EMPUSAE Also in 2019 we could be proud of our Belgian compatriots. One of those releases that stood out last year was Iter In Tenebris from Empusae aka Nicolas Van Meirhaege. An artist who invariably guarantees to keep on releasing topshelf quality albums, the latter was part of the prestigious Consouling In Residence concept. First of all I would like to congratulate you on Iter In Tenebris, which has once again become a wonderful total spectacle. The album was released shortly after Lueur and whenever I think you can’t outdo yourself anymore, you prove me the opposite. In my review I wrote you take the dark ambient genre to a higher level, and I still mean every word of that. Now confess, what’s that secret recipe that you seem to have a patent on? Thank you for these words. I can only say that my last two albums are the result of the pact with my demons. We don’t have to look any further than this, I think. Iter In Tenebris was released as part of the Consouling in Residence project, which you are part of together with Monnik and dustbug. An ambitious project that asks itself how a record label can adapt to the rapidly changing music landscape. Just giving ready-made answers to this is impossible, but what are your ideas as a musician, and how do you experience the Consouling concept? What Consouling Sounds has set up and has in store for the future is the logical consequence of how a label should evolve. They are incredibly resourceful, ambitious and passionate. I am proud to be part of that. We have been given carte blanche to work out our concept (Augmented Reality artwork) and be ourselves completely, with some adjustments where necessary. It is very pleasant to work with such human and professional people at the same time. Hats off for what they have done because the Consouling in Residence project is much more than just releasing 3 releases. Each release has its own limited edition concept, which required a lot of thinking and research. Many internal meetings, also with other artists / partners with whom we have worked … Setting up a series of performances (new events will be added at different locations next year)… and lots of PR and promotion. All this combined with many other events (24 hours of deep listening, etc) and releases from other artists and managing a store and webshop. It was quite chaotic at times and we have all learned a lot about how to do it even better in the future (this is just the beginning). www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be - 24 - On Iter In Tenebris you deal with demons, let’s dig a little deeper into this. The first demon is Shabriri. In the Jewish culture the devil of blindness. A logical choice after fate hit you hard with this handicap some years ago. Your life suddenly took a dramatic turn due to your loss of sight. Meanwhile you moved on, how did you deal with it in the meantime, and what is your thought on the future? It’s very difficult to deal with, to be honest. My vision has deteriorated quite a bit in recent months. It is not easy to get used to it as the condition gets worse over time. So I can hardly imagine a future, since I don’t know how quickly I will go blind, how long I will be able to do certain things. I had to quit my job recently. But one thing I know for sure, I never stop composing. I do not know how I will proceed within the future, but I will never stop. But you probably hear it in my answer; I have music as an outlet and salvation. Empusae has become more therapeutic than ever and actually vital. The second demon you tackle is called Purah, and some research taught us that he is one of the many fallen angels, the angel of oblivion. He would also have to do something with stirring up the dead. As an good angel he can clear your head in a positive way, but as a demon he creates hopelessness with this quality,feelings of loss and loneliness manifest themselves. Can we connect this Purah seamlessly with Shabriri? In the sense that the deterioration of vision also fuels the fear that oblivion will also be fueled? Actually, I didn’t really want to elaborate on the demons in question. Iter in Tenebris is, as I said, very therapeutic and very personal. It was not my intention to literally convey a personal story. My demons and how I deal with them are not really relevant to the listener. What it means to me and what it does to me, however, can be filled in individually by each listener. For me, every demon has a personal link and every piece of music has a way to deal with it. I invite everyone to fill in that link themselves. Of course, I can’t really avoid it if I want to talk about the record, so let’s say the relationship with this demon is indeed about my fears, both related to my coming blindness and other fear, apart from that. As for demon Iso, we found no information about this one. Therefore, please clarify this entity, what relationship does it have with the other devils at Iter In Tenebris?
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