(Halo Manash pilgrimage, Varanasi, India - 'Burning is Learning, All is Ash')


(Polar Stones and Sky Awakenings)





HALO MANASH interview (september 2008)


1. In the beginning I would like to ask you about a banal but necessary thing. Antti – tell me something about the reason for which Halo Manash was set up. You were working in Dolorian too; instead of this you need more place to realize your fascination or to manifest your spirit?

H.M.: I would say that in the beginning it was rather the entity of Halo Manash that found me and not vice versa. Of course, I had also been seeking for some time an entirely novel and all-encompassing vehicle, which would enable a comprehensive communication with transpersonal reality surrounding us all, and moreover to guide my very spirit through all the thundering stages of consciousness towards the purest primal Mana.

For the involved personnel, Halo Manash is most of all a concrete and powerful tool, through which we communicate, and bridge the worlds of being and non-being. It is a call – a symbol ever-present and thus not bound by limits of time and space. Moreover, be it known that the most obvious output of the group, meaning the both musical and visual dimensions, should be considered no greater than just a vapour arising from the seething cauldron holding the very Elixir of the Being itself. In Halo Manash there exists many sacred layers and hidden regions that dwell way beyond these two in a way so transient and earthly dimensions – penetrating the surface is only a question of personal sacrifice and devotion.

It has always been the aim of the personae involved in Halo Manash to seek, explore, experience, study and decipher reflections of the prevailing elemental emanations, ever-shifting shapes and different worlds. Not forgetting deliberate and accidental encounters with spirits, entities et cetera. These findings, after eventually receiving more mundane form, are then presented through various aural and visual elements. In our work sound and movement come together as rhythmical language that facilitates communion with elemental beings. Our aim is to revitalize one of the oldest forms of communication, to open the half-hidden passages with the aid of music and visuals and widen the horizon of perception concerning states of otherness lying in-between the cardinal directions.

In summary, for us Halo Manash is nothing but an exacting yet rewarding and continuous pilgrimage to pure consciousness, primal essence and beyond.



2. Let’s talk about the album “Se Its En” and its composition. All tracks last for 7 minutes. It’s common knowledge that this is a magic number – it says about the depth of soul and the spirit. The special features of protection and power over the world were attributed to it by influence of the seven planets. The Goths believed in seven gods, the Chaldees in seven worlds and the Mohammedans believed that Heaven and Hell are split into seven different levels. What’s the meaning of number 7 on Halo Manash first album?



H.M.: At the beginning it is necessary to bring forth the fact that in Se Its En the research and interpretation around the number seven, and naturally the wide spectrum of other associated manifold attributes, was most of the time realised through the prevailing state of Halo Manash itself – for the end result this makes a crucial difference.

The work can not be considered in any way as a mere earthly, self-centred outcome of expedition; we rather see it as a kind of well absorbed, continually living and assisting metaphysical implement that now guides and enlightens our journey in the Great Elemental Current.

Se Its En can be also seen as a part of a greater map that, after its physical formation, continues to work as a beacon or as a mediator of a certain area or knowledge – a guide of spiritual crossroads. The demanding and intense realization process of the work made possible that from now on it operates also as a very powerful instinct that, after penetrating its way to beyond, bestows upon us a sense of direction and a sort of stability when needed.

As many times before, working with a specific theme has an intention to aid us in reaching long term goals – it has never been overly important for us to derive a quick and brief benefit from anywhere. We firmly believe that, when time passes on and deep personal experiences take place, the several transient and abstract insights interlace and open the way for comprehensive realization.



3. The next album is Par-Antra I: Vir. Can you give away the clue of this album’s message?

H.M.: We have never felt it overly essential to explain for fellow explorers too much or too precisely about our own encounters, rather the opposite; we do not want excessively interfere or restrict the utilization of individuals own instincts.

The destruction of the fixed patterns of personality allows one to overcome the limitations of for e.g. binding cultural factors, and thus the fundamental aspects of any of our work will be revealed to the perceiver in a form of pure atavistic knowledge.

Par-Antra trilogy concentrates on research of parallel forms and primal pathways. Thus, the work can be considered also to be kind of a gate-opener of the current era. It happens quite often that after we have personally or as a group reached one landmark, the second is already visible far in the horizon – this is what we consider to be the ever-flowing force of Halo Manash. So, as a result of the awakened revelations of VIR, the next work SYoMA was born.

