By releasing „Tid“, the debut of his neofolk solo-project FEDRESPOR, Norwegian Varg Torden Saastad unleashed a true piece of art of immense emotional depth and creativity. If you want to know which tragic event led him to reveal his inner feelings in that particular way, what can be expected of his upcoming album as well as the reason why Saastad would like to be remembered as the „Viking David Gilmour“, you can read about it among other things in the following interview.
You originally founded FEDRESPOR in 2013 as a black metal project, right?
That´s right!
Why did you decide to eventually switch the project’s musical style to neofolk?
Well. That’s a bit of a complicated question, but I will answer it as good as I can.
It actually started as more acoustic because I wanted to express other feelings than I did with Sekt and black metal. I wanted to get in touch with some other inner emotions and put music to my nostalgic and melancholic personality.
And after a while I wanted to expand my musical knowledge and was inspired by what Einar Selvik had done with Wardruna and how he made so many different historical instruments work together in his own way. So I also wanted to test out historical instruments – along with what I was already doing.
You can’t hear much more than a goathorn on the „Tid“ album that is „historical“, but on my next album there will be even more historical instruments along with synth and guitars.
But time will show whats to come. I feel that the music is growing as I grow.
This is to make the music sound more timeless.
I think your interpretation of the genre is quite recognizable, without your influences being too easy to discover. Which musicians and bands have influenced you artistically?
Well, there has been many. I am a big Pink Floyd fan – so I hope that I some day will be remembered as the „Viking David Gilmour“. (laughs)
Metallica, REM, Wardruna, Satyricon, Mayhem and Immortal. Bands like that are what sticks with me. But I also listen to many other great artist. Cocorosie, Susanne Sundfør or White Lies can also be heard on my playlist.
Do you consider playing black metal again or maybe a completely different kind of music someday in the future?
Time will show. But I definitely would like to go on stage and play black metal again. I make guitar riffs from time to time, so I probably have enough material to write another Sekt album.
At what point in your life did you realize you wanted to become a musician?
I have dreamed of being a musician since I was about 16/17. But I think I took the serious decision last year. That I really was going to work hard with myself and my musical knowledge. Like a personal study on music through myself. So now in the last year I have invested in many different instruments that can be heard on my next album.
You already mentioned another project called Sekt. So FEDRESPOR isn’t your first music project and you already gained some experience before?
FEDRESPOR is my first personal project. Sekt was a previous project that contained me and four other members. So my only experience from before is from metal. In Sekt I played drums and wrote riffs.
Would you call yourself a perfectionist, musically speaking?
Well, I would like to think so. I need to be proud of my „product“ or else I would not publish it.
Is it important to you to create something new and innovative with your music?
Definitely. It’s important to me that I express my feelings as I want to express them, and that is how to create something different to share with the world around you.
Your debut album „Tid“ was released five years after the project was founded. Why did it take you so long to release your first record?
Much because I did not take it so serious in the beginning. And because I did not have the equipment to do so. My brother’s death was the trigger for me to really want to leave something behind and express my sorrow and thoughts. So music became a comfort to me. A way to say what words can not say.
Instead of initially releasing a demo or EP, you already started with a full-length. What is the reason for this?
It was because I was very sure that I was working on an album when I wrote the song „Tid“. I had so much to let out, so there was no point in just releasing one song.
By creating „Tid“, you wanted to process your brother’s death, right?
Correct. That was the main trigger.
My deepest condolences on your loss. Do you think it really somehow helped you to write and record this album?
Thank you! It definitely helped me to stay in the „zone“ – if you want. In 2017 I was really struggling with depression and anxiety. Many thoughts about life and death that were extremely hard to handle. And I was very much isolated during the creation of the album. Much alcohol and isolation. That’s the truth.
„Tid“ can be translated as „time“. In which way is this word a representation of the subjects you sing about on the album?
Well, the song titles have more to do with time than time has to do with the song titles. If that makes any sense. The song titles are aspects of what we go through IN time. The first song „Ginnungagap“ is the bell and the sound of creation and the feeling of emptiness before existence. „Langt Skal De Vandre“ is a song about the long walk of life to face the fire. So it is a reflection of our human experience IN and THROUGH time.
There is a well-known saying that great art always comes from great suffering. Do you agree with that?
Totally! When we experience great pain, we need to express ourselves. Sometimes through crying, being angry, taking a long run, painting, writing, or playing music. We grow as human beings when we get hurt.
To me the tracks „Unknown Self“ and „Takk“ even sound a little bit hopeful and comforting. Is that your intention, and if so, for what reason?
I did not intend them to be. But there is definitely a sense of comfort in the tunes. „Takk“ means „thank you“ in Norwegian, and even though you lose someone it is important to be thankful for the good memories that you had in life too. And the unknown self is the potential of your soul in the future. Even though it feels difficult sometimes not to know what the future might bring.
„Ginnungagap“ is the primal state of emptiness in Nordic mythology. Why did you name the album opener after it and what is the connection to the personal backgrounds of the album?
Because Ginnungagap is the beginning of time as we know it, and the emptiness where creation occurred. It can also somehow be related to the time before the experience of existence.
Although „Tid“ is, as already mentioned, your debut album, it has already been released through a label: Nordvis. How did this come about and why did you choose this particular label?
I contacted Nordvis because I found the other artists there very interesting and thought that we could have a good cooperation, since I thought that my music would be understood and appreciated.
So you are planning to create more music with FEDRESPOR, „Tid“ is not the end of the line, is it?
I am working on a new album now. But I have not decided any name of the album yet. I will finish all the songs first. The next album will contain many different soundscapes and elements as I develop as a musician.
Do you already have ideas for the lyrics and music of the second album?
Yes. Lots of ideas!
Do you plan to also play your music live or is FEDRESPOR intended to remain a pure studio project?
I will definitely play live with FEDRESPOR. But since there is only me, I will play alone for now. Maybe I will engage other musicians to play live with me in the future – that will be of great interest to me.
Traditionally we at Metal1.info always end our interviews with a little brainstorming. What comes to mind while reading the following terms?
Electronic music: Very interesting music. But only if there is quality to it.
Nature mysticism: Metaphysics that we will eventually understand through physics some day. Man is wery limited by being an animal.
Politics: People are often arguing about small things instead of thinking forward for all humanity. The earth will not be here forever, so we should really use our resources on finding a new home where there is place for everyone and place for peace.
Happiness: When you find your way in life and walk your path. Throw away the haters. We are here only once, and we should try to make our best out of it.
Favourite album: Impossible question (laughs)
Life after death: I believe in the law of energy. There is no human existence after the body no longer lives. But I think that our consciousness makes a footprint in existence and that it may be an energetic transfer of consciousness to an other dimension of time and space.
Finally, thank you again for this interview. I’d like to leave the last words to you:
I am very happy for all the support I get from fans, family, friends and the support I get from Nordvis. I hope to be contacted for live shows in the future, so I can play solo and share my music with others. I really enjoy doing so. So for now I am working on a new album and I am really looking forward to share it!
A big thank you to all my supporters!
17. Dezember 2018 Stephan Rajchl
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