Hi Ramón! “Absence” isn’t just a title — it’s a whole emotional state. When did this idea first start haunting you, and how did it become an album?
I guess the sense of absence has been looming over me for a long time, I’d estimate since my mid-teens. But when it comes this album, it was established once I started writing the song that ended up being ‘Perpetual Gloom Across The Basaltic Horizons’. At first it was meant as a Lovecraft/Cthulu-mythos song, but after not seeing the originality or longevity of going that route the image popped into my head which ended up being the artwork for this record. And that image, that setting, that world was “filled” with absence. And from there I crafted the concept and put it together.
There’s a strong literary shadow over the record. How did those 19th/20th-century writers shape both the sound and the mood?
At the time I was really into the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Olaf Stapledon, and wanted to incorporate the influence they had on me for this record. In every way in the sense of the record I wanted to capture Lovecraft’s dread and Stapledon’s sophistication and thought-provoking sensibility.
Is this a concept album in the traditional sense, or more of a thematic free-fall into the void?
If you mean traditional in the sense as this record follows a story from front to back, then yes, there’s a red thread throughout the record.
How did you choose your collaborators — people from Epistulum, Signs of Extinction, Blackbriar — and make their styles fit this bleak world?
I play in Epistulum and Signs of Extinction, so to grab people from those bands was an obvious play. As for Siebe from Blackbriar, he was kind of a last minute addition to the lineup. I had someone else record bass at first, but unfortunately those recordings weren’t usable to the degree I’d like to. So after recommendation from Jens, the mixer, I reached out to Siebe and he did an immaculate job!
As for their styles, I didn’t really keep in mind their preferences. I just knew they were very capable musicians that would be able to execute the vision.
Track 5 pulls from Shelley’s “Ozymandias.” What drew you to that poem, and how did you make it your own without it feeling forced or literary for its own sake?
I’ve always had an interest in the poem after hearing it mentioned in the Alien-prequel Covenant. And always thought of it as a good song-idea, or at least good song inspiration. Once I wrote the initial music for “Track 5” ‘Ozymandias’, it just seemed right to incorporate Shelley’s poem for the lyrics! And that was before I even started writing for this album, so once the concept started to come together it made sense to include this song. The mood was right, it fitted in the story concept and being inspired by older writing having a work from Percy Bysshe Shelley included was just a happy coincide.
You’ve got orchestration, programming, and even lo-fi textures in the mix. What was the overall production philosophy — were you aiming for decay, distance, something else?
Overall I wanted it to be immersive. Whether it is a big, grand section or a very distant, minimalistic section, I wanted to listen to be immersed in the world the story takes place in. Generally that meant for a dark, eerie, sometimes oppressive sound that would make the listener a bit uncomfortable or melancholic. But at the end of the day, if the music was piercing the listeners ears and wrangling their brain in one way or the other, I’d call it a success.
The drums, the vocals, the programming — you handled a lot of roles. Did Xavernah start with rhythm, atmosphere, or something deeper?
Usually something deeper, a feeling that needed to be brought to live in some form of atmosphere. Whether it was a trance-inducing guitar part or some staring-into-the-abyss-keyboard part, which then led to more extensive and layered idea to be expanded even further upon.
Would you say this is a mournful album, or a defiant one?
Definitely mournful. Trying to figure out your own existence, whilst (the fear of) losing fundamental pillars of your life at the same time is a very tumultuous experience.
Was writing “Absence” a kind of catharsis for you — or did it just lead deeper into the void it stares into?
Both, at least I experienced them both. Now that the record is finished and released I can confidently say it is pure catharsis. But throughout the writing and recording it was definitely confronting at times, and immersed me in the void, leaving me to think I may never get out of it. But I have and the record is a result of that!
How did you and Jordy Hoogvliets build the orchestral side of things? Were you thinking in terms of film scores, funeral hymns, or something else?
I took inspiration from a lot of things regarding the orchestration. Whether it was from soundtracks (both film or gaming) or from bands that incorporated orchestral elements (Epica, Shadow of Intent, Dimmu Borgir and so forth), I’ve always enjoyed those elements and feel they can enhance ideas and the accompanying emotions attached to it!
At the time of production I did not have the means I have now to make those elements sounds as good as they do on the record, so I reached out to my friend Jordy if he would be down to help and “lend” me his plugins. From there we sat to together and sometimes edited voicings or experimented with different instruments, a lot of the times at his discretion which is why Jordy turned to be more involved in the process that previously anticipated and more than deserved a spot on the credits!
Do you see the record as music against the void, or music that yields to it?
This record is a lot in regarding to the void. It is both running from it, yet also towards it. It is accepting the void, embracing the void, becoming the void or at times it even is the void.
What kind of sonic rules did you and Jens Hendriks stick to during mix/mastering? Anything you refused to polish too much?
Quite the opposite actually. Jens had to refrain me from obsessing over every small detail. Considering the means, the aim was to have the record sound both organic and raw but also tight and modern.
Repetition is used with real purpose here. Do you see it as a trance, a weapon, or a kind of mantra of meaninglessness?
It is used as sonic representation of dissociation. With the amount of repetition it almost mirrors utter silence. Yet the mood of the repetitive parts also works as an embodiment of madness, over and over again doing the same thing hoping it leads to a different result, a comforting result, but it never does.
There’s clearly a lyrical arc, but is there a narrative one? Do you see this record as a descent, a loop, or just a static stare into nothing?
There’s a narrative. It is more of an eb and flow of hope and despair, ending with given into the despair and having a serene acceptance about the fact.
Even with so many hands involved, the album never feels patchy. What held everything together — a shared vision, or just shared dread?
I’d say the vision. I’d was lucky enough the gather a group of people that could relate or understood the vision where they were able to pull of performances as imagined or even beyond that! I had a strong sense of what I wanted the record to be and mulled it over so much it became seamless to inform people of the vision, so even though they weren’t involved with the writing process they were able to take on the role as intended.
When someone finishes “Absence” alone in the dark, what do you hope they feel? And what would worry you if they did? Thank you for your time!
First of all, listening to “Absence” alone in the dark is the way to do it! Ideally, it is a way for the listener to go through a personal journey, where they come out of with a mix of emotions. Hopefully, one being joy, as they enjoyed the record. But also a catharsis, some sadness or dread, contemplating life and death, existence and purpose, love and loss. To gain some introspective of themselves and the world around them. I hope the record and the experience sticks with them.
So go and live that experience, if you haven’t already! You can find “Absence” on Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify and any other preferred streaming service!
Thank you for having me!
Answered by Ramón Roest.
https://www.instagram.com/xavernah_project/
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https://xavernah.bandcamp.com/album/absence
https://www.youtube.com/@Xavernah/videos
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pj2ChpqDBXM7QHwmSmrfe
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