I'm pretty aware of the fact, that this is your first actual interview given to post-soviet industrial/ noise/ambient zine/press in the whole so far. Taking into account that your name is already easily-recognized and to some extent notorious i really would like to begin with a trivial info-question- what are the most important stages in your musical history? What is the person behind Penitent, Veiled Allusions, Arcane Art?

It`s correct that this is the first interview I give to a post-soviet industrial/ noise/ ambient magazine, as the previous interviews I have given to magazine and press in post-soviet was to magazines/newspapers that deals also with metal and such, even regular newspaper. Previously I have done interviews with Rock City (Rus), Vae Solis Webzine (Rus), Wounded Magazine (Lit), Ledo Takas Magazine (Lit), as well as a national newspaper and magazine in Estonia. I guess the most important stages in my musical history is firstly the day the debut album was released (also the inclusion of Penitent on "The Hearts of Shadow Gods" 2*7" comp. CMI 40). Secondly I would say that the day that Melancholia was released on Pic disc LP was also an important stage. After this I am pleased that I have been given the chances to continue release albums with Penitent as well as releasing albums by my other bands/projects. The persons behind Penitent nowadays are me (Karsten Hamre) and Bernt Sunde. In Arcane Art it is me and Bernt E. Egeland, and as you probably know already Veiled Allusions is only me. Though all bands/projects will be complimented with appropriate people for live shows and performances.

Penitent was your first profi-experience couple years ago. Your Melancholia CD was released through CMI. Currently R Karmanik seems to be a bit tired of such music and promotes mostly industrial/power electronics bands. What do you think about your cooperation with CMI and the very label generally? When should we expect the brand-new Penitent album? I also know that soon there'll be issued Beauty of Pain remix-album. Were all the tracks re-mixed by you or we may find some exclusive guests there?

My cooperation with Cold Meat could have been better. Too many things didn`t go as expected between us and them, which in the end resulted in us leaving CMI. Cold Meat do for sure have some great releases still. The fact that Karmanik seems to be more interested in industrial and power electronics does not bother me at all. He releases what he likes I think, and one got to respect that. For him I am sure it`s not about money, just what he really enjoy listening to. As for when one could expect a new Penitent album I don`t have any specific date for that. As it is now we are almost done recording a brand new album, which is to be entitled "Neo", and this album will take Penitent in a totally new direction musicwise. Two songs are already available at

www.mp3.com/penitent

The plan for a Beauty of Pain remix album has been put on ice. Instead 3 remixes/remakes by other artists (Old Monks' Saga, Fragments and FEVER Experience) has been included as bonus tracks on the album "Reflections of Past Memories", which is more a summarizing album with a collection of instrumental tracks and versions. This album is soon to be released by Counter Attack Production from Bulgaria.

Arcane Art is one of your side-projects. I had a chance to enjoy your debut The Cursed Artist CD, which was out by Memento Mori label. The music in fact has much in common with Penitent and simultaneously the whole piece sounds quite different from what we may hear in your main project. If you care, I've reviewed the album as a brilliant example of an intense, concrete, aesthetically clear and lyrically charming opus that has, as for me, but a few relations with the medieval epoch- most probably it was inspired by the renascence age with its categories of Universal Soul and the cult of an ordinary person's beauty, where a creator/artist is the central image, equal to god and the one, who rejects it; the epoch of titans, whose existence is reflected within comprehension of the eternal problems and ideas- grandeur and failure of the Artist, who is identifying himself to the Universe, a person's weakness in the eyes of fate, but at the same time- overcoming the very fate by the obsessed/cursed artist. Is this interpretation of Arcane Art correct? What is the latest news about this project, anthropocentric project, if you care?

In one way there is no interpretation of Arcane Art that could be considered to be correct, and on the other side there is. On one side you have the interpretations by many different people which are all correct to some extent to everyone out there, then there is the interpretation that you have done, which is indeed correct, and then for you as that is the way you see things and there is nobody in this world who should say that is wrong, as it is your view. It is with music as it is with a painting, a man interpret what he see, feel, and hear based on himself. That is the correct way to find a true meaning of a work of art. With that said I have to admit that I like your interpretation, and that you have captured some of what is put into Arcane Art and "The Cursed Artist". The latest news on Arcane Art is that the second full length album, "KritaRan", is being recorded these days. There are still some vocal parts to finish as well as the mixing and mastering is left. The new album differ from the previous one musically as the new one is more or less a mix of dark ambient, industrial, experimantal post rock, as well as gothic jazz.

