The inteview with Ulf Soderberg was done in 2005.
:: I haven't seen much info about you and your project, so let's start this interview from the very beginning. Please introduce yourself to our readers. Where are you from? What are your interests besides music? May be it would be interesting to know about your job.
I am a Swedish composer and sound designer. I run my own studio and have done a lot of work in mutimedia, TV, artexhibitions and other stuff. Besides music and sound design I am also working with pictures and photography. I have worked profesionally with this since quite a lot of years.
:: When and what has influenced you on writing music? Was it a certain record or a person?
Looking back right now, I can see three distinct phases that has influenced me a bit more than average. First the music when I grew up, the record collections the grown ups aroud me had. This was music from the sixties and seventies - the psycedelic music, BEATLES Revolver, Hendrix, DOORS. The second one was the new wave period after the first punk movement in the late seventies and early eighties, Gary Numan, John Foxx, KRAFTWERK, Eno etc.. The third one occured in the late eighties and early ninties, SKINNY PUPPY, SPK, LUSTMORD, NWW, the instrumental music from Peter Gabriel etc... Folk music, World music, Experimental, Soundtracks... I really have a lot of influences and they come and go, so if you ask me again in three years I'll probably mention other names as well...
:: You have released a number of solo albums and one CD as SEPHIROTH. Personally, I enjoy all your works and I do not have favorites among them - they all simply great. What do you think about your past works as a creator? Are there any special ones among them?
Everyone is special to me as it represents a moment in my life and where I was at that moment as an artist and composer. I quite like all of them. As I have tried to stay as true as I can to myself I can still listen to Nattljus today and really like it, even if it is getting 10 years old this november. You also get somewhat emotionally detached, in a good way, to your work as soon as it is released. That means I can listen to my work as everyone else, I am just another one of the thousands of people that happen to have a SEPHIROTH or Ulf Soderberg CD at home.
:: What music-writing is meaning to you? Is it just a way to have some fun or it's something you can't control and something you just have to do?
I would certainly continue writing music even if it wasn't released. I do that everyday. Most of the music I write are not released of course. The wast majority never ends up on an album, and the one that do certanly requires special attension when it comes to mixing etc.... The last 20% of the work on an album is more hard work than fun. Mixing, mastering, getting the artwork right (ok I enjoy working with the pictures but the layout etc I'll gladly leave to Roger), codes, pressreleases and so on. So, the first 80% I do for myself, the last 20% I do for everyone else.
:: I continue and a bit develop my previous question. Music-writing for you is a way to escape from surrounding reality or it is a way of creating new reality, a way to affect others, change them?
Well, I dont want to lead anyone into thinking in a special way or say anything special. I really do not want to thrust anything on the listener, that would contradict with the idea I have on my music. I think of it as I leave the listener with a suggestion. What they actually think, feels or imagine is up to them.
:: As I recall, one of press-releases told that your records are made of various field-recordings from different countries. Is that true? And could you tell me about your travels.
Yeah, I often use processed field recordings in my music. I have been to a lot of places around the globe. This is not the main focus of my music though, I think of it more as another colour in my palette. I use sounds from everywhere. I can get an interesting sound from the movement of the ice in Antarctic of course, but I might as well get an interesting sound from flushing the toilet at home. Sometimes a sound that first seems to be useless becomes very usable after some heavy prosessing or whatever. It's the content itself that is important for me, not necesarily how the content came about... But I can understand that this is an interesting subject though..
:: Absolute Supper's booklet mentioned your interest in magic, rituals and so on. It's true?
Yeah, I like to read about different cultures and filosophy. . I am very openminded to other cultures and gets inspired from reading about them.
:: As we all know you release your music under your own name and as SEPHIROTH. How do you separate these two incarnations of your music? SEPHIROTH is released through CMI, but solo-project you release on your own label. Does this mean that solo-project is more important for you?
SEPHIROTH has really helped me to get some attension to my own albums, so they are of equal importance to me these days. I might have a stronger personal relationship to my own albums, but that does not mean that work less on the SEPIROTH albums. As soon as I release something officialy, I make sure it's an honest delivery from my part. They blend into each other in a nice way I think. A few years ago I didn’t want people to mix up the two projects but today I dont mind. When I play live I play songs from all my albums. Sephiroth has helped me reach a wider audience, thats for sure.
:: Technology is constantly developing and I'm pretty sure in a couple of years making Hollywood-like movies at home would be as easy as making professional music on regular PC. Even today underground labels release DVDs. So, let's imagine that you can materialize on video almost all your ideas, how could look a perfect soundtrack for your perfect album?
Quality content and honest delivery is always the most important I think. In theory I can already make my own videos in iMovie on my mac. I already do the backdrop for my live shows in there. I think the backdrop is somewhat an extension on what is on the album covers.
:: Could you tell me a bit about your plans for future? When can we expect your new album?
Yes, I recived the new album, Draconian poetry, this week and I am really happy with it.
This is actually the first interview I am doing since the new album was released, so be proud ;-)
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