DANIEL JANSSON (DEADWOOD/KEPLERS ODD)
I was very pleased to be able to talk with Daniel Jansson this fortnight, who, if we were a physical entity, would certainly be our cover star, having been reviewed, examined and discussed in great detail by our team since we first heard the latest releases by his projects, Deadwood and Keplers Odd. Here we discuss both projects in greater detail, alongside Daniel’s inspirations, ambitions and views on creativity in general.
Hierophant Nox: Hi Daniel, how are you doing?
Daniel: Hi Ellen. All is well, thanks for asking!
Hierophant Nox: For the benefit of our readers, could you introduce yourself and your projects?
Daniel: Sure thing. My name is Daniel Jansson. I’m the mind behind the Death Industrial/Ambient/Black Noise band Deadwood, a project that focuses on the “darker” side of spiritualism, soul and psyche. And also some may know me as the ex-vocalist in the Black Metal group Blodulv. I’m involved in a number of other bands and projects as well, for instance; Keplers Odd, a Drone/Noise/Ambient trio. Culted, a Doom/BM/Experimental Metal band that started up 2007, and includes me and some people from the Canadian Black metal group Of Human Bondage. On top of that I have some collaboration projects and some other Noise/Power Electronics projects I’m involved in. I’m keeping busy…..
Hierophant Nox: You’ve been promoting two releases over the past few months- Deadwood’s “Ramblack” and more recently, “Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula”, under the banner of Keplers Odd. How are you feeling about these albums? Have you received positive responses from press and fans?
Daniel: I’m really satisfied with both of them. They turned out great, each in their own way. And the reviews have been very positive on both releases. I don’t think I have read a bad review yet on either of them. So that feels good. The same goes for people I have talked to that have bought the records. So far none of them have had anything bad to say about the albums.
Hierophant Nox: Both releases were complex and experimental in their own way. What were the concepts behind them? What does each express?
Daniel: I don’t want to sound too clichéd, but I feel that it’s up to the listener to interpret the soundscapes and moods I have put into sound. I don’t like the idea of force-feeding people with what I experienced when creating it, it’s more important for each person to make up their own mind when listening to the albums. Thus said, I can speak some about my own relations to the creation process and what my intentions were.
“Ramblack” was a long and somewhat of painful process. It took me almost three years to finish. I have re-worked every detail of every song so many times just to get it the way I wanted. I put so much of myself into the record it is ridiculous. I wanted it to have this feeling of malice running through the entire album. And sound like something in-between Dark Ambient and Power Electronics, both brutal and sombre. A sonic invocation of both inner and outer demons.
“Strena…” was a whole other story since it was more or less put together from a pile of already recorded material. With Keplers Odd we record almost everything we do when in the rehearsal space, so as you can imagine we have a lot of both good and bad material saved up. When I came in contact with Fractured Spaces Records via Myspace, he (Simon Marshall-Jones, label boss) asked me to send him some material. Due to this I started to listen through all the tracks and compiled a more or less finished album for him. All but one song made the “Strena…” album. The first track on the disc I sent was cut and replaced but other than that it’s in the same format as I sent him.
The album turned out much more ambient that our past releases, and maybe even a bit more guitar based as well. And to understand the feeling I got when compiling the album, just look at album layout. I did that one as well, and it really sums up the whole concept of “Strena Seu de Nive Sexangula”. A picture says more than a thousand words.
Hierophant Nox: “Ramblack” was announced as being more ‘raw and morbid’ than its predecessor, “8 19″. In what ways has Deadwood’s sound developed? Has this been a conscious movement or a natural progression in your writing?
Daniel: Both, I think. After I did the “8 19″ album, everything I made for Deadwood sounded the same in my ears. So I forced myself to adapt a whole other technique when working on “Ramblack”. “8 19″ was mainly digital. With field recordings that were looped and processed with computer equipment. Maybe run through an outboard distortion or two to get a not-so digital sound. And “Ramblack” is more synthesizers, analogue filters, effect pedals and feedback. I still used some computer processing, looping and field recording etc, but very sparsely. This made the album sound much more raw and morbid. The funny thing is that I have talked to people that think “Ramblack” sounds more Ambient than “8 19″, and to some extent they might be right. Some of the songs on there are layered with more soft sounds than on “8 19″. But I really think that “Ramblack” sounds so much more (for want of a better word) “evil” and has a whole other primitive rawness to it. I’m hoping I can keep on experimenting and evolving for each record that I release with Deadwood. If it sounds like the same thing over and over again I don’t really see the point.
