25YEARSOFAHRAYEPH 25 years, that's howlongAhráyeph has been around.Or rather: in 1996, the first demo of Crucifire, the predecessor of Ahráyeph, was released. In 2021 the ‘XXV’-E.P. was released by Ahráyeph, which had to celebrate a quarter of a century of music by Raf Ahráyeph–RafJansen for the friends.We thought thiswas a great opportunity to review the most important dates from this ‘proggoth’career with Raf.We had manyquestions, and Raf has always answered extensivelyand remarkablycandidly.So it turned out to be a long, but very interesting interview. 1996: You record your first demo for Crucifire, a goth metal band which is a precursor forAhráyeph.Tell me howthat came about? At that time,I used to live in an old convent,which also housed university students.Among others,Steven Zwaenepoel,now road manager for dEUS, lived there. In 1995, Jo, Crucifire’s bassist to be, got a room in Steven’s hallway for the duration of his nursing apprenticeship.We kept in touch afterwards and because he had toldme of his band,Sarcastic,I went to a rehearsal of theirs in the Spring of 1996. They mostly played cover songs, like Therapy?’s ‘Teethgrinder’. I had already laid the initial foundations for Crucifire with a first demo, recorded on an analog four track back in 1995,andwas nowlooking for a band. Jo, playing bass, and his buddies David and Peter were competent musicians,so I proposed to segue their band into mine. 1996-1997: You start playing in the black metal band Ancient Rites. Is that the reasonwhyCrucifire got sidetracked? I have to adjust that timeline a bit: I’ve played in Ancient Rites for about six months that first time, from September 1996 till March 1997,with a one-off stand in gig in May,when Erik couldn’t make it to the concert.My addition to that band wasn’t the reason why Crucifire got sidetracked, though, because the band kept existing, until early1998.Acouple of the rehearsal demos we recorded during that time, I later crafted into songs that appeared on the first few Ahráyeph releases (e.g.,‘Cure/Divine/Madness’). No, the reason for Crucifire’s slowdemise had more to do with the fact that first Jo and then Geert quit, respectively due to studies and work commitments. For a while, that dampened Peter and David’s enthusiasm, but one by one they returned. 2001: Crucifire dies a quiet death, but around the turn of the centuryyou reboot the project.You change the name toAhráyeph and steer the ship towards gothic rock, without the metal influences. What was your motivation to start over? Well,itmay sound funny,but that first demo played a big part in that. I met the drummer of a band that often had opened for Ancient Rites.He was a fan of the songs on the demo and sang their praises in the presence of friends ofmine,who onlyknewmyalt rockproject Sole, so they became curious about what I had done prior to that. However, I was too embarrassed about its bad quality to let them listen to it.Eventually,though,it did happen and one of them,one of the biggest fans ofThe Sisters OfMercy I’ve known,was of the opinion that Crucifire was where my heart was at more than those alternative songs.That made me think, and after a couple days of brainstorming,I decided he was right and rebooted Crucifire. www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be - 26 - 2004-2007: You once again become amember ofAncient Rites. You’ve contributed significantly to this band in this period, especially as a song writer on the‘Rubicon’album. In 2007you leave Ancient Rites to concentrate on Ahráyeph.What do you remember about your time in the band? Oh boy…You got a couple ofhours?Alot happened back then,both good and bad.To keep it positive: we’ve played several great gigs. There was the Revoltallo XIII festival in Vigo, Spain, where we played on amountainwhich looked out over the baywhere the city lay.Abeautiful spot,which had a restaurant nearbywhich was situated under a large rock.Fascinating.The audience was truly amazing that night.I had contracted a twenty-four-hour flu from the air conditioning on the plane and played with a fever, but the audience was so riled up they really pulled me through with their unbridled enthusiasm. 2008: it’s finallyhere:‘Marooned on Samsara’,Ahráyeph’s debut. I’ve come to understand it was a difficult undertaking, because even though you had a band, you’ve recorded a lot of it byyourself.Howhappywere youwith this album? I was happy that the album was released and got the opportunity to do so via D-Monic. Contrary to what you often hear, I’ve never had any complaints about the label that released‘Samsara’.They’ve always treated me fairly and stuck to the contract and the agreements we made. It’s just unfortunate they weren’t able to provide tour support because they weren’t big enough to do that. I’m sure they would have if they could have. That could’ve made a difference. 2013: You get the diagnosis of having Autism Spectrum Disorder. On the one hand, you’re extremely intelligent, on the other you have issues with things that are mere afterthoughts to the average person.Doyou think this disorder had an impact onyour workwithAhráyeph? Without a shadowof a doubt.Everything I do,right or wrong,is being determined by my disorder. It’s only when I got that diagnosis, that I started to realise how deep the impact of it has been on everything I’m doing and everything I’ve experienced. Allowme to say that I think it important to be open aboutmyA.S.D. Some people,even fellowmusicians,have tried to pressureme and told me I shouldn’t,but especially in times like these and after everything I’ve been through, it’s important to me to be able to be who I am. And I’ve also always supported other people in their quest to be who they are. I was bullied in high school, my family looked down on me… I ended up with bouts of prolonged severe depression and an extremely negative self-image because of that; I constantlyhit the walls ofmyown boundaries,I was (and still am) considered a weirdo because I react in a raw and unfiltered way to everything,something I still often do because unfortunately,it’s beyond my control. Ahráyeph is my self therapy. 2015: It takes seven years before there’s a follow up to ‘Marooned on Samsara’, a delay caused in part by a serious burn out. Nevertheless, ‘AnimAElegy’ is a real gem. This time you
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