Hello Peter, is everything allright? You just returned from Poland. How did the performance at Castle Party in Bolkow go?
Hi! Yes, we returned from poland last sunday. the gig was great, except for the lack of some stuff on stage. But the gig was great, and I guess the audience was happy. We have got only good respons. poland is a wonderful country, with nice people. And very beautiful landscapes in the countryside.

Could you please introduce Arcana to the readers who are not yet familiair with the music of Arcana?
Well, it is never easy to describe your own music. Some say dark ambient, some say neo classical, some say beautiful soundscapes. I think it is hard with all these genres. Some compares it to Dead can dance, some say it is medieval, I say listen, and you will find out :)

How do you feel about the release of The New Light, was it a birth with some complications?
The thought about a 10 year anniversery has been on my mind for some time. i found many old recordings, demos and i looked up the alternative recordings on old songs and there it was. The only complication that occured was that our financies was very bad, but then we talked to frédéric of Cyclic law, and we decided to make a label-splitrelease. He is a great guy, and all credits to him for making this album come true:))

Could you tell some more about the actual album, selection of the compositions, did you feel it was time for releasing such a compilation of special tracks?
I have made some new songs, but not enough to fill an entire album. And when I found the old demos, this idea just came along. I think the music through out the years, really shows where Arcana started off and where it is today. You can really hear how the music developes, and how the sound has grown. Some of the songs are not perhaps the best, in my own oppinion, but still it shows how I made the music in the past, and it shows that I am much more experienced nowadays. i am very satisfied with the complete work.

I recently bought the ‘’The Lotus Eaters’ album, a very beautiful and well done tribute to Dead Can Dance. Would you say Dead Can Dance is a major inspiration to you? Or to neo-classical and ethereal ambience music in general? Was Arcana asked to contribute a track to that tribute album?
Dead can Dance has always been one of my favourite bands, and I would lie if I said that they had not been an influence. I think Brendan Perry is a genious in what he does with Dead can Dance. Yes, I was asked to contribute to this compilation, and final result is what you hear. I have acctually performed this song live a couple of times. One of my favourite songs.

Will you be performing again in the near future? Is doing live performances something you can combine well with working on your projects? Or a regular job? Even a busy family life? Tell us something about this please.
We will perform in Turku, Finland in September. Then it was supposed to be two gigs in italy, but i dont know what happened. Hopefully it will be postponed 'til next spring. We are not performing that much, mostly because we have 4 daughters at home. that takes alot of time, and it is not easy to find a babysitter for our youngest for a long time. For two-three nights, it might work, but not longer. I will start to work this autumn, but that will not interfere with liveperformances, I will only work halftime.

Why did you decide to leave Cold Meat Industry and promote your music yourself with Erebus Odora?
I have had thoughts about releasing my own music for quite sometime now. And last year, I thought was a good time leaving CMI for my own label. So the 10year anniversery was a great way to start.

Did this decision inspire changes in the way you work on the Arcana project? Did this have something to do with line up changes as Ann-Mari and Stefan are new participants in Arcana?
I have always worked with Arcana the way I like it. It is my own projekt, and I can do as i please with it all. ofcourse being on my own, makes me more excited to do a great job. But I cant say that i didnt feel the same way before. The fact that Ann-mari and Stefan are in Arcana now, had nothing to do with it. This was my own descision and no one elses.

Has your own contribution in making the music of Arcana changed over the years?
Do you feel more confident in what you do? Are you still exploring new regions?
As years go by, you grow and of course that is shown in themusic. I am more experienced now, and I am exploring new ways in making music all the time and I use more real instruments nowadays. I have found a real interest in oriental sounds. I feel very much of using an orient sound in my music. We'll see what will happen.

Let’s talk about your other project Sophia, which is more martial and percussive. Was the start of Sophia because you needed another musical outlet?
Yes, I needed to get my mind on something else than the seriousness of Arcana. Dont get me wrong, I love making Arcana music. But Sophia lets me experiment more, making harscher and heavier sound. On each album, Sophia changes, and as for the next release, I think it will change even more... 

A LP was just released on Cyclic Law. What about the planned cd release? Will Sophia also be performing again? What are the plans for Sophia for the rest of this year and early 2005?
The CD-version will be released this autumn, and hopefully there will be another Sophia album next spring. About performing, I dont know. We havent had any suggestions yet on gigs for Sophia this year.

Some see your music as dark and gloomy, others as otherworldy and beautiful. What’s your opinion on this?
I am not trying to force a feeling into a song, it just happens. And how people see it, well, it is different for all listeners.

Your music is Medieval inspired. What is it that fascinates you in the Middle Ages or the music out of that period of time? Are you in regular contact with other musicians or projects that are into this type of music? Like Gor or even Estampie?
Well, I guess we are all a little fascinated by the middleages. At that time it was very happy music, with flute and lute. Not much more. And of course very religious lyrics. My music is not religious and seldom happy, but the sound has been associated with that kind of music anyway. I have contact with Francesco Banchini in GOR, as we performed together in Paris last year. He is very talanted in what he is doing, and he is a very nice guy:)

Are you into contact with other musicians actively, as in contributing to other people’s projects sometimes?
Well, Eskilstuna wehere we live is a very musical city. Everyother school here is a musicschool and I have been in contact with music and musicians since over 15 years now. i am a close friend to Make pesonen of karjalan sissit, and a close friend to Gustaf Hildebrand who both have released albums on Cyclic law. I still have contact with ulf Söderberg of Sephiroth and Jouni Havukainen of In Slaughter natives. and many others.
f you were sent to a desert island or deep into the woods, what 5 records and what 5 books would you like to take with you?
Hehe, we acctually played that game in the car to Poland. I'll see if I remember what i said.
5 albums: 
Dead Can Dance - Within the realm of a dying sun,
Slayer - Reign in blood,
Swans - White light from the mouth of infinity,
Scott Walker - 3,
Depeche Mode - Violator

5 books:
Dostojevskij - Crime and punishment,
Richard Kazcynski - Perdurabo/The life of Aleister Crowley,
Thomas Harris - Silence of the lambs,
August Strindberg - Inferno,
Complete guide to ProTools 6.2  

Could you tell our readers some more about the artwork of the anniversary release? Who was responsible for it? It perfectly reflects a nice atmosphere and the feeling of being in the nature….
The artwork of The New Light, was done by my wife Ia. We were walking around in Eskilstuna a few months ago, and took alot of photos of the surroundings, and of those photos, the albums artwork was done. Ia has made alot of artwork for my previous albums. She makes the photoediting and the layout, and we discuss how it should be and what to write.Yes, I think the forrest and nature is a good view of the Arcana music.

Would you like to add anything to our Dutch readers?
Thank you for listening to Arcana and hopefully we will come to Holland soon. It has been too long since we were there. So please, scream and shout at your organizers around Holland, try to get us to you soon:))