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Erebus Magazine 2001. 1. I understand a second part to the Make Love, And War series has been recently released. It is curious that you've decided to release a second CD, and so relatively soon. As I currently do not have this CD in my possession, in what way does it differ from and compare to The Wedlock of Roses? I presume tracks inclusive of the prior sessions have been utilized? In the beginning there
was the intention to make ONE album titled Make Love, And War, but during
the recordings of this work we suddenly realized that the song material
that we possessed, was too extensive and too complete as a whole to start
dissecting, but likewise too extensive to congregate as merely one single
work; and there were consequently three available alternatives. 2. Philosophy and ideology have always played important roles in Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. Can you trace any conspicuous development in the lyrical, not to say musical, evolution of the project, from your first release to your most recent one? What is the fundamental core of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, what can never be altered? Evolution is inevitable; the direction of advancement and evolution is never clear; everything changes assuming new and improved forms of succession. Eight long years have passed since the genesis of ORE and in the meantime there has naturally been alteration and evolution, and most certainly alteration which I am not consciously able to determine myself; evolution being the inevitable resolution of progress and prosperity. ORE has unmistakably
evolved since its genesis, musically, lyrically as well as aesthetically;
becoming successively perfected and refined. 3. As I am much more interested in hearing you talk about your philosophical position than your methods of writing music or whatnot, I will jump straight ahead and quiz you on some of your thoughts, if you do not mind. An anthropologist had once said that, in his words, "morality is nothing more than an evolutionary strategy that has been with primates and continues on in humans for the singular purpose of promoting the selfish genes that direct our behavior." Would you agree with that statement? Does every human being have an innate need to adapt to or subjugate him or herself unconditionally to some moral or ethical code? In other words, is an amoral society conceivable given these psychological foundations? Willingly adapting
to any sociopolitical system is deliberately accepting a premeditated
dictum of moral codes. The human compulsion to subjugate herself to ethical codes is akin but however secondary to her requirement and desire to organize herself according to systematic sociological structures, structures accordingly requisite of premeditated standards and ethical codes, uniting her requirement of structure by surrendering to enforced ethics. So is an amoral society conceivable in relation to the given psychological foundations? An amoral society suggest a society where the individual dictum rules in favor of majority's declaration of right and wrong and each and everyone human being capable of thought and conduct, acts according to the assessments of their individual objectives and intellectual creeds rather than surrendering in acceptance to majority's dictum; a sociopolitical structure which accordingly suggests lawlessness and Anarchy as it contradicts the sociopolitical requirement of thought and action according to prospect, structure and design. So is it possible you ask? Not on a large scale and given the contemporary psychological and sociopolitical conditions. 4. Suffering, according to Dostoyevsky at least, is nothing more and nothing less than an essential element of the human condition. Expanding on that idea, could life still be 'livable' if we humans were to consummate all of our knowledge of medicine and the human body and hence rid ourselves of pain completely? Some studied advocates of drugs or those that adhere to the motto "better living through chemistry" trust such an utopian idealism to be a worthy alternative to what, in their words, the so-called "apologists for pain" advocate. What are your own reactions to these two extremes? The intellectual capacity
of man customarily diminishes the concept of pain to a mere concept of
physical suffering; whilst the condition of pain is far beyond physical.
