MORTIIS Interview
March 26, 2011
By Ben Tourkantonis
MORTIIS Press Release: OSLO, Norway - Following a wildly success European tour, Mortiis will once again team up with Combichrist for another round of dates in the UK this summer. "We haven´t played the UK in a while, it feels great to finally be able to get back over there and meet some old friends and hopefully gain some new ones," said band namesake Mortiis. "The European tour with Combichrist was a blast so we know this one will be too." The Mortiis/Combichrist European tour took the two groups on a two month-long trek all throughout the continent. During the tour, Mortiis offered fans a preview of the band's newest material, which is starkly heavier and more aggressive than past offerings. Prior to the European tour, Mortiis was focused preparing their latest releases, the upcoming full-length "The Great Deceiver" and "Perfectly Defect," a free digital download unveiled October 10 at www.mortiis.com.
We spoke with MORTIIS about touring, the music industry and much more. Don’t miss MORTIIS when they go on tour again with another incredible band, COMBICHRIST.
Ben: Tell us about “The Great Deceiver”.
MORTIIS: Well it´s been in the process for a long time, we actually recorded TGD and Perfectly Defect pretty much at the same time, but decided to put out Perfectly Defect as a free download album last year, you can still get it here: www.mortiis.com - PD turned out to be a pretty experimental album, while TGD is a really dark and heavy sounding industrial crossover album. Hope to have it out by the end of the year.
Ben: What was the inspiration for this album?
MORTIIS: The usual, being pissed off with the world and the people in it. I´m not a naturally angry person, but taking a look around, at the world, it´s hypocrisy and some of the deceitful people I stupidly let a little too close to me, triggers my angry gene, so to speak, so I take inspiration from that kind of shit.
Ben: What are some results you hope to achieve from its release?
MORTIIS: None. If it does some good for us then that is great, but at the end of the day, if I can die knowing I put out some good music then that´s cool to me.
Ben: Any notable songs from “The Great Deceiver” you'd like to tell us about?
MORTIIS: I don´t have stories or anything special to say about any of the songs. I´m proud of all of them, I think they will stand the test of time and to me they´re very special, though I have no idea what they will mean to others. If they mean something to someone then that´s a great achievement I guess.
Ben: How is the tour with COMBICHRIST going?
MORTIIS: Good. Turnouts are good and we´re doing great shows every night...I think we´re preaching to a new kind of crowd and obviously you get the occasional one-tracked electro numbskull showing up but in general it seems to be going over quite well.
Ben: What sets MORTIIS’S live performances apart from other artists?
MORTIIS: I don’t know...We punk our way through a lot of shows, we´re not synchronized and all in symmetry like some lame bands are. We just get up there and fight our way through the show. I think that sort of energy, almost a kind of chaos, sets us a little apart.
Ben: How does touring in Europe differ from touring in The US?
MORTIIS: In the US it´s all one language and you don´t have to wave your passport around every half hour. Other than that, I´m not sure it´s that different. In the US the kids seem to appreciate that you hang out after the show more than they do over here. Maybe Europeans are just a little more shy...
Ben: Tell us about two memorable moments on stage: One good and one bad.
MORTIIS: Worst memory was probably from Greece a few years ago where a fan jumped up on this really tall stage, and was pulled down by security, he fell and hit the iron fence sideways around his abdomen, passed out blank, I saw him laying in the gutter outside the show two hours later, and had black shit coming out of his mouth...I don´t even know if he survived. The ambulance took forever to arrive. A great moment, I don’t know...I always feel awkward on stage and a lot of cool shit that happens in the crowd etc I just don´t see it because I enter this weird conscious level on stage where I zone out and just fight my way through the show in my own way. I like playing live, but at the same time I feel as if I´m an alien and don´t really belong there.
Ben: Throughout your music career, there have been many changes in the music industry. How have you adapted to these changes?
MORTIIS: I don´t know...I just go with the flow, try to adapt and to just go with whatever happens.
Ben: What role does social networking play in the marketing of MORTIIS?
MORTIIS: We´ve done all our own social networking, so it´s important, it´s a way to stay in control of your business. I´ve heard about bands that let their management etc take full control of their social sites and that just seems incredibly stupid to me.
Ben: What is the greatest challenge you've encountered (in your personal life or in your career) and how did you overcome it?
MORTIIS: Every second of being signed to Earache Records was a career and personal nightmare. If you ask them, they´ll tell you they made me a star and all kinds of bullshit. Reality was they raped us every chance they got. I´m not saying all labels are like that because that’s not true. But to survive a deal with those guys was a challenge. We came out of it, with the best music and videos we´ve ever done in our back pockets, ready to release.
Ben: How do you define success (personally) and do you think you're successful?
MORTIIS: I don´t know. I survived the record deal from hell, I personally paid for and recorded several albums and videos that are ready to go, so I guess in that sense I am extremely successful, but commercially I think we have a long ways to go.
Ben: In the past two decades, what is the most important thing you've discovered about yourself?
MORTIIS: I don´t know how to quit.
Ben: What is the fuel to your fire? In other words, what drives you?
MORTIIS: My hatred of false and greedy people and my love for my family.
Ben: And last but not least, I've included one JOKE question from the book “Would you rather”? Would you rather wear a dead fish as a necklace for 10 days or stick a live fish up your ass for 10 seconds?
MORTIIS: I hate fish but I´m not into cruelty, so I guess I´d have to wear the dead fish for 10 days, ha ha.
June 28 Southampton, UK @ Talking Heads
June 29 Leamington Spa, UK @ The Assembly
June 30 Manchester, UK @ Academy
July 01 Glasgow, UK @ The Classic Grand
July 02 Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
July 03 London, UK @ Koko