The manifestations of the following album can be considered as guides, direction sigils, or as a language of entities which usher you towards the ultimate realization of the transpersonal entity, SYoMA.

The elemental impulse, which catalyzed the whole creative process of SYoMA, started to grow gradually during and after the completion of Par-Antra I: VIR. Initially, the prime mover revealed only glimpses of its external appearance, and as time went by, it was through careful exploration that the all-encompassing communication reached the level of concrete actualization. However, one can never stress enough the obvious fact that the primeval force still continues to interact with the seeker whenever the particular current runs strong.

To experience the true power of SYoMA, one will have to travel through many layers of hidden regions and inner states to find the pure source – and it is from this source where one will be able to find and learn the true essence of what eventually got a name, SYoMA. A comprehensive, long-lasting communication with the entities is the only way to reach pure knowledge.

We sincerely believe that the fundamental aspects of our works can be achieved by everyone through a metaphysical pilgrimage. The albums will surely reveal the various passages for the humble explorer, which will lead one towards Sacral Meeting.


"Halo Manash - Am Kha Astire - Anti Ittna H."



4. What’s your collaboration with Aural Hypnox like? Scandinavia abounds with such works as your way to AH?

H.M.: As a matter of fact I am (AIH) the founder of the Aural Hypnox label and at the moment I am working as a managing director, so choice for the label has always been rather clear.

Aural Hypnox came into being in the end of 2003, immediately after I quit working with the Blue Sector label, which I co-founded with a friend.

At the moment, Aural Hypnox concentrates only on the output of the members of the Helixes collective. Expanding out to support other interesting acts has been on the cards several times, but so far these groups (Aeoga, Aural Holograms, Arktau Eos, Halo Manash and Zoät-Aon) have been more than creative enough, demanding all the time and resources available.

The fundamental reasons for founding our own label were numerous. The most important being the freedom concerning all decisions regarding production and aesthetics. In this era, when people and companies forget their primal aims and go for easy profit, Aural Hypnox is able to provide all the Helixes collective members the exact milieu and framework which we, the label and the artists, deem fit at a given time: both sides win.

With all its productions, Aural Hypnox aims for an all-encompassing view, which for its part attempts to for e.g. preserve waning cultural characteristics and dimensions. At this very moment, small and yet easily distinguishable matters separate labels. It is our belief that Aural Hypnox releases are important because they offer stimulating and challenging views, making real and total experiences possible.


"Halo Manash - Am Kha Astire - Akiz"



5. Your show during the Cocart Festival in Torun (Poland) was received warmly by the audience. According to my understanding you are exactly that- what people have awaited for a long time. How does it look like in your country? Are you a well-known band already?

H.M.: We might be fairly well acknowledged and regarded in some circles in our homeland, but it is always difficult and questionable to try to assess such things, and not something we engage in much. As Halo Manash in its essence and being is far and beyond simply a ”band”, it is not in any way dependant on outside recognition or appreciation (or lack thereof). Indeed, there are manifestations of Halo Manash that are left completely outside of any sort of public or outer form that are as essential and central to it as the more public works, such as albums or performances.



6. And now the question which should be asked in every interview. I mean the various poetic inspirations – from musical on to film, literary and philosophical. Does something hide in your soul, some kind of essence in order to manifest it as Halo Manash?

H.M.: Halo Manash draws its Life-force from primal experience, and this is what lies at the root of its essence. What often motivates or guides the creation of a work is an intense experience - it might be an ordeal, a journey, a ritual, a series of dreams, a vision, a symbol or image, ad infinitum - rather than an abstract idea within a specific cultural context. The works themselves are often a reflection of said experiences.

And again, as Halo Manash is not a ”band” in the sense of seeking inspiration from other artistic sources or viewing things in some sort of (sub)cultural context, it is not words, books, works of art, music or film that guide us, although we of course find an immense of value in such things. The awe and primacy of experiential knowledge is what drives us. For inspiration and guidance, we listen to the birds and trees, to the poetry of the Anima Mundi itself, and to our instincts.





