Minneriket: musik att inte höra
“Med min hjälp kommer ingen att bli av med sin sjukdom”
Hello Stein Akslen! How are you? Nice to be able to interview you.
I’m doing well thanks, hoping this status quo will persist for the rest of the day.
How did the pandemic take you last year?
It’s been both difficult and pleasurable. We’ve all had to sacrifice a lot now that we’re living in the third year of what I’ve labeled as Anno Corona, but I consider myself pretty lucky in this situation. I haven’t been sicking myself, we have good access to vaccines and treatment here, and I’ve spent a lifetime practicing how-to live-in solitude and isolation. Some of the restrictions, like social distancing are things I welcome with open arms (pun intended) and I’ve found a lot of this pleasurable. But of course, it put life on pause in a lot of ways, and I have huge respect for those who have risked their own health and safety working to fight this. We have a lot of heroes to honor after this. And I’m not looking to take anything away from all of those who have sacrificed so much more than me… the quality of life for most of our population have greatly decreased, both socially and financially.
It was in 2014 when you decided to create Minneriket, your personal project. How did the idea of creating your project come up?
Officially Minneriket was founded in 2014, but the ideas are a lot older. I released a print-on-demand book with the same name back in 2010, and some lyrics on this new album actually date back about 17 years. I had ideas that I needed to channel into something which was purely my own. No compromises, no expectations, no nothing –
just the freedom to do something completely on my own. Collaboration is fine from time to time, but I prefer to have full creativity without anyone saying no, and also be the sole responsible person if anything goes wrong.
Where did your love for music come from?
Music is something that’s always been around me. I grew up surrounded by music ever since I was a kid, and even though me and my family didn’t really see eye-to-eye in the music we consumed, there was always music around. When you combine that with a fiery and restless creativity there really was no other way.
Where did the name come from?
Minneriket roughly translates into “The realm of memories”. As mentioned, Minneriket was previously a book project. In that book there is a poem with the same name in nine parts. That was the foundation for the very first Minneriket album “Vargtimen”. The name represents something inherent in all of us, an alternative and common reality where blood, memory, experiences, mythology and other socio-cultural constructs blend together. It’s completely your own, an individual space, but something common for humanity. I’ve likened it to Platos cave, to the Aboriginal dream state, to the Theosophic Akashic Records, to… well, you get where it’s going. It’s mine, it’s yours, and it belongs to all and none.
What would you mention as your main influences?
In music? Well, there’s a lot of dark ambient, black metal, punk and classical of course. But that’s a very shallow representation and genres don’t interest me very much. I’m inspired by dark currents, waves of obscure tonality. On the recent album I’ve had rhythms previously unheard in extreme metal, polyphonic vocals, octavation, even a Picardy third for seamlessly ending the album on in a major third while written in minor.
Let’s talk about your latest album “Gjennom meg går ingen til hvile”, which you just released. How was the editing and recording process?
Long and painful, haha! I spent about six years recording and producing this album. I’ve had session musicians from all over the world, and there have been so many obstacles on the way. I’m actually glad I didn’t know how much work this would be before I started it. The pandemic struck down hard of course, but more than that there have been delays due to weather and wildfires, street riots, sickness and personal issues.
The process itself is that I make more or less all the music myself, write and record demos of it, and then have others contribute their parts based on my demos. Which means I needed to learn to write for a wide range of different instruments. I’ve usually played everything myself before, but for this album that was more limiting than liberating, so I had to think differently. Luckily, I have my own studio setup at home, so I’ve been able to work on the production and editing simultaneously while I and the others have recorded in our own studios.
How many tracks does it include?
There are 10 tracks on GMGITH. Six are full songs with complete lineup, four of them are mellow instrumentals to set the mood and let the listener dive deeper into the experience.
Do you have guests on this new album?
In total there are 17 session musicians and a choir on this. I’ve completely ran out of favors’, and probably owe a few… But yeah, I needed things I couldn’t do myself. Other instruments, other voices. I have people from Germany, Latvia, Venezuela, England, Chile, Russia, Italy, Australia, Canada, China, Mongolia and of course Norway. I’m glad to have been able to work with both friends and new acquaintances on this album. And I tried out a lot more people who just didn’t fit… So, it was quite a challenge to find the right persons.
Any audiovisual material?
There’s been a music video for the instrumental song “Hjemlengsel” by Valhallartworks filmed on Iceland. There’s also a lyric video for “Regnbuer I Gråtoner” coming out in the near future.
How have you promoted and promoted it?
