Megaptera - Interview with Peter Nyström

Megaptera is a survivor. A project which has been with us through good times and bad. One of the most important post-industrial acts of the 90s, alongside the likes of Brighter Death Now, Inade, Schloss Tegal and Anenzephalia. They started on the proto CMI-cassette label Sound Source (like Consono) and then released material on several cult labels like Slaughter Productions, Art Konkret, SSSM, Release Entertainment, Malignant Records and of course Cold Meat Industry. From their very first release, Near Death, they were noted as one of the early pioneers of death industrial. The band's sound combined a dense, hypnotic and heavy soundtrack-based industrial atmosphere, with occasional bass-driven metallic machine rhythms. At most times it felt like being trapped inside some HUGE cathedral-like warehouse filled with grinding machines, and in company with a crowd of people humming and worshipping something unpleasant. Megaptera wasn't as minimal in the sound atmosphere like most, they could fill up your surround-system in no time and drown you with their heavy darkness. Various members have come and gone but Peter Nyström is the sole inheritor of Megaptera and has been for some time. I've been a fan for ages and asked Peter for an interview about the legacy of Megaptera. He graciously agreed and you can find our discussion below.

First of all, I understand the founding and first member of Megaptera was Mikael Svensson (Deaf Machine). You then joined the project later on. How did you become involved in Megaptera?

Peter Nyström: It was Mikael and Magnus Åslund (Pettersson) who started Megaptera together. I was making music with Magnus Sundström as Fiskebåtarna and First Aid at that time Mikael and Magnus recorded the first Megaptera tracks. These later became the first homemade release. You Will Recover. I think I started to listen to CMI related music at that time, like BDN, MZ412 and Raison d'etre. I heard that they had started to experiment with some old gear that Magnus's mother's new boyfriend had, like a 4 channel portastudio and an analog delay. I borrowed a drum machine from my friends in the synthpop band Cell Division, and then I joined them. We were friends already.

What was the idea of Megaptera in the early days? You managed to create something which was quite unique back then.

PN: I'd say no idea at all. We got very influenced by the CMI sound and we were already big fans of The Klinik, Test Department, and Cabaret Voltaire. We didn't know much about instruments so we just took what we had: scenes from various films, TV, radio, whatever we could hear fit in. The reason why we ended up making this kind of music was that it was quite easy. We didn't need expensive gear or a computer to record the atmospheres that we liked. And it was also very funny to just search for crazy sounds and movies and just push record. Very unpretentious.

It seems to me that the cult of Megaptera expanded with your friendship/involvement with Slaughter Productions. You had lots of side projects released there, and you appeared on many of the cult compilations (Death Odors, Beating the Meat, From Sickness to Death and Slaughter Age 95). Do you miss the days of Slaughter Productions?

PN: Of course I miss some of it, and Marco of course. He was such a nice guy. Very polite, gentle and everything went very smoothly with him. The best part was that we wrote REAL letters back then, and it was amazingly fun to both receive and send letters, records, and tapes. The most important releases were those on Slaughter, otherwise, I don't think Megaptera would have reached the status we did. I remember being very proud of having two tracks on Death Odors and also as numbers 1 and 2 on the disc. Shadowland is still one of Megaptera's strongest pieces of music.

You finally had a bigger "commercial" release on Release Entertainment (also like Brighter Death Now). How did Curse Of The Scarecrow come to be? I'll also point that that a lot of people got to know Megaptera through this album.

PN: It really became a hit for us. Magnus Åslund left the band already in 1991 and Mikael and I recorded this album together with Magnus Sundström on his Amiga 500 and EPS sampler if I remember correctly. We felt that we were doing some really good tracks. We did not think, just recorded track after track. It went very easily. I had some contact with VUZ Records and somehow the record came out on Release Entertainment THROUGH VUZ Records and then the guy ripped us on the money. I was very blue-eyed and thought everybody was as polite as Marco Corbelli, but that wasn't the case. I'm still very proud of that album, and it was very important that we got Don't Desecrate the Dead released on Absolute Supper. It really promoted Megaptera well.

 Which Megaptera album are you most proud of doing?

PN: I must say Songs from the Massive Darkness back in 1992. I and Mikael were heavily influenced by Great Death by BDN, so we connected the gear we had in my boy's room and recorded those 6 tracks in 4 hours. I still enjoy listening to that album from start to end. I love the metallic sound of that BOSS RRV-10 reverb, the sounds we pulled out from the SH-101, and the voices in the background from The Thing. A perfect and funny recording session. I remember that I was down eating a quick dinner while we recorded one of the tracks, and Mikael was sitting on my bed playing a Casio VZ-1 with his feet in the meantime, haha! Great memories!

What does the future hold for Megaptera? Is there still unreleased material hidden in the vaults?

PN: All tracks have been released, so no more old surprises. I get some ideas sometimes, but we'll see. Maybe a CD version of Nailed on Vinyl later on. Only Satan knows (*Winking face).

PNO: Well, thanks for the interview, Peter. I wish you all the best!

PN: Thanks! Same to you, it was a pleasure!

Bandcamp (band):

https://megaptera.bandcamp.com/

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/Megaptera-147495718667342/

Kalteldur top 10 of 2019

2019 has been a very hectic year for Kalteldur. We´ve had our Kalteldur basement-headquarter being flooded by HUGE quantities of pouring rain. On top of that several reviews have therefore been delayed, and as we speak... we are still having insurance people working and repairing the damages caused by the cursed flood. We´ve also seen fewer movie and computer game reviews, and a lot more focus on selected record reviews. I am now proudly presenting, the Kalteldur top 10 of 2019!

