Contrary to popular belief, with this writer, it’s not all about Bathory. It’s quite often about Striborg, too. And, until recently, interviewing either of them was out of the question for me. Bathory for obvious reasons, and Striborg for less obvious (something like: "Sorry dude, I’ve heard that the guy lives in a shack at the end of a village in Tasmania and only sends hand-written letters to his label"). Luckily, the times have changed just about enough to make this interview possible for Pal and me. If you need an extensive introduction into Striborg and this artist’s huge discography, you probably weren’t reading Maelstrom carefully or following black metal with real passion. In that case, the first thing you should know is that black metal is the forest calling... and now that you do, start reading.

Maelstrom: A while ago I saw a documentary on Australia, which Tasmania is a part of. It was described (by a Croatian journalist) as a dream land, very ecologically conscious and socially sensitive. Anyone who saw it immediately wanted to move there but then I remembered "hey, but Striborg is from there..." so, obviously there was something that they did NOT show us. What could it be?

Sin Nanna: Some are ecologically conscious like the Greens party, however as a state to survive we must also take into account our economy, so unfortunately we have always and recently had problems with old growth forest logging, which is a shame.

This is the darker side of Tasmania’s reality as well as our haunting past of first settlers using convicts as slaves and being a state solely to bring those who were convicted from the U.K.

Our forests are damp and vast; you can always feel a presence of Gaia lingering in the atmosphere.

If you love nature it is an amazing place to live. If you are from a big city and love the fast life you will get very bored living here…

Maelstrom: You have a new release out (update: the questions were sent before I got the album). Can you tell us something more about Southwest Passage? I'm under the impression that this one is less depressive and more, let's say, "groovy" — a bit like Embittered Darkness. Am I close?

Sin Nanna: I actually have four new releases out and a fifth coming soon, these are:

Defuntos / Striborg 7"

Striborg / Claustrophobia – CD

Southwest Passage – CD

Striborg / Veil of Darkness - CD

Striborg / Vardan – CD

Ok. Southwest Passage, "groovy" you say, I don’t think so. Well, not on the whole. This album is a little more accessible and catchy in parts, however slow, doomy and depressing in others and always eerie, haunting and ghostly as usual. It is nothing at all like Embittered Darkness... not even close! Better to actually listen to the album I think.

The groovy parts, as you say, are slightly influenced by Joy Division.

All in all, a real mixture and therefore I think resulting something very original and personal. It will still appeal to fans of DSBM but not in such an obvious way.

Maelstrom: I see there's a Cold Winter Moon release scheduled for 2010 — is it the long sought-after 1997 demo? What took you so long? (We've been looking for it for ages, not even a mp3 is available)

Sin Nanna: I have released Cold Winter Moon for the first time on pro CD ltd 500 hand numbered copies this year of 2010 via my own label "Finsternis Productions." This is coupled together with Veil of Darkness’s In the Valley of the Shadow of Death album, my black ambient project from many years ago. Ultra dark, cold and ghostly black ambient music.

Next release via FP is the re-issue of Veil of Darkness’s Somnambulistic Nightmares MCDr as Somnambulistic Shadows. This will be released as a ltd. 50 CDr, hand-numbered copies, in a slim line DVD case. In July / August will be the release for the new album by Striborg entitled This Suffocating Existence…

Maelstrom: I have a compilation called Vandemonian – Black Metal Compilation of Van Diemens Land with your "Dawn of Winter" on it. I can hear that many of those bands (still great in their own right) were inspired by your work. How do you feel about that?

Sin Nanna: I don’t think that any of these bands have been inspired by Striborg, perhaps with the exception of The Black Death.

What you are hearing on that compilation is the Tasmanian black metal sound. Bedroom black metal bands have influenced many of these artists, the pioneer of this style being of course Ildjarn.

Maelstrom: I could ask questions about most of your releases, but I'll try to keep it to a bare minimum. One thing I would really like to know: the only Striborg album I basically can't stand, while I love the others, is Ghostwoodlands — I understand that it was your first digital recording, but still it doesn't feel like proper Striborg. The albums after it do. Is there anything particular about it, or the circumstances in which it was recorded, or is it just my imagination?

Sin Nanna: Perhaps you don’t like Ghostwoodlands because of the amount of ambient passages? Anyhow, yes, that was my first full digital recording and due to the learning process of recording via a new medium, it was hard. I had many problems trying to work digitally at first and it wasn’t mixed that well. Had Ghostwoodlands been mixed properly it would of sounded fuller, like Solitude. However I’m glad the production is duller to differentiate between the two. I think I captured the true essence of Gaia and the forests with that album well, though.

