Rock Overdose: Hi Emir and welcome to Rock Overdose. First of all I would like to ask you to say a few words, for our readers, about your bands, Yayla, Viranersir and the newest one, Blligghhtted. What was the inspiration for these names?
Emir Toğrul: Hello Minos, Yayla means high plateau. It is quite a romantic name as it comes directly from a natural landscape. The inspiration comes from the fact that it is the very essence of duality (a plateau on steep heights). It means spiritual place of refuge for me, which this band is. Hard to get to, but once you get there its utter bliss. Viranesir means viran(ruined) esir(slave) but it comes from Viranşehir which the place where the musician ends up in the end of my film Drink From The Fountain Of Uncertainty which is Viran(ruined) şehir(city). Very personal place where my parents used to visit my grandparents and multiple layers of my origin would collapse. It is a very personal project, solipsistic and crazy like my subconscious, you never know what to expect. Blliigghhtted is the interlacing of blighted and light it is again a dual form of expression in regards to the light of god and Lucifer. Duality and extremity. History and theology, the darkness stemming from light and vice versa. Ruahanathanas is the leader of this project and she named it.
Rock Overdose: Only in 2015 Viranersir have released 4 albums and a split, and Blligghhtted have released 2 albums, and the third is about to be released. Where do you find the energy and the inspiration in composing so many albums in such a short period?
Emir Toğrul: Art is occult for me; it gives through practice and discipline. Inspiration is always there; I don’t look for it at all. You told me how many albums I made and in a number sense it seems like “wow” but really, I do not feel any burden or struggle, it just came naturally. It is quite like eating food for me, so pleasurable and necessary to do everyday. It didn’t always used to be like this, I learnt it through religiously making art since I was very young. I still continuously live in art; I am fully inspired all the time. I do not do much else than to make art and make hand-made merchandise for artists alike (which is my ritual). All different kinds of art that I am involved in inspire each other and it’s a chain reaction. I am an art factory and I do not have any plans of slowing down. I wake up everyday and make art until I go to sleep. And my sleep is an audiovisual art too.
Rock Overdose: What about Yayla? The last album, “Nihaihayat”, was released in 2013. Do you have any plans for a new Yayla album?
Emir Toğrul: Yayla is my most important project; the one that I am most proud with, the most sentimental one, my first project and the one that sells the most merchandise J. January 2016 will be the release date of the new Yayla album; I am working on it currently. It is going really well, I hope the people who have been religiously supporting this project go on liking the new one as well. This album is going very different from the previous ones and I am using compositions that I have been making since I released “Ruhizolasyon” so it will show a great range of my life. Very dynamic, ambient will be mixed with metal once again, but in a highly experimental yet orchestral style. I call this album a sort of black metal orchestra of dungeons deep.
Rock Overdose: Let’s talk a bit about Viranesir. I guess many people could find the titles of Viranesir’s songs and albums provocative. What is your intention? What message you want to pass to people, by using such titles?
Emir Toğrul: People saying shit about Turkish people or Armenian people, or Satan or metal or bisexuals or experimental filmmakers or whatever the fuck you can associate me with do not offend me. I expect the same from people when I insult something they might identify themselves with and I think this is a “human right” if there are really any. I find that it is ones own responsibility not to get offended or come to terms with those feelings of being hurt for what someone says. People seem to be drifting away from the idea of subjectivism day by day as they claim values over words and forms of expressions. Soon they will censor horror films for promoting crime haha. Fuck their jewish asses… Viranesir songs are mocking them as well as being satirical commentaries on fucked up stuff. A laughter in the face of those disassociating themselves from all the suffering in the world. We are all part of the suffering of the world, way more than we think.
Rock Overdose: Recently, Viranesir’s page was removed from Bandcamp. Would you like to tell us what happened?
Emir Toğrul: One day I woke up and it was all gone. I think they removed it because of the song titles, and they did not even answer my mails regarding the issue like I was supposed to know what I had done wrong. Freedom of speech that the west claims to have at every platform is a myth as we see from this incident. There is no two ways about freedom of speech, it is either full on or it does NOT exist. I really like to be offensive, because it goes to show how fucked up the world is. You see all these people raising hell about what you said when in reality they don’t do shit about the things you talk about. So in Viranesir I curse at everybody because the best of us are Child Molesting Rapist Murderers in my book and everybody is an ISIS militant so fuck your morals and your kids. Know that you raise future killers everytime you mumble some passive aggressivity on anyone, evil has a way of lingering. Sugarcoating your lives with hashtag activism and political correctness will not wash the blood off your hands. You and me are the reason for all the suffering in the cosmos. I am not saying not do anything anymore, but I know that anybody is as fucked up an as bad an influence as any maniac by just integrating in society. Otherising is a joke.
Rock Overdose: It is true that the internet is crowded with narrow-minded people and persons that can easily find something offensive, without even bothering asking questions. Didn’t you expect that something like that would actually happen?
Emir Toğrul: No I did not expect this, I thought better of people of bandcamp and all that so called “art minded” crowd, but they are no better it seems than rabid muslim scum. I just feel like I am crowded with idiots wherever I go, be it Syria, India, Turkey, Russia, England or America. Everybody is so predictable and the same. Fucking idiots who think that their limited cognition is the limits of universal truth. Makes me vomit and vomit…
Rock Overdose: Let’s go back to Blligghhtted. Why did you feel the need to create a new band? What are the songs of the Blligghhtted talking about that couldn’t be expressed with Yayla and Viranesir?
