Electric Shaman: Interview with singer and guitarist Jacob Moth about shamanism

 

 

It is a rare thing to meet a musician, whose artistic message is both inspired by contemporary depth psychology and thousand-year old traditional wisdom. Yet, that’s exactly what you get, when you meet the Danish guitar virtuoso, Jacob Moth.

 

Joined by the notoriously talented drummer Niclas Campagnol and former bass player in Big Fat Snake, Asger Steenholdt, these three musical masters make up the up-and-coming and genre-shaking psychedelic trance rock band, Electric Shaman. A new promising trio on course to take the rock genre by storm to inspire and encourage an entire generation to find and pursue their dreams.

 

What’s special about Electric Shaman is their music's transpersonal, mythological and shamanistic roots and depth. Three things that to most people are shrouded in mystery.

 

In this interview, we’ll be chatting with guitarist and lead singer, Jacob Moth, to demystify some of this mystique surrounding the origin of his bands’ music. The hope is to get closer to the core of the bands’ history and message, and find out exactly who and what Electric Shaman is – and why you need to keep them on your radar.

 

Who is Electric Shaman?

 

Before we dive further into the mystery, let’s start off slow. How would you describe Electric Shaman in one sentence?

 

“Now that’s difficult. According to my friends and family, I’m not exactly a man of few words. 

 

If I had to describe Electric Shaman in one sentence, I would call it a human and musical chemistry. And I have to explain that.

 

When I’m with Niclas and Asger, I experience a musical and spiritual freedom, I haven’t experienced before. I feel that I’m part of a team, where everyone is able to freely explore and express musical universes in a completely open space. What this means is that from a musical level we experience a cohesion that allows us all to improvise freely. Everyone is onboard. There’s a technical well-foundedness and a form of consensus about where we’re taking the music. We’re not playing jazz. We’re not playing funk. We’re playing psychedelic trance rock – and there’s no confusion or doubt about that between us.”

What is a shaman?

 

Today’s interview is about shamanism, as it is one of the main sources of inspiration for Electric Shaman – Can you explain to anyone not familiar with shamanism, what it is?

 

“Yes, of course. Let me explain it like this.

 

Shamanism is an ancient spiritual practice, which has existed virtually everywhere on the planet since the dawn of time.

 

A shaman, on the other hand, is a person with access to non-ordinary states of consciousness, who opens up the mind to spiritual insights and inspiration. At the same time, shamans also have the capacity to help their fellow people enter these non-ordinary states of consciousness for the purpose of healing, transformation, guidance, and articulating their life’s search.

 

Then the question becomes – What do we people seek the most?

 

Here, a handful of modern depth psychologists explain that human beings' biggest drive is the search for what Abraham Mazlow calls peak experiences. That is, oceanic experiences of oneness with the Universe, Nature and Mankind. And it is exactly these kinds of experiences that the shaman can help facilitate in his fellow humans.”

WHY OUR NAME IS ELECTRIC SHAMAN

 

How does all of this relate to your band? Why are you called Electric Shaman?

 

“Well, the role of the shaman is not just to bring his fellow humans into non-ordinary states of consciousness. The shaman is also society’s storyteller – and what he conveys is what is called the Monomyth.

 

The Monomyth is the universal story that you find in all great stories: from Star Wars to Harry Potter to The Lord of The Rings, and even Hans Christian Andersens famous fairy tales. It’s a story, which encourages us to become the hero or heroine of our own adventure. And this is where the connection to Electric Shaman is. Like the shamans of the past, we see ourselves as musical storytellers, encouraging our audience to become the hero or heroine of their own lives.”

 

WHAT THE MONOMYTH TELLS US

 

Can you tell us more about this “Monomyth”, and how it is connected to your own message?

 

“The most important message of the Monomyth is that we receive what we ask of the Universe. That the world in the most mysterious manner appears to favor and assist people, who take their destiny into their own hands. That when you find out what your true dream is, and start pursuing it actively, the Universe will welcome your effort with open arms and guide you toward your goal.

 

This mysterious connection between mind and world might not even be as mysterious as it appears. Modern sciences like quantum physics and depth psychology have repeatedly shown that there’s a connection between what takes place in our mind and what takes place in our physical surroundings.

 

What the myths tell us, is that we don’t exist as individuals separated from a dead world. But that, despite our modern beliefs, we’re all profoundly connected to each other and the world around us – and that this world is imbued with more soul than we know. In other words, our psyche is intertwined with the Cosmos.

 

It is from this perspective – and based on our own personal experiences, of course – that we through our music want to encourage people to find and pursue their dreams.”

 

HOW SHAMANISM COMES TO LIFE IN OUR MUSIC

 

This is really an extraordinary background story for a rock band. How does shamanism come to life in your music?

 

“Shamanism comes to life in our music through the simple fact that the primary tool of the shamans was music and sound technology.  Today, we don’t have shamans. Instead we have rock and pop stars. And it is these people, who in a way have taken over the function of the shaman in our society. Back then, it was the responsibility of the shaman to help people enter ecstasy. Today you see it happening at festivals during grand concerts and shows.