Pain surges throughout every level of the human being and has the capability
of affecting the conscious being both physically, psychologically, emotionally
and spiritually. Pain is akin of the
experience of being live and human (please surmise the difference between
being alive and living), and consequently abolishing the condition and
ability of experiencing pain, suggests an undiminished reduction of being
live and human altogether. 5. Many drug proponents are convinced that certain drugs are directly responsible for stimulating their creativity. As I understand it, your own stance on the issue is very liberal. In what way do drugs stimulate your own creativity, and can you personally conceive of life without them? How much of a role do they exactly play in your musical and lyrical expression? I have never stated
that drugs serve or have served a creative part of my life, merely that
drugs may be utilized for the purpose of creativity. I believe that the decision of employing and/or not employing any selection of drugs rests in the hands of each and every being, and in the situation that anyone decides to pursue his or her eventual desires to utilize drugs; one should heed and acknowledge the risks and hence accept the consequences of ones decision. I certainly believe there are beings as well as individuals who experience particular narcotics as creative constituents as part of their life and creative process, I am however not one of them. 6. An anonymous P.W. writes: "[...] Self-censorship preserves intact the illusion of freedom of expression and freedom of speech by allowing a spectrum of pre-selected approved choices or alternatives, while virtually guaranteeing that 'inappropriate' or 'offensive' material is effectively suppressed through an unofficial consensus operating via control of publishing and distribution channels." How do you feel about media censorship, and the invisible puppetry of the masses by increasingly smaller numbers? Is cynicism concerning the credibility of the mass media justifiable today in your view? What incidentally is quite amusing with regards to this particular question is that I was recently invited to conduct a spoken word at the annual spoken word festival here in Stockholm a few weeks ago, and which accidentally argued the issue of 'Information wants to be Free'. So consequently in order to respond to this question, I will utilize a fragment from this very occasion. ---- Information and knowledge
as well as information through knowledge suggest that we are perpetually
subjected to truth and fact. That all that we read, see, hear, interpret
and possibly understand in newspapers, on the radio, on the internet,
in magazines, on television, in educational material and in history books,
is in fact uncensored truth and fact of our past, present and possibly
future society? The idea of truth
and fact being the dictum of all past, present and future information
is virtuous, and perhaps at one point in time, in the beginning of time,
it once was, but we all know better, and regardless of hard we imagine
and wish, we all know that is not the situation, and that the objective
of all media, more willingly is established on nothing more, but the sole
motive of profit. The collective media is as interested in the essence of truth and lies as the Palestinians and the Israelis apparently are in a resolution of peace and harmony in the Middle East. Information is a commodity
by which to accumulate profit, win wars and accomplish change. It can
be as just, convincing and puissant as any weapon by which to render triumph
and decline, but hardly akin or relative to the essence of either truth
or lies. All information is biased as even the smallest and possibly most unselfish mission of any information directed in any direction, is enlightenment. And regardless of how unselfish and noble this objective might seem, it serves a purpose just as premeditated and deliberate as any other. Information is invariably
filtered and processed to portray the very fragments of knowledge from
where it has its origin. ---- So is there any reason for skepticism and cynicism with regards to the credibility of the contemporary media? I believe there is. 7. Does Sweden impart as much controversy to the topic of abortion as in the United States? What are some aspects of the Swedish government that you feel need some serious revision? Is cloning ethical? There are naturally
numerous aspects and issues argued, advocated and sustained by the Swedish
government that I assuredly would like to banish and revise. - Sweden should revoke
its membership from the European Union. There is absolutely no need to
partake in an establishment purposely attempting to become the United
States of Europe; deliberately enforcing a wish for a totalitarian police
state with the political authority and the military resources to oppose
the Unites States of America. There is no resembling controversy related to abortion in Sweden as there is in the US. There are naturally conservative Christian fractions who oppose the national legislation of justified abortion up to the fourteenth week, but their number and force is relatively insignificant, and any eventual threat that they pose is merely imaginary. Abortion should be
an individual, and in the situations that it is possible, a mutual decision
between the two concerned and answerable constituents of the concerned
pregnancy, the so-called parents. A fetus is not a child
and a child is no longer a fetus. This entire conviction could naturally be argued over and over, but the natural state of birth and being born should willingly be a condition of being naturally brought to life without vast life supporting resources and which in not the situation of bringing an unborn fetus to life. There are certainly
