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 CASTING THE FAME OF LION'S TOWER TO HELLTamerlan is the musical vehicle for musician and artist Timur Iskandorov, who’s currently celebrating the release of its second full length release, entitled "Gemini - Worlds Of Eternal Creation". In interview below we chatted about new album, some old days, his view upon music and art, and of course, origin of projects name…It was real pleasure to have Timur as interlocutor. Enjoy this interview!
Hello Timur, how you doing? Are you bussy and occupied with promotions of your new album? Hello to you, Vladimir. It’s going pretty well, thanks for asking. Naturally, since I spent some amount of time and energy in creation of this album, I can now dedicate some quality time for the promotion part. Your 2nd full length "Gemini - Worlds Of Eternal Creation" has been released under the label of Quartier23 from Germany, how you came up with them? They are somewhat pretty much into the ambiental and esotheria, spiritually based releases... Well, it is obvious that I’m not searching for platinum releases or sold out tours. For me the music, as art is something much more personal and intimate (still, no disrespect for those who have different purposes). Therefore, I was searching to cooperate with people who would share my point of view. While I was working on the Gemini album, an acquaintance of mine, LSB of the Dutch project Kristus Kut introduced me to Quartier23 label. I really liked their vision and attitude towards art and beyond it, so the communication was established pretty easily. Packing of the release is brilliant, who was artwork designer? Images for the album were designed by Somnifera Profunda, my long time friend, collaborator, and the best damn photo manipulator I’ve ever seen. I just told her the philosophy behind the album, and she called me couple of days later with finished images. I was stunned myself because I cannot think of a better way to depict the idea of the album. Later it was all finalized and packed by Qoctoq, the designer branch of Quartier23. You evolved as musician a lot, hearing your first demos and now stuff like this, it seems that you’re pretty much dedicated to the form and expression. What your musical background? Some latin influences can also be recognized in your music, especially in tone of the acoustic guitar... For me the music is like a personal language. The more I use it, the more I learn myself. The rules I set for this “communication” get more and more complex with time. I have a strong musical background (musical educations, and finding my own personality within some ensembles, groups or projects…not very successfully, though), however, for me it doesn’t mean much since I’ve turned away from all that and dedicated myself to creating the music by my own rules and visions. However, it doesn’t prevent me to sometimes get inspired by other musical “cultures”. ’’Antiexistence’’ to me, was an album that spoked about nocturnal things, dark spiritualism...at least I’ve gained such impression, what’s the story behind "Gemini - Worlds Of Eternal Creation", by cover and stuff I’ve heard on your myspace page, it seems it’s continuation of musical explorations from ’’Antiexistence’’? “The Antiexistence” was like a soil which created many different paths. In “Gemini”, I have chosen to explore the path which was closest to me spiritually. During these four years of the project’s existence I have changed a lot as a person thanks to it. The more time I spend on forming that creation, the more time that creation spends on forming me. To keep things short, “Gemini” album is a soundtrack for that mutual creation. Where you search for inspiration for the sound and what kind of emotions you pouring into the songs? This world is as interesting and as inspiring as we want it to be. Therefore, the biggest part of inspiration comes from my own vision of the worlds. Also, some thoughts or dreams that I have. Since I treat my music as a form of communication where I give my energy, and draw it back, it depends on my vision and thought in the particular moment what kind of emotion I have. But for the reason of that energetic exchange, I don’t tend to use too negative and destructive emotions in creation of my personal works. If I have the need to use that kind of energy, I use it in other places (like project Seance13 which represents my collaboration with Somnifera, or the metal group Parahelia where I play as well).  What kind of music did influenced you in the childhood to gain interest into being musician, and why did you chosen ambiental direction for? Well, my earliest memories of music take me to the names like Pink Floyd, Enigma, and Mike Oldfield (I remember the awe I felt when I heard the theme of Tubular Bells for a first time as a child). The interest in playing an instrument was within me all the time. Let’s fast forward to the time when I started making my own music. You know how important an atmosphere is for an ambient music. I wanted to base my works in creating a particular atmosphere since it was created as soundtrack for thoughts and visions I told you about. If you look at the ambient music genre, you can see that it’s free from all those defining points that you have to use. It basically gave me a free canvas to paint the way I want it. Still I won’t limit myself at all, so you will hear much more different elements (at the moment there are also lots of classical, folk and even gothic parts), and later, we’ll see. But I can promise that it will always be kept exciting How much you use real instruments, and how much you use computer techologies and samples? I try to use the real instruments whenever I can, because there is no sample or computer technology which can make the music sound so alive like when it comes from your own hands. However, there are still parts when I have to use the samples, but than they are in the purpose of support and background (like rhythm, for example). The main music parts will always be based on my own playing. In what kind of surround and ambient did you recorded "Gemini - Worlds Of Eternal Creation", how much time process of recording, mixing and production did take? The whole process between recording and mastering took around three months of a relaxed work in the positive atmosphere. I have recorded this album at the place of my friend Stanko, who is the producer and sound engineer for all my works starting with “Full Moon Festival” EP. This time we had much more serious equipment, and plenty of time to use it right…and it really shows. When you listen to the “Gemini” album, you will never guess that it was recorded in an ordinary room. What do you think about video clips and do you planning to shoot any? Video clips can be nice. Although I always like