Interview:	SHYLMAGOGHNAR
Title:	Lucid currents

Ever since the deeply gifted Dutchman Kevin Bertrand started creating atmospheric-majestic Melodic Black Metal with progressive 'death nuances' under the pseudonym Nimblkorg, connoisseurs and gourmets have been jubilantly celebrating his fascinating arts. What began in 2004, now leads to the new album „Convergence“, his most personal work so far - so the emotional, philosophical and psychedelic journey continues with Shylmagoghnar! 


Founded 2004, now three great albums … did you ever expected to stay this long and to keep such a special, widely respected way in your art?

„Thank you! I underestimated what it took to last that long, that's for sure. Every teenager thinks they'll be taking over the world and making a hundred perfect albums of course, so back when it started, there was no lack of confidence. Reality was ever so slightly more difficult. It took years and years of grinding away at writing, instrument and audio skills. I would still suggest it to any musician, but I'll say this: you must have an absolute unwillingness to give up. At some point things get easier. I am happy to say that after nearly 20 years I still experience as much joy when working on music as I did back then in my little 2x2m bedroom.“ 


Congrats for your third album „Convergence“ and the absolute individual musical style, excellent taste all along the line!

„Much appreciated! I think it may be my new personal favorite for Shylmagoghnar – for the simple reason that I somehow didn't get sick of it while working on it.“ 


What circumstances of life have also made you such a tasty mind?

„Haha, don't tell the demons about that! For me it's difficult to understand what exactly people like about me. I'm a withdrawn person in life and tend to ignore what happens in the outside world, spending most of my time delving inward. For better or worse, I guess that makes for an individualistic take on things.“



The main message of the new album seems to transport something deeper than regular Black/MeloDeath topics. What meaning stands - for you - behind the title and how arose the original idea for it?

„The title ‚Convergence‘ was chosen because the theme of dark flowing water and a river of life and death had been prominent in my dreams while I was working on the album. ‚Convergence‘ hints at the joining of many of these rivers - perhaps one for every single living creature? - into the greater whole, the sea, near the end. Part of it had always been planned, namely thematic journey of death. The first two albums and this one form a trilogy of sorts together, in which every album undertook a journey at a different layer of existence. Concluding with this was inevitable to me. What I think makes this album different from any albums I know is that it leans almost entirely on dream logic. Even more so than previous Shylmagoghnar albums. Within a short period of time, I had several dreams which felt so meaningful that I considered them visions. Much like lucid dreams, but of a distinctly primordial quality. They felt like a call to action and I reacted by undertaking a two year journey to improve my understanding of my own subconscious. I would force myself to write down every dream and every strange thought I had whenever I could, and it turned out there was much more going on than I ever realized. After a while, I was able to capture recurring themes, and therewith the architecture of my subconscious mind. This then again could be used to detect whether I was dreaming, vastly increasing the chances of lucid dreams and primordial dreams. Doing so, I've seen some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life and it was impossible not to feel inspired. The downsides to this were also severe though. I have been struggling with mental health for as long as I can remember, and this experiment made things much worse. To this day I suffer from an increase in dissociative logic and I have to check my hands regularly to test whether I'm awake or not. There were also others down there whom I would rather forget. To anyone who considers undertaking this path: tread lightly. You don't know what you might awaken.“



„Convergence“ contains awesome new compositions with so many superior uplifting and triumphal touching moments - how do you rate the new album itself compared to its predecessor „Transience"?

„‚Transience‘ was a troubled album for me. I stood behind the compositions on it 100 %, but the fact is that it was written during some of the worst years of my life. There were some tracks on there which I was really proud of - for example the track ‚Transience‘ itself, or ‚Life‘, but sadly I've been unable to listen to it fully since it was released. It brings back too much pain. This album was different. There were some really dark times here as well - the death of my mother mainly, but also moments of true beauty as the birth of my son. Somehow, despite the storm of emotions, I didn't feel that crushing shadow which was always present around 2016-2017, and the result feels like it was written with more mental clarity to me.“



How long did you work on the songs until they sounded perfect to you - and did you experience any notable ups and downs in the process?



