Autumn Nostalgie Interview with Almasy Gergely

Interview by Jay Parker

This is Jay reporting from Bogota, Colombia... Today I’m lucky enough to be talking with Gergely from the Slovakian band, Autumn Nostalgie. If you haven’t heard them, check them out NOW.. some of the best melodies and songwriting I’ve heard for many a year… beautiful music, beautifully made.

1) Tell us abou A N... who’s in the band ? When and where was the band formed?

The band was formed in 2010 in the town of Somorja as a one-man formation, from the ashes of the then ceasing Fekete Erdő (dark ambient). I write the songs alone, but on the stage there are four of us. My part in this is the rhythm guitar and the vocals. Despite the band’s 10-12 years old existence, the band’s first album came out only ten years after its formation. Previously only a few demo rehearsals were made, and since then they have been lost to time.

2) Run us through your releases...

The first album was released in 2020 under the name Esse Est Percipi. A label was found almost immediately, first Japan’s Zero Dimensional Records accepted to release it on CD, and then Northern Silence Production took over the entire release. The second album was released last year, which is called Ataraxia.

3) What is the inspiration behind your sound? I’ve been listening to your albums over the last week,Ataraxia is my favourite, but they’re all great. You create a very unique atmosphere that is almost hypnotic...

Various philosophical ideas inspire me during writing music. I try to put these into a musical form so that they can give back the mood I feel during reading them. I always strive to make the atmosphere of the music very “spiritual”. So a lot of bands motivated me who tried to create similar atmospheres. Burzum or Nargaroth’s first albums had a huge impact on me. While I wouldn’t say my music is similar to their creations, they set me on a journey to unfold my ideas.

4) Tell us about the songwriting.. how do does that come together? What inspires your lyrics?

For me, writing lyrics always comes after writing the music. I simply start listening to the finished song over and over, visualizing lyrics, which are always metaphysical in their theme. I am trying to bring something down from the elusive metaphysical spaces into the realm of tangibility. The lyrics are often really incomprehensible, because their real meaning is only known to me. As much as it was possible, I tried to write the lyrics in my mother tongue, which is Hungarian, and tried to keep them here in the Carpathian Basin, without exposing it to the Anglo-Saxon world. Of course, there have been very good translations into other languages, which authentically reproduce the original Hungarian lyrics.

5) Why did you decide to play black metal? What was your goal when you first started?

It was the music that really touched me from a very young age. I was able to identify with it very well, often as a refuge and other times it meant discovery. It helped me get to know myself, to delve into things. I knew very early - before even playing any instrument - that I wanted to play music like that. I had definite ideas that would come true later in Autumn Nostalgie. But I had a black metal formation before that, even in 2008/2009, called Vinterskog, which was a very raw and cold black metal project.

6) Tell us about your influences... and which bands you listen to today...

In terms of black metal, I am still motivated by the old nineties. There are a lot of outstanding new bands, of course, but to be honest I don’t consider myself to be a great explorer. For me Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Bathory, Gorgoroth will always be dominant. In addition to these I really like the bands of Bethlehem, Urfaus, Urgehal, Verdunkeln, or Lifelover, Psychonaut 4, Happy Days and Coldworld.

7) What is the metal scene like in Slovakia? Have you been able to play locally what with all the covid bullshit? how have you adapted to the madness? Recommend some good Slovakian bands.

Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to perform yet. We will have our first performance in March. Unluckily, due to Covid, this date was postponed because it was scheduled for November last year, but due to the closures this could not happen. A very good Slovak black metal band is Malokarpatan, which for me is the Slovak Bathory. Stangarigel is connected to them who are just debuting. From dark ambient bands I would mention Strigor, one of the most unique Slovak bands.

8) What have been your best and worst experiences as a band?

Perhaps among the worst ones is recording the vocals on Esse Est Percipi. I was still inexperienced, so I tried several home-made recordings, but none of them really worked. There are things that unfortunately I can’t get away with, so I had to record the song at Gila Studio. Perhaps the best are the relationships because I got to know a lot of people through music. Very good cooperation has been and still are being born.

9) What are your plans for the future ? Will you be touring to promote Esse Est Percipi? Are you writing new material?

This year we have some performances in Germany, Austria and England. Now we are mostly preparing for these. We are practicing whenever we can. No new full albums will be released this year. We are working on a split with another band, but this is not yet public. If all goes well, it is going to be released this year.

10) Lets get technical for the musicians out there.. tell us about your instruments and equipment, favourite tunings, pedals. Where do you record? What do you use?

I don’t use any serious instruments. I have an Ibanez and an Epiphone guitar from the cheaper range. In addition to that, the guitar effects I use are Boss, Digitech, Behringer effects and I have a Boss Katana. I record whatever I can at home, in my home studio, but if I get stuck in something I go to Gila Studio. I always record songs there as well. In Ataraxia we also recorded the drums with them as well.

11) Do you have any wise words of advice for the youngsters that are reading and looking to follow in your footsteps?

I’m not even sure, perhaps I would say that if they have any distinct idea within the genre, they should definitely grab an instrument and make it happen no matter what.

12) What’s your favourite album of all time and why?

Bathory - Under The Sign of the Black Mark Burzum – Filosofem Strigor – Povstan rod strigorov Verdunkeln – Verdunkeln Darkthrone – Blaze in the Northern Sky Alcest – Le Secret (2005)

13) Would you like to add anything for our readers?

I hope one day we can perform in South America and meet in person!

A massive thanks to the master musicians of Autumn Nostalgie. Hail the Slovakian Hordes!!!