CANAAN

Ambient & atmospheric music is a genre very underground in world metal scene, but  they exist with strong power in every place of the Earth! CANAAN is one of the best avantgarde atmospheric bands coming from Europe, this italian act is a legendary cult for worldwide ambient fanatics! The band create a deep and ethereal music inspired by ambient, gothic rock, progressive rock and darkwave, the album "A Calling to Weakness" (released by the great label EIBON RECORDS) is a masterpiece of feeling and emotion, an album to listen in a solitary night, in a solitary life. KREPUSKULUM interviewed the the band. 

KREPUSKULUM: CANAAN is a legend of the underground. Talk to us about the band´s history and about your musical proposal.

Canaan were formed back in 1995, shortly after the split of RAS ALGETHI. At that time, the band was a 3 piece one (me, Luca and Matteo) and with this reduced line-up we recorded our first album “Blue fire” in 1996. In mid 1997 we picked up a bass player (Anthony Duman), and with him we recorded the following two albums “Walk into my open womb” (1998) and “Brand new babylon” (2000). In late 2000 Anthony had to quit for lack of time, and we took a new bass player (Nico). In mid 2001 we added a fifth element (Andrea) on drums, and with this new lineup we rehearsed new material and recorded our fourth album “A calling to weakness”. At the moment (August 2003) we're working on new songs for out next cd, and the current line-up is stable and will (hopefully) last for a reasonably long time. 

The Band´s name is a kind of reference to the paradise, but the climates of your music is very dark and sad, Is the name a irony to the human condition? Do you believe in some kind of religion or supreme conscience?

Well, we were aware of the religious implications of the name CANAAN, but the choice was rather guided by our admiration for AMON DUUL II, one of whose songs was titled “Kanaan”. Nothing, NOTHING AT ALL in Canaan's music or lyrics has anything in common with religion, nor with “religious” beliefs of any kind. Religion is for the weak who need someone else to teach them how to behave, what to do, what to believe and what to say. Which is not really our case. I'm aware that the choice of this name was a bit tricky, but after all I didn't care that much...... A bit of confusion can sometimes also be stimulating, isn't it ?

The music of the band sound very intense and unique, but the darkwave influences are the ones that more appears. Do you agree with us? Are you a darkwave band with ambient touches?

Well, I think I would agree with this. We are all very fond of darkwave (especially of the early 80s cold wave), so after all I think this definition works fine. 

Which are your influences (genres and bands)? If possible give the name of your 10 favorite albums.

Hard to say what consciously influenced me as a composer.... I remember that two of the bands that really lighted my desire to play music were CELTIC FROST of the “Morbid tales” era and CHRISTIAN DEATH of “A catastrophe ballet”. About my 10 favourite albums, I would say (in no particular order....) :

RADIO DERVISH – Centro del mundo

SEIGMEN – Total

SPK – Zamia lehmanni

CHRISTIAN DEATH – Atrocities

CELTIC FROST – Into the pandemonium

SWANS – White light from the mouth of infinity

DEEP LISTENING BAND – Deep listening

ROLAND KAYN – Tektra

CURE – Disintegration

LA CRUS – Dentro me

but there are many other ones that would need at least a mention......

The cover artwork of A CALLING TO WEAKNESS is very strange and abstract, does that have some meaning? Who is the artist that drew this cover?

It definitely has a meaning, but I hope you won't mind if I don't explain it. Everybody could find his own one.... I made that cover using pieces from different pictures, and using different sources, including some pictures shot by myself. Good to know you enjoy it... 

Your music is an deep abyss of sadness, are you sad people? Where come from the feelings to create this kind of music like the beautiful and sad "Un Ultimo Patetico Addio".  

“A calling to weakness” and more in general everything connected with Canaan is about the feelings of loss, regret, deception, pain. We all experience negative things in our lives. Some people are able to react positively to them. Some other ones (such as myself) feel the pain and experience the inadequacy, always conscious about the INABILITY to focus energies in a constructive way. I am constantly reflecting upon the negative things around ( and inside ) me, and I get an ever-increasing feeling of discomfort. This brings in itself the seed of a huge weakness, and is like a threat for sanity and tranquillity. It's not just a question of “sadness”, but of a deeper state of discomfort, that makes you see anything like through a stained, distorting glass..... 

A technical question, what are the synths and another instruments that you use to create the marvelous CANAAN music?

With regards to synths, we do widely use Novation Nova & Supernova but most of the times we create our synth sounds through the use of a Yamaha A5000 sampler – extremely powerful machine, though not really user-friendly. It takes a while to understand how it works, but its potential is really tremendous. We then make use of fields recordings and samples taken from different sources.

Do you give gigs or CANAAN is only a studio project?

We have never played live, and I don't think we will ever do. We don't feel the need of playing in front of an audience, especially because we do play mostly for our own satisfaction. Moreover, we generally dislike the atmosphere of concerts, where people seem to enjoy most the chaos and the “fun” than what's going on on the stage. We would accept to play live only under very restrictive conditions (right place, right equipment, right audience), which is a very unlikely combination. So we'd better consider CANAAN as a studio project only. 

Talk to us a little about the dark ambient metal scene in Italy today.

Oh, well, I think Italy has a few interesting bands and a lot of copy/clone ones, much like in every country of the world actually. It seems like a lot of people play because “it's cool” to have a band, and this is obviously causing a decreasing in overall quality of the records. The few good bands, the ones who try to offer something interesting, drown among an ocean of mediocrity......

Thank you for the interview. Give your last words to the dark ambient music south american fans. 

Thank you for the space you're giving us. Good luck with your magazine. NOTHING :: NEVER :: NOWHERE.

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Contacts:

Label: promo@eibonrecords.com

Band: Canaan , info@canaan.it