Foscor’s new album, Els sepulcres blancs, continues to explore their inspiration taken from the morbid tales that have circulated during the end of the nineteenth century. It’s another haunting and brutal record as these Catalan metallers have executed it with a chaotic blend of atmospheric metal. The album was released on September 6th via Season of Mist (order here), and we caught up with Joan to discuss more on their latest effort.
What was the process like recording the new album, Els Sepulcres Blancs?
The album develops the second principal set from the interpretation, the end of the 19th-century cultural movement called Catalan modernism literature. This is something that we said before, starting to compose a previous album Les irreals visions as a reference or foundation for leading the whole new band era. It was something that also connected to our cultural background. We aim to have a connection to our reality and to make our music a bit more unique if possible. According to these artists, they lived in a decadent society. They felt like belonging to then, art for them, and might be the tool to change the world and get the new balance and dialect and dialogue. Between the, beyond, the idea and the reality, they set three premises for seeing the world with new eyes.
Our first album with Season of Mist was Les irreals visions in 2017. We used personal compromises and common themes and meanings. In this new one, we developed a second premise on visual subjects. That one must acquire a new secret appearance that is being translated to a metaphor for which we use the dream world as a main topic in the album.
The title of the album, Els Sepulcres Blancs, is translated as, The White Tombs. It’s the metaphorical way to call that dream world as the ultimate expression of maybe things we lost in the state of consciousness. It’s a bit complex. It’s saying that humans who are changed to reality can die in the dream world and born free by imagining how to improve their lives and changing the world. If they seek wealth and society, they belong to. So the whole album that will open the second topic and based on that end of the 19th-century cultural movement. And again, connecting to our Catalan background is just the main idea.
Can you discuss more about the process for making the video for “Cançó de Mort?” I thought it set a very powerful message on losing a loved one and being one with them by sharing the same piece of land.
The song “Cançó de Mort” is translated as Death Song; it will appeal to the personal process of emotional dying when humans are affected by social threats. I’m saying that the whole tapestry and they could break absolutely or assume these threads as an excuse for improving themselves and then changing things. Then this song is like a lullaby for that emotional dying process. We decided to take some ideas and focus on these song topics in the walk of someone lost in nature.
How was it for you to create a dreamworld but within our reality?
The dream world is not used as a fantasy. It’s a place where everything is funny and ideal et cetera, but it’s more like a practical tool for expressing how humans should face in reality. We are not describing an objective reality, but the effect that this reality provokes on humans. Our music is our way of paving the whole graphic process. al way.
Then the dream world, but in the end, it’s a metaphor, of course. We are trying to emphasize that metaphor, but it’s nothing to do with dreaming. The act of dreaming is the act of imagining of wishing a change or wishing to change ourselves and control our weaknesses. Dreaming also helps us try to improve our lives, and in the end, the whole world and a new dialogue are balanced between humans and between ideas and reality. For enticing, our speech and the world would be the best summary of how we define every topic. I mean this case that the dream world use.
Are there any parts in this album that you found more challenging?
Musically speaking, the album combines some of the most contemplative and at the same time, most of the furious music parts we have ever done, in my opinion. It responds to the process we have followed as a band trying to make the tools that we have work. We have always been a band trying to offer density. I think that our music is so vital. And, in that case, not using distortion for the very first time in a so-called metal music. I believe we have reached most of the more challenging, but at the same time, we use parts we have never done. And considering that we came from the three first albums in a more avant-garde black metal direction. I’m glad that now we can transcend in musical styles, boundaries, et cetera, and define ourselves. I’m so happy that the album is so dynamic in terms of going up and down in a current way with relaxing moments, furious moments. This tragic sense backs everything to the general concept and connection with that cultural movement from the end of the 19th century. Everything is connected, in my opinion.
Is there anything else that you want to say or add?
I’m eager to launch the whole album in the world. We are in the promotional period, and you always have doubts that make you not scared, but anxious to see how the world will receive it. For example, when we perform new material, we try to create music to express ourselves and to connect with people. At some point, we recollect on musicians and friends. But, in the end, what we want and we like to connect with people. Connect first by touring, by letting people listen to our music and knowing everything more about who we are and how we see the world is very important to me. This is why I try to explain my lyrics and music in a very personal and emotional way. It’s something that matters to me. We want to do different kinds of music, a dark one, a tragic one, but always transcending in music styles.
Do you have any touring plans?
We signed with Doomstar Booking. We use the agency here in Europe, handling a lot of things. Most of them from Season of Mist and other labels and we are working now on a tour, which will probably take us more into 2020. On the presentation week, we have here in Barcelona is a festival called AMFest, which we’ll be among bands like Deafheaven, and Zeal and Ardor, the Touché Amoré, Alcest. It will be a huge party, and to me, it’s an open-minded musical environment. Then we have another gig in Brighton, United Kingdom, in November, and according to our Booker, we are working on 2020, joining some of the bands from the roster or dealing by ourselves with a tour. We want to play a lot with this album because we know this is the best way to connect with people and to spread the music and work.
About work, everyone in the band, have the flexibility on taking, let’s say vacations, three days, et cetera. This is how we manage to deal with our day jobs because we wanted to have time for music. Some people, sadly it’s changed by their job duties, and well, we have been out there for 15 years, so dealing with bands, et cetera. And we have all always tried not to leave part over the years because of vacations for the group. We want to go for the band to tour so the job must adapt or, well, our lives must adapt. Must be adapted to both sides. The music and our jobs are true that music is not yet our job. It’s our passion and we are trying to reach another level. But at the moment, what do we know is that every opportunity we have ahead is an opportunity we want to face. So we will manage.
