Monday, July 15, 2013

INTERVIEW WITH HECATE


INTERVIEW WITH RACHAEL KOZAK OF HECATE
DONE BY TIM (USBMS) OVERSEEN BY NOOSE (USBMS)

                                                                           

                                                                                

T-I'd like to start this interview by thanking Rachael Kozak of Hecate for the time to do this interview.



Hails USBMS! Thanks for the support and outlet to poison your readers!


T- First off, what would you say is the driving force behind creating the music of Hecate?




My fascination with the malefic, unfettered carnality, and transitions through dimensions play a major role in my work.
It is a natural place for me to reside on this Hell called Earth. There is a force inside of me that pummels through my veins.
Undeniable.




T- Give us the quick history of Hecate, How did you start up, and was there a specific goal when you began the project?





I started investigation and experimenting with synthesis and programming in 1993 while living around Detroit. Coming from the
Techno scene and after a couple years of partying, I wanted to see what types of sounds I could produce for myself. I experienced
quite a bit of backlash from most of the guys, although there were a couple that welcomed me into their studios to use their gear before I bought my own.
NY based in 96 - I released my first 12" in an unnamed project co-produced and written with Dj Kareem, on our own Zhark Records. We split the label
into two divisions in 97 and that is when I started appearing as Hecate.

My solo work as Hecate was always used as a channel for occult currents and the force of unrelenting darkness.
The ultimate goal has always been to spread pro-apocalyptic energies through shredding frequencies and twisted rhythms.
No matter the classification or genre, I always injected my tunes with a creeping morbidity which has become my trademark.


                                                                    



T- What does Hecate deal with lyrically, tell me some of the themes you sing about?





Depending on the concept of the album, my lyrics revolve around the theme at hand. Of course I am usually drawn to reoccurring motifs -
usually being drawn to death, magic, history, and the darker sides of sexuality. On the last album, Brew Hideous, I went through a very intense period
of emerging my thoughts in the horrors of the inquisition and witch trials throughout the ages. With my band Treachery, I have used epic imagery
of everything from the fall of Rome to what it would be like to bind someone in their own entrails. I spent many years making mostly instrumental
electronic music - until about 2001 when I started a side project under the name of Raquel De Grimstone, these days I have integrated vox directly into the Hecate
work which leaves me with alot more room to experiment.

                                                                             

T- What were your early musical influences? and did they impact the way you created the sounds of Hecate?






Naturally, I have had many musical influences before I started recording. Of course I am of the generation which remembers the first years of MTV as a child.
Late nights as a kid with Headbanger's Ball are remembered fondly. Most of the time I listened to punk, industrial, techno, and jungle - of course I was into some
classic rock and metal before I was drawn to the electronic scene. Since my work as Hecate is so personal, almost everything I ingest is spewed forth
sonically in some bizarre mixture.





T- Tell what Genres of Music you currently listen too?


                                                                             

It really depends on my mood - I have days of listening only to Black Metal, weeks of listening only to what I am working on,
or I can go out and enjoy experimental acts I have never heard of. Around my apartment I listen to everything from Bong-Ra and
Xanopticon to Franco Battiato, Pain Teens, King Crimson or Urfaust. I don't like to identify myself too much with any genre, but I can tell you won't hear reggae or pop,
or any easy listening groovy shit around here.






T-What does Hecate hope to accomplish with its music in today's Breakcore / Black metal / Metal scene (if any)?





I think I have accomplished mostly everything I could want from the Breakcore scene already. Namely playing some of the
biggest fests and parties in the history of the genre, working with my favorite producers and being an uncompromising force
worldwide since since 97. Besides being named the "most prolific" female producer in hard electronic music, the desire to spread my sound
with others that bask in the infernal are rooted deep. This leads to me to many things I have yet to accomplish in the Black Metal scene...





T-What material have you released thus far, what are you doing now, and what is in store for the future?





Countless 12"s - over 30 in different projects and 4 full albums as Hecate. Since Brew Hideous is sold out,
I will be re releasing it with remixes, new booklet and a video on Zhark sometime in the future. In a few days the new Belphegor
album comes out on Nuclear Blast - my second time working with them - this time Helmuth asked me to write some lyrics
and contribute some spoken word and sonic debaucheries for Bondage Goat Zombie. I am now back at work on my fifth full length, and
actually I am heading to America to record some (if not all) of it while I am there. I will be away from the big cities for awhile -
since I usually prefer the quiet of the country side for writing and immersing myself in the world of twilight. Besides this, Treachery's debut will
be released in the autumn on Czar of Crickets from Switzerland. It is an independent metal label in Switzerland run by the front man of Zatokrev.
I can't wait wait to finally have the finished version of that in my hands!






T-How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?







Industrial Black Metal mixed with fucked up Jungle and Breaks.
The opening of a portal to the unspeakable void of existence.







