An Interview with I.C.S. Vortex
There are few musicians in the Norwegian Heavy Metal scene who have had as much influence on it’s evolution as Simen Hestnæs, aka I.C.S. Vortex.
As a multi-instrumentalist and one of the most recognizable vocal talents in Norway, he’s laid down tracks for Borknagar, Dimmu Borgir, Lamented Souls, and — of course, Arcturus. His work with Dimmu Borgir has won awards such as the Spellemannprisen, or the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammys in the US.
I was honored to be able to speak with him about his latest effort with the always unpredictable Arcturus on their latest album, Arcturian. Make sure to pick up the album on May 26th in the US!
NOTHINGTOUNDO (NTU): So I’ve been listening to the new Arcturus album pretty much every day on may way to work for the past 2 weeks. Don’t worry, I got it legally. ;)
I’ve also been following the I.C.S. Vortex/SIMEN world since late 90’s. It’s very cool to be able to talk to you. I’m going to ask you a bunch of questions. Not necessarily in this order. I hope they’re not too tedious.
First, I’m very interested in Arcturus as a band and what Arcturian — coming out May 26th in the US means to you. Second, about yourself as an artist. You’re a multi-instrumentalist. You play in a lot of different bands. Third, a little bit about the Norwegian music scene.
I got to see you at the Inferno Metal Festival 4 weeks ago? 3 weeks ago? And, got to see you play with Arcturus, which was great.
I.C.S. Vortex (ICS): You were there? Fantastic …
NTU: Yeah, it’s my first time to Norway. I figure I’m going to see the world by metal festivals, which is what I’ve been doing for the past couple years, at least, I’m trying to.
ICS: I’m glad! Yeah, I guess Europe is the place to be for metal festivals, anyway. And absolutely Inferno [has] always been good. I always go. One of my best friends, he started the whole thing in 2001. My wife (the super-talented cartoonist Nemi) made the mascot thing!
NTU: That’s awesome. I didn’t know that.
ICS: For me, it’s been the annual thing to do over Easter. It’s never been in a question. It’s always that and I play there probably more than anybody.
In the end, when I haven’t played there I always got so drunk, you know. I never do that anywhere else. But something magical always happens at The Inferno Festival.
But, yeah, it’s good. Especially now when you’re older. I don’t go out and drink like I used to anymore. Only with my friends. But, it’s Inferno Fest. Everybody’s there. It’s always a good place.
NTU: So, Arcturian. It’s the first album Arcturus has released for a really long time. Since 2005.
In my mind, it’s a little bit of a resurrection of Arcturus. The band has a lot of meaning to people, especially those who follow the Norwegian heavy metal scene and the more conceptual side of it.
Sonically and aesthetically, where do you see the new record fitting into the body of work that Arcturus has created over the past … How many years has it been? It’s been, like, 20 years?
ICS: Yeah, I actually remember when a friend of mine who was heavy into tape trading back in the days received the “My Angel” and “Morax” 7 inch.
We were small kids, just sitting there going through my friend’s stuff that he’d got that day and drinking chocolate milk. We were kids — I don’t know, 16 or 17 maybe? But I was sold from the first time we listened to that one. We were just both like, *jaw drops* you know? It was just so different from everything else.
NTU: I remember the first time I heard those songs as well. How distinct the sound was. Just a different ambiance, a different aesthetic. Taking elements of black metal, but recontextualizing them into something a little bit more haunting. Not as in your face or fast, but more melodic and kind of dark.
ICS: Yeah. This definitely comes from [Sverd], he still uses that same keyboard to compose all his songs. It’s funny, because he was just bored, I guess. That was back in the early days.
Anyway, It’s the keyboard, I think. It’s from ’92 or something, maybe? An Ensoniq SD1 … http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/161633791095 We tried to get a spare [keyboard] for an Australian tour. There was a guy in Australia who had it — a museum kind of guy.
It’s a rare collector’s thing and I guess nobody wants it. Because it’s actually pretty crappy. But it has some super Arcturus signature sounds that you just can’t get anywhere else. Sverd has been trying and trying to find one. And I even bought a similar keyboard — It was out maybe a year after or something.