delicate issues at stake arguing the controversy of cloning. Life must be sanctioned
to dictate the conditions for life. 8. I know, Tomas, that you have many thoughts on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and the United States Israeli sponsorship, but do you propose any solution at all to the continued warfare? Imagining you had the power to do so, what steps would you take to resolve the situation? Can the music of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio itself be a vehicle for positive change? It can be argued whether a factual resolution to the conflict in the Middle East will ever be conceivable and within reach. The ideological, hereditary, territorial, political and cultural differences between Israel and Palestine are too extensive and too developed to be diplomatically resolved, and I consequently believe that there isn't any solution available and that will ever prove sufficiently operative to satisfy all involved constituents. So which steps would
I take to resolve the concerned conflict if I actually incarnated the
power to do so? 9. Changing topic, I am curious if you have read Michel Foucault's writing on the history of human sexuality? Also, are you familiar all with Leopold Sacher-Masoch's "Venus in Furs" or the works of the Marquis de Sade? These books would seem to be very relevant to the music or would at least serve as a quite appropriate accompaniment... I have not read nor have I encountered Michel Foucault's writing on the history of human sexuality, but I am indeed familiar with the writings of Leopold Sacher-Maso and Marquis de Sade. I am sure that these authors and the accomplishments which they have rendered seem befitting in the context of ORE, but whether or not they have actually contributed with any direct measures of inspiration beyond the accompanying concept of sadomasochism, I am sincerely hesitant to acknowledge. 10. I have recently discovered that the first Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio video is in production. Has it been completed yet? Where may one obtain a copy of it, or perchance see it on screen? I am also curious of the other videos of this director, as for example Puissance's "Global Deathrape"... What can I say about
the impending video? The video is conjectured to manifest a comprehensive portrayal of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio akin to the sexual, ideological, spiritual and aesthetic essence it incarnates, and thus feature selections of germane material relative to all of the above mentioned concepts; directed footage as well as conceivable live material, possibly alongside the incorporation of both spoken and written words. And what's there to
say about Mikael? 11. Do you feel that after writing music after so many years, you still possess as much enthusiasm and creativity as you perhaps did when you first started? Are there any barriers? What inspires you most in remaining creatively prolific? Creativity and creative potential are just as puissant as they ever were, but my inherent enthusiasm of making music and authoring lyrics naturally wavers and rarely upsurges as frequently as it once used to. Fantasizing, envisioning, recognizing, estimating, watching, reading, smelling, tasting and comprehending life as well as sex certainly serves as a vast source of inspiration, and farther materializing and possibly canalizing these very thoughts, fantasies and desires, serves as an commendable instrument in situations of aesthetic indecisiveness and accomplishment. 12. Are there any definite plans you have now for the future of Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio? Will you continue writing music on your own? Our contemporary plans
are to enter the studio on Tuesday November 20th and record the long awaited
2 X 7" box '4 Life 4 Love 4 Lust, And Roses', limited to 444 copies
and hopefully available at the beginning of next year. Aside from our musical accomplishments we are simultaneously working on the Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio video in association with video artist Mikael Prey a.k.a. Fetish 23, an accomplishment which is currently being assembled and slowly but surely completed as time passes. There is likewise the possibility of additional and impending performances throughout Europa over the remains of this year as well as the next, possibly in Finland and Germany as things appear at present, but maybe elsewhere as well, as far as someone is willing and capable. 13. I will leave you with one final question, Tomas, and that will be all. Can you conceive of a future where all industry is automated, perhaps run by robots, and manual labor is no longer a necessity? The German Leftist philosopher Herbert Marcuse stated at one time in his career that mankind will never be ready to be liberated until they learn to differentiate "true" needs from "false" ones. What could be some examples of "true" and "false" needs for your self, and those that can be applicable on a more massive scale? I thank you for your time and effort... We already live in a world governed, administered, supervised and executed by robots, so any such conjectured future has already surpassed us. All true and fundamental
needs can be summarized in the embodiment of Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Greed,
Wrath, Envy and Sloth; each and all establish the apex of all physical
and psychological needs that the human body incarnates and seeks to satisfy. |