result. Did you have any feedback from it so far, positive or negative?
I was pretty statisfied with the final result, my goal was to put a mix of raw emotions, with influences from nature, into my music, and as long as I achieved that, I am happy with it, no matter with what other people think about it. A couple of weeks after the release however, the first reactions appeared, and I was amazed about them, until now I have only read positive reviews about Eindeloos. It's really amazing to see how I created a certain expression of myself, actually in no way thinking about what other people will think of it, and then see that there are actually people out there, that understand the feeling, and hear all the things I put into it.
7 – Isa belongs to the label Valse Sinistre Records, a small underground label, hailing from Romania. Honestly, I have never heard of VSR before and I only acknowledged its existence after discovering Isa. Still, it appears to be an interesting label, claiming to release only “dark & eerie music, whatever is weird, haunting, eerie, or has a not-of-this earth feeling, no matter if it’s dark ambient, black metal, industrial, funeral doom, drone, noise, neo-folk” and so on. How did you discover this label and what’s your relation with its owner? Personally I’d say that you’re in the right label, but I still wanted to ask if you are pleased to belong to VSR.
I contacted Robert a couple of weeks after the recording was done, he was actually from the very first beginning very enthusiastic, about the release, and the music itself. He runs this label in a perfect way, like every label should be runned: he seems to only release material he likes himself, and creates the feeling he is looking for, not caring about money, genre, or stupid things like that. I am actually really proud to have a release on Valse Sinistre, I have huge respect for both the label itself, the artist on the label, and the guy behind it: Robert. If I will ever have the chance to collaborate with this label again, I will certainly do it.
8 – About VSR, it has come to my attention that your other project Deep-pression, is also on VSR. On that band, you share tasks with RH -, the portuguese M.v.K, Vrangsinn (from Carpathian Forest) and Klat Ba. You also play on the depressive black/doom act “…” and “Status Epilepticus”, while managing to also compose for you other solo project Hypomanie. How do you gather so much inspiration and time to perform to all these bands? Does it get complicated to work for all bands in any point?
Well you`re not the only one who asks it, let`s start from the beginning... In late 2007 I started to write the first songs for Hypomanie, just because I don´t talk that much with other people, and I still need a way to express everything. I have so much to say, and (in my case) to write, that only Hypomanie (and the feeling around it) was not enough, therefore I created Isa, and Status Epilepticus, Status Epilepticus is something very deep and personal, I only record very rarely for, it`s only when I have an enormous amount of stuff within me. Not thinking about songstructures, or rhythmn, it`s like a therapy for me. These three projects are just based on daily expression, some periods I need it a lot (like in late 2007, early 2008), and some periods I am pretty quiet inside, like autumn 2008. Besides those three personal projects, I also just like to record with other people, for example "...". this is Black/Doom band I run together with Letaliis. Inspiration for this band is just pure musical, riff based. Together with Rh-, Vrangsinn, M.v.K and some constantly changing people I, indeed, record for Deep-pression. Inspiration for this music comes from a source I haven't yet discovered, it is just there, just like my melancholia. I might sound weird, but we probably all have some things we don't know the source of. And actually inspiration belongs to one of them, it just comes. Maybe it is the fact that I think so much about everything, I observe and process all day long. I always want to know how people work, it might be some kind of obsession, but it might also be a very important source for my music, especially for Hypomanie I think. The human mind is so astonishing, I am constantly thinking about the cause and consequence of someones behaviour, maybe, this is one of the sources. I don't know.
9 – After listening to “Eindeloos” so many times without ever getting tired of it, I find myself curious to listen to new material from you on Isa. Since you look an individual full of ideas and concepts, I need to ask you: Do you have something prepared for Isa, like a new release, for example a demo or a split?
Isa is actually pretty dead at the moment, I am not recording or planning any releases, although, ideas, texts and melodies are constantly flowing around in my head, when I have collected enough of them, I might start again working on new material, but that moment is not yet there. I also can't say when it will, it's just like my inspiration, one moment it isn't anywhere to be found, and the other moment I amfull to the brim.
10 – Netherlands is a country that hasn’t got a lot of bands that I have heard of, except from Cirith Gorgor, Funeral Winds, Öde and Urfaust. I suppose that you could be the right person to ask for suggestions about dutch black metal bands. What bands do you think are the best and what would you suggest me to pay attention, new or old? Also, what’s the situation of the black metal underground on Netherlands?
I have to be fair by saying that I am not that much into Black Metal anymore, I still listen a small selection of bands, and still like to discover new ones, but I am not a real big Black Metal devotee anymore. I am afraid to say that if you're asking about Dutch Black metal, you're here at the wrong adress.
11 – Finally, I am very curious about your music foundations. Nowadays the black metal bands aren’t ashamed to confess different sound influences, which could range from pop, to thrash, to industrial, to whatever. Which bands do you think influenced you the most and what bands do you praise and respect?
In Isa's case, I am not gonna talk shit, about Venom, Hellhammer, Bathory or Von, it might be cool to be influenced by them, but I have to be fair that bands like Paysage D'hiver and Forteresse influenced me the most on this album. Isa is actually the only project were Black Metal bands influenced me. In daily life I nowadays really enjoy various post-rock and shoegaze bands, it was a bit late discovery for me, but this is in the last couple of months actually my main influence, especially for Hypomanie, wich I still write and record music for. The bands I listen the most to these days are probably Joy Division, Daturah, Ride, My Bloody Valentine and the the Dutch singer/songwriter Spinvis. Especially the last name I mentioned is a big inspiration for me for the lyrical side of Hypomanie.
12 – This interview has reached its final stage. I want to thank you for accepting my interview request. Give the readers your final words.
I also want to thank you for this interview, you went deeper than most interviewers go, to the readers I only want to say that I love you all!!!
Quanto à música, acho que é modinha demais agora fazerem-se aquelas coisas, muito longas, repetitivas, que se perdem, pouca originalidade. Ainda que este senhor lhes tenha sabido dar uma volta interessante. Opinião, claro 
