First off, I have to inform you that I had some hard time trying to figure our the style LAHKA MUZA may be reckoned to.

LM : We do not attach ourselves to any concrete direction, in a narrow way of thinking, but for sure we belong to the wide system of our postindustrial culture as a whole. We are only one of its various branches.

I suppose your have a new CD ready at the time you're answering these questions? Any comments on this work? Would it develop the same path you have once embarked on with "Sen Ohraniceneho Zivota"?

LM : Right, we´ve just done it. Each CD maps in certain way some milestones of our way, which we decided to follow years ago. However, this does not necessary mean that there is no progress in our music or philosophy. The road can be the same though the stops are different.

Once you've told me (or more likely, gave me a hint about it) you're going to make a video...

LM : Yes, we would like to shoot our second video this year. It shall be video to the title track "Sen Ohraniceného Zivota". For the moment it is in phase of a script. We also have some suitable video material from our last few concerts and so we would like to release next year videotape with both videos with some finest moments from our live material included.

What do these two serpents coiling the sun, "Sen Ohraniceneho Zivota" cover features, stand for?

LM: In any mythology or religions of many different cultures there exists one basic principle of polarity of knowable universe, for example well known taostic symbol Jing-Jang. Symbolism on our CD utilizes traditions of European magic history to which we belong naturally closer for being Slavs.

While musically LAHKA MUZA is on more a ritualistic side (at least, judging by your latest CD), lyrics are rather grim, sort of "apocalyptic" (if you asked me to find one single word to define, this is it. "Apocalyptic")... I guess, unlikely most contemporary bands, you don't consider them to be secondary, right?

LM : Yes, lyrics are absolutely equal part of the group. Although we create more instrumental tracks now, it is mainly the text, that bears the primal information. As regards to "apocalypticism" of it , we do not consider our lyrics to be like that, although they are surely hard to be understood. It is their "hardness" what can create such impression.

May I wonder, in what ways do your live performances differ from recordings? Actually, I can't even barely conceive the live show LAHKA MUZA participates in, since your art (let me call your music like that) is too weird for mass comprehension...

LM : We do really have problems with the concerts. Only few of them takes place on stages that can intensify the magic atmosphere of our show. And finally, we do not think about our band in terms of rock tradition. And this is probably the basic reason , why we play "live" so little. Despite this we try to form our live shows along the music part with the whole visual creation, that makes it more intensive . Our shows are very performative, we cooperate on it with other people too. In future we would like to expand on this part, but this depends mainly on those, who would like to take the part in it.

Since "Sen Ohraniceneho Zivota" is the only LAHKA MUZA work I own, please introduce us each of your previous recordings.

LM : All right, let´s take it short ( for more details see other sections on our home page http://www.music.sk/lahkamuza). In 1990 Prague´s label Black Point released two tapes – "Schizofónia" (1988, live) and "Nevinnost" (1990). In 1992 releases label Zoon Records our debut CD "Tien Bolesti". This CD finds the band in a period of raw guitar industrial. Then band experiments with samplers and another new digital technologies, which results on our second CD "Chvenie Absolútna" (1995, Indies Rec). This album is characteristic for its compact sound of samples and chorals with ambient atmospheres. In 1998 releases Sonicca the third CD "Sen Ohraniceného Zivota" and this fall shall be out another one.

Looking back, what mile-stones have been most notable for you in the development and advancement of your music?

LM : Each moment has always had to us the same importance, although the magic turning point in existence of any band perhaps always stays releasing of their first CD. At that point we were already able to work with qualitative sound equipments, which we still need as permanently experimenting band.

What challenges have you experienced thus far in expressing your views through music?

LM : There were really many of them. We have always laid the meaning of our work to the first place between the priorits of our life. Considering the fact, that we devote to the music only by our "civil" work, we can have absolute supervision on overall sounding of our activities. We do simply have all our things under the control.

What is the reason for taking aliases? "Gudrun" and (especially!) "677" sound truly strange to my ears...

LM : We began to play years back in times of totalitarian system, when it was not a very good idea to go to the market with your real name, because of regime of that period was hardly oppressing any nonconventional examples of artistic creativity . That is why we chose in certain context of our own symbolism these pseudonyms that have to us its inner value as well. Gudrun is an old Celtic name and it doesn´t differ much from my civil name and 677? We were inspired by a novel "677" of great Prague´s philosopher and writer Egon Bondy. Since we have always wanted to appear as a band rather than a group of individuals pushing through their own ego (not to be exchanged with thinking of a mass) we used them only on our first CD. Now we use them only when communicating with fans or media.
 
All of the works you have released so far were issued by domestic labels only... therefore, I wonder if there were no foreign record companies interested in releasing your stuff?!