7. Do you attach importance to your concerts? That they are not ordinary concerts- they are rather a form of performance or ritual deriving an energy from the surroundings, in order to give as much as possible…

H.M.: Every Halo Manash performance thus far has been an invocation. All performances feature actions planned in advance, as well as actions arising in the sacred moment – and both are equally central to the invocatory performance. The actions are an extrenalization of what we are, what we experience, and what our intent is. The performances are not rituals per se, but definetly ritualistic. Ritualistic in this context could be defined as sacred patterns of action and movement with conscious intentions. We communicate and deliver our invocations not using words, but rather the primal UR-language and cosmic vibrations of sound itself. We feed the spirits of our sacred instruments, the vehicles of sound, with mantras, liquors and and a myriad of other substances. All movements, gestures, stances, libations, burnings of herbs and incenses, and other things one may witness live are part of this invocation. We aim to create a space where people, including ourselves, can directly experience Halo Manash.

For us, performing live is a very intense and often raw experience. It takes something out and gives something into us in a very real and concrete way. Rather than the audience viewing the events as some kind of ”show” or spectacle outside of themselves, we would hope they would feel as participants in the invocations, and actually become part of the experience itself. Often we have wanted to sacralize this inclusion of the audience as participants in the experience by involving them in different direct ways to the specific work at hand: in Antwerpen it was randomly throwing pieces of antler into the audience, in St.Petersburg and Moscow it was giving out white pieces of cloth with symbols imprinted on them, in Lille and Paris it was smearing the foreheads of members of the audience with sacred substances, and so forth.



8. What’s the origin of the DVD film "In 4 Elements"? Where was it launched and who is responsible for its realization? What’s its clue like?

H.M.: The film In 4 Elements forms one part of the work r.A.S.H.n.k.a-RA, the other being the album In PolarDual. The parts or works are interrelated, two sides of the same whole. Halo Manash is responsible for its realization. The film was directed, filmed and edited by us, although we did get help from a friend in some technical aspects relating to post-production work.

In 4 Elements was a ritual, experienced and executed during 4 consecutive days and nights in northern Finland. The audio and video were recorded and filmed simultaneously, with only some of the vocals recorded separately. The days were spent preparing, building and setting up for the night, when the ritual-sessions themselves took place. But, in the end, those days and nights in themselves were part of the ritual as a whole, as we constantly experienced and sensed a presence(s), and were guided by signs and blessed by auspicious weather, without which the film could not have been realized.

What one can experience in the film is a condensation of an immense energy and intense experience, meant and constructed very deliberately and carefully to be as an invocation in itself, where everything is meant to convey or symbolize something, including the shifting colours and other aspects of cinematic language and expression. It is a template for transformative, transcendent experience.

As for ”clues”, it should be repeated that sometimes people put too much unnecessary effort in trying to discover what we personally intend, or what lies behind this or that, or they try to identify some tradition or stream we could be likened to... Rather than just experiencing, approaching and appreciating it on a personal level for themselves. For we have no intrest in proselytizing. What is found after searching has infinetly more value than that which is given without effort. Go toward the mysteries, and the mysteries will come toward you.



9. Halo Manash is using a wide variety of acoustic and electronic instruments. Tell us about all these traditional archaic instruments and how you in turn compromise these with contemporary music tools?

H.M.: We consider our instruments, the vehicles of sound, as sacred. They guide us and speak to us, and we communicate and travel with and via them.

We have used and use a variety of self-made as well as traditional instruments (although often very special or sacral). This means instruments harnessed out of some organic, animate material like bone, horn, wood, shells, feathers, etc - we have used drums and trumpets made out of various bones, wind-instruments made out of horns, percussive instruments made out of antlers and jawbones, and so forth. These instruments possess a definite aura and energy of their own, often related to the material which holds their spirit. We also use a multitude of metal-percussions and drums, such as a wide array of gongs, cymbals and such, as well as self-made and self-titled ”thunder-sheets” and ”solar discs”, and so forth. We are constantly seeking to deepen our relationship with such instruments and to make new, unique ones, as we are very inspired by both the approach, process and end result that such work entails.

Although we also perform completely acoustically, our instruments, that often represent primal and archaic materials, elements and forces, are usually harnessed via an electronic medium and modern technology. This merging of the archaic and primal with the technological, wherein both of these ends of the spectrum are amplified by each other, creates a complementary and timeless synthesis.



10. From where is the conception of the hand-finished limited edition of Language of Red Goats?

H.M.: Quite simply and directly, in the face of mechanized consumer culture, Halo Manash upholds the age-old values of artisanship and handicrafts. Contrary to mass-produced products, we aim to make cultural artifacts of deeper meaning and higher quality.