The whole album is like journeying through an unknown forest…

Maelstrom: Also, I see you started using (horror?) spoken movie samples. Personally I prefer horror books and using imagination instead of American horror, but most metal people stick to movies... aren't you afraid that they might dilute the impact of the music, or make it less serious? (note, one of the reasons I'm asking is because I had to review Cradle of Filth's The Gospel of Filth book and it was all about horror, Disney, fetishes, Goth things and ultimately about how it's all just for fun and the only problem they have with Christianity is that it doesn't let them get laid, while in my country it caused a serious war and still turns a blind eye on nationalism.)

Sin Nanna: I started sampling excerpts from horror movies for the Trepidation album and then on Autumnal Melancholy, The Foreboding Silence and Perceiving the World With Hate. None of my samples are from American horror films!!! Yes, I agree it is nice to enjoy the atmosphere of reading a good ghost story at night in solitude and silence, something I seldom have the time for, unfortunately.

I disagree as the samples I have used are from very good, classy and obscure films, which I think have added to the atmosphere of my albums, not hindered them.

I am a massive horror fan of Euro horror — Giallos, Erotic vampire films ala Jess Franco & Jean Rollin, zombie and cannibal films as well as American slasher films and video nasties worldwide. I also very much like Asian horror films and the old Hammer horrors / Amicus films as well as classic ghost stories ala "The Innocents," "The Turn of the Screw (1973)," "The Woman in Black," and "Dark Places," (etc...), the original 1922 version of "Nosferatu" and the 1979 remake, and many others...

I am a massive fan of David Lynch’s "Twin Peaks" series as well as his feature films; the atmosphere of his world fuels my inspiration for creating Striborg! Please don’t even mention "Cradle of Crap" in this interview... please!

Maelstrom: How often do you work on music? And is the song writing process spontaneous or hard work? Do you ever get creative blocks?

Sin Nanna: Constantly, sometimes the composing process comes naturally and without complications, other times a pain in the arse.

Recording is always very stressful and chaotic.

I don’t get creative blocks, rather bouts of depression and refuse to create and therefore am content with being lazy.

Maelstrom: I've read (and obviously heard) that you feel the connection to Gaia — do you see it as one entity? One thing I'd like to know (as I can't talk to other people about it) is that Paganism, or, better, Pantheism, is actually supported by modern physics — on a quantum level, everything is connected to everything else, and affects one another, which is close to Pantheism ("everything is divine"). But I don't see how humans fit into this, as most other species are more responsible towards Nature and their actions are on a "as much as I need, not as much as I can get" basis. Do you have anything to say about that? And do you have a pet theory about the origins and purpose of humans?

Sin Nanna: I acknowledge Gaia as being an omnibus entity, devoid of humanity, as most of the time we are only destructive and rapacious towards nature. I feel the same and individual presence whenever I am in the vast wilderness…

I agree with your Paganism / Pantheism hypothesis that everything is connected as I am an Animist by philosophy, which means all organic life form IS connected and possesses a spirit. Hell, sometimes I even think some inanimate objects contain a soul of some kind or residual essence or energy (like the stone tape theory).

I don’t have a theory of our origins as a species although it would be definitely one of evolution from primitive man, unless we DID originally come from another planet and used to have superior technology that was all lost in the ice age, however there is no evidence of this. Unless over thousands of years it all broke down to dust. This could explain how the Pyramids were made?

Maelstrom: Lyrics question. How important? Why do we sometimes get (some of) them, sometimes not? How do you write them?

Sin Nanna: Lyrics are very important as it shows what the artist is truly obsessed with and the artistic vision / ideology that one conveys.

I just don’t feel the need to share my lyrics with the public ALL the time.

Often they are too personal or I have repeated the same subjects over and over again. I like to think at times that I am improving poetically.

It is not important how I write them, it is often a chore to start writing. However, once I start, they just kind of flow and come natural to me.

I don’t like to think too much or over analyse when writing, as that would be too pretentious and unnatural.

Maelstrom: Artwork – who is doing it, and do you like the artwork on your re-releases more than the originals?

Sin Nanna: Phaedra takes care of all the artwork; she knows my vision only too well. Yes, I think the new improved artwork works A LOT better on the re-issues.

Maelstrom: The mandatory equipment question: Maybe you wouldn't want to tell us what you are using (though I hope you would), but instead I'm interested in what your criteria is when buying new instruments?

Sin Nanna: Not important and my equipment is obviously not top of the line gay names like Marshall, BC Rich etc... Remember the sound of the guitars is nearly white noise, so why bother with a Jackson or Fender or something like that?