„From before ‚Transience‘ was released until my final delivery to Napalm Records a couple of months ago, so a good five years. Shylmagoghnar is an extremely iterative project, and work on it never truly sleeps. The core writing was mostly done within a year or two, and the rest was spent on improving arrangement details, finding the right sounds for recording and of course trying to get the perfect mix. By the end it got remarkably close to what I heard in my head at the start, which was a breakthrough for me. The biggest down in the process was when my mother got diagnosed with brain cancer. Before that I'd been able to keep on making music, no matter what life threw at me, but that changed everything. At that point the album was planned to be released in 2022, but I just had to tell my label that I couldn't do it. I was completely frozen. Luckily, the people at Napalm Records have always been very supportive and they told me to take as much time as I needed.“ 


Many moments on the new release are able to remind me on magnificent classical composers … do you have any faves among them?


„I was starting out with violin around that time, and whenever I felt the frustrations mounting, I would listen to some Vivaldi. His ‚Four Seasons‘ are an old favorite of mine. Especially the third movement of ‚Summer‘ and movement one of ‚Winter‘ is just stunning. It wasn't on purpose, but multiple people have noticed a Baroque influence, so it must have been him. To any Melodic Metal fan who hasn't heard it: please listen to his rendition of ‚La Follia‘. Give it time to build. Metal has been in the making for over 300 years.“ 


How was the selection of songs for it done - was it difficult or rather easy for you?


„It was surprisingly clear. I knew where I wanted the journey to start and end – the parts between came up as they were required. I would listen to the raw version of the album and take notes on disturbing gaps in the story and mood. Then I would write songs to fills those gaps. Since the album was a solo effort, everything was configurable to the tiniest degree, and it was a great experience overall. The songs on the album were always intended to be at the exact spot where they are now. None of them feel superfluous to me, despite all sounding quite different.“ 


What is the one song with the most meaning for you on the new album and why?


„Probably ‚The Sea‘. I was working on that song during the short time where my mother was still alive, but it was already clear she wasn't going to make it. The song was written to be part of her funeral and the lyrics in it were aimed at helping her pass without fear. She still heard it before she died. I realize that there will probably be people who are taken aback by the ballad-like nature of the song - especially since it has violins in it - but I simply didn't care about outside opinion while writing. it was a track which I felt had to be done.“ 


Please bring the lyrical main content of „Convergence“ closer to the readers - nature, spirituality, metaphysics, legends, myths and deepest connection and monumental love for over-mother nature and the surrounding cosmos?


„It was mostly based on dreams, so the logic behind it might be hard to follow, but I'll try to describe the ‚visions‘ which established the core ideas of the album. One of them was of a gigantic worm with a featureless face and antlers, floating through the void. It was pitch black and I didn't see it until it hovered towards me. It seemed to be unaware of my existence, or perhaps even its own. What I noticed though was that it radiated very strong emotions, and those emotions were expressed by its segmented body, which would expand and contract to match. Then, at the junctions between those segments, a new universe would be born and the core value of that universe would be whichever emotion was felt by the worm at the time of its creation. As such, the worm was like a god to those universes, but it was completely unaware of this fact. This concept was translated into the ouroboros which can be seen on the album cover, who is guarding the threshold between the realms of existence and potential. I also had a break from reality in which I was standing in front of a tomb-like structure in a desert. On the door of said structure was a gigantic bird face, like that of a falcon, and as I looked at it, it opened its beak to speak to me. Its voice was absolutely overwhelming and to me sounded like the distorted scream of a giant. Yet it was not frightening. I understood what it meant: ‚it is your turn now‘. I then noticed that on my shoulder, there was the hand of my father. As I turned around, I saw his father standing behind him in the same way, and his father's father. This line went on all the way over the horizon. I understood. Not long after this, there was an image of my wife standing in the junction of two rivers, with the newly combined river flowing towards a massive open wooden gate in front of her, into the unknown. She was dressed like an ancient warrior. Covered in bones, antlers and skins and with a spear in her right hand. Next to her was my recurring guardian, an old shaman known only as The Lion. He told her: ‚Do not worry. You have already become the master’. It was a beautiful and impressive image and I wish I could draw well enough to capture it. Maybe some day. Shortly after this, we found out she was pregnant. The last one was a dream of rivers flowing into a very surreal looking sea. I was walking down a dune and as I came closer to the surf, I noticed that there was a strange glowing ball floating just above where the bodies of water came together. From up close, I saw that it was a ball of worm-like static noise. Every grain looked very lively and important, yet before I could focus on it, it would disappear again, washed away by the sea, and make way for another grain. It made me realize in the profound kind of way that you can only experience in dreams that for life to be meaningful, it has to be fleeting. That no matter how important a thing feels, you'll eventually have to let it go. It will all become as one again in the sea.“ 


