Interview with BH of Onisund
Interviewed by Starlight Temple Society | 2009

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-What gave you the idea for Onisund?

BH: It was somewhat spontaneous. I wanted to start putting together samples for intros and interludes for my other metal projects and it took on a life of its own. I knew I wanted to have a platform to show my love for music that wouldn't typically be defined as "metal". So, the two minute intro turned into a fourteen minute track and so on and so on. After constructing the first track, which would end up being 'Rigma Ana Ersetim', I did another which ended up being 'Deep' and it just went from there.

-Can you describe some of the things that influence Onisund's sound and aesthetic direction?

BH: My affection for avantgarde music truly began with my affection for Pink Floyd. Their catalog up through 'Dark Side of the Moon' acclimated me to noise and experimental music. Later, I got into groups like Earth, Sigur Ros, Mono and SunnO))) which furthered my expansion with the unconventional side of music. I also drew inspiration from soundtracks to movies as I became more aware of my favorites. Films like 'Blade Runner', 'The Terminator', 'Conan the Barbarian' and the group Goblin's work on Dario Argento's movies were also an inspiration.

-Does the name "Onisund" have any literal meaning? Likewise, what is the meaning of the song titles on "Rigma Ana Ersetim"?

BH: I originally wanted to call the project 'Oni' but that was taken several times over upon some research. So, I basically added 'Sund' onto the end of it as an abbreviation for 'sound'. It really has no literal meaning. I suppose it would be loosely translated to 'Demon Music' but I wanted to maintain some irony and ambiguity. Hopefully disclosing that won't give away any of the pretension of the project. 'Rigma Ana Ersetim' is a term from Gilgamesh. It's loose translation from Akkadian is 'voices from the earth'.

-Describe the first demo, "Rigma Ana Ersetim".

BH: It's extremely somber and that was the intention. It was composed during a somewhat difficult transition in my life. I was spending a lot of time out in the desert and drew a lot of inspiration from the solitude that can be found in the wilderness. I suppose you could say that the demo itself was inspired from the silence and serenity of the Arizona desert. It's a humbling experience being miles and miles away from civilization in an environment that is both beautiful and extremely hostile. There's rolling hills and saguaro forests covered by scorching heat and highly venomous creatures. It's an interesting and humbling paradox to be in.

-How much time did you invest in this release? Furthermore, does this kind of music require a specific state of mind, or attitude, in order to create it?

BH: I recorded the demo over 2 or 3 weeks. Recording intermittently at my own pace. This creative process for Onisund is very easy-going so there's no drama or pressure when I'm making the tracks. To truly capture the essence of what most would call 'atmosphere', I think you do need a certain state of mind. What that state of mind exactly is, I'm not entirely sure. There's a level of depression and depravity that really has to go into it but I'm not sure what that's going to entail on future recordings.

-You're currently in the process of recording the follow up to "Rigma....", and that's the debut full length. Let's talk a little about this upcoming album. How will it differ from or compare to the demo? Will it contain vocals, special guest musicians or any other like surprises?

BH: The full length is going to expand on the demo in leaps and bounds. I have no creative boundary on Onisund and there's going to be all kinds of different things going on. The thing that I noticed about the three songs on the demo is that they all end up in very different places at the end of the tracks from where they started. For instance, 'Deep' starts with some spacey synth effects and ends with a clean electric synth guitar riff that's very droney. So, the idea is to keep things eclectic and really make the entire album a true listening experience. There will be some vocals on it but hardly any. I'm not interested in making Onisund a right out "rock band" as, and I re-iterate, there are no creative boundaries. My good friend and colleague Mike Cassidy will be contributing live drums to this recording. He used to play in a local Phoenix band called The Bodhi Tree. They were an instrumental three piece. The music was reminiscent of Dysrythmia mixed with elements of early Mars Volta sans vocals. It's somewhat hard to describe. He's an extremely creative and skilled drummer and he brings a lot to the table. I'm very excited to write and record with him.

-What kind of equipment do you use for recording with Onisund? The demo showed hints of drums and guitars. Were these programmed or live?

BH: I'm just using software synth effects and various other software instruments. I record everything live into my computer via either a MIDI controller or my guitar. On the full length there will be live recorded drums, which will be a first for Onisund. Everything on the demo, however, is software based.

-Would you consider Onisund a "dark" or "negative" band?

BH: At certain parts. It's hard to really put a stamp on Onisund in that way. There's light-hearted moments and there's very very depressive moments. The full length will portray what I'm going for a little more comprehensibly but to quote a good friend of mine I would Onisund is "moody" if nothing else.

-Before Onisund, you were one half the cabal of the experimental death metal band Sjenovik. Without digging into why you parted ways with Sjenovik, I'd instead like to ask how Sjenovik prepared you for the eventual onset of Onisund. What did you learn, or acquire, from your time in Sjenovik that helped you configure the sound and aesthetic of Onisund?

BH: I consistently got feedback from people that listened to Sjenovik who said they liked the ambient moments that we did the best. I honestly go back and listen to tracks like "Gate" and "Sieg" more often than I listen to the metal songs. We had a very good chemistry at creating these atmospheres. I wanted to continue this in future projects as we move further and further into the "post-(genre)" era of music. Sjenovik was an immense learning experience for me and it certainly laid the ground work for both of my current projects. I suppose I mostly wanted to dissect Sjenovik into either noise or metal. The noise half became Onisund and the metal half became Etemmu, to varying degrees. If that makes sense...

