I love all kinds of music. One thing that I really enjoy about Down The Line is getting to check out new bands and tell other people about them. Maugrim was a band that I came across while looking at the website for Bombworks Records, and somehow after following various links I came across this band. For those who follow C.S. Lewis and his Narnia series, you will recognize Maugrim as the name of the wolf who was the captain of the secret police that served the White Witch. So I purchased their CD Paths Of The Dammed based solely on the cover art and the album description which was “ambient with dark, narrative vocals.” It sounded interesting, so I picked it up and immediately liked it. Alex is the man behind the name, and I was able to catch up with him for a good question and answer session. Please also check out the links at the bottom of the page, Maugrim has a couple of cool t-shirts that can be ordered through Starve The Flesh Clothing. For now, enjoy…
When/how did Maugrim start and come together?
Well, Maugrim came into existence the summer after my senior year of high school. It started out with some fooling around with music pieces and toying around with some synths on garage band, and then a friend telling me I should start making ambient music. At the time, I did not even listen to any ambient music, but I decided to give it a try, and now have opened myself up to a whole new world of music.
Maugrim has been just you up until recently, can you tell us a little about Elan O’Neil who just joined the band?
Well, Élan has been a pretty good friend over the past year. We started talking when I conducted an interview with him for Christian Metal Fellowship with the band he played drums for at the time, Day of Ascension. Élan is currently taking parts in multiple musical projects including Old Forgotten Lands (which is his own ambient project), Asgáth (his noise project), Élan (a black metal project), and a newer black metal act called Old Wounds. Over the thanksgiving holiday Élan and his wife spent a few days with my family and me. We worked on a lot of field recordings and discussed many ideas which is when I decided to ask him to join the project.
The last update on your MySpace page says there is a lot in store, what direction musically are you headed with the band?
There are currently a lot of different things I would like to happen with Maugrim. I hope to record an album in the future sort of following the style of the project Elffor, as well as record a full black metal album, and then experiment with some acoustic stuff and include lots of field recordings. Really, I would like to explore all different music aspects, but continue to stay faithful to the dark ambient sound as a whole.
When will the split with Equilibrium Ablaze be released?
The cassette version is coming out anytime on Tapes from the Woods. Everything is set, we are just waiting on him to release it. The CD version has all of the material sent to EEE Records, we have not decided on a specific date, but in the meantime I may work on getting field recordings of fire to replace the samples used.
Who/what are the influences for Maugrim?
As of right now the influences vary from dark ambient to all different kinds of metal and soundscapes. The main influence though is a dark ambient project that not too many people may know, which went by the name of Taur Nu Fuin. Other acts include Agalloch, Elffor, Summoning, Seregost, Gaoth Anair, and Austere. Most of these may not show musically as being influences, but have all had an impact on me somehow.
How do you think the digital age of music has helped/hurt Maugrim?
The digital age has most definitely helped Maugrim out a lot. I’ll be honest, if I did not own a laptop with recording capabilities, Maugrim would not exist.
How has the secular market/fans accepted Maugrim? Has being on a ‘Christian’ label hurt or helped the music?
So far, Maugrim has not had much exposure to the secular market, which is something I want to aim to do in the future because the music is more geared towards a darker sort of non-Christian scene.
On a more personal note, are you a believer and does your faith play a role in your art? If so, to what degree?
I am a believer. Born and raised in a Christian home, both of my parents have been pastors at some point (father was but had to resign his position for health reasons, mother is a children’s pastor currently). I attend a Christian college in Pennsylvania right now. I have been through a lot of spiritual battles, but still come out with faith. As far as playing a role in Maugrim, the lyrical themes for some of it touches on faith based things, but a lot of the newer stuff is about nature and loss.
What are some of the obstacles to being on a ‘Christian’ label when you are in a genre of music that is so dark?
Not getting exposure to specific scenes would be a big one.
Who are you listening to right now? What’s in your ipod or cd player?
I listen to a lot of different things, mostly metal. A few favorites would be Agalloch, Austere, Virgin Black, Moonsorrow, Eluveitie, The Morningside, Fen, Woods of Ypres, A Hill to Die Upon among hundreds of others.
Who did the artwork for Paths of the Damned, do they have a website?
DrawnsworD did the artwork for Paths of the Damned, and it came out fantastic. Its a perfect depiction of what I wanted to shoot for. As far as a website, I am not entirely sure, he does have a MyDpace though, which you can check out here: http://www.myspace.com/drawnswordgraphix
He has done multitudes of other great drawings for underground acts as well, and he also does artwork for Untombed magazine
Is there any other stuff available that you have done?
Well, music wise, not yet. I’m working on planning out a lot of releases right now. For example, as we said earlier, there is the split with EA coming out, then there will be a split with the notorious project known as “Njiqahdda” which will include a track that clocks in at over a half hour on Maugrim’s part. This will be the first Maugrim song to have actual field recordings, as well as a black metal segment in the song. It is also being discussed of releasing a limited box edition of this split, including some goods that any fan of either project would want to have in their collection. After this split is released, there is another split planned with a band that I will leave unnamed, because I have not been able to contact him lately. This project has been my biggest musical influence for Maugrim though. I have already began working on the material for this split as well. I’m sort of planning out some other material as well, and I may possibly release a very limited pressing (like 25 or 50 copies) of some unreleased demo tracks. Other then the stuff mentioned, there are two t-shirt designs available from Starve The Flesh and we are working on putting a hoodie up.
Any last words that you would like to add, or anything you would like to say?
I would like to thank everyone who has read this interview, and taken time to check out my material. Please stay posted on the MySpace page, I will keep updates there. Also, if you enjoy the music, it would mean a lot to show support and if you would purchase one of the t-shirts. The company that prints them are great friends, and could use the support.
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