Chad Bowar: How was your vision for After different than Angl?
Ihsahn: My inspiration for this album has been quite different. I see these three first solo albums as a trilogy. I wanted to do a suitable ending for the trilogy, hence the name After. Both The Adversary and Angl were very confrontational and harsh. I think After, both musically and lyrically, is much more at ease and more contemplative and observing. I went back to writing more abstract lyrics.
What inspired you to use a saxophone extensively on this album?
I've always really like the sound of the saxophone. It's an idea that I've carried for a long time, that at some point I wanted to incorporate the saxophone into my music. It has a certain atmosphere to it, very sultry and has an epic vibe to it. There is a different inspiration for this album. There's no sign of life in any of the lyrics. I wanted to follow the tradition from my previous two albums of having a guest soloist. With The Adversary it was Garm from Ulver, and Mikael from Opeth on Angl. I wanted a guest soloist on After, but not a voice with words. I thought the saxophone would be good for this album.
The sax is used quite extensively throughout the CD. Did you end up using it more than you initially anticipated?
That was very much planned. When I first did demo recordings, I figured out where I wanted it to be. Some of the parts I kept optional. I sent instructions and ideas to Jurgen Munkeby, the sax player. Some parts I pointed out where I wanted him to play particular melody lines, and other parts I wanted it to be more free improvisation. Him being such a talented musician, it was very easy when he came here to the studio. It was all recorded in one day. I was quite amazed with what he can do.
You also used an 8 string guitar on the album. What did that add, soundwise?
All the songs except for one are mainly 8 strings. A regular six string is tuned to E, and a seven string has one lower string, tuned to B. The eighth string is a quarter below that, tuned to F sharp. If you do a drop tuning on the eighth string, you would get the same range as you would with a four string bass. The lowest string actually is a bass string. It's tempting to do Meshuggah type fills when you have that kind of low register, but my intention is to utilize the whole range of the instrument. Ibanez built it to my specifications, and it's inspirational to play with new toys.
You brought in Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Katatonia) to mix the CD. What did his input add to the finished product?
It made me more comfortable to focus and listen to the music. I'm used to putting on all the hats, mixing and recording everything myself. I've been more confident with my solo albums, and also more open to outside input. I decided to have Jens mix it because I love his production. It's really heavy, but there's still air and some very organic qualities to it. He also likes the same guitar tones that I do. I can just sit behind him in the studio and let him worry about the technicalities, and I have the privilege of just listening.
You posted several videos of your recording process for this album. What inspired that, and what has the response from the fans been like?
I really like watching those kinds of videos myself, because I always hope to get a glimpse of what equipment people are using. I'm a sucker for gear. It's always interesting to see what kinds of mics people use, and the positioning of the mics, stuff like that. The way I work is probably less common than most bands. That's why I warned people before the first one that there is absolutely no excitement in this video. Usually studio reports show the engineer doing their job with one band member, while the rest of the band are being stupid or drunk or doing other stuff than music. But for me I work alone in the studio. It's very quiet and focused. There's no partying, no drugs. I think people did find it interesting, though.
You said this album wraps up a trilogy. Have you thought about what direction the next album will take?
I've really enjoyed this one. I've been more open to suggestions from session musicians, and also Jurgen's contribution, and the influence of my wife Heidi. She is the invisible band member. I run ideas by her, and she'll give me honest answers. I've let myself be surprised a bit, and that makes it easier to enjoy, rather than being so analytical about it as I've done before. The Adversary and Angl are natural stepping stones to each other. After has that natural step, but it's also so different that I don't think I've painted myself into a musical corner, which happens if you don't challenge yourself too much.
My fourth solo album is kind of open. This album doesn't point too clearly in what direction the next one will be. That's more exciting for me, having a fourth album in the making. When I will do it I don't know. Heidi and I have our own studio, and we're thinking of expanding the way we work. She's been doing soundtracks for films. There are a lot of interesting areas within music production we'd like to have a go at. It all depends on what order it comes in.
How involved are you in Starofash and Heidi's projects?
It's very much the same way as she is to me. We always run stuff by each other. When she's recording stuff, I might be engineering for her. She might be engineering for me and recording for me when I'm doing acoustic guitar. But it's still separate projects. We have similar roles in each other's solo projects.
