Senmuth is a Russian multi-instrumentalist who makes uncompromising and experimental music with guitars, ethnic instruments and electronics. He is also a fequent collaborator with several other experimental Russian bands. His musical output can best be described as eclectic, ranging from ethnically fused ambient to progressive rock. His origins however lie predominately in doom and industrial metal with a healthy dose of ethnic music; whereas his newer albums are more progressive and experimental.
I got in touch with Senmuth for the story behind it's considerable output.
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Let's start with the biography. When and where were you born. How was your childhood and why did you start up Senmuth. Which bands was your main inspirations ?
I�m 37, I was born and live in Moscow. There were some events in my childhood that contributed to my taking up music eventually. It�s hard to say who or what influenced me the most: I�ve always listened to a great many bands performing in completely different genres, from regular pop music to various subgenres of heavy metal.
What is the inspiration for your music and how is your writing and creative processes?
My main inspiration is Life itself, all feelings & emotions previously experienced, various secrets & mysteries.
The process of writing music requires solitude; I think there�s no sense in describing its technical aspects.
Let's run through your releases. Please write whatever comes into your head about each of them, starting with Cognitive Discord from 2004 and finishing with Hiperperakion from this year.
Every album is special to me in its own way, yet some albums are better than others and some worse. It�ll take too much time to describe all of them in detail, so I won�t.
How would you describe your music ?
Music of travelling around the world, music of the soul�s journeys, music of the inner search.
What hardware and software do you use when you create your music and how do you transfer them to full albums ?
Let it remain my professional secret. :) I record everything in my home studio which apparently isn�t a professional one, so the software I use doesn�t differ much from the typically used. Coming up with a concept for an album, a set of songs, a single track, etc. is a rather laborious and time-consuming process. The principles and motives are always different, but I always listen to my heart.
All of the albums is free downloads from a Russian download site which is confusing and very difficult for those of us who does not understand Russian. Do you have any plans to make any CDs or payable downloads and are you planning to make the free albums more easy accessible for the mainly English speaking world ?
I don�t have any other means to distribute my music. If I spent more time on promoting it, I�d naturally have less time to actually write music, which is undesirable. I don�t see much sense in releasing professionally manufactured CDs on my own � I simply don�t have enough time and money to do this.
As for making free downloads more accessible, you can always request a reupload of any album via PM at myspace (myspace.com/senmuthofficial). Just don�t forget the magical word �please�. :)
Some would say that releasing free download albums means that you should not be regarded as an artist when compared to the artists who play live and release Cds/LPs/cassettes or even payable downloads. What is your answer to those critics ?
It�s still rather difficult to release an album in Russia, despite the fact that six of the albums I took part in creation of have been released by professional labels. Besides, my main goal is to bring my music to the world and to fulfill myself, not to shelve music, waiting for someone willing to release it. If those critics are discomfortable with the quantity of music or the means of its distribution, let them criticize the quantity and the means, not Music.
Are you involved in any other bands or projects ?
No, not at the moment. If I�m supposed to any time soon, it�s probably going to be Tenochtitlan.
I guess music is not your main occupation. What is your main occupation ?
I�m a (graphic) designer, as you might have guessed by the artwork.
What is your latest update and your release-plans for this and next year ?
Senmuth �Seafaring Music�, 2010
There�s always some ideas about future albums on my mind, but all plans are prone to change.
To wrap up this interview, is there anything you want to add to this interview ?
Thank you for the interview! Be yourself!
Thank you to Senmuth for this interview
The MMA profile is here and the homepage is here
The downloads is not as difficult as I thought so go ahead and download the albums from here
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