I truly hate promotional work, so that’s always a hard nut to crack. A necessary evil. The videos help of course, but from an artist perspective promotion is incredibly boring and luckily, I have some help with that.
You should think social media would be a good platform, but I’ve gotten into trouble with all relevant platforms really. First the digital distributor rejected the album art because of nudity, and it was banned on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Then even links to external sites featuring the artwork got banned, and I was banned from doing paid promotions, collaborations or using other content creator tools. My post reach was extremely reduced, hashtags stopped working, and then a lot of posts got taken down. That was all because of the artwork which consists of artistic nudity. The sexualized perspective of mainstream snowflakes has temporarily won that battle, but I have an ongoing appeal with the Oversight Board for social media in Norway, trying to show how there is nothing sexual, obscene or explicit with this artwork.
On top of that, because Minneriket released a cover album some years ago with Burzum covers, I’ve somehow been flagged as a supporter of violent and hateful groups. So, there’s a whole shadow ban going on there too, and it’s been severely limiting my chances of using social media.
Where is it possible to get a copy?
There’s a very limited CD run available at the Minneriket band camp-store. You can also buy the digital version there, or just stream it on most mainstream streaming platforms. The band camp-version is the only way to get it with the correct artwork though, as the artwork has been censored due to artistic nudity on all other platforms.
With this new album, you have created 5 albums. What inspires you to create your songs?
It’s been five albums already? Wow… I had to go back and count! I really just consider it as four, since “From the veins of a nearly dead boy” is a cover album, but there actually exists also a hidden album recorded straight after “Stjerner, speil og svartebøker…” which I’ve never released.
I have a need to create. It’s cathartic to me, therapeutic. It’s a way to process life. Before I made music, I didn’t have any healthy way to exercise my demons, so it’s a way to keep my head over the waters. And it’s a way to learn new things, build a network, and contribute something — give something to the listener.
What do you want to express through your songs?
Myself.
It has come to my attention that Minneriket does not perform live presentations. Why is that?
Finally! You have no idea how many interviews I do where the so-called journalist just sends over their template asking about what to expect on the future tours, haha! Those lazy bastards.
Is your music made to be heard and not to be seen?
I’m not interested in being an entertainer. I think it would drain me of energy instead of giving me energy. I couldn’t even dream of rehearsing songs in a sweaty room with an orthodox band, or performing music in front of a bunch of drunken metal heads. I enjoy going to concerts from time to time myself, and I appreciate that someone takes up the role and brings the circus to town, but it’s just not for me. In addition, I actually think my music is best experienced in solitude, so you’ll never see Minneriket on a stage.
Stein, besides Minneriket you are in two other projects, Æra and Blodsgard. Are these projects still active? What is it status?
With Blodsgard we released our debut album in 2013, and started laying down the groundwork for the sophomore album around 2015… We’ve had a few studio sessions over the years. And even a new drummer I think, but I’ve never spoken to him. I don’t remember the drummers name right now, but Rex and I still plan on completing the album, and have actually written and recorded demos for about 75% of it, I think. I don’t know when we’ll finish it, but Blodsgard is not on ice and the album will come.
With Æra I think Ulf have completed a lot of the music for the next album, and we’re changing up the sound a little. I plan on doing vocals for it sometime this spring.
Regarding you and your career. What are your plans for this year?
Right now, I have to follow through with the promotion of “Gjennom meg går ingen til hvile” which released just last week. There’s a lyric video in production as we speak, and I hope to have it released late February. Somewhere between February and April
I hope to be able to enter the studio and record vocals for the next Æra, and maybe we’ll even be able to release it late this year or early 2023. I had to decline contributing music to a video project a little while back as I have to focus on my own things, but hopefully I’ll have another project or two started later this year. I’ve been doing some mental groundwork for more Minneriket too, but right now I need to figure out which direction I should take. I’ve also been working on something more punk-ish for a few years now, which have never seen the light of day… Maybe I’ll finish that.
Well Stein, that’s all. Thank you for your time and wish you the best of luck. Before finishing, something you would like to say.
Thanks a lot for your time! For anyone reading, please check out “Gjennom meg går ingen til hvile” and shoot me a message somewhere if you like it!
Follow at:
https://www.instagram.com/minneriket
1. Så kald en jord
2. Hjemlengsel
3. Begravelsens hjerteslag
4. Regnbuer i gråtoner
5. Sorg og savn
6. Solnedgang
7. Hvil i fred
8. Forglemmegei
9. Nåde
10. 11379
