Deep Underground UK - Morvidus

Morvidus

Morvidus is a one man band. Why is it that most of these kind of projects seem to be Black Metal?

That’s something I’ve wondered too. I think there’s a number of aspects to it really. The practical side is that bands require multiple people of a similar mind set and direction. Given the underground nature of black metal, finding people who enjoy the music, want to play it and actually organizing and funding rehearsals is quite difficult, with a solo band, you don’t really have these issues. Then there’s the actual creative side; in a band, you have several people contributing and the music may not always go in the direction you hope or want. With a one man band, you know and decide exactly what you want to play and so you can spend more time writing music rather than discussing what you’re playing. There’s also the influence of bands like Burzum, which was certainly an influence on me, as it makes you realize you don’t need to find a band in order to make music, something which I think encourages people more. There’s probably much more to say on the matter but I don’t want to ramble too much!

You seem to draw inspiration from pieces of painted art. How does the visual form help you to create music?

To me, good art evokes some form of response in a person, and so I find that paintings which move me in some way can offer inspiration. In a way, my music can be seen as a form of interpretation of the paintings. I tend to write music and then put lyrics to it afterwards, so the paintings more inspire the lyrics. There is a link between the instrumental side of the music and the paintings though, I try to find paintings that have a similar atmosphere to the songs I record, for instance, I wrote the music to ‘The Lonely Tower’ song and saw the painting and felt that the dark sound created by minor chords matched the quite dark atmosphere of the painting, as well as the overall feel of both pieces matching up.

You seem to be always creating something new, even if it’s just a cover version of another song. Do you need to keep yourself constantly busy to keep your creative flow going?

I would say so. I’m always coming up with ideas but often find I struggle to put them into a complete piece of music, and I find that learning other songs gives me new ideas, such as to how to compose a piece. It’s also especially helpful during those periods in which I encounter writer’s block, as it stops any feelings of stagnation, and so encourages me to continue with music. Another benefit I find is that it means I can practise recording and actually learning songs up to a standard where they can be recorded, something which helps massively when recording original material.

You’ve been working on your debut album. Is it ready for release yet? And what can we expect once it’s released? Will it differ greatly from your demo, The Lonely Tower?

I’ve got the album pretty much completely written, and I’ve got a few of the tracks recorded, but with things like uni preparations it’s sadly had to take a backseat. The uni has a proper recording studio I can use though, so I can hopefully get a better recording than I would have back at home.

Musically, the three tracks from The Lonely Tower will be on the album. Something I try and do with my music is make each song distinct- each track sounds a little different, something which I hope makes the album interesting to listen to, but in answer to your question,  I’d say that it will be in a similar vein to my demo. One thing I’ve done for the album booklet is to put the lyrics over the paintings which inspire or have a similar feel to them, something I hope gives the music that little bit more context.

Is this going to stay a one man project, or do you ever see yourself expanding it into a band to play live?

I would like to keep Morvidus as a solo project, as it’s an outlet for me, and so a lot of the stuff is personal to me. I already play in a band so that side of things is already covered for me really.

And how is Uni life? As I discovered recently, you’ve just started at the same University as my daughter, in York.

It’s still in its early days but it seems great! I’m quite fortunate in that in my college, Vanbrugh, I get free use of a rehearsal space and there’s also a recording studio which I can use for a very small price so it’ll hopefully allow me to release my music with much better quality then my demo. I’ve also met a couple of other guys who I’m going to jam with soon which should be interesting. All in all, I have a lot to look forward to!   

https://www.facebook.com/MorvidusBlackMetal

Deep Underground United Kingdom is available for just £2 from Bandcamp
https://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com/album/deep-underground-united-kingdom