-How is creating ambient music different from creating metal? Do you find one more enjoyable or rewarding than the other?

BH: Ambient music is much more spontaneous. I listen to a lot of jazz and classical music so I certainly developed an ear for music that demands an applied listen. Onisund starts from a certain pattern or riff and randomly expands. It's a much more "fun" experience making noise music, at the moment anyway. The metal songs that I come up with expand in a similar way but it demands more attention and effort. I have to rein myself in a little bit so the project doesn't turn into a Maudlin of the Well rip off. However, I would say that making metal music is very rewarding in ways that noise music is not as metal music is what I'm most passionate about making. It feels good to hear good riffs over solid drums with good vocals on top of that. It requires more effort and is thus more rewarding.

-You're also writing material for a new metal band, Etemmu. Can you tell us something more about it?

BH: Etemmu was originally going to simply be the continuation of what I was trying to accomplish in Sjenovik. Which was to use black metal music with death metal vocals and throw psychedelics and noise in here and there. It turned out a bit different than I expected but I'm much happier with the two Etemmu songs than any of the metal-oriented tracks I did in Sjenovik. I'm currently shopping the Etemmu demo to labels with the help of STS. I'm going to begin arranging a full length debut for Etemmu after the recording of the Onisund full length. I'm going to demo the songs and eventually record them with Ryan Butler at Arcane Digital Studios when the time and finances are in place.

-You seem to have a diverse music background. What kind of bands influence your creative development, and what bands do you listen to just for pure pleasure?

BH: A lot of my creative development comes from my more eclectic side. I'm a huge fan of Tom Waits at the moment. I'm very much into his mid seventies out put, namely the album 'The Heart of Saturday Night'. There's a group called Bohren and Der Club of Gore who I'm absolutely in awe of. They're a German jazz group who play 50s era jazz music at dangerously slow tempos. It's very moody and somber music. I also love progressive music as I mentioned Pink Floyd above. I mainly draw inspiration from groups that try and succeed at not fitting in, defying genre, and being wholly original. If I'm driving around on a Saturday afternoon or leaving my day job I usually put in things that are more aggressive. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Crowbar. Their riffs really pack a lot of punch and they do a lot of interesting things musically. I'm also a huge fan of the new Napalm Death album. It's one of the best releases of 2009 so far. I also jam things like Motorhead or King Diamond if I'm in a REALLY good mood.

-Do you think having such an eclectic taste in music has helped to expand you creative potential?

BH: I think it's almost mandatory for the sake of being creative. If I listened to nothing but metal all the time I feel like I wouldn't be able to focus on good songwriting but only focus on how to make things even more "metal" than any "metal" that's ever been. Which is just silly. I think that attitude worked 25 years ago when metal was still new and on the fringe of things. But I think that wonderment has worn off so inspiration has to be drawn in huge amounts to keep things interesting. If I didn't branch out and listen to music that is more diverse, I would easily find myself in a rut and would probably get bored with making music.

-We're not totally adverse to self promotion. If there's something about you that you feel people reading this should know than don't hesitate to unload.

BH: Outside of Onisund and Etemmu I've recently become the vocalist for a band called Satan's Monk. This is an industrial death metal group that uses hardcore (electronica) beats with death metal and thrash overtones. Imagine KMFDM on meth while getting raped by The Berzerker. It's definitely not for anyone but I'm very happy to be a part of the project as it's main appeal to me is that it's wholly original. The group's figurehead is a guy named Jeff Owens who used to play in a local Phoenix death metal group called Landmine Marathon. We're currently just rehearsing but things have never sounded better and I'm really excited to be a part of the project.

-What first got you interested in the kind of music you write now?

BH: If you're referring to Onisund then it's simply any kind of avantgarde music. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of acoustic and folk music. Neil Young, Tom Waits, Red-House Painters, and Death In June have been somewhat inspiring to me of late so I think there will be some kind of indie folk sensibility to things in the future. As for Etemmu, the main draw were bands that walk the line between death metal and black metal. These include groups like Rotting Christ, Samael, Necrophobic, Incantation, and Enslaved. At the same time, the music just kind of comes out. I usually don't try to regulate what comes out.

-In your opinion, what are your strongest and weakest points as a musician?

BH: It's hard to say. I think I've gotten better at all the instruments I play, which is very valuable especially during the more tedious moments of the recording process. I suppose that my weak point would be my attention span. It's an issue with most songwriters but I end up simply forgetting about ninety percent of the music I write. It just never ends up sticking in my brain. In that way, I usually end up relying on spontaneity which can work both for me and against me. But these are things I'll continue to work on as I view the entire creative process as the most dynamic of things human.

-Beyond the Onisund full-length, where do you envision this project will be in say 3-5 years down the road? What are some things that you hope to achieve in the future that you are working towards now?

BH: Well, as of right now Onisund is sort of a side project behind Etemmu and Satan's Monk. Onisund may or may not ever play live. I still haven't decided yet. Ideally, I'd like the opportunity to score films and continue to collaborate with other musicians. I think that would be very enjoyable. But I have no reservations or expectations with any of my projects, especially Onisund. I'm going to let things unfold in the same way I create the music for this particular project.

-Thank you for the interview, BH. You may close our chat in any manner you wish.

BH: Thanks to you Wilhelm for the questions. I hope this clears up any ambiguity about Onisund to anyone reading. Cheers!