I make use of the equipment I have, however, yes I have been upgrading slowly over the years. I think I am able to capture an atmosphere that is untouchable by any other bands because I use my mind and soul to create, rather than the equipment I use.

Maelstrom: Pal urged me to ask you this: You may also want to ask about his view on using keyboards in black metal. Are there kinds of keyboards in metal you have an explicit disliking for? What kinds of sounds are you usually looking for, and is there a particular bit of keyboards on any of your albums you count as your favourite ones? What about the nauseating intro on one of your classic albums Mysterious Semblance?

Would you like to give us a rundown on the various types of keyboards you have used during the past decade (or have you always been doing everything on one and the same model?).

Sin Nanna: I have no problem with keyboards being used in BM, just as long as they are not all fancy and symphonic! I use keys in order to enhance the atmosphere, often achieving an even darker, colder and more ghostly haunting atmosphere.

I don’t agree with a lot of the old school BM bands that are dead against using keyboards, as they just sound really obnoxious and unlistenable anyway! Perhaps if they did perform keyboards, they fear that they would sound gay because they would not use it for the right reasons?

I am always after the most eerie sounds imaginable and have used some sounds well on Mysterious Semblance, Trepidation, Autumnal Melancholy & the splits with Claustrophobia and Defuntos.

I have used the same keyboard during the last decade.

Maelstrom: Would you ever want to record something in a super professional manner, if you were offered to do it, all expenses paid?

Sin Nanna: No, as there would be a time limit and people (the engineer, etc...) hanging around. There would be too much pressure and people telling me how I should be doing things. The production would be too flat and perfect and therefore resulting in a lifeless and non-atmospheric recording.

Maelstrom: You have a song on Nocturnal Emissions dedicated to your son Zachariah. You might not want to elaborate on your private life, but if you can appreciate some less common questions, then why not? Being a misanthrope, why did you choose to become a parent? Is it possible to be into black metal, be a loving father and a misanthrope at the same time? How does your now about 7-year old boy respond to such music? Do you want him to grow up in a common way (going to school etc.)? What morals do you want to pass over to the next generation?

Sin Nanna: Yes, of course it is possible to be a raving misanthrope and have a family at the same time! Why not??? If not that is somebody else’s problem, not mine! It is none of your business why I became a parent; it is something that just came about naturally...

Zach has grown up with the music I have created so it is just normal to him and just something that I do. Of course I want him to go to school, I don’t want him to be an uneducated idiot!

I think I my cynicism has already rubbed off on him as he is very cautious of humanity, even at a young age, being a head strong and independent sort of person.

Maelstrom: I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t ask you this: when I first became obsessed with Striborg I went surfing to find out more, and on one of the internet images you are holding a dog — my reaction was, "what, he has a dog too?" — was it your dog? Do you still have one?

Sin Nanna: I’m not too impressed about that photo being on the Internet. I think I know who submitted that. That dog has died since and now I own another one.

NEWS FLASH: I actually eat, shit, fuck and sleep like everybody else! Why? Because I am stinking sub-human white trash just like yourself.

Maelstrom: You have collaborated with several other metal acts, among which Sunn and Xasthur. Can you tell something about the events surrounding the Pentemple project and what it was like?

Sin Nanna: Greg and Oren approached me in early 2007 about a possible performance / collaboration over mainland Australia. After some umming and arrhhing, I decided to attend only two shows in Melbourne.

One night was the Pentemple improvised performance and the second night a brief appearance with Sunn on stage. Everyone was pretty welcoming as I didn’t know any of them personally at all.

Attila was cool, he really respects personal space so I felt really at ease around him, a great guy. To be honest, I was pretty overwhelmed by the support and reaction from people over there. I expected everyone to hate me, or something... Considering that the 1st show was completely improvised I think we all pulled off something special on the night.

I performed mostly drums, which is pretty much a live first for the Sunn guys (I think) and also did some vocals and controlled feedback.

All in all, a great experience, although not something that I wish to do all the time.

Maelstrom: What was it like to work with someone like Malefic / Xasthur? On what level did you find common ground? Malefic seems to be a complicated individual.

Sin Nanna: Well I have been in contact with Malefic for many years now and we see eye to eye about a lot of things, also our careers are constantly crossing paths.

We did the split 7" for Autopsy Kitchen Records, then Malefic suggested to do another one, however a collaboration. I’d come up with the music and then he’d do the vocals and keys. I suggested that we both come up with some tracks for each other to record the vocals and keys.

Anyhow Malefic sent an old track for me to work on and I recorded something new for him to do.

