Interview with LRZ of Red Harvest 2007

By Bradley Smith

A Greater Darkness is getting ready to be unleashed on the world.  Are you excited about it and do you feel any sort of build-up before you guys release a new album?  How do you feel it compares to the rest of your albums?

- Yes, I’m exited about it. I feel that this album has a lot to offer, and we’re very happy about the end result. There’s definitely a build-up before an album is released, as we’ve been working quite a long time with the recording and production, and as we’re getting closer to the release we get more curious about how the album will be received. This album turns in a somewhat slower and darker direction than the previous albums, and also encapsulates some of the “moodiness” of our earlier recordings.

You guys are having a release party for A Greater Darkness.  Can you tell me about what is happening at this event?

- The release party is taking place in at Club Maiden in Oslo, February 23. We will play the entire album live. This will be a one-time-only set. In addition we will also throw in some songs from earlier albums after the album set. Which songs is a surprise, but I can mention that there will be something for long time fans of Red Harvest too.

You guys have had some really different Art direction for a Greater Darkness.  How does the visual imagery tie in with the album as a whole?  Who did the artwork and what are your thoughts on it?

- The album itself has a more organic feel to it, so the cover art is more appropriate to this album than the previous machine inspired type of artwork. The cover artwork was done by Halvor Bodin, a Norwegian artist. He got a copy of the album and did his work with the music as the only lead from us. I think he captured the essence of the album perfectly.

The concept of the mind painting its own perceptions of reality is a good analogy to what I see in the artwork.

You guys also recently released a Live DVD.  How did that project come together and what all does this DVD encompass? 

- The live DVD is a result of our label, Season Of Mist, putting together the Sonic Solstice Festival at Rockefeller on Oslo. The label originally planned to do a complete live DVD with the headliners of the festival, and in addition shoot the other bands for separate videos, bonus material, and so forth. When reviewing the material, the footage proved to be so good that it was decided to release the entire show as a separate DVD.
I feel that the show is a good representation of what a Red Harvest gig is like. In addition to the gig itself, there’s some bonus tracks from earlier gigs and from the rehearsal before the gig. The collection of bonus material gives the viewer a glimpse of the earlier days of Red Harvest.

I understand you guys had a Tour booked with no consultation.  That’s pretty strange don’t you think?  With that said does Red Harvest have any touring plans for 2007 yet?

- As I understand, some booking agencies book tours with bands they don’t have, to get financial security from the clubs, and then later reports those bands as “cancelled”. This is bad work ethics, and in the end it only makes it harder for bands to be able to do proper tours.
As of now, we first have some shows in Norway planned, and in the summer we’re currently scheduled for the Party San Festival in Germany and the Brutal Assault Festival in the Czech Republic. More festivals are in the planning, and it also seems we will be able to do a US tour during the summer. For updated live dates, visit redharvest.com.

I have always admired your individual electronic pieces such as some of those on Internal Punishment Programs and the Darkthrone intros.  Have you ever thought about releasing a solo electronic album? 

- Well, the thought has occurred to me, but I feel quite comfortable working with other people and as a contributor in a bigger whole as long as the projects are interesting. I have mostly been busy working on one project or another, so the need to do a solo album has not been that present. The idea is intriguing though, so maybe…

Up until the recent birth of bands like V:28 you guys were pretty much in a Genre all on your own.  How does that make you feel?  What sorts of freedom does that give you and how do you feel about the long shadow you guys cast for anyone else who attempts something in a similar style?

I feel proud to be defined as a genre of our own, as that proves that we have been able to follow our own inspirations and principles regardless of what’s the current hype. I feel we have taken this freedom by just making the music we want, and keeping the doors open for untraditional ideas in an otherwise conform scene. For others that want to make music in a similar style, the same rules apply to them as for any style: You have to bring something unique to the table. Just copying something without adding something of your own isn’t all that interesting…

I understand you guys were hand-picked to be one of the representative for the UK import of the Inferno festival.  How was it to be chosen to represent this project and what did you think of the concert?

- The Inferno Festival is a great concept, and I feel honored to have been chosen for this event. The concert, as I remember was great fun. We had by that time done several shows at the Underworld, and the venue has become kind of our London “home-away-from-home”.

One of the mental images I get when listening to Red Harvest is that of Deep Space.  Do you ever contemplate cosmic topics and what sorts of imagery does your music conjure up for you?

- The cosmic aspect of things has always been kind of an underlying topic in Red Harvest, though mostly as “leakage” from other projects like Dunkelheit and Terranoidz, which deals more in the “spacious” topics/styles.

When working with Red Harvest material, Deep Space is definitely part of the imagery. Mix in some kind of organic network of biomechanical beings with an undecided temper and you’re getting there :-)
Contemplating the vastness of cosmos and our part of it makes one see life on Earth in a different perspective.

You are involved with quite a few different projects.  What are some that you are involved with and what are some of your favorite guest appearances and why?  Are your services always in high demand?

- The only active project these days is the before mentioned project, Dunkelheit, which is a project that has been going on for quite some time now, but has been dormant for longer periods. It started out in more of a pure industrial direction, but nowadays it is more in the “Industrial dub” genre…
Apart from mixing the next V:28 album, the main focus these days is on Red Harvest.

I do get some requests now an then, but I feel that when I do something I need to put my full dedication into it, so I rarely do stuff like “can’t you just make me a loop like this an that..”. The Darkthrone intros were an honor to do, as they are friends and I respect their work.

Red Harvest has a pretty active and well visited Myspace page.  How do you use it in regards to band related activities and how do you feel about Myspace in general?  A necessary evil perhaps?  Heh heh.

- After the “MySpace boom”, the MySpace page has become the community part of our internet presence, while the “official” redharvest.com site contains the more static information and official news. I think the MySpace concept is a good thing for making a living community that is easily available and easily set up with little technical knowledge. The downside to all the community driven content is the lack of “netiquette”. A lot of the posts are just spam, and many people have little or no respect for keeping posts on-topic. I think that MySpace itself will soon have outplayed its role as they were bought by a large company, which probably has a different agenda than the community that started the service in the first place. Next is censorship, and then people move on to another solution.

You guys have been around forever in regards to being a band in extreme music.  How do you view your early days and your progression as a unit up until the present day?  What were some of the best times during that period?

- I think that Red Harvest has grown with its members and vice versa. Meaning that there has been a natural progression in the same way as one moves on to be influenced by new music constantly. The fact that Red Harvest’s music is a blend of influences from many different genres has made it possible to still make music together even if each person has picked up different influences along the way. In the early days most of us were more into metal oriented music, and now I think most of us listen to a much more varied selection of musical styles. This again reflects on the music we make.
I joined Red Harvest in ’94 and enjoyed the following years very much. Then things kind of slowed down a bit. With the release of Cold Dark Matter, it was kind of a new beginning of sorts, really picking up the pace again. Since then I feel it has been a steadily upwards curve, with each release a step closer to our perception of perfection.

Before I take the Antidote do you have any Last Words for us?

- Enjoy the ride!