It just wasn’t right, you know? It had to be just like *that one*. And, I think by keeping that keyboard and composing all the music with it — that’s one secret to make us sound like Arcturus.
“I remember with Dimmu Borgir when we had the option to have an orchestra. We were like, “Fuck yeah, this is so cool! … And, you know, it’s really not very cool at all.” — I.C.S. Vortex
We’ve added a lot of other stuff, but those basic Arcturus elements are there hidden in the tracks. Sometimes deeper down or whatever. But, it’s instantly recognizable, I think. And I like that even though it’s not 2000 or whatever. It’s very Arcturus.
NTU: I’m going to ask you about the song “Crashland”, which is one of my favorite tracks off of the new record. It has an interesting orchestral component. Did you use a live orchestra with this recording?
ICS: That’s just one dude with master’s degrees in violin playing, actually. He’s amazing. He’s a one-take kind of guy. We’re gonna bring him to the States [to play] at Maryland Deathfest with us, hopefully — and the next tour we’re gonna do in the US.
He is a good friend of our guitar player. He’s been working with him on other projects and living in Norway for the past 7 years, I believe. But he’s originally from Poland.
I think he’s got 3 master degrees in his instruments. He uses a lot of effects. He’s on almost every track we recorded. We just loved him so much! We wanted more and more.
NTU: Yeah. But, It just makes sense. It’s sort of like an ‘evolution’ of your sound. Do you tend to look at the sound of Arcturus in that regard — as something that “evolves”? Or, am I putting way too much thought into it?
ICS: Good question. I don’t know. Because I don’t want it to be too much of “this” or “that”. I remember with Dimmu Borgir when we had the option to have an orchestra. We were like, “Fuck yeah, this is so cool!”
We added fucking flutes and all these instruments. And, you know, it’s really not very cool at all. But when you’re there and listening to this soundscape, you often get very carried away.
So I had it in the back of my mind: “Let’s just not go too bananas on this even though it’s totally inspiring.” Just keep the backbone the Arcturus and the Arcturian sound and build a little.
The first time I heard the violin on “Crashland”, I thought ,”Maybe this is a little bit too much Falcon Crest …” But, then just, “Ah, no this is beautiful. It’s a keeper, for sure.”
NTU: To be honest I could hear “Crashland” on the radio in the US. Not to make it any less underground or anything like that. It’s a well composed piece and stuck out to me.
ICS: It’s cool that you say that. That’s one of the songs that are guitar-based. It was meant for the ‘Sideshow Symphonies’ album. It’s Knut (Magne Valle). Knut wrote that song while Øyvind Hægeland did vocals briefly after Garm left.
I wasn’t in the band at that time, but he said: “No, this riff is not Arcturus enough.” So they dropped it and I never heard it for Sideshow Symphonies. I didn’t hear it until I listed to one of the demo tapes that I received later in 2004.
I instantly liked it because I’m a sucker for a good catchy riff. This was so simple. The whole concept came to me really fast. I was writing the lyric while making up the melody lines. Usually it’s a bit longer of a process. But with Crashland it was instant for me. It was so fun to work with and so intense.
I’m glad you say you like it. Now I’ve listened to it one trillion times. I always make sure that I listen to the album a lot before it gets out to the public because there will be so many opinions about this and that or whatever.
But you know, they’re all my babies and I love them all.
NTU: Arcturus are what some fans might refer to as a super-group. Many legends of the Norwegian scene have played in the band over its history. We spoke of tracks like “My Angel” and “Morax”. That was one evolution.
And since then there have been different members of the band. Different things have happened in the world, I’m sure, and things evolve more.
How is today’s Arcturus different from the old Arcturus? Other incarnations of Arcturus?
ICS: Of course there’s the new path from the from the vocalist change.
But I never saw Arcturus as a super group. Well, there’s so many super-groups or whatever you mean in Norway because the scene is so small.
So we just go around from band to band, you know. This just feels natural. I mean, for me, Arcturus is more like a band of friends. We know each other pretty well musically and as human beings. I guess you can say in a corny way.
We used to spend a lot of time in rehearsal place together, back in — I don’t know, ’96 or whatever. We went on trips and vacations before we started touring. And of course we would be together when we got back from Elm Street (now closed). We’re rehearsing all night after drinking all day.
