Interviewed by Khrysanthoney, 2010

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-Good evening young man. Please introduce your band, Necktarium. What does the name mean?

Necktarium: Good Evening. Necktarium you can say, is Shoegazing atmospheric black metal. Its meaning well, Necktarium can be thought of, as a place where all the sweet, sugary nectar is kept.

-Your first demo "Dreamblur" should be available by the time we post this interview. How would you describe this EP to those who haven't heard it?

Necktarium: If you like raw atmospheric/melancholic music yet at the same time, fascinated by dreamy realms, I'd suggest you check it out.

-You claim that your lyrics are very personal and cannot be revealed. Still, could you maybe give a clue as to what subject matters inspire Necktarium?

Necktarium: Lyrics are personal indeed. But not in "emo-ish" sense. They are more or less about weird visions and dreams and at times strange, unsettling thoughts and feelings. Spoken words from "Fogdance Blue" may give you an idea what I am talking about. Basically I believe in letting the music and atmosphere itself do the communication part, so that the listener can submerge him/herself into the soundscapes properly rather having the need to have word-by-word explanation, so that's another reason for not revealing them, they rather serve as a reference for myself.

-What parts of "Dreamblur" are your favorite?

Necktarium: As its my own creation, it definitely reflects how I, myself want atmospheric music to sound like, exactly what I want to listen to according to my taste. I personally like "the dreamless sun" the most out of the lot, because , it has that special deeply immersing feel this music is supposed to have, it is the second last off the demo and last of the black metal vibe tracks from the bunch. It continuously keeps getting more and more blurry and fuzzy as the song proceeds, eventually fading out to something very calm and tranquil. Then the dream sequence in "fogdance blue", it came out pretty perfectly, just as I wanted it to be.

-What parts of "Dreamblur" are your least favorite, meaning something you feel should have been worked differently?

Necktarium: There are several tiny bit of things which I think could've been done otherwise. Ever since the release, I've thought that "Ante Meridiem" could've been much more stronger if another layer of distortion had been laid into it, similarly the basslines on dreamless sun are my favorites from the demo, but they are mixed a bit too low under the plethora of distortions, so they mostly go unheard until and unless the listener is using a very decent pair of headphones (which are actually recommended).

-Was there something specific, like a certain kind of sound or atmosphere that you were trying to achieve with this demo?

Necktarium: Yes of course. As the name of the demo suggests, I wanted to make, a soundtrack for blurred out visions from serene dreamscapes full of sweetness (a ton of things which I regard as sweet J) very unlike this ''reality''. And I feel only black metal with a dreampop posture to it could help express.

-What kind of comments have people been making about it?

Necktarium: The response and feedback has been very good and supportive, I'd like to thank all those who listened to the demo and tried to spread it to others through blogs, youtube etc.

-Are you satisfied overall?

Necktarium: I think I should answer yes. I am satisfied. But at the same time, I have an urge to improve and experiment with incorporating many other styles and sound over time. In my opinion, it's a musician's general tendency that they always want to get better /improve with the passage of time.

-What gave you the idea to start recording your own music?

Necktarium: I don't remember exactly. But I was introduced to music at a very early age. Usual metal stuff I used to listen to when I was a kid. Slowly and gradually, as my music taste changed and I got influenced by different artists, I felt I could present my own interpretation of ideas in sonic form myself. I've never been a fan of covering songs, I believe that playing music represents what is really the state of mind of the musician at the time.

-It's hard to imagine that music with a black metal aesthetic can emerge in your part of the world, and Necktarium is one of about 10 or less to speak of. What is it like to be a musician and a fan of BM in Pakistan?

Necktarium: Its not too hard actually, in a way. Lately, as the genre is reaching its height, there are a lot of people who are getting into Metal in general. We even have a metal label in Pakistan now. Although, Black Metal fans are comparatively a little lesser(probably two out of twenty 'metalheads' consider black metal to be even music). The youth is basically fonder of banging their heads to 'real metal', which actually means only thrash metal but that's a common issue these days, typical closed-mindedness when it comes to metal. Well, realization obviously takes time.

-What other bands are you involved with?

Necktarium: I work with a very good friend of mine from India in a postrock/ambient music project called The Eternal Twilight, which takes inspiration from Hammock to July Skies to Sigur Ros, we're yet to record something properly, but we've been collecting ideas and recording fragments since early late '08. In the very beginning when I was getting around knowing recording techniques, I began with a project called Abyssed, which had a pretty weird sound to begin with, glad that I actually learnt stuff and marked its end.

-How serious are you with Necktarium? Is this something you have high hopes for or is it just a project to do in your spare time when you feel like it?

Necktarium: Necktarium is something which resonates with my own thoughts. I am serious about it, but obviously get to work only when I get the time and motivation and the desired state of mind.

-While "Dreamblur" shows a bright potential you still have a lot of work cut out for you to take your band up to the next level. Do you agree? If so, what will it take to do it?

Necktarium: Obviously, I've learnt many different things from this demo, which definitely I would try my best to improve and work upon in the future with Necktarium. A fact about dreamblur is that it was basically written and recorded in less than 2 months, although the recording process was delayed in between due to an injury that I suffered which kept me from sitting or standing properly, thus until I recovered I could only dream and muse about how dreamless sun would have a very drowsy feel to it etc. So In the future I would obviously be taking my time in perfecting each and every aspect of the production aswell as the music, be it two months or two years.

-So you have any interests outside of music?

Necktarium: Yes I do. I love nature, every aspect of it. There's always a time in a month when I feel a strong appetite for good movies. Recently I've started taking interest in photography and I also have plans of making up a short-movie sometime, someday.

-Name some bands you have in constant rotation.

Necktarium: I've been listening to a lot of CC/VC, Cocteau twins, Sister Vanilla, Ether Aura and My bloody valentine lately, with hints of some very pretty electronic projects like Ladytron, viva le fete etc.

-In what ways will the next recording be similar to or different from "Dreamblur"?

Necktarium: As I see it, the next recording shall be more dreamy and melancholic - yet even rawer. It shall have more chunks of shoegazing with a more emotional blend, say what about playing The Dreamless Sun and Fogdance Blue simultaneously?

-Josh (Velvet Cacoon) has expressed quite a bit of interest in Necktarium. How does it feel to have someone who's helped to inspire you praise your music?

Necktarium: It certainly feels very accomplishing, as it signals that I have created what I really actually wanted to, successfully, because when someone feels the true essence in the same way you put into it, that's the best feeling you can have as a musician.

-Now with the release of 'Dreamblur" on CD and tape what do you plan next?

Necktarium: I haven't actually planned out a schedule of sorts for Necktarium yet, but I have plenty of ideas gathered up in my mind, as it's getting pretty cold here, it's the perfect time to start arranging the fragments of sweet melancholy of winters and writing down the warm emotions.

-Thanks for talking with me about Necktarium. Please close out this interview.

Necktarium: Thank you for conducting this interview, it is indeed a pleasure to be a part of Khrysanthoney.