LM : As regards to labels that we release through, we are the type of band that is hard to be classified and beside this in this era of "English – fication" we still sing in our native language. Moreover , as mentioned already we want to have our things under the control until they are finished and complete. Therefore we do ourselves all management , production work and also the graphic layouts. Through the existence of our band we have obtained several proposals from abroad, but these labels had many restrictions to things that we consider to be essential (such as covers or language used, etc.), so we were forced to refuse their offers. We are only to see how it is going to be now. Polish label Black Flames is interested in releasing of our newest CD. Next month will show up whether it will be released on this label or again by Sonicca.

Nowadays black metal and dark ambient / gothic (the style I reckon your band to) appear as some kind of a common thing, even though this and that are utterly different in terms of approach to music and music itself... And the question is: why do we consider ambient as a part of black metal scene? What are the reasons for this? Furthermore, does LAHKA MUZA has anything in common with either past or modern black metal movement?

LM : Perhaps we are about to disappoint you a little, but with black metal movement as such we have formally really nothing in common. There is rather a big difference in here in the substance of concrete work. Some similarity can be evoked by some of our hard guitar parts, but we use them as an industrial band. And since we know how to create proper hard and dense sound, it became in fact our identification mark... As to the lyric context, black metal is rather one of the branches of urban type of culture (WHAT?! - ED), while we have never considered us to be a part of urban society, instead of it we try to present the energy of nature transformed through the mind of a contemporary man . And to the connection between ambient and black metal – ambient itself is also quite wider term and only one of its parts (dark ambient) has some points of contact with metal. But there exist many "gentle" ambient groups, where not even their own music structures show up any connection . Ambient stays here rather for the expression of atmosphere and this is why also the "ambient" part of metal started to appear as a result of longtime stagnation of original metal forms.

After skipping though some of the interviews you have answered (by the way, are you the only responsible for LAHKA MUZA promotion?!), I'm highly intrigued to figure out whom do you reckon yourselves to in terms of religion...

LM : With answer to interviews we deal in common extent, each of us answers questions closest to the nature of own personality. Our relationship to religion? It is quite complicated to do this in few words. Maybe, to illustrate it, we want to say that we have connection to the primal form of esoteric religion (that is to its essence), which touches the central powers of the universe. Exoteric religions (serving to enslaving and dominating of the masses) do not interest us.

Could you illuminate any significant details that may have influenced the development of sadness in your music?

LM : Even though some situations and experiences from private life influence work of any artist, the sorrow in our work is of a different nature. It is rather some well balanced state of existence and resigning with the universe in alchemic and mystic understanding.

Lying on the bed, whose contours and colour bear a strong resemblance of shroud lit by the cold light of indifferent moon, surrounded by transient, illusory visions turning into dreams, full of contrary images. Is it the usual state of being for you at night? Or perhaps, dreams never attend you? What is biggest dream in regards to music and life in general and what's the worst nightmare you have ever dreamt?

LM : Night itself is really full of magic moments and sometimes of nightmares too. But the worst "nightmares" happen mostly in normal practical life of a man. As regards to the horror, to me it is perhaps the knowledge, that this world is still more sterile and inwardly parched. But that, by what one fills out own emptiness paradoxically only makes him even more empty ...

Would you consider yourself a social heretic?

LM : We do not have any inner need to consider ourselves to be social heretics or anything else. For a long time we stay aside the cultural life and processes connected to it. We only try our best in devoting ourselves to the music and to the activities proper to it. Ancient philosophers already knew that everything is related to everything. It is possible, that our nonconsuming way of life also fills out this term.

Do you know anything regarding Russia? What is your attitude to the country of mine as well as it's people? Any Russian bands you've heard lately?

LM : Omitting any political debats (as former East block member country) we know a lot about Russia. Gudrun has been in your country altogether three times and has travelled from Leningrad, Moscow, Tallin and Kyjev all the way down to Jalta... We are not going to mention here all the genius artists, philosophers and scientists.... From our point of view is very interesting to us life of Siberian shamans who live in perfect symbiosis with splendid nature. We do not know many new Russian bands for the information vacuum, at the moment seems to us the most interesting the ethnic ensemble HUUN-HUUR-TU, they also appeared in Prague. It is truly original, magic and very powerful music.

That is - the end of the story, the end of the interview. Time has come to wrap up this chat. Final words of yours...

LM : Finally to say only that each man has to go in his own life (lives) through the series of peaks and subsequent disappointments so the new hope could arise along with the knowledge, that our universe works only thanks to the only power and when you do not exist in harmony with it, you do not exist at all...

LAHKA MUZA contact -
Email: lahkamuza@hbp.sk