Interview with Shining (Niklas Kvarforth)

ITALIAN VERSION HERE

Niklas Kvarforth: it’s impossible to introduce such a character without falling into a vortex of banality, of things said and oversaid. So let’s not introduce him at all and let him speak directly, which seems the wisest thing to do! This because, whether he answers from the psychiatric institution in which he is confined (as in this case) or from a tour bus, the result will be the same: he is the only one in the world able to talk about himself, as demonstrated by the brilliant documentary by Claudio Marino. This interview with Niklas Kvarforth was conducted by Mickey E. Vil (Heavy Demons Radio Show, The Mugshots) and Matteo Antonelli (Masked Dead Records). Enjoy and don’t forget to support Shining! Buy original stuff, always!

Questions by Mickey:

Hi Niklas! Why the choice to self-entitle your latest release, is this album somehow a manifesto of what Shining’s art is all about?

Hello there, Mickey! Thats an interesting question indeed considering that we’ve already released ten albums over the years, and I remember when I proposed the idea to Charles, whom, and I agree, said that simply calling the album Shining is a rather bold move from our side keeping in mind that some of our albums are not too easy to top in either writing, quality nor in excecution. Anyhow, as I also really were in need of a fresh start (or a respectful ending), simply release a self-titled album is a way for me to make a stand and allows me to refine whatever has been but obstacles in the past. You can consider it, to use your phrase, a manifesto of a near three decade long career summed up in one hell of a record, or as I have come to see it, that this eleventh album of ours is the start of something new, and something hopefully less complicated.

What can an old fan and a new fan expect from this sonic death-worshipping soundtrack? From what we hear, musical variety is once again the keyword we can use to describe the album…

Its hard to give an answer on what to expect as a vast majority of our fanbase expect totally different things for some fucking reason. Let me put it this way, the two singles we have now released are both songs I sort of expected to be received by those who hear them as something we have aleady done in the past and that we have nothing new to bring to the table. This was actually planned from the very beginning as the rest of the album is taking SHINING into even darker corners of our past while there are also parts in the other new songs that will take the old listeners by storm, which is something I feel is far from an overstatement considering that we are, and i think you agree, exploring completely new styles which i seriously doubt that our fans will see coming until they hear the whole album.

How was to work with mighty Andy LaRocque at Sonic Train Studios and to have him as a special guest on Fidelis Ad Mortem?

We have been working with Andy for over a decade now, and i would never work with anyone else when recording SHINING. He has over the years become a very dear friend, and I almost consider him a member these days, considering just how much he has come to contribute since we first started working together. Fidelis Ad Mortem is a song i wrote back on 2001 but which never felt right to use for any of the previous albums, and when Andy started to rearrange things with me, giving it one last try, everything just fell in place. Now, him contributing with the two solos was almost inevitable due to just how much he helped to form the track, but actually he recorded a solo on For The God Below back in 2012 already. Needless to say, its definitely an honor to have one of my favorite guitarists putting his soul into our work, and if you liked that, wait till we release BLUE DETECTIVE, which is a band we started a few years back and that we’re currently working on, slowly but steadily recording an album.

How did the amazing abilities of Nick Barker (get well soon!) and Charles Hedger helped to shape the sound of Shining?

Nicholas Barker is absolutely amazing to work with, and we have been close friends for years. It is very unfortunate what he has to go through right now due to that he had a complete liver-failure around christmas. I am also myself in a terrible situation as well, incarcerated and going through treatment for my mental state, and im actually answering this interview from inside the institution! Doesn’t get more Shining than that right? Me and Barker, as well as Charles and Huss also share a similiar taste in music which makes things alot more interesting as i dont have to explain who Phil Collins is and similar things which, in the past, have been, at times, exhausting with certain former members of the band. Charles did contribute with the “blacker” side of things, and its truly a joy to watch how he and Peter manage to create a fusion between both of their very different but beautifully unique styles.