Emir Toğrul: Blliigghhtted is a Satanic Black Metal band, which is the most conventional way to be a black metal band. I did not create this band Ruhanathanas did and she is the leader (though I make almost all the music). She got me into black arts and philosophy and I think there is much territory to be explored there. Of course, I would not do it if I did not think I had a very different way of saying things that those billion satanic black metal bands, which I do with this band. It is very original as all my bands, but as strong. New album will scourge the world; it is called “Kosmoskampf”, coming next month (note: the album is already released)!
Rock Overdose: Have you performed any live shows or that is something that is not interesting you, at least for the time being?
Emir Toğrul: You’d be pleased to hear that we are working very hard on a Merdumgiriz Europa tour, which I would love to get a few dates in Greece. Confirmed acts are Survival, Show Me Wolves, Yayla, Viranesir, Blliigghhtted, Xaemora, Morkesagn, Azerine. So we will perform live, I used to do it way back when I was living in Canada, but I will get back to it this summer it seems.
Rock Overdose: Tell us a few words about Merdumgiriz Records that not only releases your albums, but the albums of many other underground bands, from all over the world.
Emir Toğrul: Revolutionary artisanal record label/artist collective that turns the industry on its head. It is a commune where artists work together to make, promote and sell their work. This record company is also another tool for me to be inspired (ritualistically). I hand make all the merchandise, spray paint, acrylics, fabric paint, sewing are some of the work that goes into it and every fucking thing is hand-made by me. I remember getting a Metallica record in my hand and thinking there is nothing about this object that has any connection with the artist, James Hetfield doesn’t even know it exists. The alternative I am doing is completely making everything myself, when one gets it in their hands, they look at my framework and feel my energy. Everything is handcrafted, hand-painted, hand-cut, hand-packaged etc. I have many bands that understand our philosophy. This is the Merdumgiriz Army. Nothing is wasted, everything is made on demand and nothing can stop this!
Rock Overdose: Is it the bands that contact you, for having their albums released, or you’re searching for new and promising underground bands? Do you have many bands that contact you?
Emir Toğrul: Sometimes bands contact me, but not a lot. Some friends of mine, who dig all day long for new quality unknown music are helping me find bands but I also sign the ones I stumble upon as well. When I see a band worth releasing I sign them even if I have tons of work to do because I feel like making albums and merchandise for them will make my spirit stronger. I feel compelled to support quality extreme art with all my mind, body and spirit.
Rock Overdose: Apart from composing music for your bands, what else do you do?
Emir Toğrul: I work on the record label and study filmmaking. As you might know I am a filmmaker and some of my films you can watch in here: https://vimeo.com/merdumgiriz I passed the Bachelorette of Fine Arts (BFA) and am on the Master of Arts (MA) stage now and I also want to do a Doctorate of Liberal Arts (DLA) after. I am an academic guy, but I do something very different in it like all my bands, my record company and everything I do, I will revolutionize it as well, I have ideals. I spend a lot of time meditating, doing yoga in accordance with my occult studies/rituals. I used to work out 3 times a week and play football 4 times until I tore my ACL, now I don’t do any sports for a long time. I used to drink, take drugs and smoke a lot too but I quit all that when I entered mental asylum 2 years ago and never used any of it ever again, I have been straight for 2 years now. I really like socializing with friends and I watch a lot of pornos.
Rock Overdose: Do you hear any other bands this period and what are your favorite bands?
Emir Toğrul: My current favorite bands from this period are Behexen and Sargeist. I like Blood Urn from Austria a lot and the same person’s black metal project Nahtrunar. Nidhogg released a new album and its grand; also Gorgoroth’s new album is really great. Outside metal I am currently listening a lot to Haus Arafna (industrial band). Voldsom Tapes is my favourite record label, Lord Vranevorn is the man behind most music (Yearner, Til Det Bergens Skyggene, Jotgrimm, Astral Order Of Impurity etc.) in this label and it is utterly fantastic. I absolutely love all the bands on my own record label and I feel extremely privileged to be able to work with them and obviously listen to them a lot when I am hand-making albums and painting shirts and patches for each and every one.
Rock Overdose: How are things with the Turkish Metal scene? Do you follow it at all?
Emir Toğrul: I currently don’t live in Turkey, nor do I hang out with the metal crowd at all. I love the bands Witchtrap, Sorg Uten Tarer and the first ep of Raven Woods. I wish I had more bands from Turkey rather than my own, but I haven’t stumbled upon any. I think my bands are the best in the land for sure lol.
Rock Overdose: Emir, thank you for your time and for being here in Rock Overdose. The last words are yours.
Emir Toğrul: Thanks so much Minos! Thanks for being such a supporter for us all these years, and hopefully more to come. Thank for giving dissidents like me a voice to state my opinions and art. You and people like you make all the troubles that go into making such hard work and following my dreams in exchange of comfort well worth it! I hope we play in Athens this summer and you come to our show, you are amazing bro!
People, who are offended by my art; rape, hitler, nigger and faggot okay?
For Rock Overdose,
Minos Ntokopoulos
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