 

Think about it for a second: why do we go to huge rock concerts next to tens of thousands of people?

 

To experience a moment of pure ecstasy, right? To let go of our mind and experience a feeling of oneness with the music and the rest of the crowd. To go beyond ourselves. As modern people, we seek this experience more or less unconsciously. But we undoubtedly seek it.”

A LIFE INSPIRED BY THE PATH OF THE SHAMAN

 

This is very thought-provoking. Do you mind me
asking you, how shamanism is expressed in your everyday life?

 

“Not at all. You see, Albert Einstein encouraged the psychologist Carl G. Jung to seriously study how people are connected to their environment and the Universe as a whole. The same urge to explore, an existential longing, and desire to experience as enhanced a life experience as possible have pervaded my entire life.

 

As young, I was a spiritual seeker in every sense of the word.

 

In my search, I’ve had several psychedelic journeys, which have helped me embark on my own personal Hero’s Journey. These experiences gave me a very clear direction in my life.

 

I’ve described this 16 year long self-discovery journey in great detail in my book, which features a preface by the world’s leading consciousness researcher, Dr. Stanislav Grof. It’s a journey which culminated in the creation of The Magic Garden, a modern temple and state-of-the-art film and music studio in Fredensborg, Denmark. (The title of the book is Land of the Nocturnal Butterfly - An Inner Journey).

 

That sure sounds like an adventure. So it’s safe to say that you’re actually living what you’re preaching?

 

“Absolutely. And we don’t shy away from it. As modern people we think that happiness is found in a new car or a better salary. What we really seek is a transcendental peak experience, which opens up the possibility that each of our waking moments can be lived in spontaneous ecstasy. And these peak experiences become possible, when we start taking responsibility for our lives and dreams. When we shift our focus from the outer world and connect with the inner world. That is the kind of shift we want to see happen. That is Electric Shaman. And supreme rock-music, of course.”

 

Now that’s a message that is truly relevant to all of us. Thank you so much for your time, Jacob. It was a pleasure getting to know you and Electric Shaman.

 

 

“The pleasure is on my side.”

 

 

 

Calling all rock fanatics

 

To celebrate the release of our first single, Into The Night, we’re performing an official Electric Shaman live online concert – and you’re invited!

 

It all goes down on April 14 at 8 PM, and the concert will be streamed both here on Facebook and our website.

 

Oh! And did we mention that the concert is free for everyone to watch? W

 

Well it is

 

So tell your friends and family. Get your speakers ready. And prepare to take off into a night of psychedelic trance rock with your one-and-only Electric Shaman.

 

 Hear the Album: Happy Man

Danish film tackles the gang war

The award-winning, new danish film revolving around gang war, “Melody of the Street”, was made street kid-style with favours from friends and
spontaneous calls, says the film instructor Omid Romal.

“Let us put it like this, almost all my actors are friends of mine. Who did it free of charge. When we needed requisites and cars, we had help.
We just called people and asked, “ says the 28-year old film instructor Omid Romal, when we met him at the recording studio Baby Factory to talk about his new film.

 

Melody of the Streets, which premieres in the danish theatres this spring, has its
roots in the same state of mind as the one you only learn in the streets.

The instructor does not hide the fact, that this film is done by calling in favours and
spontaneous calls to businesses or cafes to ask permission to use locations or prop
weapons.

The actors were cast amongst friends and family. The lead for example, was given to
his little brother, Ryan Romal.

“Former police officers, played the roles of police, and real ambulance drivers and
emergency workers”, he says, and they all took part voluntarily.

Omid Romal apperance is calm and kind with a big smile, that might get people to
make an extra effort. All in all the film took two months to film, and they worked 15
hours a day. It took place deliberately in Kastrup and not for example at Nørrebro, to
not cause confusion as to who we were and why we were there.

“I am an old troublemaker myself, and I told my friends, “you have to be the old you,
not the new you.” He says with reminiscence to his tainted past, from where he
knows the street environment.

Downwards spiral
Melody of the Street is about a young man, who gets manipulated by the older
leaders with a pouch of money, that can save his mother from illness with surgery.
Meanwhile he gets shot at, and the course of retalliation begins. which turns into an
evil spiral of murder attempts between rivalling gangs.

“The film shows that, you can not hide from that environment.” Says the film
instructor.

“I wanted to use this film to show people what happens, when you are in a gang war,
and how the youngsters gets manipulated into that environment by the older
generation who pulls the strings. The youngsters fight the elders fights, and for the
elders problems”.

“The film is not about why gang wars are what they are, or how they end, “cause it
never does”, but what happens during a gang war. From the moment they are shot

at, till they gear up with weapons and prepare. And what happens, after they shoot”

The film zooms in on all the details, rough, realistic and almost documentary-like, like
when the lead roles steals a moped, commits murder and torches the evidence.
Melody of the Street has prior to the danish theatre premier won an award at the
Cannes World Film Festival for Best Indie Feature

New Country-Rock came to life after tragedy

Text: Anders Højbjerg Kamp

Foto: Maria Dybdal

Marc Olivers new Country songs came to life after the mother to his daughter took her away from him.