Number 10:

Barbaric Frost - Heroic Quest

Raven Fortress

Barbarians, Cthulhu mythos and tons of treacherous sorceries drenched in doom and blood. More to be found here, and more of this kind should be given more attention. Barbaric Frost from Polen weaves a magical barbaric-journey that would make Robert E. Howard turn in his very own grave! Medieval ambiance meets up with doses of dungeon synth, martial industrialism, and doom! Not one to ignore!

Number 9:

Lá Ùltima Mirada

Marbre Negre

One of the most brutal attacks on your senses, and also one of great mystery as well. Heavy atmospheric ritual-ambient collides with dynamic noise-wall, all wrapped nicely up in pain and suffering! Why would anyone subject themselves to that (u might ask)... Power electronics has been old news for far too long, and too many would-be-hipsters are doing HNW (as we speak!). This one does something which could annihilate them all! And yes it is, a brutal attack your senses!  

Number 8:

Shelter Ov Shadows - The Serpent And the Circle...

Wulfrune Worxxx

The kind of feeling you´ll notice when you have... interrupted a secret and mostly dark ritual in the deepest cavern you could ever imagine (probably involving a human sacrifice!). Canadian act Shelter Ov Shadows provides that missing link between esoteric dark ambient and primitive winter/dungeon-synth. All would agree, heavy dungeon synth might just be the new dungeon sound! If ever Mick Harris (Scorn, Lull, Napalm Death) would do dungeon synth... you get the picture!

Number 7:

Suero + Yama-Biko - Hansenbyó

Marbre Negre

Most of the time I would go... ´Yeah... Industrial music is dead and no one dares touch it anymore!´ BUT, once in a while something POPS up. Something which is a work made between Spain and Japan, the album even works around an interesting (and terrifying) concept (read the review!). Mesmerizing minimal-industrial electronics+vocals and harsh claustrophobic glitch-atmospheres are all you´ll ever get. Fans of SPK and early Maschinenzimmer 412, take notice!

Number 6:

Machina Coeli - Lure of the Forgotten Lake

Nigra Opera Productions

Classic dungeon synth which takes the listener back to older (Coil, SPK) and meets them up with later dungeon synth acts. Not that it has any connection or similarities to others. One of the most original dungeon synth-related releases I have heard in some time. One act which just gives the fxxx-finger to the present band-in-wagon sound, and chooses an original sound like a true isolationist. An interesting tale to be found on this cassette, and a very interesting sound and mood to be digested as well. 

Number 5:

Human Vault - Primordial

No Labels Interested

Rare that I get around the world of electro-industrial/EBM, but just this time I just had to get around it. Made by an artist which delves himself (mostly) into the morbid murkiness of death-industrial/ambient. Human Vault being one of his various side-acts to his main death-industrial act Stone Wired. Primordial is one of the many industrial-music-related trips into the dark side of the human psyche, it touches nostalgia and it touches a sound aesthetic simplicity which sadly has been forgotten by time. Its strength lies in the mood before action, and no! ... It´s not danceable material! A downbeat dark-ambient version of early FLA/Delirium, with HUGE amounts of space in between. And PERFECT for the tape format (if you ask me)... 

Number 4:

Horologium - Atavistic Americana

Six Burial Productions

    

Laibach has sucked for many years, and Borghesia hasn't actually been up to something new. On the other hand, Horologium has! Keeping and cherishing the rhythmic and sample-drenched experimental vibe. A bloody electronic-mesh melts together with electronic post-punk rhythms and perfect executed political-themed cut-up samples! Woaww!. Early Ministry, Laibach and Killing Jokes goes hand in hand on this highly underrated electronic gem! 

Number 3:

Miguel Souto - Lillith

Anoxia Records

Someone came up with something... really dark and unique, and that someone was Miguel Souto. I was expecting a kind of ambient thing, I wasn´t expecting haunting and ancient classical piano tunes with eerie glitchiness behind it! Take Erik Satie and something like... Hafler Trio?. You get the picture. Perfectly executed, perfectly created. Coolest tape release of 2019!

Number 2:

Testing Vault - Amnesia Milk

Looney Tick Productions

Amnesia Milk was also... something else. An album that gave you the goosebumps and the emotional pleasure that usually follows it. It left a distinctive human trace on my mind while I was wandering (In the late hours) through the eerie sand-dunes of western Jutland, Denmark. The thing just stuck, just in the same way when something IMPORTANT sticks to your mind. Surreal electronic avantgarde' ness, the kind of haunting glitchiness that makes your heart stop in the middle of the lonely night. Or the soundtrack to one of those dreams, which seems too real and frightening at the same time. It´s an audible over-the-top experience, which you will never forget! 

Number 1:

Miracle of Love - You Will Be Free

Overture Militia

And no!. We are not talking about a tribute to Swans! We are talking about one of the greatest releases of 2019. In my opinion, the greatest ambient-related release in years. A pleasant and punishing sensation being heavy on your ears and sensible in your body as well. Razor-blade distortions, distant angelic ambient-tunes, religiously and sacrificial vibes... all wrapped up in a lovely and subtle apocalyptic set of ideas. Incredible beautiful and incredible believable in a terrifying fashion. Listen and learn!