So, we have a lot of history together and I think that’s a big advantage when you write material. I think it’s also a very big advantage that we are so different from one another. Different inputs are always great in a band.
Sverd, I don’t think he ever listened to much metal. Of course, then we have the king of metal himself (Hellhammer), on drums. And Knut is so much more like — I get a hippy vibe.Very experimental, always. He’s got some other projects — they will have concerts where they’ll improvise for that hour or two. Then they will go offstage and never repeat themselves.
And Hugh (Hugh Stephen James Mingay) — he’s just a total hi-fi freak. His stereo is worth like 10 times more than my car and my house, probably. So from his background as well in Ved Buens [Ende], I remember him back in day, he was whistling the vocal lines for me because I just couldn’t clock them. They were so, so weird and intricate. He’s a very musical guy. I just love his bass playing. Pretty simple and totally underrated, in my opinion.
But he’s got this timing and knows his place in Arcturus. And I think it just fills in beautifully, there is a lot of Arcturus feel in the basslines since he’s been in the band forever.
It’s just stuff like that you’re able to keep. These basic elements over time. For me, that’s super important — getting the band to build a whole spirit musically.
NTU: That leads me into another question about the Arcturus aesthetic, so to speak. When you guys perform there’s a bit of a performance art component. And It’s very much tied your album artwork.
The new album “Arcturian” has sort of a jester theme from La Masquerade Infernale juxtaposed with a sort of the spacey motif, perhaps from Sideshow Symphonies.
How important is this imagery to the Arcturus vibe? Do you put a lot of thought into that?
ICS: The jester, for me, symbolized rebellion in a way. Maybe, a rebellion against the rebellion (laughs).
As we grow older, we just don’t give a fuck about the unwritten rulebook of the black metal scene, or whatever. We don’t have that many issues anymore. We don’t have as many feelings as the press does.
For me, it was always very important to have a show with a lot of stuff happening. So it seems pretty natural for Arcturus to have this space video backdrop. Or we’ll use lasers.
You know, maybe it’s pretty corny, but it also works in some Eighties weird way. The masks, that wasn’t something that we had thought through super long in advance.
We did this photo session for Sideshow Symphonies. Our original idea was something else completely. But we found these costumes and it became a little bit of “art by accident”. But it felt right because it was so over the top. It was silly, in a way. But the madness … It was just perfect.
This was also a little bit of a gamble at the time: It was not really the early days anymore. There were a lot of people having opinions about what you can and cannot do, so we raised a few eyebrows, of course.
Also, the La Masquerade album some elements that Arcturus all loved. Arcturus always had this wild card, I think. People would accept it simply because they can relate to it and they see that it’s good music.
NTU: It’s interesting to hear you talk about what was considered to be a little bit more “out there” compared to the traditional perception of what a black metal band should be.
When I look at all the bands you’ve played in, you can almost see the different vessels for different sorts of musical expressions.
There is Arcturus. Dimmu Borgir. Borknagar. They all kind of have a different approach and each one is unique. Is that how how do you see it, since you are a creative pulse behind these bands?
SIMEN: It just feels so good, you know? When I write material, I can pretty much instantly tell where it’s going — which hat it wears. There will always be a place. Like for a doom song — I have projects for that as well.
“As we grow older, we just don’t give a fuck about the unwritten rulebook of the black metal scene,” — ICS Vortex
I have always been influenced by many different types of music. Metal has always been the backbone. Like with Kiss — I loved that band before I actually heard it because they looked Satanic and evil.
It was just so magical, you know? I couldn’t believe it. I guess that’s why I was drawn to it. It was cool, I guess (laughs)
I thought: Look at the guys on the hills smoking pot. Ah, they’re super cool. (laughs) Nobody else thought they were cool, but you know they’re dangerous. I always liked that stuff. Stupid. But, you know …
NTU: I’m sure there are thousands of other people who have a similar story, including myself, so it’s not that odd! Two more questions.
ICS: Okay.
Being I.C.S. Vortex
NTU: 1. Do you have a job outside of being a vocalist for a famous Norwegian metal bands?
