Thank you very much for your willingness to answer these questions. It is, without a doubt, a pleasure.

Of course, thank you for the opportunity. 

Let us start at the beginning: tell us a little about the history of this project.

The concept and idea for Adrasteia started in the winter of 2018 and became fully realized and embodied in late 2019. Adrasteia has many meanings, in Greek it translates to “inescapable.” It also refers to the nymph who raised Zeus in secret from his father.  

From what sources does the inspiration for your sound come from? It is not limited to Black Metal or Ambient; it is a whole "beast" formed by these and different melodies.

My primary source of inspiration comes from the harsh beauty of winter.  Within nature, we find the life cycle of brutality and awe from roaring tundra to the gentle snowfall and the mysterious magnetic conjurations of the moon.  Sonically, there is a lot of inspiration taken from bands like Paysage D’Hiver and Cosmic Church.

The year 2020, such an atypical year, was extremely productive for you: 3 Demos. How has the pandemic helped you and / or served as an inspiration to compose?

I work a normal 9-5 job, since the pandemic, I have finally been given the isolation necessary to create music on my own time and whenever the inspiration strikes.  It has given me a lot of time meditate on these energies and manifest them into a their icy fruition.

How do you see our Society now, in the eyes of this situation? Do you believe that a real change in mentality and posture can occur?

Unfortunately, how I see our society in light of this new situation is mostly with disgust, but teetering on a precipice of urgency to change the situation for the better.  In some ways, it gives me hope, but in many other ways (especially in U.S. politics) do I have only disdain and disgust for it all.  We have ravaged our natural resources, we have over-populated our Earth, and we are more concerned with other’s perception that we have lost sight of our own biological perspective for survival and enlightenment. 

To be honest, I do not know if real change in this mentality can occur without absolute tragedy even though it may be avoidable.  We have come to a crossroads where the decisions we make now will affect everything for years to come.

In terms of Music, and Black Metal in particular, how do you see the current situation? How would you analyse the Black Metal scene today?

Black Metal is a strange genre of music that mutates and reforms and changes constantly while maintaining the few things that make it unique.  It is in those mutations do I find the more exciting sounds that are currently being explored and put out.  I do not believe Black Metal needs to remain true to an old and mostly tired sound, but pushed to its ugly limits and transformed into wholly new areas.  That being said, there is also a flood of terrible talentless carbon copies, people whose motivation is for money and commodification, those who weak politics and ideals become their sound and those who simply want it to remain the same thing they have always known.  However, within this sea of mediocrity, the true gems really do shine through and that gives me hope. 

Experimentation is a big part of your music: melodies that we would not have imagined hearing, in a work of Black Metal, 10-15 years ago, in a way. Do you think that this is a genre that also lives to break barriers, and take risks? What are your opinions of those who say that the genre must remain entirely honest to a raw and visceral sound?

See above.  Yes, I do believe it is a genre that lives to break barriers.  However, not all barriers should be broken.  There’s a lot of love for the post-rock / black metal sound that just doesn’t work for me, but I am open to hearing someone who really does it right.

"Passage VIII - IX - Exalted Light". What inspired you to create this song? It is a different way, I would say, to finish a Black Metal Demo, is it not?

There is a lot of improvisation that occurs in when I make music.  Sometimes it starts with a synth line or sometimes it is a wholly formed concept then builds from there.  My idea of including this conjuration was to express that Adrasteia is not fully locked into a traditional sound, and wanted to keep it open and interesting as each album evolves and builds upon last, ever changing but remaining rooted in the fundamental sonic fury of its spirit. 

Erythrite Throne, and now Lehman, two entities with which you collaborated. What led you to these collaborations? What do you identify with in each of them? 

I actually sought out both of these incredibly talented artists to ask if they would be interested in working together, to which we started to form a bond.  It was really laid back and easy to collaborate with both of these entities.  I am grateful for their input and their output.  I really hope to work with them again in the future. 

Split with Lehman was your first release for 2021. Can we expect many more?

Yes, a split with Celestial Sword will be coming to vinyl mid 2021 via Death Kvlt Productions.

Can we consider that the track, with which you participate, in this Split, is a summary of your sound? We crossed the various stages of the Adrasteia sound, do you agree?

Yes, whole-heartedly, I hope to keep expanding the sound more and more in the future. 

How are you living, as a citizen, this reality, this confinement, the social and political upheavals in the USA. Can you keep yourself, to some extent, away from it?

I do try to keep myself from experiencing the upheavals of society in the USA but unfortunately, it is hard to do especially when living in a major city.  I still find my solitude in nature as my guide and inspiration.  Black Metal and ambient music to me are the lens to which my emotions and observations take place.

It was, once again, a pleasure. May the future allow us a new conversation? Greetings.

Thank you for your time and interest! I look forward to the coming winter and the opportunities it brings. Hails.

Narkissa

Adrasteia Official Bandcamp