Talvihorros - Between Heaven and Earth

Cataloguing or pinning down the sound of Talvihorros is a tough, if not impossible, task - one that plenty of people have repeatedly attempted without ever landing on a convincing answer. For six years now, Ben Chawtin, guitarist and mastermind behind this enigmatic one-man band, has been carrying out this peculiar investigation into the concept of ambient music: his is an organic, dreamlike vision, steeped in electronics but rooted first and foremost in the most dreamy and atmospheric branch of so-called post-rock. His stint with Hibernate, which yielded the splendid "Music In Four Movements", and his definitive consecration on Denovali are just a couple of the highlights of a career as brief as it has been full of successes. After making us wait a little, Ben answered our questions by email, helping us retrace the arc of his creation, on the occasion of the release of his latest offspring, "Eaten Alive".

What exactly does Talvihorros mean? And what is it, in practice - a project, your alter ego, a band...

In Finnish, Talvihorros means hibernation. It was suggested to me as a name by a friend, at a time when I was looking for a name for my musical project, and I found it obscure enough to fit well with what I was after. I also like the fact that today the word has drifted quite far from its original meaning: the music I make under this project is free from any restriction, category or field. I simply follow whatever path grabs my interest.

How has your sound evolved over time?

At the start, Talvihorros was a project centred mainly on guitar, albeit heavily processed, but with every album I've wanted to explore new sounds and different directions. I first started incorporating more and more electronics, and I think I've now found a balance between clean and processed sounds, sitting side by side, sometimes in harmony and sometimes not.

What instruments do you use these days?

I have a genuine passion for analogue machines - synthesizers especially - and guitar pedals. On "Eaten Alive" I made heavy use of the Roland Juno 6, the Siel Orchestra and the Arturia Minibrute, alongside my Fender Toronado, which of course I've used on everything I've ever done.

Can you tell us how the process behind "Eaten Alive" came together?

The album was born out of a meeting in 2012 with Daniel Crossley, owner of the London-based site Fluid Radio. We spent a good deal of time together, talking mainly about his life and the places he grew up in. He struggled with drug addiction for many years, and after that meeting I decided to use his story as the basis for the music on my next album. I wanted to explore dark themes like isolation, fear, loss and addiction, and direct that message at a society like today's, which so often leaves people alone, victims of their own failures.

What does this album represent in your artistic journey?

With this album I wanted to express myself more on a compositional level, partly setting aside improvisation, which had been the central element of all my previous records. Many of Talvihorros's works were born out of guitar improvisations, whereas here it was Dan's story and the places tied to it that served as the starting point. In short, it's as if I worked like a film composer, as if the record were the score for a hypothetical film.

I read that the album came out on a small label, Fluid Audio, before making its way to Denovali. Why did you choose to launch it through this small press first?

Fluid Audio is Dan's label, and it was fantastic to have the chance for this tailor-made release, which also allowed Dan to present the album alongside a collection of photos of the places in London that mean the most to him. The fact that Denovali already had it in mind to release the record, and was willing to reissue it on vinyl too, was a real stroke of luck, also because I think vinyl suited the sound of my work rather well.

On that note, what can you tell us about the label that somewhat launched you into the world of the "big" names?

They've always been amazing when it comes to the quality of the music they release, the care they put into fundamental details like the artwork, and the attention they pay to the physical format of their releases, especially vinyl, which I personally support wholeheartedly.

The impression with this latest record is also that you worked from a decidedly more organic approach…

Well, I think my intent was to write a record that spoke about contradictions: so a very electronic, urban and alienated sound within a decidedly warm, organic and human atmospheric context. What interested me was exploiting the contrast between these two mirrored ingredients, separate from one another, and having them fight for the same space.

The extensive use of guitar is, in my opinion, the element that makes it wrong to place you within the kosmische revival, a mistake many have made… What do you think?

I'm not at all sure which category is closest to my music, since I draw from a bit of everywhere: from post-rock to electronica, all the way to drone and ambient. If I'm honest, I don't care much about putting my music in a box, so I don't even try. Generally speaking I like kosmische music a lot, so it doesn't bother me that the term gets used in reference to my music. Even though I find my path to have very little in common with the kosmische universe.

Which artists have influenced you the most, musically and otherwise?

They've actually changed quite a bit over the years, and there are certainly many, also because I've always tried to take in as much different music as possible. Generally, while I'm working on an album I tend to listen to very little other music, except for the occasional old folk record I use to relax.

So is there any non-musical element that tends to influence you?

Cinema, art, and the people around me.

I recently found out about your past in a band called Lesser Panda… I had no idea! What kind of experience was that?

I was in Lesser Panda back in my very first steps as a young musician, and I've always worked with bands (and I still do) alongside my solo path. Right now I contribute live to a group called Inca Gold and I'm working with Graveyard Tapes on their new album. Writing alongside other people can be a good escape from the routine of working alone, and sometimes it turns into a great challenge. When it comes to collaborating with friends, though, the whole thing takes on much more the shape of pure fun.

How do you build your live shows?

I've always performed mainly with guitar through pedals, always improvising. After several years at that level things started to become more structured and I gradually introduced more and more synthesizers. Finally, with the set for the last record ("And It Was So", from 2011, ed.) I brought in a laptop for the first time, which opened up a world of new possibilities for me.

Do you plan to bring "Eaten Alive" to the stage?

Yes, I'm working on it, and on stage with me there will be the laptop, one or more analog synths and the usual set of guitar pedals and a looper, to best translate the material into a live setting.

To wrap up, I'll ask you: what is your favourite Talvihorros record?

I find it particularly hard to pick just one, since each of them represents a different part of my life over the years. I'm certainly very proud of what I did with "Eaten Alive", and I consider it my best-crafted record to date. In any case, I don't like looking back: I've already started working on the next record, which I really hope will be even better!

Front and homepage photos by Jonathan Birch

Template photo by Thomas Hack

Courtesy of Denovali Records

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