Interviews: Taethen
1. How did Taethen begin, and what inspired you to create the project as a solo endeavor?
I’ve been writing music since I think 7th grade, but for the longest time the audience for my songs was myself and some close friends. At some point I got the idea that I’d want to release some of that music to the wider world. I finally got around to that with my debut Kaos in 2022, and Illusory Sensations was also in the works by that point; Kaos just happened to be complete sooner.
2. Where did the name Taethen come from, and what does it mean to you?
It’s derived from the name of a deity in ancient Egyptian religion called “Tatenen” or “Tathenen”. Tatenen was a primeval deity and represents a shift from chaos to creation, which feels analogous to making art, where you take these wandering singular ideas and concepts and create something new and whole from them. I think ancient religions can have interesting stories and analogies to draw inspiration from. And also the name just sounded and looked cool and was available.
3. What originally drew you toward progressive metal and the freedom that comes with the genre?
I think the complexity of the music keeps my mind engaged, instead of how my mind usually tends to wander. I’m also fond of how much you can do within the genre, and how prog metal bands can sound so different from one another while sharing the genre.
4. How has Taethen's sound evolved since you first started working on the project?
Taethen’s sound is constantly changing; I wouldn’t say “evolved” necessarily, but every album I’m currently working on has a pretty different sound. Maybe one thing is that there’s a trend of newer songs being more experimental.
5. What inspired the creation of “Paradise for Fools”?
I think I was just noodling around on the guitar and came up with the intro riff, and then the rest of the song followed. Mostly, I just wanted to write a good-sounding song.
6. What does the title “Paradise for Fools” represent within the context of the song?
It's derived from a Dostoyevsky quote: “It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise”. So Paradise for Fools is about the conflict between “ignorant bliss” and “knowing sorrow”, a conflict the main character becomes acquainted with during and following the song.
7. How does “Paradise for Fools” introduce the overall themes and atmosphere of Illusory Sensations?
Illusory Sensations is a concept album, and Paradise for Fools sits nicely at the beginning of the story. Sonically, it’s a nice mishmash of the different sounds on the album; some songs are lighter, and some more heavy, and Paradise for Fools strikes a good balance. It’s also the first song I finished composing for the album, so it seemed like a good fit for a single.
8. You describe the album as an exploration of the human psyche. What aspects of the human condition were you most interested in exploring?
The album deals with the conflict in us endlessly chasing meaning in a fundamentally meaningless world. It also deals with how to define “objective” or “shared” reality when every individual’s experience of reality is filtered through their own senses, introducing tiny but meaningful differences in experience. Both of these conflicts have the ability to drive one into existential or identity crises if a healthy way of dealing with them and accepting them isn’t realized.
9. What inspired the title Illusory Sensations?
The album deals in part with an inability to tell for certain the difference between “real” and “unreal” stimuli, like I mentioned. So “Illusory Sensations” refers mostly to these perceived “unreal” stimuli, or hallucinations.
10. The album has reportedly been in the works for years. How has your perspective on the record changed during that time?
I still love it dearly, but am also happy to finally be able to let go of it. It’s fun listening back and jamming to it since I haven’t written new similar-sounding songs in a while, but I wouldn’t change a thing about the songwriting.
11. Was Illusory Sensations conceived as a complete artistic statement from the beginning, or did its identity develop naturally as you wrote?
Paradise for Fools was the first song I wrote for the album, and at that point an album wasn’t in my mind. But then I kept writing songs that sounded like they should be on the same album, and at some point between the first and the last song written, I had the idea for the album. So it was more of a natural process into a complete artistic statement; it's important for me for my albums to be compelling wholes instead of just collections of songs.
12. How important are atmosphere and emotional contrast when you're writing Taethen material?
Very important; I’d like to imagine the sounds I create can bring people into the worlds I’ve created. And I tend to have some tracks in the mix that are there solely to bring that atmosphere, be it synths or very reverb- and delay-heavy guitars. Emotional contrast also in the sense that most of my songs don’t stay in one sound or feeling for the entire song, but rather try to explore different and sometimes conflicting feelings, and are stories of their own in addition to being parts of larger album-wide stories.
13. Your music combines progressive metal, post-metal, atmospheric sludge, and acoustic rock. How do you decide which elements belong in a particular song?
I try to think of the entire album a song fits in. So for example, Illusory Sensations has acoustic guitar-focused passages in almost every song, whereas my debut Kaos doesn’t have acoustic guitars in any song and in general is a much more atmospheric and “ethereal” album. But they can also be in the same song; prog and post-metal, in my opinion, are very complementary genres.
14. How do you balance crushing riffs with the more spacious and introspective passages in your music?
It depends on the song; sometimes the changes between heavier and lighter passages are very abrupt, and sometimes a song intensifies slowly from a lighter beginning to a heavy climax. But usually I just have a feel for when a song is asking for a change in pace, so that it’s not too monotone for too long.
15. Which artists or albums have had the biggest influence on the way you approach progressive songwriting?
There are so many, but to name a few in no particular order, Intronaut, Karnivool, Opeth, Leprous, Haken, TOOL, Caligula’s Horse, VOLA, Stam1na, Thy Catafalque, Periphery, The Ocean, TesseracT, Hypno5e, David Maxim Micic, Devin Townsend, Karmanjakah, and The Contortionist.
