I was recording Around the Corners of Our Minds at that time. It was March of 2004 and it was full moon. One of Neversun's events took place that day and I was in Ljubljana to attend it. I called Helena who lives nearby and we went for a chat and a cup of tea in a pub there. We stayed talking for three hours and a half. Despite the fact that I knew her for some years I never knew that she was playing the violin and singing. After that encounter I wrote ten minutes long White Kites, Black Sky where she exhibited both - her playing and singing.

Not long after I quit a collaboration with the previous singer and I asked Helena to join me. Luckily she accepted and Amateur God became what it was meant to be.

Irony was always a guiding star for Amateur God's concept and inspiration, based upon ridiculous human nature and senseless fights against it. The stir of our inner reflections and thoughts deriving from the world surrounding us, is fantastic. I have to admit that even that stir of outer reflections to the world affected from what's inside us isn't something to underestimate either.

Amateur God's name and concept offended some people and I liked it. Not that I like to offend folks, but I am glad that I am causing reactions, a chance to get into colourful discussions, checking many points of view - humans' richness and at the same time their menace.

I am fascinated by musicians that can gather melodic singing, detailed complex structures that merge into simpler integrity and a sober dose of emotions. Although Amateur God's music stands on solid pillars of melancholic industrial, my musical preferences come mostly from contemporary pop/rock acts that in most cases deviate from commercial orientation. There are some artists that I adore and keep them as a reference point, but I don't copy them. I rather use their influence in certain details while keeping a large portion of creative process for my own ideas while building a personal signature.


"The saviour. Of course that's not me. Not even the most fanatical Green Peace member or a priest in suburbia. The saviour, which is not some financial expert or luna park fortune-teller in mottled dress. It is hopefully the one that will show us how to attenuate the scum of vaticanism, bushism, intolerance and related products of ignorance. The person that will elevate our consciousness to the level of technology we are able to produce and use. It's someone we are waiting for... in vain."

Appletree of Discord is socio critical sum of eleven songs, a melange of metal, electronica, symphonic elements and vintage rock, everything spiced up with right dose of irony. Despite the album is an observation of the surrounding world, it is made in a sensible and personal approach, ranging from hard-rocking compositions to gentle instrumental songs (Girl in Pink, for Example).

Pre-Initiation intro is enriched with the poem No. 739 from one of the most sensible poetesses of American literature, Emily Dickinson. Songs then start to dig fearless into various problems ranging from religious frauds about the end of the world (Initiation), through despising the different (Freak Show), seeking guilt in others (Blaming the Moon), to quasi global-epilogue (To the North). Typical song on the theme of "the saviour" is Chaos Based Directions, that lends Monty-Python's dilemma: "shall we follow the gourd or a shoe?", as a result of hyper information and lack of reference points. After 45 minutes the album concludes (Post-End) by previously mentioned Mrs. Dickinson with her poem No. 435.

There were plenty of tries of comparisons of El Soter's music to the already established bands, but none of them completely accurate, since the music gathers many genres and styles. Mylene Farmer's combination of chords might be present in certain parts while vocals would have slight similarities with Brian Molko from Placebo. Industrial approach has certain influences from Ministry and Mortiis. Overall song structure by Oomph!, Katatonia, Paradise Lost and Smashing Pumpkins is audible, despite El Soter uses way more synths which have equal role to guitars.

Appletree of Discord album is a package of CD + DVD including video The Hail (song was adapted to the needs of the video). This is also the first release of the new born Slovene record label Neversun Records.





Amateur God Xenofeelia Amateur God Around the Corners of Our Minds Amateur God Near Life Experience NLE




El Soter Appletree of Discord


These four CDs are available on my Ebay store and Neversun shop.


Ebay

X

Index | Library | Music | Design & Illustration | Art Department