T- Can you tell us a bit about Rachael Kozak the person? what inspires you to create such harsh music, and at what age did you begin?






I have been known to be quite obsessive in my work and the topics which it involves.
I tend to party quite often and do not fear death unless it is a long drawn out painful process (which can also be known as "life" if you do not enjoy your time here).
I have seen both sides to this existence - from the lofty heights of indulgence and avarice to the filth and humiliation of destitution, sometimes both in one night.
A violent and treacherous background led me to total abandonment of what is deemed normal. Do not view me as a role model.






T- I must ask about the Brew Hideous video, BTW this is one the sickest most intense videos i have ever witnessed (THANKS). Were did you get the concept, who is the other actress, and where was it recorded?






Hell yeah, I love that one. My good friend from Stuttgart, Alexander König and I worked on it while I was living in Basel. The concept was based off of the content of
the title track - which contains masked references to menstruation and the moon. He loved the track and we met a couple times to talk about it - I lent him some films
and we shoot the session mostly in my last apartment, which was painted pretty bizarrely in places. Sue aka Nahema was the other girl, she appears on my records
doing vocals from time to time, and acted as a muse to my music for years in Basel. It is always a pleasure to work and hang out with her.






T-What was it like to be the founder of your label Zhark International ,and do you continue to have success under this label?






I had no idea of what I was getting into when I started Zhark. I was 19 and had enough money from torturing men to invest it in my label. It seemed like the best
option because we did not want to shop are demos around to Techno labels. We wanted to do something different and and make it dark. Right now Zhark International is
running a bit slower than it has in other times, but it has always gone through phases of everything from one release a year to seven or eight... and represses... etc...
It will always be the truest current of my ideas and for those I support, but it is pretty underground and a close-knit family of artists.







T-Tell me about your recent tours. how did they go, and are there any plans to play the U.S.?






I was on tour basically from last November until March. I did a European action followed by four shows in Japan, a few weeks off and then Colombia and Mexico.
My stay in Bogota was extremely intense, a ten day fest which took up all quarters of the city from night to night. The first gig I played there was in an all female prison,
which was the absolute height of emotion I ever experiences while playing! Mexico was really great and I look forward to returning in October/November!
I am coming out to America at the end of April, staying around Olympia. I cannot wait to spend some time in the forests around there.
While I am there I will be playing shows and recording. Hopefully I will hit the east coast, California and I already have some shows lined up around Seattle and Portland.
If you want to book me - check out my contact details at the end of the interview.



                                                                        


T-Is there a Black Metal scene in Switzerland (if so are you involved in it), also how is the support from within the Breakcore scene (same question, are you involve in it)?





I imagine there are Black Metal scenes in most European countries. I don't liked to get too immersed in any scene although I did spend quite a bit of time going to
metal shows in London, which was fantastic. If I like a band I will go to the gig, and now that I live in Berlin there are a couple decent metal bars, the best being Access.
As far as the Breakcore scene goes, I have a love/hate relationship with it because I have been embedded in it for so long. Granted, I have always played for different
types of "scenes" - and never wanted to be categorized as anything other than pure Darkness. With my last effort I received a very good response from metalheads
all over the world - which has been encouraging - thanks for your support!






T- How do Breakcore crowds react to the BM influence in Hecates music? and Vise versa, how do BM crowds react to the music of Hecate when you play live?




Hey, that's hard to say crowds have been more diverse lately. It just depends on the city really... I don't look at people and think about what
genre or scene they are in - just if they are enjoying themselves and blasting! I welcome anyone that wants to hear blackened, psychedelic beats and noise to my shows.
I like to have all different types of people at my gigs. It adds more interaction and situations... Bogota, Japan, and Mexico were memorable in this respect, but maybe it is just the timing.
Things seem to be shifting, where ex-metalheads listen to Breakcore and Electronic fans listen to Black Ambient - Personally, I don't like to be restricted - and do not see the need for it.





T- do you have any collaborations with other musicians? if so from what bands and Genres?





I have many side projects which range from blackened noise to industrial dub-step. My new LP will feature collaborations new artists as well as one you
would come to expect. In the recent past I did some vocals for Bong-Ra's White Darkness project. Of course, there is my involvement with Belphegor,
the most sadistic of pairings. I have made music with the likes of Lustmord, Venetian Snares, Abelcain, Christoph Fringeli, Michael Ford of Black Funeral,
and many more throughout the years. Although I tend to like my time alone in the studio process, much can be gained from working with others whom share your same vision.
The genres once again do not matter, it is the intent behind the work which matters in the end.




             
                                              


T-Before we finish up the interview is there anything else you would like to say about Hecate?




See you in the WAITING DEPTHS ---- !!!



T-Thanks for the interview and we wish you the best success.


Wicked, thanks for the support!! See you soon enough!
For band info visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecate_%28musician%29
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Hecate
http://www.zhark.org/home.php

                                                                             



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