Hierophant Nox: The album also features a very notable guest appearance in the form of Maniac, who provided vocals for the track “Fortakt”; how did this collaboration come about? Was it a positive experience working with him?
Daniel: The whole thing actually started with Justin Mitchell (Cold Spring). He was acquainted with Maniac and had been talking to him off and on. Justin approached me with the idea of having Maniac do some vocals on the upcoming album and I jumped at the opportunity. I grew up with Mayhem and the whole BM culture so it was really a “no brainier” for me. Then Justin asked Maniac about it and sent him the “8 19″ album which he really liked, and he thereafter agreed to appear on the album.
It was a real positive experience to work with him. He seems like a great guy. Very professional, and dedicated to what he’s doing.
Hierophant Nox: Under the label of Deadwood you work alone; for you, what are the advantages of being a one-man project? Do you take different satisfaction from each individual project in which you are involved?
Daniel: Certainly! I get something different out of every single project I’m involved in, or I wouldn’t do it. When doing Deadwood I like the fact that I’m in total control and there is no one that really can tell me what to do. The freedom that comes with Deadwood is really why I consider it my main project. And that it is something that no-one can take away from me. Whatever happens, I can always rely on the fact that I can focus my art into Deadwood. It’s an extension of myself.
But working with other people really has its advantages as well. They notice things that you don’t, they can inspire you with ideas you could never think of and force you to go beyond your own boundaries. And that is necessary for your musical evolution I think. Sure you can evolve in isolation, but it will only take you so far… sooner or later we need outside stimulation to grow and reach the next level.
Hierophant Nox: The other project that in which I have been greatly interested recently is Keplers Odd, which involves other musicians- who are they, and how did you come to form the band?
Daniel: Keplers Odd was something Magnus Moilala and I had been talking about since we left Blodulv. Magnus and I go way back… like first grade back. So I have known him for a long time. Anyway, he and I were out drinking and we happened to run into Kristina Perssson, whom we both knew from our hometown, but we had lost contact with a few years back. From our discussions, we felt that our musical influences were very similar, so we asked her if she would be interested in starting up a band with us. The rest is history… and it all started with a night at the pub.
Hierophant Nox: Keplers Odd is named for the seventeenth century mathematician and astrologer Johannes Kepler- what made you choose such a name?
Daniel: The name was originally taken from a street here in Gothenburg that has a reputation of a crime hotspot. It wasn’t until some months later, after we already named the band that we started to look into the works of Johannes Kepler and his studies. After this the name started to make even more sense than before, it felt like fate. It just fits the sonic aura of the band so well. That’s why we decided to name the latest album after his work.
Hierophant Nox: The giving of titles is an interesting area with Keplers Odd, as you create very imaginative album titles, but leave your tracks with the names of their original files. Was there a specific reason for doing this?
Daniel: It all boils down to what I said before. We want the listener to use their own imagination and draw from the music what they will. Titles don’t feel necessary for KO, they never did. What’s important is the music, and how the audience perceives the songs. And to be honest, to name the tracks after recording dates really works well with the Kepler name.
Hierophant Nox: Clearly from these two projects experimentalism and the avant-garde play an important role; what has drawn you to the extremities of musical expression? Do you see a general trend towards more music becoming increasingly extreme?
Daniel: I think so. Musicians that are already involved in extreme music are increasingly “branching out” into other types of expression. Experimenting, breaking the boundaries of conventional musical thinking. Because of the Internet, extreme music is so much more obtainable these days. That in return inspires more people, and they bring it to the next level. And I imagine that people are getting tired of being forcefed the easy listening crap by mass media and thus search for other types of expression. I’m really curious about how much more extreme things will go though. Snuff music? Or maybe that already exists?
Hierophant Nox: For you personally, is there still interest to be found in more ‘traditional’ genres? What particular bands and artists have impressed you in recent times?
