KHÔRA was formed in Budapest around 2012-2013 when I was still doing my degree, but when I moved to Germany in 2015, was when I started to develop my old ideas and in 2016 I managed to release a small Demo
I have played drums in bands in the past, but always wanted to compose my own music and develop my own ideas and structure of music composition.
2.In April you have your first full length coming out, musically how does it differ from your previous demo?
The demo that I released in 2016 was a bit more simple in terms of genre, it’s a bit more traditional atmospheric black metal, without vocals and without bass, as I didn’t have Kranos and Lars at that stage yet.
3.This is also your first release since 2014, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
This is the first release since 2016, not 2014.
Since 2016 I have moved to Ireland and from 2017 was busy settling and composing music, I wasn’t rushing the debut, I kinda let it cook on small fire, then in 2018 I had a bit more time and things sped up in terms of recording and production, and eventually looking for a label after the album was fully done.
4.The lyrics on the new album are also inspired by the writings of Plato, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in his work?
Yes I think the centre of intellectual progress came from Greece, at least philosophically, and astronomy always fascinated me so my ideas are kind of a combination of the two
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Khôra'?
It’s a metaphysical idea of being and non-being, think of it as a formless interval, where the non physical essences are held
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
The story is about how to universe was created, three alien races/deities create the universe for man, the lyrics talk about the corruption of the mind, the purpose of life, future of the human race and existence.
7.Originally the band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind expanding into a full band?
I wanted to represent my music properly, and for that I would have to add vocals, bass and the rest of it, I knew that the next step from the Demo is a debut and for that to happen it wasn’t enough to just have a full-length, but a properly recorded album, I was then lucky enough to find brilliant musicians such as Kranos on vocals and Lars on bass with whom I share the same passion for music and we mostly listen to similar bands, which makes it easier to organize everything
8.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
Not yet, we all live in different countries, I’m in Ireland, Kranos in Greece, Lars in Norway, Dan and Wayne are the two new Orchestra/Effects guys from the U.S.A, and the last member to join is Kjetil from Norway on Orchestrations and Keyboards.
I am however trying to get people within Ireland who may want to play my music and gig locally, to start with at least, I got a few interests and some recruitment is under way at present.
9.On the new album you also have a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?
There are quite a few guests yes, many different keyboard players appear on Timaeus because I couldn’t find a permanent member/s at the time.
I suppose the most known guest members would be Henri Sorvali from Finntroll/Moonsorrow who did Keyboards on one song.
Vicotnik from Dødheimsgard on vocals on one song.
Antti from And Oceans on keyboards.
Frederic from Orakle on vocals on two songs, plus his tips around recording were paramount.
Arn from Deathcode Society on vocals on one track
Erlend Antonsen from Quadrivium on Keyboards and a few others...
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
So far we’ve only released one single but the reactions were extremely positive and everyone has been very interested in getting their hands(or ears) on more songs so it means a lot, especially as it’s the debut, and I am mostly a drummer.
11.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of/
Kranos has a few projects, Savaoth is his own solo project which I personally listened to before knowing Kranos, and Arkhangelsk is his black metal band, they had an EU tour recently.
Lars is playing in Dødheimsgard which includes gigging around the world and also his project with his brother called INI, which is an amazing project and I highly recommend everyone to check it out.
Wayne and Dan play gigs and record with Wilderun, hopefully they have a gig in europe so we can meet!
Kjetil plays in Profane Burial, Haimad and in his own solo project called Hogstul, really good stuff
12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think we will play more or less around this genre, but we will see, there is a concept for the next album already, but now we focus on releasing Timaeus
13.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
A variety of stuff obviously, but to name a few, I’d say Mayhem, Emperor, Dødheimsgard, Keep of Kalessin etc...
Oleg: nowadays I listen to Avslut, Nordjevel, Genesis.. yes yes.
Kranos: Ihsahn, Leprous and lots of Greek-Eastern-Balkan folk music😊
Lars: Corpo-Mente, Bölzer, Poppy
Wayne: Gorod, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Devin Townsend
Dan: Dark Fortress, Finntroll, Death Grips
Kjetil: Slagmaur, Burzum, Mayhem
14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
We are humbled by your support, thank you!
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