Interview mit 鬼 von Unreqvited

You act under the cryptic pseudonym 鬼. What is the meaning behind this character and why did you choose it as your alias?
Fascination with Japanese culture, mainly. I chose that character specifically because it means “ghost”, and I wanted the character that creates the music to have an ethereal aura, just as the music itself does.

Running a solo project like UNREQVITED certainly involves a lot of effort. Which aspect of the activity as a solo artist comes with the greatest difficulties or efforts for you?
Production. I consider myself mostly a composer, I’m always writing music. I always struggle with the production side because I’m not as comfortable with it, and I don’t enjoy doing it as much. I think I’m getting better with every release though, so hopefully I’ll eventually have the production skills that I wish I had.

With UNREQVITED you have gained quite some recognition in the post-black metal scene within a very short time. How would you explain the fact that you were able to gain that notable amount of popularity so quickly?
I owe a lot of thanks to the labels that believed in the project enough to pick it up and release physical copies of it. Also to the YouTube channels that already had followings that uploaded the music. Apart from that, I put a lot of work into making sure that black metal fans in every corner of the internet are exposed to the music.

In your music there are various influences from black metal to post-rock to classical and orchestral music. Where do you mainly get your inspiration from?
It’s hard to say. I think I’ve always had my own sound no matter what kind of music I tried to write. I listen to vast array of music, so it makes sense that all of those influences are in there. I don’t know exactly where the desire to create comes from though, it’s something that’s just always there.

Your music is meant to be both oppressive and uplifting. What do you think is the connection between these two opposites?
I think those kinds of dualities in music always tend to make it more compelling and impactful. I think the hopeful melodies combined with the depressive black metal influences just went together incredibly well for the feeling I’m trying to convey.

Would you say that creating music is a means to catharsis for you?
Absolutely, it’s the only outlet I have. The creative release is the only thing that keeps me going every day.

I can imagine that many of your listeners seek comfort in your music. Have there already been fans who told you that your songs have helped them through hard times? And if so, how do you feel about that?
Yes. It feels incredible to be able to help people. Ultimately, those people were able to gather their own strength and save their own lives, but it means the world to hear people say that I was able to contribute to their desire to keep pushing forward.

In 2016 you released your first album „Disquiet“, only two years later you even released two more whole records. How do you manage to create new music so fast?
Creating music is quite literally the only thing I like to do when I am alone. I don’t play any video games, I don’t watch television, I don’t do any of that. When I’m alone in my room I am almost certainly working on music. I would likely lose my mind if I wasn’t constantly doing it.

While you still played rather conventional depressive black metal on your debut album, your current album „Mosaic I“ sounds primarily like post-rock and only a little like metal. How did this change in style come about?
Well, „Mosaic I“ is the first part of two, and the next album is the complete opposite sonically. „Mosaic I“ is very light and uplighting while „Mosaic II“ is very dark, depressive, and experimental. This came about because I went through a wide variety of feelings in 2018; some great things happened (ie: the success of „Stars Wept To The Sea“) but I also went though some horrible depressive times. Both albums were written at the same time, and whether I was feeling good or bad would ultimately determine what album I would work on.

The metal archives have even already deleted your entry from their website. Do you still consider yourself a metal musician?
I suppose so. I still listen to lots of it, and am certainly still creating music that would generally be defined as metal, but I’m not aiming to fit within those boundaries. I saw lots of people submitting „Disquiet“ to the metal archives when it came out, but I don’t think they ever actually accepted UNREQVITED from the beginning.

Are you considering creating heavier music again in the future?
„Mosaic II“ will be the heaviest release yet.

You use a lot of synthetic orchestration in your songs. Would it be desirable for you to record an album with a „real“ orchestra if it were financially possible?
It would be an absolute dream come true. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the financial backing to do something that big, though.

I have the impression that the sound of „Mosaic I“ is more accomplished than that of your previous releases. Did you consciously take a different approach to the production this time?
It’s the biggest deviation yet, and I think that will continue to be a common theme with everything I release. I don’t ever want to stick to one sound.

The artwork of your new record looks very aesthetic again. Did you create it yourself? What was the idea behind it?
No, I don’t create any of my own visuals. I work closely with a few people that I trust with the vision that I have for UNREQVITED’s aesthetic. The artwork is just a visual representation of the title, since it’s a two-part album, the artwork for „Mosaic II“ ties in with it to make it a full piece.

Which of the songs you have created and released so far is in your opinion your most accomplished?
„Permanence“ off „Mosaic I“ took a long time and I’m very proud of it. I also really like „The Autumn Fire“ off „Disquiet“ and „Kurai“ off „Stars Wept To The Sea“.

For the release of your third album you went from Avantgarde Music to Northern Silence. Is there a specific reason for this?
Northern Silence is the label that I was going to work with for „Stars Wept To The Sea“ but I preferred the deal that Avantgarde gave me. I figured for LP three I’d give Northern Silence a shot.

You generelly don’t play any shows with UNREQVITED, do you? Do you consider playing live with session musicians sometime in the future?
I do not play any. No plans for the foreseeable future, but who knows. I’m certainly not ruling it out as an option.

Finally, as we always do here at the end of each interview, I’d like to go through a short brainstorming with you. What do the following terms bring to your mind?
Soundtrack: Cinematic, orchestral music. Movie scores are something I’d like to dabble in in the near future.
Traditional black metal: Not a huge fan; lots of respect for its influence.
Love: Enigmatic, misunderstood. Difficult.
Clean vocals: Coming soon.
Politics: Massively uninterested.
UNREQVITED in five years: Very, very unsure.

Thanks again for letting us take your time. Would you like to say a few final words to the readers?
Appreciate you all endlessly for listening to and supporting my music. I’ll never be able to fully express what it means to me. So much more to come.

Publiziert am 6. Februar 2019 von Stephan Rajchl