1. The split of Negura Bunget into two parties, one being Negru and a new line-up, one being you and Sol Faur, came extremely unexpected to the public. Has this been a recent development, or something you had to struggle with since the band’s birth?
The idea of splitting up the band was floating around for a couple of years; personally I regret that I didn’t do it earlier, probably right after “ OM ” was released. I realised that he was planning this thing for a while, long enough to be prepared for this moment. Seeing that he was already acting behind the curtains for a long time was and still is distressful. The concluding final event of splitting was not about any superficial disagreement between the members, but something more profound and with deep meanings that was slowly rising in time.
2. Within a couple of days, there have been various versions of statements from both Negru and you concerning the band split. I’m pretty sure your fans have been (or still are) confused. Could you please sum up what has happened, from the moment you decided to split up until now? This is your chance to clear up any misunderstandings.
I can’t say too many different things that were already said in those statements. We commonly decided we’d split up the band without making too much noise about it, that we will sign together a common official statement and that none will use the name of the band in the future. What the actual result was, everybody can see right now.
3. I’ve heard that Negru owns the rights on practically everything concerning the name Negura Bunget. Seriously… why that? And how does that come?
We actually had a well structured duties split in our band. Everyone was doing what knew best and what was best fitting them. We had some unspoken and unwritten rules, rules that actually represent the basis of the black metal principles. We considered it was not necessary to point out what everyone had to do, because these things were happening naturally. When the basics are founded on trust and on unconditional acts, there is no need for all those formal agreements; but it seems that for some people it is quite hard to sustain such a purpose at an impeccable level without being tempted to get corrupted. To be able to believe and encapsulate all these principles in one’s life, proves to be a high provocation and not everyone could sustain it indefinitely.
Concerning the name of the band, Negru was the one that brought it up. It was a name that was fully fitting with our believes and we were proud to be united under this name like a single entity.
Negru had free path to deal with all the contacts, with the labels, organizers, with all the booking agencies, merchandise, our Myspace page, our official website, our newsletter and activities of Negura Music. We (Sol Faur and myself), were in charge with the musical aspect, with expressing the conceptual part through music and lyrics, but we were also taking part in his duties when it was needed and vice versa, as it would have been natural. I think that this agreement was comfortable, probably too comfortable for both of the sides.
The main reason for such an end was actually the fact that we were trusting too much in his accuracy and in doing things clean, in the best interest of the band. He was doing a lot of good and appreciable things, but as the late facts like are showing he was also doing a lot of mess and a lot of things in his personal favour, in other words he made sure that he can have full control to fulfil his self centred ambitions.
4. Could you please try to describe where the big difference between you and Negru lies? What kind of character are you, and how did Negru finally turn out to be? Why do you think a co-operation between you two is not bearable? Does this have something (or a lot) to do with spirituality and honesty you’ve always supported with the band?
From a human point of view and from a spiritual perspective, now I think that he betrayed everything that he was supposed to stand up for in this band. If he’s prepared to step on his word for a personal gain and if his values are so low to not care for anything that this band was trying to build up for 15 years, then I don’t want to be related in any aspect with this person anymore.
I believe that it would be fair and much easier for everyone if he would continue under a different name with the line up that he gathered. Why would he discredit the name of Negura Bunget just for a personal gain? If he trusts his new line up he would succeed anyway. What he intends to continue is certainly not Negura Bunget anymore.
5. In a recent interview, you’ve stated you were sorry to have been forced into such an un-spiritual acting as struggling in public. Do you wish you would’ve been a little less “spiritual” (means: more into the business aspect of playing in a band) during the last years? Would that have changed anything in the flow of the band’s development?
That’s true. It’s the lowest thing that I ever did in my life and this thing doesn’t represent me or Sol Faur at all. But at the same time, what our ex drummer had to have a feedback from our side. We covered up many things in the past and we were also prepared to do nothing spectacular out of this split up, as we all agreed. But his gesture was simply going too far. I’m really sorry that we had to act in this manner, but there was no other way to do it because he was not interested and didn’t intend to cooperate in concluding everything in an honourable way, even though we proposed this to him a couple of times. I would like apologize to all the people who believed and lived Negura Bunget experience, because they are the most hurt from this story.
If one quits one’s believes just because there was a difficult moment in his path, would you call those authentic believes? I think we can’t talk about being “less spiritual”; the interest for the esoteric part of the world should complete and apply in everyday life activity. An esoteric believe will never be fulfilled if is not practiced in the daily life and casual activity will never be complete if it doesn’t enclose the esoteric side.
6. Do you fear that fans being fascinated by and deeply into your music will see your future music activity in a different, less mystical, less personal, less spiritual way, because you’ve taken a step into public?
I think that for anyone paying consideration to our work in a deep and honest way it will be quite difficult to see things like they were before; but at the same time I think that our fans have a common sense, an intuition that make them able to see by their own how things actually are, beyond Negru’s words or my words.
I believe and trust the fate, the universe, the nature, the Spirit. There are different faces for different situations of the same thing manifesting inside and around us. Time will tell how things actually were and people will acknowledge then the whole truth. People should trust the fate and the Spirit manifesting in them and around them; this is the only reliable source of truth that remained.
