Chain D.L.K.: Arkanum, let’s talk a little bit about your country. I think that we don’t really know what’s going on over there… what’s the social situation like?
Arkane: The situation here is utterly dramatic beyond recognition – Hellas (Greece) is trapped in the maze of torment of the “upper” plans who had been designed and prepared many decades ago. But no one except our traitor politicians were fully aware of them, at least not to the extent to which anyone could possibly have reacted… They’ve been ensnaring Hellenic people into a tempting false world of iconic abundance, aided by banks giving out massive amounts of loans to everyone demanding, even if the person didn’t qualify for those loans… Only years later politicians realized what the result of this false economic growth looked like and it became a default state of income, where every Hellenic citizens was basically forced to foot the bill… Not just the loans, but also the billions of Euros stolen from our State’s cash reserve… Then they signed the memorandum (source of all evil!) which basically says that Hellas is governed by Germany and Brussels – the whole social and welfare system collapsed, unemployment skyrocketed to 40%, the recession grows each and every and people end up in poverty, despair, uncertainty, chaos, fear and eventually suicide… There’s been a total amount of 4000 suicides in the last 3 years since the memorandum alone… These new world order impositions over Hellas are not just a crisis but an economic war against the Hellenic folk here in Hellas and then Cyprus… The elite upstairs has managed to create this situation in which “Europa is a decadent axis of impure alienated hostile nations sunk in ignorance, greed and anti-co-operative alliance”… Turning each nation against another, segregating the south from the north – thus destroying Europe’s cohesion and unity in general… Hellas simply was the first land chosen to be annihilated…
Chain D.L.K.: How are all these changes affecting your life and your work as a member of your society and as a musician?
Arkane: In a severe and dramatic way, just as every other citizen of this country… In 3 years we’ve seen everything changing, each and every day you hear and read something new… It is like a never-ending drama series with sequels that don’t show a single sign of brightness… Not a single sign of hope… Not a single hint to a solution on how to exit this dark tunnel… It’s been a nightmare really… Musically it is affecting me to bits as well… To the extent that I am thinking of quitting music… That’s a very different story altogether though, which also has to do with the music industry in the last 5 years… The end of MySpace (which was not coincidental by the way) has utterly affected Arkane… On the other hand Arkane is art therefore I do not appeal to the masses – but if you ask me to compare the 2008 Arkane release “enraptured serene mesmerism” to the 2013 release “mesmeric masquerade seduction”, the differences are enormous! Very few people actually order and buy physical CDs nowadays… It’s been all served to us on a silver platter via numerous illegal free downloading sites etc… Nevertheless, 2013 is the YouTube music era… I reckon this year will officially be the end of physical releases, at least the way we know them…
Chain D.L.K.: You also told me that for your last album “mesmeric masquerade seduction” you spent 3500€ in a period in which few people are buying music…
Arkane: A whole lot of effort and funds were indeed invested on the new Arkane album “mesmeric masquerade seduction”, as usual, even more this time in order to achieve perfection… I am utterly satisfied with the result, 100%, both in terms of composition and production as a whole… Although it has also been predicted and anticipated that I would lose a lot of money this time, due to the economic global crisis and the death of the music industry as well… You get saddened and disappointed to see your effort wasted on the chaotic mass of releases – had this album been released 5 years ago it would have been be top-notch, I am quite certain, but in the present circumstances it will faint out in the obscurity, it seems.. You have got to face reality on the other hand though… Today’s music needs a hell of promotion to stand out – even if a few people embraced my art, it would make me chuffed at the end of the day… You can not have high expectations, you can only adopt reality I guess…
Chain D.L.K.: Let’s talk a bit about music… your last three releases have the word “mesmerism” in their title. Why is that so important to you?
Arkane: They utterly fit the concept of Arkane… Its my obsession… My music is entrancing, so therefore I need titles and lyrics that have something to do with this. I call my music mesmerizing seductive art… Meaning the listener gets ensnared in trance, mesmerized, allured and seduced…
Chain D.L.K.: “Mesmeric Masquerade Seduction” has been influenced by Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” movie ritual scene. What element influenced you the most and why?
Arkane: The imaginary world of art, beauty, eroticism, seduction, mesmerism, allurement, mystique…
Chain D.L.K.: Did the tracks of the album follow a plot, like a movie does?
Arkane: This time I have completed my greatest ambition of exposing mesmerizing seductive art to the highest elitist detail… It’s been all I have always visualized, my concept of how Arkane would reach the ultimate evolution of perception transformed into musical and aesthetical art… The whole album “Mesmeric Masquerade Seduction” is in itself a self compulsive minimal yet strong and picturesque trip into the oblivion of mesmerism… It’s a concept album from the beginning to the end, both musically and aesthetically, and it refers to the mesmerism of masquerade seduction, ritualistic and alluring…
Chain D.L.K.: Eroticism and masks have a big part in your iconography. Can you talk about that?
Arkane: Masks and Arkane are in unity as much as the term mesmerism and seductive eroticism are as well… They depict the unknown, mysterious, obscure, hidden charm of anonymity… Therefore my nickname is Arkanumx, which means something like the unknown mysterious mister x…
Chain D.L.K.: Doing some researches on the theme of your album I found out about the CIA’s MK – ultra mind control experiments (occurred during the ’50es/’60es) and monarch sex slave programming. What do you think about mind control programs? Are we under control now and how?
Arkane: Definitely yes… New world order wants you to be a pawn in their chess board – look at Facebook! It’s the electronic heroin of the mass imposed on us in this modern world to control us both pneumatically and then physically… Only the vast amount of alienation that this un-social media causes, influences your mind to stay away from thinking any further… Getting us to close up into ourselves, isolated, segregated by the tons of information we receive every day, not to mention the big brother monitoring… It’s the most evolved worldwide surveillance cctv against and in the name of our will at the same time… This catalytic role also plays the media, who directs your thoughts according to their will, their dark desires…
Chain D.L.K.: Can you tell something about the creation process behind the tracks (you told me that it took a couple of years) and about the people you collaborated with?
Arkane: The composition, as well as the recording process, is a mystical enigmatic and profound ritualistic procedure, which I would not definitely like to reveal… all you get and matters in the end is the final result… I collaborated once again with my lovely producer Greg and Stephen Svanholm of Sibelian on the male recitations of the album…
Chain D.L.K.: Now, feel free to tell to our readers what you what…
Arkane: The new Arkane album “mesmeric masquerade seduction” is an extravagant masquerade experience that seduces the imagination and elevates the senses… Mesmerism meets seduction – music, performance, artistry and inspiration collide for a decadent album of celebration with avant-garde, mesmerizing seductive art. “mesmeric masquerade seduction” is available now to order for the price  of 15 euros (regular mail) or 20 euros (registered mail) directly from Arkane. You can reach me at: seductionprod (at) hotmail (dot) com. “Enraptured Serene Mesmerism”, the debut album by Arkane, is also available for 8 euros. Welcome to the new dark age!