to make the music speak for itself, so I base everything on the studio works and the communication that the particular composition will have with the listener (but I still can allow myself to have some live performance sometimes…just for a good experience). Still, I have nothing against presenting one of my compositions in a form of a video clip. I’m just looking for a nice opportunity. Hopefully, there will be such experiment until the end of this year…if everything goes according to the plan. Did you chosen name Tamerlan for your project from the poem of Edgar Allan Poe, or did you taken it from Emperor Tamerlan, who’s also known as Timur, which is your real name? Also Tamerlan was know as ’’Timur the Lame’’, which can’t be said for you as your pretty much active. Wow… After so many questions like “What is Tamerlan?”, speaking to someone who really knows the origin of this name is a truly pleasant surprise Anyway, I am proud to have been named after such fascinating historical figure, and as soon as I begun writing down my first musical ideas, there was no other name that I wanted to use. It is my name. The poem of E. A. Poe, as beautiful as it is, didn’t have anything to do with the choice of that name. By the way, wasn’t Emperor Tamerlan active himself, in spite of the injury which made him lame? Will you promote this alum live, and what you think about current status of Metal in Serbia, it seems that only real big and spectacular names these days attracting big audience, while artists like Marduk, Gamma Ray, Paradise Lost...can’t gather more than 1000 fans alltogether. What you think, where the problem lies? Perhaps there will be some live performances, but it’s not that important for me. Yes, I do have a good time while playing live, but it’s not the point of my music. But still, if I play live, I want it to be effective and captivating. Something which the audience can remember. There will be couple of news soon regarding that matter. As for the second part of your question, the problem can be anywhere. People complain about the lack of money, but still, as you said, all those commercially viable names make financially successful concerts (and they tend to be pretty expensive, don’t they?). Maybe it’s the vast amount of concerts which make people lazy, or maybe the problem lies within the lack of tactical sense in some concert organizations here…or maybe it’s all together which make the situation a bit too odd sometimes. As I mentioned at beginning, you’ve released your album for German label Quartier23, so, what kind of things they’ve offered to you, and what kind of promotions they can give to you? Quartier23 has it’s audience who is dedicated to follow their activities. Apart from that they are open to all kinds of cooperation and promotions as long as it matches their attitudes towards art (that is beside the standard activities of sending promo CDs or files to various promotional places). It’s like one big family, and since I got in contact with them regarding the release of my album, I myself have been feeling like a member of this family. I am very satisfied and proud of my cooperation with them. It is the label which shows complete and unadulterated dedication to everything they do, and they have provided a cozy home for my current work. Also, have you any invitations for the concerts outside the Serbia, and where did you played live so far? Until today, there weren’t many live performances, but on each of them I have achieved exactly what I wanted. If I have to perform live, I don’t want to make it an ordinary gig, but a whole ritual. The mass meditation, if you want it. I want it to be special, and not to become like a routine. That’s why I don’t want to perform live very often. But anyway, until now I have played in Belgrade and Novi Sad. The biggest concert for me will now be on this year’s Exit festival. As for concerts outside Serbia, there are several possibilities, but I’ll talk about it when it gets more certain. Two years have passed since ‘’Antiexistence’’, how much of copies you’ve managed to sold, and are you satisfied with it. Also, are you known with reactions from people? Any feedback from domestic and foreign fans? I don’t know exactly how many copies of “The Antiexistence” were sold, because at one point Dark Revolution (the organization behind the Insurrection label which released my album the first place) was basically giving away their releases for free. Since I had full rights to all my music released under their name, I decided to play along, and later re-released the album by the netlabel from Italy named Ekleipsi, so no one, in any part of the world, can have any problem if he wants to hear my music. Still, that’s the only album to be treated like that. What’s going on with the Strevlosh Zvezda? That’s I assume buried deep in the past?Any story about it? You are creepily precise with your choice of words, since the last announcement about the activity for that ensemble was “Strevlosh Zvezda is dead!”. That was more or less four years ago. What are the next plans for Tamerlan? Keep on playing. Keep on creating aural manifestations for everything which I find inspiring, and continue building myself through all that…and have a wonderful time while doing so. Everything rest will come through throughout natural ways. Your top 5 albums of all times? Oh my…this is one of my all time most difficult questions (and the fact that I now have to limit myself to just 5 albums makes it even more difficult). Well, for this opportunity, lets say: “Celtic Frost – Monotheist”, “Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here”, “Fields Of The Nephilim - Elizium”, “Blut Aus Nord – Memoria Vetusta II-Dialogue with the stars”, and “Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break The Oath”. That’s the drawback of all those email based interviews…I can’t convince you to increase the number of the albums in question What you think of todays ambiental music, is still emotional and strong like in the past? Also, what you think of fathers of ambiental music like Bo Hansson, Vangelis, Gandalf, Jean Michel Jarre…? I’d say it’s still amazingly strong. There are so many artists around the world emerging all the time, and the quality for the good part of them is breathtaking. The ambient music, along with it’s subgenres always existed as an entity for itself, so those who enter it’s worlds will remain dedicated to it as artists, or at least as admirers or supporters. That’s why it’s as strong as always, and I truly doubt that it will lose it’s strength in future. That would be all Timur, thanks for your time, take care, and see ya. It was my pleasure answering your questions. Thanks for this opportunity. Cheers! Answers by Timur |
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