Veiled Allusions is yet another side-project, which in fact discloses some other hidden sectors of your conscious. The album was released through American L.S.D. Organisation last year in a tape format,- Jonathan Kan labeled Through the Corridors of Time as experimental electro wave- what's your personal estimation and the main idea of VA creation?

Veiled Allusions might be considered to be my playground, the kindergarten where I can explore new things and experiment with all sorts of sounds and noises.

Continuing with LSDO, I'd like to find out whether your intention to release 7" Penitent was welcomed or there is nothing clear with it yet?

LSDO will be releasing the Penitent "Beyond Forgiveness" 7". This 7" is going to be limited to 500 copies where the 200 first will be on black vinyl and the rest on olive and 50 of the olive ones will be in a limited wooden box set along with a t-shirt, button, and signed postcard (if I remember it correctly). This should be in the press right now, so it should be out soon.

Karsten, you have been known also as an extremely talented poet. While reading your lyrics i imagine a very lonely person behind the lines, whose life is lead by some other higher forces (actually it is a direct point to collective unconscious' influence (C.G.Yung)) and the essential ideas of your neo-classical-with-elements-of-poetry are�(complete the sentence). By the way as far as i got to know-you were nominated last year to the title of the best Norwegian poet- were you lucky enough to become the best in the gone millennium?

I was never nominated as the best Norwegian Poet. Though I was nominated as Poet of the year through the International Society of Poets a couple of years ago. This happened after I entered a poetry contrast they had, and my poem appeared in one of their poetry anthologies. I soon came to realize that this Society of Poets were only about money, that if I were to go to the award gathering I had to pay to get in to the gathering as well as pay all travel expenses etc myself. It is with as many other american things over commercialized. Life goes on, and maybe soon I`ll get a book released anyway.

Usually people who are involved into dark ambient scene are apolitical and irreligious ones- do you personally follow the same way of non-intervention politics or , on the contrary, you've got a firm ideological, religious, philosophical and political background?

I don't follow any specific religion of political direction. I don't want to mix music and politics, and don't want my bands/projects to be viewed as political acts. There are better arenas for doing politics than through music. I'm an artist not a politician.

Well this issue of the "Stigmata" zine is devoted to the 10th anniversary of the post-USSR collapse and I clearly understand, that to some extent you are absolutely indifferent to this particular event, but anyway let's swap the ideas about this fact.

I really don`t have a clue what to say about this, as it`s pretty distant for me. I feel no relation to it at all, so there aren`t anything to talk about.

Well you know I'm pretty obsessed with psychology and psycho-tests, especially with association-provoking ones - would you mind to react spontaneously on the following notions, names etc�to clear up some of your unconscious layers:

water - wet
father - gone with the wind
running horses - warriors
Alice in Wonderland - little slut trying to be happy
Autism - living in his/her own world
Japanese animation - manga
kz (concentration camps) - death and the smell of rotting corpses
dream - iluusions
building - skyskraper
egotism - a necessity
homosexualism - dirty
feminism - good in a woman
de Sade - a misunderstood/misinterpreted writer
C.G. Jung - psychology
Joy - depression
Industrialia - machines and factories
the 3rd Reich - a major war machine
green - grass
red - blodd
fear - strength
necro - death
a 6-year-old-decapitated girl - ugly
mother - the creator
ocean - blue
blue roses - sadness
equilibrium - contemplation
insects - flies
white - purity
picture - painting

What do you think about Norwegian musical scene? Does anything seem attractive to you? And one more, yes really boring question, but I would not like to drop it - what music do you prefer? Your ideas about harsh noise/power electronics.

There`s not much to say about the norwegian scene really. The most interesting things coming from Norway which I have heard during the last year is Madrugada, Zeromancer, etc. I`m not too interested in harsh noise/power electronics, but maybe I would enjoy, nobody can say anything for sure. I prefer industrial, dark ambient, darkwave, medieval, renaissance type, classical, heavy metal, gothic and black metal, even some pop and techno.

Is there any maxim, that reveals your lifelong creed and may become a nice frame for your final words?

"The point is� to unify and harmonize the opposites, both positive and negative, by discovering a ground which transcends and encompasses them both."
Ken Wilbur, No Boundary.

For more info on my bands/projects:

www.penitentmusic.com
www.neokunst.com