This approach also means that we reject cheap brick-a-brack, usually marketed by bands and projects to promote their music – this would be antithetical to our worldview. We are interested in ecological, sustainable lifestyles, alternatives to the current consumerist ethos full of meaningless diversions.

When we release limited editions, it is not to be able to sell them for absurd amounts of money or to make them “collectors items”, but limited simply because they are hand-made and it would be highly impractical or impossible to make more of them.

With Language of Red Goats, we wanted to give those seekers who felt more deeply drawn to the work an opportunity to experience it more fully and to delve into it more deeply, via additional guides, images, symbols and artifacts, such as a hand-made booklet and a picture of a painting relating to the work, “The Forest of Red Goats”. In this case it also meant releasing a 'standard' limited edition, as well as a very limited 'Nether Nectar' edition, in an undisclosed number of copies. The Nether Nectar is a special and potent plant-based oneiric elixir, ritually gathered, prepared and blessed by us, that was a central guide to us during the creation of the album. We were involved in a year-long systematic exploration of this plant where we slowly developed a relationship with it, and it has thusly grown to be a deep and powerful ally. To our knowledge, such extensive creative work involving this plant has not been done before. This Nether Nectar edition is not for sale - only given and offered as a libation of Light to those friends and fellow travellers genuinly seeking and sharing our exploration of the realms of the Red Goats.



11. Say a few words about your concert plans and when we may expect a new album.

Halo Manash is in the process of releasing a trilogy of albums that create one wholistic work, although each one of the three albums are complete works in themselves. The first album and part of this tripartite body of work is the recently released Language of Red Goats. The second album is named Am Kha Astrie, to be released shortly, and the third, also to include a film, currently has the working-title Polar Stones and Sky Awakenings.

The trilogy can be viewed as a treelogy – a tripartite work in the shape of a tree, with roots, a trunk and branches. Language of Red Goats, the first part, is the celestial Lunar seed in the dark earthly womb that gives form to the roots, that spread themselves in the underworlds, in the nether realms, in cavernous depths populated by serpentine, slithering creatures. Am Kha Astrie, the second part, is the trunk, the pillar that breaks the surfaces and planes, crossing the thresholds, and emerges upward, rising into this world – it is horns spiraling skywards, antlers ascending into light. Polar Stones and Sky Awakenings is the branches of the tree, reaching toward Sol and Stars and beyond; it is the leafs and fruit of those branches and their skybound nectar; the cradle of winged, feathered creatures - it is the Crown at the peak, the bright, clear light- the Heavenly Fire.

The works are also tree-faced in very many other aspects: in relation to the seasons, states of being, and various other correspondences. And, of course these aspects and correspondences are not stale and solid, but rather fluxuating and approximate, and yet possibly the dominate characteristics of these various sides of the work, offered here to help the seeker navigate through the terrains, if he/she so chooses. And, these are also of course only the plainly and openly perceivable aspects of the work – other aspects are there for the seeker to discover for themselves.

Language of Red Goats is feminine, Am Kha Astrie is masculine, and Polar Stones and Sky Awakenings is both – the consummation of male and female polarities. Language of Red Goats is winter and dream and awakening. Am Kha Astrie is spring and birth and coming-into-being. Polar Stones and Sky Awakenings is summer, life, death, re-birth, passing-into-new-being. Only three seasons because in more archaic times our ancestors only knew of the three mentioned seasons (winter, spring, summer), autumn being a later addition. The work as a whole represents an eternal spiral, a total transformative cycle of Life, Death and Re-birth.

Besides regular concerts, Halo Manash also has an interest to engage in smaller acoustic performances at various sacred sites, ancient or modern. For example, on our recent mini-tour of France and Belgium, we did small acoustic invocations at various sacred sites, such as ancient holy trees, and performed a small free invitation-only concert in the garden of one of the organizers.

Many concerts in Europe and Russia are being planned and organized at present time. In addition to concerts, there are also plans for more multi-dimensional and multi-medial Halo Manash events, such as exhibitions of photographs and screenings of films. All interested organizers, clubs and galleries are urged to contact us.



Anti Ittna H. and Akiz speaking on behalf of Halo Manash

Interview by Sylwia Partyka




info:

www.helixes.org
www.myspace.com/halomanash



Halo Manash - Saint Petersburg live




Halo Manash - CoCArt Music Festival, Torun