Nick: It’s time to bring up the elephant in the room. When I reached out to you about doing this interview, you mentioned that your new alias came about on a whim and you didn’t really have much to add regarding it. Therefore, instead of doing a track-by-track analysis, I’m curious to know what you think of the overwhelming amount of people praising “Seeking Darkness” as your best work, even better than your already existing catalogue under your main artist name?

 

Parannoul: It's a fair opinion, I think my music evolves gradually and it comes with proficiency. But it's not my best, my next album will (if the demos in my head come true). I try to make a different genre each time because if I make another one that's exactly the same as the last one, one of the two will be overshadowed. 

 

Nick: Why are you seeking darkness?

 

Parannoul: First you need to seek the darkness to understand how the light feels, Just like how Siddhartha left the royal palace.

 

Nick: For the more Western readers, myself included, what is “Buddha?” What specific role did it play in the formation of “Seeking Darkness?”

 

Parannoul: It's a masterpiece by Tezuka Osamu, a cartoon based on the life of Buddha. It didn't have much of an influence honestly, but gave me the momentum to start making the album. I always enjoyed the aspect of Buddhism, for example the third track of Mydreamfever sampled the chanting sounds of monks, and the drum sounds of the first track are used in Buddhist rituals.

 

Nick: Although a huge amount of the album was your direct reinterpretation of certain artists that you feel connected to in some capacity, are there any artists, especially ones that are Post-Rock and Fusion Gugak, that you didn’t mention that were huge inspirations for this album?

 

Parannoul: I wrote most inspirations on my blogs but to say it again there are some obvious ones: Ground Zero, Boredoms, Swans, Ureuk and The Gypsies, Boris etc. But I was inspired by Black Midi, Can, Melt-Banana and Laddio Bolocko too. Also Fugazi for the bass riffs.

 

Nick: I saw that you were also going to give those tracks names instead of organizing them as parts. Have you ever wondered if bands like Boris or Fishmans struggled with that decision when putting together releases like “Feedbacker” or “Long Season?”

 

Parannoul: I've never thought about it at all. However, when making something like a really long song, some people make it in one track, while others release parts separately. I've thought about that a lot. In the end, I think it's important what you think about when you first make it.

 

Nick: Additionally, did you ever think of that final track, “Into the Endless Night,” off of “After the Night” when putting this together?

 

Parannoul: They both have completely different formats, except for the length, so I didn't really prefer to have it as a reference. If I had released this album in the same or similar format, it would have been quite boring.

 

Nick: Who made the cover art? What does it imply or indicate with the music?

 

Parannoul: I made the cover art. It depicts an unknown person lying on the floor. I wanted to make an album cover like Slint's EP or Glenn Blanca's “The Ascension.”