What can you tell us about the shocking cover artwork by Maxime Taccardi?

I have been following Taccardis career for quite a few years and as i was going for a “new” visual component to fit what we were working on i contacted him and asked if he was interested in making the cover-artwork for us. To my surprise he is a huge Shining fan, so he was honoured. However, during our discussions a friendship even blossomed and his contribution ended up way bigger than just painting the cover. The two 10″ vinyls we released on TSI earlier this year were both made by him, and in addition he also made portraits of all members as well as the absolutely brilliant rorschach thing which we used on the gatefold vinyl sleeve. Actually, he is also currently working on a new EP we intend to release early next year with some covers and recordings of songs that weren’t intended for the album. I like to keep a red thread throughout everything i do, so as the EP is connected to the album, another painting was commisioned.

Which are your studies when it comes to musical theory and practice?

I havent studied music nor do i have any real grasp on musical theory. I just do things…

Questions by Matt:

How did you develop your unique singing style throughout the years? Those harsh and vibrant voices are something peculiar when it comes to vocal style…

Well, thank you Matt! Honestly, i dont know, i just channel the energies necessary for the song im recording. Obviously, one learns alot when you start touring, such as techniques and what you SHOULDN’T do, especially when doing long tours in bacteria-infected tourbusses. I have always enjoyed experimenting so quite early on we began recording covers of artists outside of the genre, and well, i really didnt think i could pull it off, but somehow i did and i think that learning experience definitely helped me to incorporate a more diverse register.

I own a copy of the last edition of When Prozac No Longer Helps, your book about Shining lyrics. With this new edition, the last part of the book displays a handwritten story regarding the genesis and developement of Shining. 100 pages were declared, but when the book came to my home, the history stops with a “to be continued…” after much less then the declared pages. Could you explain why such choice?

Oh man, i wrote 100 pages but had to cut some out. There has been talk of an autobiography for years now, and i have written two, but the problem is that when writing on your own you tend to try to humanise things that are very dark, and vice versa, so if there will ever be a full story printed on paper, i believe i need someone else to write it. The book is almost sold out now, so, there will be a sixth edition with the lyrics for the new album included, the ones i wrote for the HØSTSOL album too, and a few added footnotes here and there to give further insight into some of the stories behind some of my literary atrocities.

Looks like there have been huge troubles within Shining Legions; issues that brought to legal movements. Would you like to share with us what exactly happened?

LEGIONS is now finally run by more competent people. Unfortunately we have been hacked at times and there are still a bunch of people out there who does everything in their power to try to destroy us, and that’s obviously fucking annoying, but it is what it is. Anyway, now everything is seemingly working pretty smoothly, and we have even opened a North American store as well a few months ago. As for any legal proceedings, there is alot of rumors and most is bullshit. However, if that was the case, if i wanted too, i wouldnt be allowed to discuss such matters in media. All i can say is that the people behind both branches are working hard, and i am really relieved that things are working much better these days.

Redefining Darkness is an unicum within Shining discography. What comes after, does not really resemble or develope its style nor essence. Speaking of its birth, and not only regarding the music itself, what made Redefining Darkness such a special opera?

The story behind the creation of the eight album is a truly mind-blowing one, and guess what? Not only are we re-issuing Redefining Darkness on TSI next year, but we will also release the pre-production as well, which in some ways is even better than the actual album. It will be called The Helsinki Tapes and include the story and what took place during those days. plus a bunch of really cool photos which have been published and will surprise a lot of our fans. It was a very creative period in the SHINING saga, and im immensely proud of what we managed to accomplish in such a short period of time.

Mickey:

Any final closing words or thoughts you feel you wanna share?

Thanks for the interview and support! I hope that the new album will get us one more step up the ladder, and i urge our fans to support the band directly by ordering directly from us and our own webshop:

www.shininglegions.com / www.shininglegions.us

Finally, i hope we will return to Italy soon and bring this audial nightmare to life on stage!