*When did you really get involved into music in general? Who was responsable for your interest in music?
Music has always played an important role in our lives from early childhood, thanks to music-loving families. We both started playing in bands when we were teens, trying to find a form of communication with the world, searching for our own voice. We played in metal bands (gothic/death/doom genre) before forming The Moon and the Nightspirit in 2003. In the beginning it was only a side-project, a musical experiment of ours. We’ve always been interested in the pagan culture and wisdom, the spiritual and musical heritage of our ancestors, the long-forgotten tales of the old, and after writing a few songs for The Moon and the Nightspirit we realized that this was the music we always wanted to play, the path we’ve been searching for all the time, the world where we truly belong. So we decided to pull all our efforts and emotions into The Moon and the Nightspirit. The primordial form of music was meant for the celebration of Life, for the connection with the spiritual world. Music is not mere entertainment, but something deeper, something that touches the very essence of soul and lifts it to its „original” place. That is the “guideline” for us, when we write songs and that’s why we formed this band.
*Which artists or bands did influence you the most?
Mainly metal bands, pioneers of their time, such as Anathema, My Dying Bride or Tiamat, and of course bands like Dead Can Dance and Hagalaz Runedance. We were also inspired by the classical masters, Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly just to name a few.
*Which instruments do you play and how and when did you learn to play? Did you had lessons in school or private lessons? If so, was that because your parents expected that from you? Or did you learn to play the instruments by yourself? Do yo still follow some lessons?
We both started to learn music from an early age. Agnes started to play violin when she was a little child (6 years old) and she was also a member of a children-choir. She also learned piano in musical schools. I started to learn playing classical guitar when I was 13 I think.We both love to try out new instruments and found great excitement in learning to play exotic and unique sounding ones. We have a quite big collection of instruments from all kind of cultures and eras. We experiment a lot with combining the sounds of them to create unique musical atmospheres. We learn to play these instruments by ourselves. It is part of the fun and experience.
*Do you like other or are you intrested in other styles of music beside the folk / pagan / shamanic orientated music you play? If so, what is the music you prefer to listen to?
We are quite open-minded regarding this. We listen to all kinds of music from metal through ambient to classical and contemporary music. We also love epic fantasy music and original soundtracks. All kinds of music with different and exciting atmospheres for all kinds of moods.
*Where do you find inspiration to create the music for The Moon And The Nightspirit? Who comes up with the ideas or is this a collaboration between you two?
Our main source of inspiration is Nature itself in her form that cannot be perceived by earthly organs of sense, but with the opening of the “third” spiritual eye. It is the whispering of Mother Earth and the tales/fables of the Elders that inspire us mostly.
Writing music is a collaboration, a boundless and unified creation of the 2 of us. It is our thoughts and world-views manifested through the sacred language of music.
*Is music a full time job for you now or do you have a job beside music? If so, what kind of job are you doing? If you would be really succesful with music, would you quit your other job?
We own a recording studio, where we work as sound-engineers doing recordings and masterings for local bands and musical projects, but our main “job” is The Moon and the Nightspirit. We don’t do it for success and for being rich (if it would be our goal we’d have chosen a totally different job). We are ordinary people with ordinary needs. Nothing special, but we are fine with it as it is.
*If you could start a band with other musicians on other instruments, which artist would you pick for wich instrument and why? (Something Like an “All Stars Band”.) Would you still go for a dark neo folk band? Or would you do something completely different?
Never thought of this before to be honest. It would be something totally different from what we play now for sure. Just as a thought experiment it would be great to jam with members of bands of different genres and see what comes out of it. No restrictions or pre-defined musical path, just free-flowing creation.
*If you had been banned to an uninhabited island and you may pick 5 albums to listen to, wich albums would you choose and why?
Bathory – ‘Hammerheart’ – because of it’s epicness.
Tiamat – ‘Wildhoney’ – to re-experience the magic.
Bartok – any works – for the opening of the mind
Planescape Torment – OST – for the great creativity and endless possibility
a random album from a random artist – for the fun and suprise
*Every new album of a band or an artist is the best one, that’s what they always say. So here is a chance to promote the album. Why should a music lover buy your album? What are the standout tracks for you on this new album and why? Which instruments are used for this album?
‘Aether’ is a cornerstone, a huge step forward in the history of The Moon and the Nightspirit. While keeping the main concept of the band this time we ventured from the moss-grown, ancient forests into the realm of stars and endless celestial distances.
It is a cosmic, spiritual journey through the gateless gates, into the source of all creations, the depth of the soul, to rekindle the flame of the Divine inside, to remember our Great Cosmic Unity and oneness. Ethereal soundscapes, shamanistic chants presented by both exotic and modern instrumentation.
– See “CD-Review” for a review (written in Dutch) for the new The Moon And The Nightspirit ep ‘Aether’ (Prophecy Productions) –
*Is there a change that you will promote this album through live concerts (when of course everyting is getting back to “normal” after the Covid 19 disaster). If so, would you prefer small clubs or big festivals? And is there a chance we can see The Moon And The Nightspirit in Belgium?
We will try to do as many live shows as possible to present the album, once the world-situation stabilizes. We have some yet unconfirmed (because of the recent world events) concerts for November this year in France and Belgium as well. Let’s hope the best.
Thanks for the opportunity and this exciting interview. Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Ágnes & Mihály