Interview to TEMPLUM SILVA (Bulgaria)

1. Hello my friend, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.

- Hello, Edu! Thank you for having me. I am more or less okay, sitting in my bedroom, listening to some fine polish Black Metal, at the moment. It is cold and dark outside so the choice of genre fits perfectly.

2. Let’s start with the boring basics. Care to explain to the unknowing precisely where in the world you emanate such a sorrowful aura from?

- I do not know how to put it exactly, but I am more of an observer rather than an active participator. From my observations of the processes in the world, of people, human relationships, human nature and myself, I kind of got to the point where I do not really feel part of the societal reality. I believe that we are inherently flawed beings and our existence is just as pathetic as us. And you know, when you have such views it makes it hard to get along with people, which leads to feelings of loneliness, not being understood and so on and that is where the despair is born.

3. How is living in Gabrovo? Do you think where you are has much of an impact on your music?

Gabrovo is a beautiful, quiet and peaceful. The town is located kind of in the mountains, which made me have a special connection with nature since early age. That connection impacts my music a lot. When I compose something or listen to music I often imagine some kind of a natural landscape and there are always certain emotions attached to it, it is like looking at a painting, which I think boosts my writing creativity as I believe creativity is born of certain feelings that are different for every artist. So yes, I think that the environment in which I was and am had and still has much of an impact on my creative processes.

4. Templum Silva has been active for over one year now. How has your sound evolved over this time, and what has kept you inspired to continue creating music?

I think that since the debut EP, the songs now are a little bit more complex and the sound is heavier and darker. Until our last single Templum Silva was mainly instrumental with some spoken-word passages, so now we have vocals which I consider as something positive. When composing and releasing music, I never think of a particular style. I cannot put such a limitation on my creativity. Yes, Templum Silva is mainly a sort of Prog maybe Post Metal, but it is that way because my ideas happened to sound as such. As I said, I think that if you try to fit a certain style, you are doing nothing more than putting a limitation to the music and to your writing. In music, it is important to have a little bit of uncertainty and the element of surprise. Templum Silva may have ten different albums in ten different styles, and it is completely fine with me, because it would be an indication that the expression was pure and unadulterated.

Creating music is like an escape from reality and an outlet for my emotions. When I create the outside noise disappears and I feel contented with myself, therefore this inspires me to continue to create music. In addition, I love to listen to music with my father and showing him something that I created brings unreplaceable feelings.

5. Your music includes many influences such as metal, progressive and rock. How would you describe your music as genre?

- As I said above, I cannot say that Templum Silva falls under a particular style. I like to think of what I do as Melancholic Dark Metal.

6. You have a debut album “May I Reach Dawn”, how did you work over these ten songs? What did you plan to put into it?

I had a vision in mind and started recording some ideas which concluded in a few songs and eventually I decided that I will just go on and create a full record. The album is conceptual based on personal struggles and despair. The concept is of a suffering man that must survive the night and reach dawn with each track representing his mind and its decay into madness, the disgust that he feels towards the ugly world. I did not plan a particular number of songs, I wrote until if felt good and finished.

7. What are the important components of Templum Silva´s music and lyrics?

- I think that the most important component of our music is its ability to provoke certain emotions from the listener. Personally, I think that melancholic music is on a whole different level than “happy” music, I rarely catch myself listening to something which is not sad, and also my creativity is always born out of struggle, so therefore I believe that when an artist creates something that evokes feelings of sadness, the creation happens to be the purest expression of oneself that could possibly be achieved. Having all that in mind, I think that another important component of Templum Silva’s music and lyrics is the melancholic and dark atmosphere of the songs.

8. How do you wish for people to feel when they listen to your songs? What makes the perfect Templum Silva song? Is there one in particular that encapsulates this?

- You know that a song is good when you have already listened to it and are about to do it again and you know that it would make you feel certain things. I wish that people would just feel something when they listen to Templum Silva, no matter what, if there is an emotion, be it negative or positive in a good or in a bad way, there is art.

A good melody, a dark atmosphere and a contrast between heavy riff-driven parts and clean melodic ones, this is what makes a perfect Templum Silva song. I believe that “May the Dark Shine Your Way” is a perfect example of this.

9. Talking about your personal career as musician. What has changed in your mindset since the beginning of your musical path? Explain me, please the evolution process that made you become what are you now.

- It is far from a career really, music is just my hobby and passion, it brings me peace and I love doing it, but it is not a career. Since the beginning of me making music, I learned that art should not be forced and that the most important part of it is to express yourself, not to fascinate an audience. Picking the guitar and recording, making mistakes and learning, this is the evolution process that made me become what I am now as a musician.

10. Can you brief us about the writing and recording procedures of your music? You´re eminently a guitarist, isn´t that right? What other instruments you play?

- I always write from an emotion, I start with that then a melody, a structure, main idea etc. and I build upon that. I record all the guitars, bass and additional synths myself and I program the drums. On the technical side of things I use digital amplifiers and mix and master everything myself.

11. What’s your view on the value of music today? In what way does the abundance of music change our perception of it?

- I think that nowadays people do not value music enough. Music has become more of business and a product or even background filler.

People listen but do not really feel or understand the music. I see, especially in the Metal genre, that people tend and force themselves to listen and remember as many bands as possible so they can brag about it and compare to others, which is really sad and kills the whole concept of the art. There are thousands of artists and music out there, which is nor good nor bad. It is good for people to express themselves through music and everyone should be free to do so, but too much quantity encourages numb consumption and similarity. Listeners start to chase statistics rather than emotion and resonance, while artists become similar in sound and vision, pure and unique expression is lost. As a consequence of this, nowadays people are less likely to sit down and listen to a full album, spin it around several times and feel the essence of it. I believe that less and less people today, value music as much as it should and deserves to be valued.

12. Promotion has become vital in these times. With hundreds of bands releasing albums in the same time period, it’s become a struggle to get noticed. How do you see the future of promotion and recording?

- I think that if the music is good, it will eventually reach its audience. I do not really know and bother myself with thinking of how the future of promotion and recording will be. What I create with Templum Silva is not aimed at getting noticed and famous. Of course, If the project gains recognition I will be extremely happy and grateful, but this is not the main point. To create and express oneself, this is the point.

As I said if the music is good it will eventually reach an audience.

13. Thank you! I want to give you the final word. Is there anything you want to share with our readers?

- Do not consume blindly, feel and experience. Thank you for having me!

https://templumsilva.bandcamp.com/