1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Technically speaking ...
Sanatana is a conceptual project that we have created with my wife in 2016. Some friends of us and like-minded people from our circle, inspired by the Vedic worldview and the ancient culture, are the part of it.
The musical range of Sanatana is diverse and presented at once in several directions: metal and new age. This musical spectrum makes it possible to express all the meanings and sentiments embodied in Sanatana project.
2.Recently you have released a double album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
This is a double album consisting of two parts:
BRAHMA - Vedic metal with clean vocals
VIDYA - Vedic New Age
BRAHMAVIDYA uses live authentic instruments from various ancient cultures that fill the music with mysteriousness and charm. Also the sound of mantras and prayers represented on the album has a mesmerizing effect. They are performed in the ancient Sanskrit language from The Upanishads and other Vedic scriptures and recited by active priests of the Vedic tradition.
3.Your lyrics cover Vedism, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this eastern religion?
Vedism is not a religious system but rather a worldview and attitude to the world!
The word Veda means knowledge. The Vedic knowledge was used throughout the history of mankind. Starting from the Arabic numerals that the Arabs brought from India and that are nowadays (under the binary form) run the entire world of computer systems and it continues to be revealed through the modern science.
The Vedas contain all the science and knowledge (astronomy, mathematics, Ayurveda, Yoga, philosophy, psychology, art and spiritual knowledge).
We found a lot of interesting concepts in Eastern religions, as well as something appealing to us as we were discovering some parallels with Paganism etc; so we naturally decided to integrate this knowledge to our art.
Leo Tolstoy, Schopenhauer, Goethe, Herder, Hegel, Beethoven, Heine, Rodin, Einstein, Nehru, Gandhi. С.Lassen, E.Burnouf, Aurobindo Ghose, L.Vallée, S.Radhakrishnan, S. Lévi, Russell, Wordsworth, R. Rolland, W. Whitman, H. Hesse and many others drew inspiration and knowledge from the Vedas!
The Vedas are close to us as they were part of the pre-Christian culture common on the lands occupied by the Slavs. They had a Vedic culture in tune with the indian philosophy.
The Vedas are the oldest scriptures in the world, they are written in Sanskrit, the language that we use on our album. Sanskrit is the source of all the Indo-European language group, or as it is referred Aryan.
Aryans are those who makes the difference between the spirit and the matter. Herewith it doesn’t matter to what ethnic group they belong to. It’s a certain type of consciousness, not an affiliation to a particular nation!
According to Vedas earlier there was a unique culture on the planet that was based on the laws of the universe!
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Sanatana'?
Sanatana means eternity in Sanskrit!
Everybody is asking the eternal questions about the purpose of life and death, their meaning. Where we came from and who we are led by. These eternal questions come from the consciousness (I) which is also eternal by its nature!
As Faust told to Mephistopheles:
“When I say to the Moment flying;
Linger a while -- thou art so fair!”
We found that moment, long as eternity!
5.Has the band done any live shows or is this a studio project?
This is a studio project for now, but we are planning to perform some live shows in future.
6.The guitarist also has a background playing more of a pagan style of black metal, how would you compare paganism with the Vedic religion?
We found pagan roots in Eastern teachings (and that’s the case, the roots are all there), it have seemed to us as a much more constructive and clear idea. We’ve accepted it, I don’t see any contradiction, but on the contrary, paganism became more meaningful and extended to me!
7.The compilation was released on 'Rising Moon Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
RISING MOON PRODUCTION is a young company founded by the organizers of the Ragnard Rock Festival. It’s not only a label, but also a booking agency.
8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?
All the feedbacks I’ve got so far are good, people are interested in.
9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future!
We will stay faithful to the established musical tradition!
But I can tell you that for sure there will be some transformations.
10.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?
The spectrum of our musical tastes is very broad and diverse: from ethnic folk to heavy metal. Today we can listen in a jumble ambient, jazz, rock, metal, Vedic ragas, Downtempo, etc.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Yoga, Meditation, Vegetarianism. And I love working with video and 3D graphics, but for the moment I’m not good enough.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Become yourself a change maker for values that you would like to see in this world!
| Bandcamp |
| Official website |
| VKontakte |
| YouTube |
.jpg)
.jpg)