Daniel: Of course I listen to more traditional types of music. I listen to almost every type of music out there. There are at least one or two good bands in (almost) every genre. The only thing that sucks is that nowadays I don’t have as much time to listen to albums as before. I’m often to busy with my own audio endeavours. And work doesn’t really help. But this is what’s been spinning the last few days: Unearthly Trance Electrocution, Arckanum Antikosmos, Kinski Airs Above your Station, Jesu Conqueror and SKM-ETR The Rugged Meat Cleaver.
Hierophant Nox: Where do you find inspiration for your music? Do different things inspire your different projects?
Daniel: Well, I can find inspiration anywhere really. It can be everything from personal experiences, reading a book, world news or as simple as a walk though the woods. Mostly though, I get inspiration from my own thoughts and reflections. And usually I can channel my creativity when the situation calls for it, and adjust it to the task at hand. The only project I really need to be in the mood for is Deadwood. It takes a lot out of me when working and recording that particular project. I usually feel quite empty after finishing a Deadwood track.
Hierophant Nox: How does the writing process work with you? Do you create a number of ideas over a long period of time, or do you have short, intense bursts of creativity?
Daniel: It differs. Sometimes I can record three tracks in one sitting. And sometimes it can take six months to a year to finish one song. But as I stated earlier, most of the time I can channel my creativity when I need it and “force” myself in to certain moods to produce what is required. Channelling the inner demons so to speak. Other than that I usually try to get at least a one or two sittings every week, trying out new ideas etc. With Keplers Odd we do everything together in the recording/rehearsal space. But I usually have a good idea of what I want to try out when I get there since I keep experimenting at home. I consider myself a very creative person, and if it’s not music, it’s working with photos, writing or something else.
Hierophant Nox: How did you find the writing and production process for “Ramblack”; was it a smooth process or did you encounter difficulties? What about for “Strenu Seu”?
Daniel: “Strena Seu” was (as previously stated) put together real easy from already recorded material. The only difficult part of that album was to sit and listen through hours and hours of recorded material to find just the tracks that would work with each other and get the sort of dynamics we were looking for.
“Ramblack” was a whole other story, there were many delays, and some were my own fault. Some weren’t. And we had some layout problems that slowed things down as well. But the only thing that really went to hell was the first pressing of the vinyl version that was going to be released in conjunction with the CD. The test pressings that they sent to us were really bad and we got to do the whole process again, thus delaying the LP a couple of months.
Hierophant Nox: For the two albums in question, you have come to work with British labels- Fractured Spaces and Cold Spring. How did these partnerships come about? Have you been happy with your collaboration so far?
Daniel: I have been very happy with both the labels. Justin and Cold Spring are great to work with and really support the bands they endorse. And since they have been around for a while, they have great distribution and a really good reputation for releasing quality records. I’m extremely satisfied. It all started with me sending them a demo CD-R with some of the songs that ended up on the “8 19″ album. Justin really liked what I was doing and wanted to release it. And of course I jumped at the opportunity.
Fractured Spaces Records I met on Myspace (as already pointed out above). He had this bulletin out that he wanted people to send him demos. So I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in some Keplers Odd tracks. He told us to send him some tracks, and a few weeks later we found out that he wanted us to be the first release on his label. I’m real impressed by Simon (FSR) and how he goes all out when it comes to packaging and really strives to release the best “product” possible. That’s hard to find in a newly started label. He’s extremely dedicated and driven. He will most certainly accomplish great things with Fractured Spaces.
Hierophant Nox: What are your plans for the year ahead? Are you already working on fresh material, or are you taking a well-earned break?
Daniel: Right now I’m having a little break from Keplers, and taking it real it slow with Deadwood. I have a long (about 38 min) drony/ambient Deadwood track recorded that I might use for something but that’s still a work in progress. And there are no certainties it will ever see the light of day.
Right now I’m concentrating on my Doom/BM band Culted (we are currently negotiating with labels about the debut album). And I’m also working on two projects, one that consists of me and Osman Arabi (20.SV Seeker etc) called The Ritual Inclusion Of Code, and the other one is a newly started project with Per Åhlund (Diskrepant etc) that is yet untitled. No rest for the wicked…
Hierophant Nox: Many thanks for taking the time to talk with us: if you have any further messages for the world, please go ahead:
Daniel: Thanks to all of you who have supported my music, both past and present.
Praise and Hail!
