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Interview with
Negru of Negura Bunget
By: Dave Schalek June 2010 |
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Describe the period of time
after the release of Om, and the touring cycle that
followed. What led to the band’s decision to re-record
Maiastru Sfetnic?
After the release of Om, things started to change quite
a lot for us as a band… We played some of the most
important festivals, did three tours as headliners, and
more and more people seemed to enjoy our music. We
always had in mind re-recording the Maiastru Sfetnic
album. We have been unsatisfied with its outcome since
the very beginning, and always felt there was a lot more
we could have done.
What led the band to change the album name to
Maiestrit? Would you mind providing an English
translation of the two album titles?
Maiestrit is in Romanian something like “further
crafted, enriched”… which is actually what we did with
the original material. So there’s not that much of a
change of name as it is an evolution. Maiastru Sfetnic
would be something like “majestic spiritual adviser.”
If you don’t mind, what circumstances led to the
departure of founding member Hupogrammos and Sol Faur?
I think there were just little things accumulating over
time. Working close together for almost 15 years made
its mark over time, and, in the end, it just became
harder and harder to work together.
Did the band’s dissolution lead to difficulties
regarding the release of Maiestrit?
It was a bit difficult to finish the material under the
new circumstances, but we managed to do it. We were in
the middle of the recording when the split happened, but
we were determined to finish, nevertheless.
What are your feelings regarding the inclusion of the
album’s last two, acoustical tracks?
They were more like a bonus. We had some different ideas
on what to add on this release to take it a step further
from the original version. The two acoustic tracks are
not fully new ones, but at the same time they are quite
different from the original versions. They offer a new
perspective on the material, which was the main idea
behind doing it. |
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What led you to decide to
continue as Negura Bunget?
There was no point where I was not determined to
continue. Negura Bunget was pretty much my life the last
10 years, so I can never separate with it. The only
thing I needed to be sure was that I am able to take it
further, and continue our evolution path.
Describe how you went about recruiting new members.
I actually knew all the members before. More or
less, they all have been involved in Negura Bunget in
the past. The most important thing I had to care was
they can be 100% involved in the band. Negura Bunget is
not an after work project.
Were you concerned that you might not be able to
reproduce the band’s successful creative core with new
members?
You never know how things work out. I was pretty
confident I made the right choices, but only time was to
tell if I was right. I’m happy to see I was. And this is
just the beginning. There’s a lot more we have planned
for the future. |
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Describe the process of
creating the newest full-length album, Virstele
Pamintului?
For this album we did something we planned for a long
time… we took some time and went in the wilderness, and
focused only on composing the album. It was a spiritual
experience we will never forget. We came back home with
the basics ready and then we recorded it on our own
studio.
How well does the album compare with the prior output
from Negura Bunget?
I think it is a turning point. It is still a
continuation of the work we did in the past, but, at the
same time, it’s a new beginning as well. There still a
lot of evolution ahead of us, and Virstele Pamintului
was just the beginning.
What touring will take place to support, and promote,
the album?
We finished a very long European Tour a couple of weeks
ago. Almost fifty dates. We did some festivals as well,
including Hellfest last weekend, and now we’ll continue
working on some new material. We have arranged another
tour for autumn, this time along with Enslaved.
Any plans to ever play live in the United States?
We’d definitely like to play in the U.S. in the near
future. We are working on this already, but it’s not
easy to arrange. But, I’m sure that a time will come
soon for us to play live in the U.S.
Thank you for your time, it is much appreciated
www.myspace.com/negurabunget |
www.negurabunget.com |
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