07/06/2021
Interview with Bardunor!
DT- Greetings David! First of all thank you for taking the time out to do this interview. I know you are a busy man.
First off. How did you come up the pseudonym Bardunor?
Crépuscule- Hi, no problem at all, it's an honour.
To be brief, this pseudonym was originally simply a diminutive of "Barde du Nord" ('Northern Bard' in french) I used in the distant past.
I never intended for it to become the way I refer to myself, but when the time came to pick a fictive name for the music world around 2004, I imagine this is what seemed to fit best.
DT- Appropriate! So in 2004...did you begin to play in a band? I know you are young. Is that when you started?
Crépuscule- Everything happened as in the classic stories in fact : I
received my first guitar and keyboard by my father around 2002,
-I was 14 at the time- and while I was starting to discover and
explore the possibilities those offer, I began writing stuff
I wanted to listen to. I wasn't yet really into Black Metal,
that's most certainly why my older material (Hiverna) is more
experimental and folkloric. I then began playing the result of
my musical peregrinations with a good friend of mine named
Alexandre Garneau (Helorth). Along joined Matoleos (drums),
Yannick Hold-Geoffroy (piano/symphony) and later, Doom (flute).
Helorth quit music around 2006 and so Marco took on the
second guitar from this day on. This was the first band I was
ever in and quickly became Hiverna. Crépuscule came soon after,
from a new interest I got in writing more serious and
atmospheric songs around 2007.
DT- I heard of Hiverna as well. How many instruments do you play now and which bands have you been involved with?
I know you are heavily involved with Metal Noir Quebecois
Crépuscule- As for instruments, I play guitar, drums, keys, bass and vocals.
I would say that I consider myself at the bottom of the talent
chain in every one of those diciplines though, I merely dabble,
having reached a sufficient level in each of those to always
have something to do in any musical venture. The fact that I
explored diverse instruments permitted me to take part in
interesting collaborations such as Csejthe (lead guitar),
Monarque (Drums, bass, guitar), Demain Wendigo (classical guitar).
etc.
DT- These are all bands I religiously listen to and play on DT.
I think you play these all very well and should be very proud of your talents.
Hence why I seek you out to interview.
I noticed that you are the sole musician on Crepuscule and that you have not had a full album out in 10 years.
Is that because you have been busy these last 10 years with other bands?
If so..have you written the instruments you played for these bands or were you a session player.
Also...being the sole artist for Crepusucle do you have any session musicians to play live?
Crépuscule- Crépuscule was originally a one-man project where I played
everything. Something differs on the newly released
album : Glauque (Eos, ex-Forteresse, ...) has recorded the
guitars and did the Mixing/Mastering. He did an amazing job.
We did some shows in the past and the live line-up still
exists, we live in different cities now though. It would be
interesting to take the stage again in the future, we'll
just have to adapt and ajust our rehearsing strategy. The
line-up consists of Doom (Hiverna) on bass, Cadavre
(Chasse-Galerie, Cantique Lépreux, Chaos Catharsis) on the drums,
Glauque on the guitars, my spouse on the keys and me on the other
guitar and vocals. As for the writing of songs, I write everything
for Hiverna, OURS, Chemin Faisant and Crépuscule; Demain Wendigo
is a collaboration with a friend named Vincent Marceau. Monarque
is written by Monarque, and Csejthe was written by Strigat.
DT- Oh wow! An all star lineup! Very cool that your partner is on keys.
I know most of these musicians from being a big fan of the BM Quebec scene.
Which bands you have been in have played Messe Des Morts so far?
I know that is where I discovered you. Are there any other festivals you would love to play?
Crépuscule- I think we made Messe des Morts at least once with Monarque, Csejthe and Crépuscule.
I have to admit that I don't know many festivals other than the ones we have played
in, I fear I'm far from up-to-date on the modern musical scene. Maybe another show in
Scandinavia or an out-door fest in some northern mountain range.
DT- Yeah..I understand that as things have been crazy the last couple years with covid crap.
Who knows if we will ever get those fests we used to have.
I know MDM was about to have its 10 yr anniversary when this s**t started.
Speaking of which...how have you felt as a musician in these last couple years?
What have you done for fun and how creatively?
Has it given you time to create?
Crépuscule- I must say that most of my musical projects are in studio mode since
around 2013 so I cannot say I saw a real difference apart from
the absence or rehearsals. In the last years, I've been busy trying
myself at many new disciplines such as pyrography, painting,
book cartography, strategy game design, creating a mythical universe,
teaching mathematics (my day job), and for the last 5 months, being
a father. Most of my works can be found on my website : www.the-oaken-forge.com
I have not felt boredom once in these last 19 years.
DT- YES!!!! Boredom is for those that dont care to educate themselves in my eyes. RESPECT to you!
Which brings me to your latest album "Le Gardien Des Clefs"
What made you choose The Keeper of the Keys as your subject for this Crepuscule album?
Is it a spirital thing? And if so...what are your spiritual beliefs?
Crépuscule- I'm more a person of the mind than a person of spirit if that makes
any sense to you. Let's say I'm a very down to earth individual that
is also extremely passionnate about the power of imagination and
works like Tolkien's and Lovecraft's. As all my previous works
music-wise had been directed towards nature, traditions and darkness,
I wanted to let myself drift on the other side of the edge I always
stand on and expand on a self-contained fantastic world. So I
imagined a dreamlike scape where nothing was certain but some
rare and specific truths materialized under the guise of keys, each
kept by a feral being aligned with wild elements like v***r, frost,
wind, etc. It was a new and interesting approach to craft an album's
lyrics for me. I speak of the lyrics because the soundscape itself
was written long ago during my college years (between 2004 and 2007).
Let's say that finally releasing those tracks some 15 years later is
highly satisfying and liberating.
DT- Of course it makes sense. Perhaps that is why I feel this album very personally.
Thanks so much for being real with me...and I am truly inspired by it.
Crépuscule- Many thanks for those kind words.
DT- My only other questions is who did the artwork for Le gardien des clefs album and when did Pest Productions
ask for you to be on their label?
Crépuscule- The beautiful painting is from Albert Bierstadt. I designed the logo and
did the infography the album and booklet needed. The story behind
my collaboration with Pest Productions begins in the olden days of Hiverna and
Crépuscule, while 'Myspace' was still a thing. A fan reached to me saying
he was really touched by my music and told me that, one day, he would be
interested in producing some of my work. Here we are, some 15 years later,
Cris is now affiliated with Pest Productions and contacted
me last year. We began talking about the album then.
DT- Thanks again for your valuable time. It was great to interview such a talent.
Crépuscule- Many thanks to you, it was an honour! Let's say I find these kind of attentions are
the highest rewards bestowed upon us for playing music all these years. Thanks again.
The Bandcamp and page for each of the bands are the best way
to contact me and purchase the items or music. Though, every single musical project of
mine is also linked on my personal cavern : https://www.the-oaken-forge.com/discographie/
https://avecrepusculi.bandcamp.com/
https://hiverna.bandcamp.com/album/ii-macabre
https://ours1.bandcamp.com/album/la-source-magnifique-ou-comment-revivre-les-si-cles-splendides
DT- Stay fu***ng Dark!
6 track album