ICS: Yes, I do! I have my own company. I’m into transportation and that’s what most of my days are. I start at 7 and I finish at 3, sometimes 4 or whatever. I work 8 hours on my day job, usually. And, of course, there’s two kids, the house and the family. (Laughs)
So, that little window when I have time for myself to create music, after the kids go to sleep. It’s only a couple of hours.
NTU: Doh!
ICS: Yeah, I mean, I don’t have time. I never watch TV. Maybe I can watch some HBO series at the end of the day or something like that. But I get too little sleep and I had to cut down on some of my projects.
NTU: Yeah, it doesn’t soundlike you have much time to actually sleep with that schedule.
ICS: Yeah, no. I’m tired as fuck every day. And I never learn. It’s so stupid. Every day’s like, “Oh fuck, it’s 12:00 again and I’m up in 6 hours, oh great.” Today’s the same. But yeah, it cuts back in the day. In the wintertime, I never saw the sun. I was up until 4 or 5 in the morning and the sun sets at 2 or 3 o’clock.
It’s a totally different lifestyle now than what it was for me back in the day. A lot of the situations that I draw inspiration from now on the Arcturian record — it’s a life I don’t live anymore.
It’s still, however, very fascinating to me. A lot of the stuff that happened and the situations we got into — all the magic that happened in such a small period of time. It’s still a part of me.
What’s Next for Arcturus
NTU: One last question — It’s kind of cliché — But what’s next for Arcturus? The band seems to materialize into into reality and then sort of dematerialize. I know you guys are gonna be touring a little bit — coming to the United States. Do you see more albums coming out?
ICS: We’ll just have to see, I guess!
You know, I’ve been telling a lot of journalists lately that 3 years is probably the timeframe it will take us to record a new album. That’s if things are as exciting in our minds — if we’re at this same place.
Now we’re going out on tour! I’ve seen what can happen on tour before, you know. There will be quarrels. There will be stupid, childish shit situations. Everybody will fuck up one way or another!
But as long as we can stay on top of things, put things behind us, be grown-up about the situation — You know, not fuck up too much or whatever. So, shit happens. I don’t know why … But as long as we are hungry — 3 years should be no problem.
We started to record new demo tapes. We have some pre-production stuff. Not a lot, but some. The whole vibe — you know I can feel it in the band. We’re so hungry now. There’s a lot of smiles on our faces and shit like that, which is great.
So hopefully we’ll do a good job over at the Maryland Death Fest and we’ll create some press. Hopefully that will open the door to do for us to do a proper tour of the States.
I can see that happening. Perhaps in the fall if everything goes right and if the album does okay. I haven’t been in the States since 2008 or 2009 and I’m so hungry to come back! You know, I want Denny’s for breakfast!
NTU: Ah yes, it’s the American dream!
ICS: (Laughs) Yeah, well, shit. I want to drink garlic vodka in the Big Apple again, you know?
NTU: You know, I was in Oslo during Inferno Fest with my wife. Beer was $13 US Dollars or something like that. We were just like, “Whoa!”
And it’s all pretty much the same beer. So we thought: “They should really bring some more beer Norway. Maybe some American craft brews.”
Then we found out a little bit more about liquor laws and different restrictions on brewing. The laws surrounding taxation of stronger beers sort of sucks for you guys!
ICS: (Laughs) Yeah, it keeps us in check, I guess.
That’s because Norwegians really can drink, you know? We’re pretty similar to Finnish and Swedish guys. Something about their drinking culture, the barbarism of it, they never really got over it.
My father used to used to make his own moonshine — it’s what you did.
NTU: Oh, wow.
ICS: It was very common back then. I mean the economy in Norway is so good now that people don’t do it anymore.
We can afford to drink our ale and $13USD beer and … Just not give a fuck. (laughs)
NTU: (Laughs)
ICS: That’s due to the drinking culture. I mean, you probably saw it when you were in Oslo and at 3 or 4 AM in the morning and everybody’s just tits up, walking bareback in the streets, pissing on the corners and stuff.
NTU: Yeah, they’re still going on autopilot! Well, I’ll leave it at that. Thanks for your time. I’ll catch you the next time you’re in the States!
Arcturus’ latest album, Arcturian, comes out May 26th in the US from Prophecy Productions.
Originally published at www.nothingtoundo.com.