Later Malefic had "cold feet" about the idea of releasing it on another label again (after it was recorded) so I suggested using my track on the Perceiving the World With Hate album and in turn Malefic used my track on the limited DCD version of All Reflections Drained.

I think the end result turned out VERY well for both tracks and that it would of made an excellent collaborated 7".

Anyhow, the public is able to hear the tracks regardless of format.

Malefic, a complicated individual? I think we are ALL complicated individuals.

Maelstrom: You’re lucky enough to live where you can walk a few minutes and have find yourself somewhere with no traces of civilization in sight. Are there any particular places or sights that inspire you more than others?

Sin Nanna: Absolutely, Tasmania you can always find somewhere to go for a walk or drive away from civilization. Forests and wilderness surround us. Yes, there are some caves like that of Maydena and Hastings that I like as well as the pine forests of Maydena.

The Florentine and Styx forests are great old growth forests, although unfortunately have both suffered from logging. The highlands of Bermuda road and the Hartz Mountains are truly breathtaking, also.

Maelstrom: Do you support a movement or organisation dedicated to the preservation of the rainforest? Is there anything else you do in order to express your care for the forests and woods?

Sin Nanna: No I don’t, I should, though. I admit I am too selfish and lazy to be apart of anything good to support Tasmania’s old growth forests.

I do care though, however you need to be good around people to get involved and more importantly have power in politics (The Green party).

The only thing I do is write lyrics about it. Thing is, most people who care have absolutely no political power at all, the people protesting are just ferals (hippies) who congregate in certain areas affected, or soon to be, by logging. They set up elaborate roping through out the affected area to stop logging trucks and often set up a tent 50-100 metres high in the old growth trees as a form of protest.

Maelstrom: Will there be a follow-up to the Journey of a Misanthrope DVD? If so, would you want it to be similar or to make something new?

Sin Nanna: Yes, definitely! Phaedra and I plan on making and releasing another DVD sometime next year. It would be along the same lines, however with much better ideas / visuals / editing, etc, as well as wide screen, higher resolution and more use of colour.

Maelstrom: Do you have to work for a living, and if you do, is there something else you're good at apart from making music? Is it possible to get enough financial security in a remote place such as Tasmania by making metal records?

Sin Nanna: I have received advance payments and royalties for the albums I have done and I also run my own independent label, and hence have an Ebay store. Occasionally, I do some seasonal work, like fruit picking, as there is opportunity for work of that nature near where I live.

It’s good work being outdoors. There is never enough money coming in from my records, as the big labels see most of that money! Every day is a financial struggle, a mental and spiritual one too...

Maelstrom: Finally, what have you been listening to lately? And how do you see black metal today, or ten years from now?

Sin Nanna: Some standout BM artists I recommend are:

Demonic Forest, Claustrophobia, Cold Blasphemy, Drakonhail, Saol, Belzebuth, Sterbenheit, Paysage D’Hiver, Deep Forest, Empathie, Leichenstaette, Xasthur, Coldworld, When Mine Eyes Blacken, Dodenstorm, Entsetlicht, Vesano, Todessensucht, Trauer, Isa, Dark Void of Humanity, Exitus Letalis, Adversus Semita, Voqkrre, Cry of Silence, Nemesis Throne, Procer Veneficus, Pyha, Necrogoat, Blutklinge, Selvhat, Die Toten Kehren Wider Mit Den Wind, Trist, Wedard, Ewig Finster, Vetala, Vhernen, Neige et Noirceur, Wrath of the Weak, Donkelheet, Velvet Cacoon / Clair Cassis, Grim Funeral, Cryfemal, Taarma, Wold, Veil, I Shalt Become, Wyqm, Grisate, Marblebog, Leaden, Verdan, Anwech, Original Sin, Peordh, Schmerz, Veineliis, Avsked, Schlaflos, Mare, Ancestral, Irrwisch, Widow’s Grave, Halla, Moloch, Death Aura, Kaashnak, Misanthrop, Eterna Penumbra, Svart, Vulto, Ethere, Astral Melancholy, Erhangen, Finster, etc...

Well it’s obvious that the DSBM (depressive / suicidal black metal) scene is completely over saturated at the moment and now there is all these NEW cosmic BM bands popping up, ala Darkspace clones. As for the future, that is too hard to predict. 10 years from now there will be artists who will remain old school to BM, however also innovative ones who will change the direction for the future.

I also listen to other styles of music such as dark ambient, industrial, goth / darkwave and old electronic bands. Occasionally brutal death metal, ‘80s black metal and doom metal. Psychedelic groups from the 60’s and 70’s also among other things…