Main Questionnaire:

Hi there! For a start, let’s talk a bit about your musical background, how did you started to make music in the first place and what determined you to do it this way?
I started playing music at an early stage, trying to express my inner feelings and personality, my musical and artistic aesthetics in general. The first serious attempt embraced the Metal scene which was really strong and underground back in 1993-1994. Through this genre I developed my artistic expressions which were later evolved into more esoteric area of searching, exploring the fields of the Ancient Folk music. Since that era I got an intense interest into Dark music in all its forms, which naturally lead the way to what I have been doing up to this moment.

You had some collaborations with other Greek projects, DAEMONIA NYMPHE and FIENDISH NYMPH. How was it to work with them and why didn’t you continue?
I was a founding member of both projects from 1994 to 2000 when I left DAEMONIA NYMPHE to move towards even more dark paths, thus creating xÆRKANEx which afterwards was replaced by ÆRKANE some years later... My departure had to do with various reasons including the issue of long distance and the lack of interest.

Could you please explain the meaning of the “X” letter used both in your band’s first moniker and also in your artistic pseudo-name?
The X respresents the unknown, the mysterious, the arcane... ArkanumX  is the interpretation of that and it fits the whole ÆRKANE concept utterly.

As I noticed, one of the main themes used in your musical endeavors is the notion of “mesmerisation”! What does it really represent for you personally and how do you expect to be perceived by the audience?
Mesmerism is what ÆRKANE music is being based upon. It is the ultimate feeling that inspires and motivates me to create such music as I do in ÆRKANE’s debut album. It’s the driving force... The audience is expected to embrace that alluring sensation and get ensnared in the mysterious trance created throughout the whole new album Enraptured Serene Mesmerism.

In the past the project was called xÆRKANEx and released an album entitled Arcane Elitism via The Fossil Dungeon from United States. What made you to modify the name into a more simplistic way?
ÆRKANE is the new era... The new chapter... The new seduction of “Arkane” stigmatised by a professional and sophisticated concept dominated by inspiration and perfectionism, as presented in the album Enraptured Serene Mesmerism.

Now you have a new album, Enraptured Serene Mesmerism. Again, the same theme comes back into the title, so do care to share with us its representative notions!
It is focusing exclusively on the Dark Symphonic Neoclassical idiom, characterized by an intense soundtrack’ish atmosphere that emphasizes on the entrancing and mesmerizing aesthetics of seduction. ÆRKANE’s musical and aesthetic concept has elevated now into much more specific and sophisticated forms of art. Enraptured Serene Mesmerism is a Dark soundtrack in eight parts.
 
What kind of emotional effect has the new album upon the listener in your opinion?
As I said before, it has the intention to put the listener into an alluring trance, mesmerize him and invoke sentiments of the Arcane at the same time... It is very important that the music creates images to the listeners as much as both the music and the listener become one into a mesmerizing unity!

The songs are embraced by some nice passages with eerie female vocals. Did you feel it was imperative for your actual musical approach to have them integrated into the compositional structure?
The female operatic and eerie vocals have been one and the same with the new concept of ÆRKANE. Without them my music would be shallow and dry... Female vocals flow along with the orchestral passages and create a certain movement, taking the listener to a mesmerizing trip. It is the most important element my music is based upon.

The artwork is very interesting and i think it fits the music perfectly. How did you get in contact with the photographer and how did the idea of the entire concept for theatrical masquerade representation came to life?
The front cover of Enraptured Serene Mesmerism as well as the whole artwork and format comes in unison with the music, thus it is indeed highly atmospheric and even hypnotic! The cover shows a beautiful maiden, under the influence of diaphanous wings, in ecstatic trance. Indeed again, the entire aesthetic and artistic concept of ÆRKANE has been based on the art of mesmerism and extensive emphasis has been given to the female archetype of the seductresses which utterly fascinates and allures me to interpret it into music!

This time you’ve released the album through your own imprint label. Why?
I prefer to have total control of my music, therefore I took the risk of producing and presenting my art in my own musical production label called Seduction Productions. I have just released the digital version of Enraptured Serene Mesmerism on Fossil Dungeon in order to get a little bit more promotion of my music worldwide. I think it is a good movement as the ÆRKANE debut album can be available to various digital retailers, which obviously takes my music to a wider audience.

Will you ever perform live with your music? Are there any such plans?
No such plans... ÆRKANE is solely a studio project.

Would you want to create an avant-garde film based on your music and artistic vision? If so, then how would you envision it to be like?
If a movie was created by ArkanumX it would be certainly a black & white film... Mysterious and Arcane, dark as the shadows... obscure and apocryphal...

Do you have in plan to collaborate with other musicians from now on?
I hope so. It would be so interesting to collaborate with certain musicians of the Dark scene, nothing is certain yet.

What do you prepare for the future as far as ÆRKANE is concerned?
Nothing for the time being. Promoting the debut album has been a tough task. In a year or so I will enter the studios to record the sequel of Enraptured Serene Mesmerism.

Individual Questionnaire:

What’s your take upon the actual musical scene, and the one of Ambient genre in particular?
ArkanumX is in love with the following projects: DEAD CAN DANCE, ELIJAHS MANTLE, ARCANA, THE PROTAGONIST, CHAOSTAR and TRIARII. I also like IN SLAUGHTER NATIVES, KARJALLAN SISSIT, SOPHIA, ELEND, GOTHICA. I don’t see the future in Dark Orchestral Neoclassical, really... It is a difficult non-commercial genre with such a few but die hard fans though! Personally, it is the only music that elevates me into higher scales of art and divination.

Greece has a great Folk culture that goes back deep into Antiquity. What do you think about your rich heritage?
Unfortunately, Hellas’ glorious rich past tends to be neglected and diminished in the shades of modern Greece... The last time I saw an improvement here was during The Olympic Games of 2004! A big chance to save modern Greece as well as connect it to the glorious past was spent that time, but nevertheless without any fundamental substance.

Do you like football/soccer? If you do, then how do you see the chances of qualification for your national team at the next World Cup that will be held in South Africa?
Yes, I do. They will qualify for sure, but I do not have high hopes for them during the World Cup though...

General Questionnaire:

You like travelling. What attracts you so much when going out for a journey around the world and what impressed you the most until now?
I’m a great travelling lover! I have been throughout entire Europe (42 countries so far) and two in Africa. Travelling is a way of life. You get so much inspiration through it, a true breath of life that renews your very existence. A lot Of places have impressed me so far, the most important have been the beauty of cities such as London, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Florence, Stockholm, Bergen, the entire land of Germany, then Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Barcelona, Budapest, Zagreb, Riga, Warsaw, Zurich, Lisbon... Also the ancient past of Egypt, Transylvanian area in Romania, natural landscapes in West Norway, the simplicity and beauty in the whole Balkan territory, nature in Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, antiquities in Minor Asia (in today’s West Turkey).

How’s the nowadays life in Greece in comparison with the ‘70s or ‘80s?
Has changed rapidly, but I reckon for the worse... Athens alongside Bucharest are the two most chaotic concrete “jungles” in Europe! Simplicity and serenity is lost here...

If the human race will end up into a worldwide nuclear confrontation on all scales, will music still remain a resort of tranquillity and maybe a reprise for nostalgic dreams?
Music will never end, that’s for sure! Even the destruction of mankind will make a musical sound... That I would like to hear... It would be the worst/best Noise soundtrack ever made! Thanx a lot for the interesting interview!