Heathen Harvest journalist Gottskalk interviews “Nimheil”,contemplative and occult realms of inquiry and experience... dark/ritual/industrialism produced by Perth based Padraig MacIain. That's Perth, Western Australia.
Heathen Harvest: Thanks for talking to us, Padraig. Where are you going musically these days?
Padraig MacIain: World domination.. Smirks. But seriously, with my currently project, I am going to continue building upon my abilities, until I am really comfortable with my process of expressing the ideas in my head. Some things come fluidly, and easily, others I struggle with because I fear they wont be quite what I hear in my head.
HH: You seem to do a lot (or want to do a lot) of pen & paper correspondence... Ever get any interesting letters?(Don't answer if you don't want to...!)
PM: I don't get as much as I would like. Which reminds me, got a rather long letter to reply to very soon. Although I would like to encourage more correspondence. Seeing ink on paper adds a depth to humanity beyond what words lit upon in phosphorous on a screen can do. The best one was recently from the guy that does Urzon. A wondrously long letter, all about the ritual use of sonics, or sonics in ritual. A subject I delight in, knowing that sounds can transform our perception of the world around us.
HH: I've been avidly reading your myspace page;so how much of a role does the philosophical/occult have in your self-expression?
PM: Huge role. As stated previously, I have been occult orientated since day one. I was, mayhaps accidentally, introduced into the concept of an occult world by my parents. They had books they purchased when they were younger and less tied down with children that included works on demonology and vaguely occult-witchcraft-herbalism. Read those books intensely and regularly when I was younger. And as I managed to save up some dollars or work to earn some I added to my reading list. And now I work as an adult my reading list has gotten to the point where it far exceeds my available spare time.
But thankfully I read quickly and deeply. But before I ramble too much, yes, there is a strong influence there as so far I have used the concept of the darker aspects of the human being, which is often seen in allegory in the occult, within my sonics. And at least with upcoming projects I am looking to re-interpret the myths and lore of my ancestors into a more modern sense. There is so much depth and darkness in the past that will survive a modern view without it being too locked into only being expressed in traditional folk methods.
HH: Does this aspect, perhaps of theme-inspired composition, also informed by ancestral/occult streams seem-or should it seem-a feature of contemporary the 21st Century's darker, industrial and ambient musics??
PM: A question I discuss with my partner a lot. She being an occultist herself. Whilst a lot of modern music seems to have an occult / philosophical side, there seems to be something again that sits aside of that. There is various musical genres, some of them dark, but overlaid over most genres is an 'occult music genre', which isn't a sound in itself. So whilst I don't think it is a requirement of contemporary 21st century music, I feel we are in an Aeon that allows for artists of all sorts (and increasingly musicians) to express their own personal inner explorations. They can take the internal esoteric and present it in an exoteric format and make it readily accessible. Perhaps due to our technologies currently available, more conduits can be created then before.”
HH: Where do you "come from" musically?
PM: Had no formal music training. Well, beyond vague guitar lessons at one point. But I was raised listen to a lot of heavier classical, edgier folk (Steel Eye Span is always a group close to my heart) and great artists like Leonard Cohen.
And as written by Frank Herbert, 'Fear is the Mind Killer', or something akin to that from his 'Dune' series. And (I seem to like starting sentences with 'and', very bad grammer there) in the very near future I am deciding to learn how to play a real instrument so that myself and my partner can work on a musical project together, although one somewhat more neofolk sounding that what I do now. Of course, she has an advantage, having been in a number of blackmetal bands in the past, so knows about playing instruments.
Thinking about it, a lot of what I was raised on was either a modernization of traditional folk tales, or it was heavily religious introspective sonics....
HH: Thanks for the chat....!
MP3: Nimheil - Aberration
MP3: Nimheil - Isolation