16. Intronaut, Karnivool, and Opeth are among your stated influences. What have you learned from those bands that has influenced your own songwriting?
Intronaut have this incredible ability to simultaneously use lots of odd time signatures and be rhythmically complex yet remain very groovy. Even though I also like using odd time signatures, it’s important to me for people to be able to move to the music. Karnivool has a similar emphasis on grooviness, a very good ear for harmony and harmonic progressions, and a very nice emphasis on atmosphere and bass guitar in production and composition. Opeth, especially older records like Blackwater Park or Ghost Reveries, are a masterclass in combining very heavy riffing with these ethereal acoustic passages, and even when a song of mine doesn’t have acoustic guitars, that contrast between “heavy” and “light” is often present.
17. What was the most challenging song on Illusory Sensations to write or record?
I don’t think any were particularly challenging to compose; I had a lot of fun during the entire process. With lyrics, Primrose in particular went through quite a few iterations before I found one that stuck. The last song, Hereafter, has one very technical section that was quite hard to record.
18. Is there a particular track on the album that you feel best represents Taethen's identity right now?
Taethen’s identity is ever-shifting, and I like to explore different sounds with every album, so I can’t really say that any one song represents Taethen’s identity holistically at any moment. Maybe whichever song I wrote last, if any, but that’s not any track on this album.
19. How does your approach to guitar composition differ when you're writing something heavy compared to something atmospheric or acoustic?
There’s surprisingly little difference. I guess acoustic and non-distorted parts tend to be more “airy”. Also with distorted parts I use more individual notes and faster pacing, when acoustic and non-distorted parts tend to use more chords and sustained arpeggios.
20. Since you handle the songwriting, performances, recording, production, mixing, and mastering yourself, how do you maintain objectivity when working on the music?
I don’t feel a need for objectivity during the songwriting phase; I just write whatever I personally feel like writing, and other people enjoying the outcome is a nice bonus. In recording and production, I usually already have the song fully written in tablature, so it’s just doing things according to the written song. During mixing and mastering, I ask for feedback from my friends, and take breaks when I find it difficult to notice whether a mix sounds good or not.
21. What are the biggest advantages of having complete creative control over every stage of the production?
Not needing to compromise, I’d say. I get to write exactly the song that I want, and that’s nice. It brings about a very focused and singular vision. Also that I can set the pace for any project that gets worked on, with no outside pressure.
22. On the other hand, what is the biggest challenge of doing absolutely everything yourself?
Probably mixing and mastering. I’d like to think I’m good enough at them, but they definitely take the most time and feel the most tedious to me personally. Those I’d be willing to possibly outsource. I’d also imagine that multiple writers can also complement each other and bounce ideas around, whereas for me the ideas bounce around just in my own head.
23. How has handling the production side of the project affected the way you write and arrange music?
It hasn’t changed too much, maybe in that I try to not write stuff I’d find too difficult to produce. But even with that, sometimes I can’t resist and then struggle when producing.
24. Do you approach the recording and production process differently when you know you're responsible for the entire final sound?
I’ve only recorded and produced by myself, so I don’t know any different when it comes to recorded music. Live, I’ve played in bands where my only responsibility has been to just play, which feels more low-stakes and relaxing. Not that that’s a bad thing, just different.
25. Were there any techniques, instruments, production ideas, or experiments on Illusory Sensations that pushed you outside your comfort zone?
I tried to have minimal simultaneous tracks playing at the same time, so usually there’s no more than two or three guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. That was definitely a limitation I don’t usually set for myself, and it forced me to make each individual track interesting enough on its own, but I think it definitely paid off. Even though I’m studio-only as of now, I wrote this album with the aim of writing something that could be played live and would be fun to play live, in addition to sounding good to listen to.
26. What do you hope listeners discover about themselves while listening to this album?
Mostly, I hope to just provide a meaningful and enjoyable listening experience, and for people to remember why they fell in love with music in the first place. And if someone doesn't listen to a lot of progressive metal or progressive music in general, I hope to kindle an appreciation for this type of music.
27. Do you prefer listeners to know the concepts and ideas behind your music before hearing it, or do you want them to create their own interpretations?
I’m open to sharing my thoughts a bit, but I do want people to take away their own meanings, and I don’t think my interpretation is inherently “better” than a listener’s.
28. What has the response been like to “Paradise for Fools” so far?
The response has been really good; people seem to really like it, which obviously feels nice.
29. What are your goals for Taethen following the release of Illusory Sensations?
Pretty simple, just keep making music. Several other albums are in the works as of now, but it might be a while before any one of them is ready for release since I tend to take my time.
30. Do you see Taethen remaining a completely solo project, or would you ever consider bringing additional musicians into the project for live performances or future collaborations?
I’d be down to do full band live performances, absolutely. And a studio drummer would be nice, since currently I program the drums and I tend to write such intricate drum parts that most drum libraries don’t have all the samples I need, and a good drummer would make everything sound much better.
Bonus Question: Illusory Sensations explores existential discovery, psychological conflict, and the darker corners of the human psyche. If you could take the listener inside one specific scene from the world of the album, what would that scene look and feel like?
I don’t want to spoil too much by being too specific, but the lead single Paradise for Fools has the main character waking up in a world of dreamers, beginning their existential exploration. I’ll leave the rest up to the listener’s imagination.
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