Lux Interna: the innermost light – an esoteric term that carries intonations of Gnosticism describes the nature of Lux Interna's music very aptly.
Singer/songwriter Joshua Levi Ian Gentzke founded the group some ten years ago as an outlet for folk-inspired songs with demanding lyrics revolving around mystical topics of an existential nature. The voice of this music bespeaks a Blakean quest for the divine within this world.
Lux Interna have frequently been compared to artists such as Current
93, Backworld, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. This rings true, however,
not in terms of imitation, but rather in the sense of a shared
spiritual and aesthetic kinship. Musically one can expect a deep,
passionate male voice and a soothing, sometimes ghost-like female
vocal, woven into well-crafted songs arranged for acoustic guitars,
cello, keyboards, and dulcimers.
The following text is compiled and adapted from interviews taken with gratitude from the following sources: Heathen Harvest (Malakhi Thorn), Black Magazine (Michael Flach), Alternativmusik.de (Marius Meyer), and Metalglory (Arthur Harste). All adaptations and translations by Lux Interna.
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The Beginnings
For those who do not yet know you, could you please begin with a brief bio, and an introduction to your band members, etc…
Joshua: Lux Interna began as a collection of songs that I had written based around acoustic guitar. The rest of the people that would come to work along side me on this project were all close friends of mine, whom it was only logical to include.
The current line up consists of myself (voice, guitar, mandolin, bass), Kathryn Gentzke (voice, autoharp, percussion), Kevin Sweet (piano, keyboards, hammer dulcimer), Shane Halinan (percussion), and Katherine Trimble (cello). We have also been lucky enough to enjoy rather constant collaboration with the multi-instrumentalist Doug White from Tearwave.
The
scope, form, and content of the music has changed drastically over the
years – as I can only hope it will continue to do in the future. In my
opinion a lot of skins have been shed, and the music is moving closer
to the core of what we want it to be.
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Our releases are as follows:
2001: Truth and Beauty and all their Severity (10” and limited CD)
2002: Absence and Plenum
2004: Ignis Mutat Res
2007: :god is not dead for the birds:
2008- [a lantern carried in blood and skin] (full-length anthology)
The Name
Where does the band name come from and what does it mean
Joshua: Lux Interna (lit: “the inner light”) has a plethora of meanings and associations to me, which seem somehow elastic enough to grow and change with me/us as time goes by. In that regard I am glad to have chosen the moniker. I am quite sure that there have been major semantic shifts in how I understand the term since the time that I chose it.
On the most basic level, Lux Interna is the guiding light within us, hidden by the surrounding darkness, din, and clamour of the world of illusions. It is the lantern we carry in blood and skin: the part of God that we have swallowed. The name was chosen at a rather desolate time in my life, when I needed to see this light more clearly and the intention of the music was to give this light a voice. In that way, the name is something that inspires us, and which we aspire to.
"Lux Interna // Is a hidden light // A lantern carried // In skin and blood…// A light that is wilderness // Not oasis // But kingdom”
Vision
What was the initial musical vision that brought Lux Interna together and how has this vision evolved?
Joshua: When I started Lux Interna and wrote the songs that would become our first release, Truth, Beauty, and all their Severity, I was taking a first stab at developing a sound and atmosphere that would reflect where I was at that point in my life. I had found myself very attracted to folk music because of its simplicity, richness, and honesty as a means of communication. This ethos has definitely stayed with us.
Maintaining an organic nature to the music is important to me, and therefore as any living organism it must remain open to change to ensure its survival.
I suppose it would be safe to say that in the beginning we were more focused on Kulturkritik – reacting to the general lunacy that surrounded us. Presently we have moved on to deeper grounds. In my opinion the new work is more introspective and spiritually rich. I believe that art must be open to life, and therefore the artist must necessarily be as well, and I can say that a lot of living - for better or for worse - has gone into our music. Every recording that we have made is a sort of journal; when I hear a specific piece I can always feel where we were when it was conceived. Yet the songs take on their own being, and I suppose at a certain point they no longer need me – they no longer refer to me.
As far as recurrent themes in our music, as the lyricist one will find those things which are closest to my heart and mind: religious speculation, cultural pessimism, exile as an ideal, unfounded (but cherished) hope, and those typical themes that have been threading themselves through folk music since time immemorial – life, love, hatred, and death.
Musical Style
How do you interpret the idea of musical genres in general? Would you call your music neo-folk yourself? I think that categorizing music often reduces the music in question to too narrow a characterization… important aspects might get lost.
Joshua: I agree that categorizing music is often too reductionist. The whole “genre thing” is quite difficult – a slippery slope if you will. Categories are for the world of music critics, promotion, and sales. All of which are of course, for better or for worse, here to stay.
As far as our music goes, no, I would not simply call it neo-folk. I don’t waste too much time on what people call our music. I only hope that people can hear it within its own context… it is simply Lux Interna – I hope that this speaks past all adjectives.
It is always hard when people ask: “what type of music do you play?” There’s really no perfect answer short of hearing the music. Perhaps, “blackwaterresurrectionfolk”… that might come close.
Inspirations
It’s obviously tedious to ask you about “influences,” but maybe you would feel like telling us just what does influence you?
Joshua: The songs are influenced first and foremost by our inner and outer lives. Lux Interna is also a space wherein each individual member meets the other in a creative expression of friendship. In this sense we are all strong influences – inspirations may be a more apt word – upon each other.
As the lyricist of Lux Interna, I think it would be fair to say that I draw more inspiration from literature than I do other musicians. At the moment some of the texts and authors filling my head and heart are: studies on Lurianic Kabbalah, Johann Georg Hamann, Friedrich Hölderlin, William Blake, Paul Celan, Meister Eckhart, Jacob Böhme, St. John, Martin Heidegger, Henry Corbin, Czeslaw Milosz, the Manichean Holy writings and various other poets, prophets, and visionaries.
Aesthetics have also been a very important part of Lux Interna’s overall work. Kathryn, as a visual artist, works closely with our music to bring its auditory textures into the realm of the visual. Her work, which utilises alternative photographic techniques, is especially inspired by photographers from the early 20th Century such as Claude Cahun and Dora Maar, as well as later artists such as Francesca Woodman.
As far as music goes of late… I’ve been quite captivated with old American Appalachian folk music in all its haunting beauty. I suppose as an American who has watched his country go from bad to worse, it helps me construct a sort of “secret America” which differs greatly from the surface of things today.
The Future
Joshua: With our first domestic release, [a lantern carried in blood and skin], I feel that a new chapter is opening up in the journey that is Lux Interna. We are very excited about this new development. As I feel that our music has grown greatly throughout the past years, I know it will only continue to do so. At this very moment we are working on new material which will bring new aspects of the inner light into the light of day…
Joshua Levi Ian Gentzke, 07-21-08., Berlin
youTube video of "Your Lily White Hands," Live at Art Garbage, Moscow, here.
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