 

“I have made some heart-felt songs about what happened with my daughter” says Marc Oliver, the 31-year old artist who is ready with new songs like How Much Longer, Heartache and the title-song Help Me Believe.

 

“My daughter told me she missed me, and thats when I wrote How Much Longer. It is about how long this has to go on, and that Daddy is working hard to see you again” Marc says.

 

“It is said that Country music is four chords and the truth, and I went with that. Regardless of age or background, everyone can relate to missing, loving or loosing somebody.”

 

“Regardless of age or background everyone can recognise the feeling of loving or missing somebody.”

 

Marcs musical rolemodels are Country artists like Luke Combs, Mitchell Tenpenny and Brad Paisley, who also sang about his daughter, and Paisley was a huge inspiration.

 

“It is not a widely popular genre in Denmark, but it is huge in Nashville and Texas. It is “Radio Rock”, and the stereotypical audience is definitely middle-aged women.” says Marc Oliver laughing.

 

Marc has a Bachelor's degree in Music Production from England, so his songs are mostly recorded in his own studio. “The guitars were recorded in my bathroom, because of the tiled walls the acoustic in that room was amazing.”

 

Marc wrote, recorded and mixed the majority of his songs, only the drums needed some assistance from his buddy at Heyman Studios, who is also a big fan of the Nashville Country Rock genre.

 

The mother ran off with their daughter

 

It took a year to record the album during the COVID lockdown, Corona and the trauma that has rooted itself in him, since his ex girlfriend took their daughter back to England two years ago, Marc tells me over a cup of coffee at the recording studio Baby Factory.

 

Whilst Marc Oliver sits with his visible tattoos and his sunglasses on, talks about his heartbreaking experience, it is clear to see his mouth shivering and his voice breaking, showing how deeply this has shaken his core.

In November 2019 his British girlfriend was taking their daughter to the UK on holiday, so she could get well and their daughter could see the british side of the family. But neither the the mother or the daughter returned.

 

“It was a lonely Christmas, you can imagine.”

 

The album “Help Me Believe” by Marc Oliver was released in January on M2 Records, and can be heard on all streaming services.

Danish sound dominates Lady GaGa-album

Lady GaGa`s second studio album Born This Way. The title track is written in collaboration with Danish songwriter Jeppe Laursen, who used to be a part of the sensational pop group Junior Senior (the guys with “Move Your Feet”). But with the unveiling of the album track list it was furthermore unveiled that another collaboration between the pop star and Laursen can be heard on the album.

A side from Born This Way Laursen is also the writer of the song "Bad Kids". This track was one out of four tracks that the songwriter had made for Lady Gaga, after which she chose to write lyrics for two of them.

Four days with Lady Gaga

But Laursen doesn’t hold the only Danish touch on the album. Wednesday November 17^th at 5 pm, the phone of Danish studio owner Lars Falck rang. The call came from a contact at a big American record label with which Falck had previously collaborated on of the Black Eyed Peas album.

- The woman asked me if I could help her. She needed a studio in Copenhagen for the following morning. I told her I would helpher anytime – after all, they’re great customers, says Lars Falck, who owns the studio Baby factory

When Lars and his right hand, sound engineer Danny Krøger, heard that the deal came with a confidentiality clause, they knew that something big was happening. And something big did.

- I gained huge respect for her while she was here, he says. She participates in the writing process of every single one of her songs. Think about what huge hits they have all become. Her team works incredibly competently. She is so talented – she only needed four hours a day in the studio. She nailed it every time.

During her four days at the studio, Lady Gaga recorded four songs – among these was Bloody Mary.

The Business Of Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga isn't the music industry's new Madonna. She's its always on call to carry the business.

- She is the only pop star who is actually in the papers every single day. She decides herself if she wants to wear a dress of meat or walk through Paris with no pants. She knows the media wants to play along, and that gives her the power, Lars Falck says.

He and Baby Factory have, however, almost gotten used to visits from the big stars. Previously, the studio has been working with big names such as Dr. Dre, One-republic, Black Eyed Peas and Danish Soulchock.

In American music circles, Baby Factory has a reputation for combining the rough American hip-hop sound with the fluffy, soft Scandinavian beats. They call it The Scandinavian Sound. But what constitutes this?

- GaGa wrote on her Twitter profile, that she was glad she had gotten the Scandinavian sound. To be honest, I have no idea what that is. We don’t do anything differently. I’m thinking about getting a little box with the words Sandinavian Sound on it. Then I could put a few buttons on it, and people might think “Oh, so that’s where it comes from!”, Falck says jokingly.

.... Lars Falck & Danny Krøger

So what pleases American artists?

- They trust us. They know we’ll work until we are a hundred percent finished. The US is full of bullshit. To Americans Denmark is a fairytale country. I mean, some of them even think we walk around wearing elves’ outfits. They don’t understand that we have money of our own, Falck says.

The album Born This Way, and the Scandinavian sound that – apparently – comes with it, have now sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

Read also: Lady Gaga Recording New Album 'Born This Way' in Europe