7. You’ve already made clear that you and Sol Faur have been the main composers for Negura Bunget. Do you think your upcoming music will sound different from the last Negura Bunget releases though? How big is the influence of the current developments and disappointment on your inspiration?
I can confess that Sol Faur and I embrace a great moment of inspiration and that we are already working for the new material. We are eager to further express what truly represents us in our future musical activities. I can say that the new material is a natural development of what we composed in Negura Bunget and it will follow what was previously established as a path for us. We are beings who are able to change, to accept the change that occurred in our life, to take out all the lessons that were especially prepared for us and assembling them in a new shape thus being accessible and applicable for the further provocations.
I think it is quite clear that these times are difficult moments for us, but I’m glad that we did this step and that we cleared out our path through this decision.
8. In Negura Bunget you’ve always kept the members’ identities secret, with the music (or the drummer…) speaking for you. Now you’ve been forced to act in public, in order to tell your version of the story and not to lose your fans’ trust. How have you developed personally during the last couple of weeks, when it comes to acting in public? Have you received a lot of support from the fans, the media or musicians you’re friends with?
We were never really comfortable with being too exposed. This is also something about a certain modesty that is always welcomed in the case of an “artist”. At the same this is the way to prove respect in following the path of black metal principles of not involving your personal view more than necessary. At the same time the fate guided us to make a balance by keeping the black metal integrity and assuming the responsibility of applying it in the entire activity that we are involved.
We were not really getting out to show something for the fans. Our acts were made by the call of verticality and by the purpose of bringing to humanity an impeccable tribute that could honour every human.
Assuming this public act is very consuming for us at this moment, but it will become something that we get used to and not lose ourselves in. I was really glad to receive support from many people that proved to have understood the spirit of our actions; they showed their support for what we’ve been going through and I’m humbly thanking them for all this appreciation.
9. Negru has already announced – in contrast to your mutual agreement on not using the trademark Negura Bunget in the future – to continue under the name Negura Bunget. He has already gathered a new line-up and is working on a new album.. Does the fact that he announced the new line-up so quickly after the split mean that he has longer planned to dumb you? What’s your opinion on the new line-up by the way?
It’s obvious now that he’s been planning this step for long time, longer then one could ever imagine. What I cannot understand is why wasn’t for him easier and more comfortable to try to solve the issues between us? We were supposed to be his most trusted friends, colleagues and practically his family. Were we staying is his way?.. or maybe in his way of fulfilling his egocentric purpose, I presume...
About the new line up I can’t really tell you my whole personal opinion, it would be too drastic for this interview, but I could tell you that it consists entirely in so called “trustful friends and past colleagues”. We have in the Romanian culture a wise saying that translated would sound like this: “all that is similar gathers together”. No need to say more.
10. A week after the split you’ve published a demo version of a new song on myspace. That means you’re going to continue on the very same path, musically, that you’ve walked on with Negura Bunget. Can you already reveal any details on the new band or project? Any name, new line-up, record deals? Who’s going to handle all that business stuff now?
Yes I am pleased to announce that the new band is called Dordeduh and the line up for the next album will consist of Sol Faur and myself, Arioch - known for playing the bass for Negura Bunget for already a year and a half, Thelemnar - known for playing drums for Secrets of the moon and The Vision Bleak (also seen at percussions at the last gigs of Negura Bunget) and Sergio Ponti - known for drumming for Ephel Duath, Illogicist.
We will handle the business part ourselves but some professional aspects will be taken by labels and booking agencies.
11. Are you planning to go to court with the whole struggle around the rights for the name Negura Bunget? Or are you too much “gentleman” to act in such a way? The happenings around Gorgoroth have shown that this might be worthwile in a way. What would you do in case you’d win such a trial? Bury the name Negura Bunget or use it further?
Honestly I would like to spend my time in a more pleasant way then visiting the courts. But I can expect anything from our ex drummer, I don’t really know what his plans are, so actually everything is possible, even going to court. With this occasion I would like to make clear that we are not interested in bringing back or on our side the name of Negura Bunget. For us this is a past chapter and it should be like that for all.
12. In retrospect… what will you do differently in your new band than in Negura Bunget? What are the positive and negative aspects you’ve learned from the split?
I will make contracts with everyone involved in our music… hahaha…
I think we learned many useful things in this period and we still have to learn out from it. The most important aspect may be that if one assumes to make a compromise, one should also be aware that it will come that day when the “payment” has to be done. It is a responsibility that we all, as human beings, have to acknowledge in our lives.
I don’t know if there are actually negative aspects because we are alone in this universe and everything depends on us, so it’s all up to us how to handle a situation or another. The entire universe is determined by our decisions and everything is interconnected. This aspect may become negative if one is fearful to take action or to assume responsibility for one’s acts, but this conjuncture may also become extremely favourable if one can act from this perspective, fully embodied with this determination.
13. metal.de wishes you all the best for your future musical (AND! business) activity. We hope to see you returning with wonderful music, played by honest people and being released with a reputable record company. This is your chance for a final statement to your fans. Thanks for the interview.
Thank you very much for your support and trust. I would like to thank all the people that supported and trusted us and I would like to invite everyone interested to follow our activity on www.dordeduh.com and www.myspace.com/dordeduh.
Best regards!
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