In 2016 the Irish musician F.S. released „Dying Season’s Glory“, the debut of his atmospheric black metal solo project GAOTH, on his own. Now that Northern Silence has re-released it, F.S. answered our questions like what he would maybe change about the record, what to him is the most difficult part about songwriting and why his debut almost became „the album that never was“.
Hello! Thank you for doing this interview with us. How are you?
I’m fine, thank you, enjoying a few days off work this week, which is giving me some time to catch up on things like this.
GAOTH is your relatively new solo project, so many of our readers will still be unfamiliar with you. So, to get started, please introduce yourself and GAOTH to us.
GAOTH is a solitary, one-man atmospheric/black metal band from Ireland. I am the only member and perform/record all music herein. GAOTH is rather different to much of the (black) metal music coming from Ireland.
GAOTH derives from the Gaelic word for „wind“ or „storm“, right? What is your personal connection to wind and why is it the perfect word to describe your music?
Yes, that’s correct, GAOTH is translated mostly as wind, but can also be used to express ‘drive’ or ‘storm’, which I felt was fitting. The origins of the word stretch far back through time, from ancient Irish Gaelic to its Indo-European origins & the name captured the elemental aspects of my music. In GAOTH I shed any human contact with ‘being’; expression, or desire, and seek to express elemental & transcendental concepts.
Which musicians are the most influential to you as an artist?
I wear my ‘musical heart’ on my sleeve quite openly, most inspirational in the metal arena have been: Burzum, Wittr, Fen, Drudkh, Agalloch & similar. But this is only half of the sphere, I take colossal inspiration from Philip Glass, Phil Thornton, Of The Wand And The Moon, Lizst, Bach, Vivaldi & the European greats.
As already mentioned, GAOTH is your solo project. Why do you prefer to make music on your own?
Being the sole member of a band allows for an almost instinctive ‘knowingness’ when writing music, the ability to take an idea and convolute it or sculpt in a way that’s not necessarily as instinctual when writing music for a group.
You are also playing in the band Celtachor and you got another project called Draiocht. Why was it still important to you to create GAOTH and in which way is its music different from your other projects?
In Celtachor, we are inspired and directed by Irish mythological stories – so we always have a concept on which to build our ideas. That makes what we are trying to achieve quite clear cut and direct, where as with GAOTH, I am bringing together ideas from the opaque depths of consciousness. I enjoy both, and both offer unique challenges and nuances. Ultimately, the need to channel and piece together art from individual experience is important, in that regard, you could say I find it important to create an indelible footprint which is distinctly my own. Draiocht has long since died (laughs), in many ways I think of it as a precursor to GAOTH, I had the will but not the skill or recording know-how at the time.
What do you think are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a musician?
Biggest strength: I can visualise and ‘hear’ the final result of a song during the writing process, I never write music one riff at a time, but whole songs or ideas. Biggest weakness: I enjoy a great deal of control over the writing process – this is because I can hear the final result even if it’s in the early stages. This can at times lead to ideological conflicts when working in a group. In short, maybe I should trust others more!
Please give us some insight into your songwriting process. With what do you usually start?
That’s a difficult question. Virtually everything I write begins with guitar. I will record a song as a whole, and perhaps then add or change an idea. I will spend a great deal of time on this process, with each song, and only when I am 100 % pleased will I begin recording properly. The hardest part is actually the lyrics & vocals. I am usually a quiet and reserved person. I really have to prepare myself and find the correct frame of mind before I even attempt to write lyrics and perform vocals.
With „Dying Season’s Glory“ you released a quite solid debut, so congratulations! How did it feel to release your first album as GAOTH?
Thank you! It was truly a milestone moment, that album is the result of two years work. There was so many things going on at the same time, and many set backs. At one stage I feared I had lost all the recordings, due to a hard drive failure. It’s almost ‘the album that never was’. It was a truly grounding moment, I realised I am GAOTH and GAOTH is me.
At first, you released the album by yourself, later it was re-released by Northern Silence. Looking back, is there something you would change about the album?
Musically, no. I feel the album achieves perfectly what I wanted to put across. Perhaps from a production viewpoint I could have made a few changes. I was very limited during the time of recording in terms of equipment available, though perhaps that’s the key to an honest sounding record?
Which track on „Dying Season’s Glory“ is the most important one to you and why?
An interesting question and one I haven’t thought much about! I don’t think I have a favourite, they all reflect a different aspect of the overall theme I wished to put across. In saying that, I very much enjoyed recording vocal harmonies on ‘Weeping Of The Fens’ and ‘Gaoth’.
Your music sounds very melancholic, surely your lyrics are as well. What do you sing about on your debut?
The loss of an extremely important aspect in our ‘modern’ society and culture; The loss of ‘spirit’, the loss of man’s connection to nature and the elements, the loss of ancient knowledge, the loss of connection to our true selves. Secrets now of cold, black soil.
It was already said that you signed a contract with Northern Silence. How did the cooperation with that label came about?
I was trading the first GAOTH CD’s (now a rare item) for a few months across the U.S. and Europe. Eventually I got a polite email from Northern Silence asking whether I would be interested in co-operating. The rest is history.
Do you intend to do live shows in the future?
I wouldn’t rule it out. The more I think about it, the more it interests me. However, as I am the only member, it requires finding musicians with a similar drive and passion for this music. Who knows?
On your Facebook page I saw that you are already working in songs for the next album. What can we expect from that? Will it be somewhat different from the debut?
You can expect something more ‘vast’ and with greater perspective in all aspects to ‘Dying Season’s Glory’. I won’t say too much about it for now.
Well, we are nearing the end of our interview. At last I’d like to do our traditional Metal1.info-Brainstorming with you:
Brexit: Necessary.
Saor: I have huge respect for Andy and what he has achieved with Saor.
Earth: On the way out unless we continue down the path of enlightenment that has begun.
Favorite album: Impossible question. Drudkh’s ‘Forgotten Legends’ comes to mind.
Donald Trump: Another necessary part for the ascension of consciousness. “To those trapped in the mind prison, it will seem as though the world is falling to pieces around them”.
GAOTH in five years: Perhaps three releases down, perhaps some live shows.
Alright, thanks again for your answers. Is there still something you want to tell our readers?
I appreciate each and every one of you who have picked up the record, listened to, downloaded, contacted me or supported GAOTH in any way. I am taken back by the success GAOTH has achieved. When I created the project I never envisaged I would see this day.
Also, illegal torrents have basically killed musicians ability to further their journey. If you do want to download a copy of the album, without paying, at least do it from the official GAOTH bandcamp https://gaoth.bandcamp.com/releases, where I provide a free download in any format.
Kind Regards.
GAOTH/F.S.
10. Mai 2017 Stephan Rajchl