Ewigkeit's ambitious and experimental music is the work of one man, Mr James Fogarty (aka Mr Fog) who took time out to talk about Ewigkeit's new album Radio Ixtlan, the problem with capitalism and the end of the world.

Vicki:The use of samples in your music is exceedingly effective, particularly on the tracks Powerplant and Journey to Ixtlan, how do you select these?

Mr Fog:On those tracks, the samples were inspired from the lyrics. I guess it’s like you’re narrating a story and you have some sound effects to back up what your talking about and make it more real. I guess this can have the effect of making the music 3 dimensional (or 4th!) – removing it from the usual “linear song on the stereo” format and making it something that is truly tangable. OR it just makes the song more interesting.

Vicki:Can you perceive a cure to the corruption and greed that appears to be the main component of Western culture?

Mr Fog:Yes ; tell everyone you know to stop borrowing money. This is the most fucked up thing in the modern world for me. You work some shitty daytime job (well, I know I do), get payed pittance, spend it in a shop which is owned by the same multi-national company who you work for. Then go home and eat your tasteless, nutritionless food (made in factories / farm land owned by the same multi-national company) and watch the shite on telly which brainwashes you to not see a problem with the way things are - (these programmes are usually made and distributed by the same multi national company). It’s a fucking Orwellian nightmare, and it’s getting worse.

At the root of these bastard’s power is the enslavement of Joe Bloggs – in debt, under-educated and ignorant of a better existance. But, hey – Eastenders is on 4 times a week now, so who cares.

Vicki:What is your favourite TV detective series?

Mr Fog:Hmm – not sure. Perhaps Cagney and Lacey (retro shit featuring the nasty guy from Karate Kid, but it has a good fucking theme tune)

Vicki:Is there a dramatic difference in the way 'Radio Ixtlan has been reviewed now that you, technically, no longer have the unknown band on an unknown label quality?

Mr Fog:Yes – some of the English “underground” scene somehow seems to be a bit negative. I see this as them believing they some how have an “authority” (does that even make sense ?) over the lesser known bands, and that only by their say-so will bands be recognised. All in all I don’t tend to give a shit what these people think, but it’s a sad reflection on how conservative and small minded they are. Generally, reviews are less praising – yet everyone can hear that the music is better than it has ever been. I don’t know – maybe they were too positive for the wrong reasons on the last albums ? (ie ; to get some kind of “underground” (there’s that word again) credibilty). All taken into consideration though – the vast majority of the reviews for Radio Ixtlan have been very positive !!

Vicki:Care to recommend a book?

Mr Fog:Hmm – Robert Anton Wilson / Robert Shea The Illuminatus Trilogy - a fucking classic of conspiracy, occult, psychadelia and chaos.

David Icke Alice In Wonderland and the World Trade Centre disaster - cover the same ground as his previous investigations, but is good to keep up to date. Michael Moore is a puppy dog lightweight compared to this guy.

George Orwell Animal Farm - this book’s parody of human social structures is so accurate it still amazes me after 4 reads.

The KLF – The Manual (how to have a no. 1 the easy way) – essential reading for any musician worth their salt in the times of electronic music.

Shit that’s 4 – oh well, off to Border’s bookshop with ya!

Vicki:What influences you? And what do you listen to?

Mr Fog:Many things – sometimes I hear noises in the street and it sounds musical, sometimes people using well worn phrases gives me ideas, word-play and stuff like that. Lots of music, in fact all music that I have ever heard, has influenced me. To say otherwise would be incredibly stupid. Everybody is influenced by everything they come into contact with in my opinion.
In terms of what I listen to, well just about everything there is. I like a lot of old mainstream stuff, and old rock stuff. I don’t hear much inventive music these days, especially in the metal genres. I think it’s all been done – the early/mid 90’s were invigorating musically, and in retrospect I can see that music I didn’t have time for at the time is actually good. Saying that – maybe I will feel the same about the current stuff in 5 years.

Vicki:How did your remixing a Society 1 song come about?

Mr Fog:When I went to the Earache offices, Digby played me the track and I said I would like to give it ago. I think he was gonna ask me anyway. The mix I did was more of a break-beat / old prodigy affair. Lots of keyboards and electronics. Probably more suited to the rock/goth nightclub environment than the original was, as I had slowed it down a tad. I don’t even know if the band heard it or not – but I like their original track a lot. It follows all the golden rules!

Vicki:What were your main thoughts having read Carlos Castaneda's Journey to Ixtlan?

Mr Fog:Great book! I had read all those books, and I encourage anyone who hasn’t the faintest idea who Carlos Castaneda is to check out his stuff. I like the way that Don Genaro tells the story of how he was spun off the earth and landed in a field near his child-hood home in Ixtlan. I wont spoil it for those who wanna check the book out, but the idea of having a radio station at my “personal” Ixtlan was an intriguing concept.

Vicki:Can you explain the marked reluctance by most metal and thrash bands to embrace a wider range of influences?

Mr Fog:No. Maybe they need to stop listening to so much metal! I never listen to much at all. If I’m honest, I find it hard to listen to stuff – especially when it sounds like a band I was listening to 10 years ago. Napalm Death where one of the main bands to get know for that stuff early on, and – hey ND are great, but that style is from nearly 20 years ago man, it’s time to move on!

Vicki:After you donated your entire music collection to Oxfam what did you rebuild it with?

Mr Fog:Classic rock/metal. Also, some electronic music. Now I don’t buy anywthing – I download tracks. Most metal albums nowadays have maybe 2 or 3 good tracks and the rest are fillers – maybe it’s always been that way, but now people are putting out CDs of 60-70 mins in length. To me that is pretty boring.

Vicki:Do you feel the assorted musical projects you are a part of overlap in any way or would you consider them separate entities?

Mr Fog:At the moment, I’m just involved with Ewigkeit, and from time to time the BlackSmoke Organisation (this mainly depends on wether Jimmy Cauty’s in a music mood or not). Anyway, Ewigkeit is my own project – I can do whatever I feel like doing, wether it’s deep or ridiculous. The BlackSmoke stuff is a different style and is more varied cos it’s not tied to a particular genre. Also, it’s a project which I find really challenging – and working with one of the most innovative and influencial musicians that this country has produced in the last 15 years is a great way for me to learn different ways of viewing what I am doing. I have learned a lot from working with Jimmy, and it is largely how I managed to progress Ewigkeit to the next level.

Vicki:What are your plans for New Years Eve in 2012?

Mr Fog:Well, the Mayan Prophecies book stated that the world was set for renewal/distruction on the 23rd of December 2012 – so I guess we’ll either all be under piles of rubble with our turkey sandwiches or laughing about how stupid we’d all been and how we were still intending to give up smoking.