Heathen Harvest:  How did you start with the Foundation Hope project, was the concept formed in your mind before you started experimenting with soundscapes, or did it occur in the process?

Joep Smaling:  The concept was formed before I started working on the soundscapes. There were certain feelings, moods and images I wanted to convert to sound. This works best for me. For example: Tunes for the wounded, my third album, is a concept that pre-existed before starting the work on the tracks. I wanted to make tunes that have a feeling of consolation, but at the same time express certain hostility that is found in everyday life. Once I had this concept clear, I started to manipulate sounds and write certain melodies that fitted the concept.


HH:  There is a strong contradiction in the name of the project, the spontaneous and sustaining feeling of hope, against the strict and structured existence of a foundation. Was that what you were thinking when you chose it?

JS:  My first thought was that of a cynical, religious foundation (in the sense of an organization) that sold hope to those who wanted to become a member. At the same time I wondered what the foundation, the basis, of our hope is.  Nowadays, even secular persons, who don’t have spiritual hope, have this kind of ‘religious’ belief in progress, a certain hope that the world will get a better place. Look at the practices of the US in Iraq. The beliefs of the neo- conservatives and the architects of this war are to set a New World Order of liberal capitalist societies, to make this world a better place, in their eyes.  The same counts for the former communist ideologies: they had a plan for this world, but failed miserably.  I wonder what the basis of this hope is. When you look at history, man will always be man. I think most hopes are based on illusion.


HH:  Your music and concept is suggestive of a claustrophobic, weary existence within the boundaries of religious belief. The titles of the tracks especially, are characteristic of the kind of hypocrisy and emotional and mental stagnation common to church beliefs and religion. Was your intention to denounce that or to simply describe your own personal agonies and journey through similar beliefs?

JS:  I wanted to denounce that, not by telling but by showing. I also wanted to show the paradox between the belief in a merciful God who has a plan for this world and the everyday reality of suffering, hunger and warfare. Further more, I also want to portray disillusion and spiritual longing that remains unanswered. I think the photo on the cover of Tunes for the wounded (by Joanna Queiroz) fits the concept perfectly. It’s a statue of a woman in despair spreading her arms to an empty and grey sky above. But if listeners get different images or concepts in their heads while listening to my tunes, like fields with hopping pink bunnies under a beautiful rainbow, it’s up to them. They do not have to eat my concept.


HH:  What is your relationship to religion, and how do you judge it affects people and the functions of society around you? Has that relationship changed over time, and in what manner?

JS:  Somehow I have a strong relationship with religion. I was brought up completely atheistic. I didn’t have to deal with dogmatic, religious morals and codes. But yet I felt that religion was somehow necessary to survive. Its promise of redemption is beautiful. I still can cope hardly with the thought that everything is completely in vain, but I also cannot believe in an illusory fairytale like the bible. So that is a problem.  I think religion is still dangerous. If people consider a book with very nasty comments on non-believers, women, homosexuals etc, as holy, they will think the same as prescribed in that book, and some people will act to their beliefs.


HH:  “The Faded Reveries” and “A Call to All Redeemers” were released almost simultaneously and deal with the same impressions and the same atmosphere. Do you consider the one to be a continuance of the other’s concept?

JS:  There was a year between it. But TFR is a continuation of ACTAR, also TFTW is a continuation of that. I will not abandon the concept on any release. I will just approach each release from a different angle. ACTAR was more about harsh reality, and TFR more about becoming conscious, losing innocence and losing dreams. 


HH:  Are there any particular tracks with which you have a special relationship, or are more significant to you that others for some reason? If so, which ones and why?

JS:  Yes, I am very moved by some tracks. ‘Channeling hope and fear’ and ‘Illusionconsumer’ are examples of tracks I like in particular. From the new album, I like ‘Another tune for the wounded’ a lot. The reason is that some tracks fit the atmosphere I had in mind perfectly, others not completely. Overall, the tracks that I work on for a very long time seem to be less perfect than the ones that I create in very spontaneous, creative moments.


HH:  I was especially impressed by the intro to "The Faded Reveries", containing a poem by Charles Bukowski, “The Genius of the Crowd”. What are your literary and general influences for your music?