What do you experience, feel and perceive most in yourself when you unite - in reality and in your imagination - with nightly Mother Nature, starlit skies etc. in a profound to contemplative way?

„My smallness, but in the most positive of ways. The night sky and the forces of nature are a testament to the nearly infinite power we are surrounded by at all times. On good days, it can make me strongly appreciate that I'm alive. To have been there for that short glimpse of a cosmic nanosecond and to have had the honor to lay eyes upon it. Not as an outside observer, but as its child. It feels almost impossible, yet here we are. It doesn't owe us an explanation.“ 


Would you like to describe your most formative, most interesting or most haunting and most supernatural experience in - nocturnal - nature here?


„It isn't related to nature, but there is a being which has haunted me since I was little. Until very recently, I wasn't able to speak about him, because of his oppressive nature. Since then, I've gone through EMDR treatment, which has helped quite a bit. So here we go: his name is Korg - no, not the synthesizer brand, and he is a shapeshifter. I cannot remember when he entered my life, but my mother told me that when I was very little, I started telling her there was an evil man living under the ground in our backyard. She said it was very unnerving, because I was a happy child and usually didn't say anything dark like that. I'm convinced that's when it started and he has been with me since. The problem is that he is also a driving force behind my actions. The reason why I could keep practicing instruments despite frustration was because he was standing behind me. He insists that I owe everything to him. It's an abusive relationship. This is why my pseudonym is Nimblkorg. In my head language, Nim bl Korg means Nim & Korg.“



Btw, are there any things, books, movies, etc. that can/have influenced you as a musician?


„Soundtracks to video games for sure. I grew up with a Commodore 64, and many of the games on there were very crude. This wasn't the case for some of their soundtracks though. On that system, composers had a very limited amount of tracks and instruments which could be playing at any one time, so you'd expect simple compositions. Some of those composers were real trailblazers though, and did anything they could to make the most out of that limited system. Limitation breeds creativity, as it once again shows. I'm talking about composers like Rob Hubbard and Jeroen Tel, but there were far more. Later on, on PC, there were games like Blood, Unreal, Command & Conquer, Diablo, you name it. I love those soundtrack and they were a far bigger inspiration than any band I can think of.“ 


The previous album came in 2018 … two years later the plague. Nearly everything has changed since Covid - the world, the music business, the societies - how much have you changed, how much have your views on true art changed now?


„To me it was kind of weird, because I have been a shut-in for years - I struggle with being easily overstimulated. Not to mention that I've had a short experience with working in a laboratory, and as a result I'm always hyper aware of possible health hazards caused by lack of hygiene protocols - not compulsively so, but definitely more than average. Suddenly, the entire world was staying at home and washing their hands, talking about it like it was the end of days, but to me it felt like just another year. I know some people who have lost parents and friends during the early waves though, and others who became severely depressed because of it, so I'm not at all trying to downplay its impact. I do remember having a great writing flow around 2020. I think it was because the world outside felt less noisy, so I could concentrate better. All in all I don't think my views on anything have changed all that much. I feel love for humanity, but also disappointment that we cannot rise above our basest of instincts, and crisis always brings out the worst of that. I do my best not to hate. There is already enough of that going around right now and it never solves anything.“ 


Anything you would like to add?

„Dear reader. I'm grateful to finally get to share some more music with the world again. It's one of the pillars of my life and I thank you all for making it possible. Also, thank you Markus for your kind words and original questions. I hope they will make for an interesting read!“

© Markus Eck, 18.10.2023

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