JS:  Michel Houellebecq is my long time favorite writer. As well as Louis-Ferdinand Céline. Writers who dare to confront the readers with unpleasantness and make them think. Provocation is a very powerful tool. Bukowski was an inspiration of course. I like his basic, urban attitude.  In general I take inspiration from everything. Musically I listen to a very broad spectrum of genres. Nick Cave is still my all time favorite musician. But lately I listen a lot to more abstract and experimental music, stuff from the Rune Grammofon label and such. The music I like is always sad though, somehow I cannot take ‘uplifting’ music seriously. It doesn’t affect me.


HH:  Have you ever done any live performances, and are you planning to do any in the future?

JS:  When I have the budget to buy some extra equipment, and when I have finished a good visual collage for backdrop, I will. Yet I think the music is more enjoyable when alone with some headphones on.


HH:  You are planning two releases next, “Tunes for the Wounded” by Cold Meat Industry and “Our God is a Consuming Fire” by Autarkeia, which I understand are going to be released within the same period. Are these also connected to one another in terms of concept?

JS:  The album on Autarkeia will have more guitar drones and manipulated picks, I will also be somewhat darker and harsher than ‘Tunes’. The concept of ‘Our God is a Consuming Fire’ is not hell, as some might think, but the idea that God is the nothingness that consumes us eventually.


HH:  Can you describe the new albums a little bit in terms of music and of ideas? What are their differences and similarities to the previous ones? What kind of instruments did you use, and how did you record them?

JS:  Sound sources can be anything. The art is to turn it into a totally unique sounding drone. From then, the song can be built. On the new albums I used a lot of guitar. Maybe in the future I will create an album with only guitar drones, who knows.  In terms of music, I don’t think I make typical dark- ambient. I’m influenced more by a band as Godspeed you! Black Emperor than by a project as Lustmord. I also like it when the sound is a little underproduced and raw, instead of the typical smooth dark-ambient style. In the future Foundation Hope will become more experimental. I’m not afraid of experimenting and I think the listeners should be surprised.


HH:  Do you have any other projects besides Foundation Hope, and are you planning any other releases in the immediate future?

JS:  I had an unnamed experimental project which was more abstract with a lot of cuts and glitch. I thought I could create a separate musical entity, but the more I composed, the more it started to sound as Foundation Hope. The material from that project is now being transformed into a new Foundation Hope release.  I’m still thinking about creating a lighter, minimal ambient project that has to be very subtle and hypnotic. We’ll see what the future brings.  About future releases: I’m always working on new material. The shitty thing is, once a label agrees to release it, a year goes by or more before you’ll have the actual record in your hands.


HH:  What do you do in your everyday life (day job, normal interests and so on) and how do you reconcile your musical activities with the rest of your life?

JS:  For the last couple of years I was this kind of eternal student in Literature with a part time job in the care for children with behavioral problems. I’ve abandoned that job and plan to finish my study soon. I write a lot and my aim is to work as a (cultural) journalist. Apart from making music, my other passion is the consummation of tons of books, records and films, and thinking and writing about it. Making music will always be a priority, so I’ll figure out how to combine it with daily routine. The trick is not to be become stuck in the rat race.


HH:  Now this is an odd question, but I am curious: why do you have a link for McDonalds in your webpage among the other links for labels and the likes?

JS:  Because McDonalds is the new church of a secular society. McDonalds provides hope in the form of slaughtered animals transformed to bad food. It’s the abattoir in a Disneyland-like disguise. 


HH:  There is this phrase in your blog, in the description of your new album: “Always with that tiny bright spark of hope, overshadowed by doubt and cynicism”. Do you believe hope can survive under all the frustration and impossibility, and do you think it is a good thing to maintain it?

JS:  Hope is essential, but it’s hard to maintain it. Everything amounts to nothing. Life is absurd. But funny enough I still think it’s worth the trouble. The experience of some profound feeling of beauty and peace is worth a lot. When I am able to live life at peace with it, my goal in life will be achieved. FH is a good way to ventilate an inner struggle but I’m not miserable all the time.
In the end, it’s the music that counts, not the concept. I’m not here to provide answers about life. I just provide an unsettling view, in the form of statements, and I want people to think about it.


HH:  That is all I believe, thank you for the opportunity to do this interview and for bearing with all my odd questions! Would you like to leave one final message for the readers?

JS:  Every day is a good day for despair.