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Specials Eleanorth - From The Icy Fire
Specials Eleanorth - From The Icy Fire
Eleanorth - From The Icy Fire
Monday, 18 June 2012 22:07 | 
We are raised to support creativity and innovation and are known for interacting with all our friends around the globe via social media, but if there is actually someone being creative trying to reach us, we cannot see it? It is truly a shame, we are once again blinded by our own mindsets. Hendrik Behnisch, Berlin-based author, lyricist, journalist and controversialist is truly a one-man army and a lonely rider on his field of expertise. Yet, he does not settle for the obvious, writing blogs or snapping pictures via Instragram. We don't want to hear it, but with his third release under the name Eleanorth Behnisch seems to be fighting a silent war against our societal barriers, barriers we thought to have fought long ago, while at the instead only building them up more thoroughly. If by now you feel emotionally challenged already, you might want to skip the following. You might as well continue and dive into a dying fortress, that is too sacred to let go. Tuskasi writer and friend of many years Hendrik, also known as HB, gives us his update on his latest doings.
Did you think of "From The Icy Fire" as the final part of a trilogy consisting of your former works "Asleep In The Storm" and "The Feelings Underneath"?
No, not at all. Naturally, I tried to make every new lyric/artbook better than the previous one, but I never had any kind of masterplan how the Eleanorth-series would develop throughout the years. In fact, I regard FTIF as the most ambitious and flawless of the books up to date, but that surely doesn’t come as a surprise. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call it better than TFU, it is way too different to be compared to that 2009er output - especially in terms of its visuals. And as far as AITS is concerned: It should be seen as some sort of prologue to the actual existence of the Eleanorth-series, but it´s in no way a part of it. It's a naive debut with some good ideas, but the execution wasn't done so well. Sure, the creative core of what should become Eleanorth later already created AITS (Nomisum and myself), but it's neither having a preface of a Finnish friend of mine nor is it consisting of visuals intentionally created for the book. It was my first effort. Not less, not more.
Who did the amazing artwork? How did the work process look like and in how far did it differ from your former projects?
My friend Nomisum, a Berlin-based visual artist, did the artwork - as for every previous lyricbook actually. As before, he didn't really have artistic freedom though, but was more a helping hand who executed my visual ideas. I had quite a clear picture in my head what the atmosphere of the book should be like, and he knows me well enough to put my visions into perfect shape. The cover was done by Kalle Pyyhtinen of Shamrain who has also become a good friend of mine in recent years. The main reason for asking him to contribute a cover was the wish to emphasize the aspect of Eleanorth's German-Finnish roots - Finnish music, culture and lifestyle have always had a major impact on the project. As a result, teaming up with Finns who I appreciate on both a personal and an artistic basis was quite a natural thing to do again this time. The main difference in the working process might have been the soundtrack Nomisum and I chose while working on the artwork. Instead of suicidal sounds, we were listening to rather epic ones - Amorphis, Manowar and Nightwish, hahah. That epic approach shows through, I believe.
Do you feel like you've said everything now (if FTIF somewhat closes a chapter for you)? Whereas the lyrics may be equally dark as former releases, there is still, at least through the artwork a glimpse of hope visible. Would you agree? Are the dark times over?
No, the dark times are far from being over. I do agree, though, that the artwork is less gloomy than in previous releases - simply because it's more colorful. Violet, purple and crimson are quite dominant colors in FTIF at times. The reason is not that I've become a more cheerful person or that I've suddenly explored a new love for life. It's more because of the epic approach that I've chosen for the poetry's visual representation. One more thing that had a major influence on FTIF's look is my time in Tanzania. Half of the book's poetry was written down there. And quite a few photographs I've taken in Africa became part of the artwork. That brightens up the scenery noticeably.
Which of your releases represent you HB as an artist the most?
Every release represented me perfectly at the time it was published, that's for sure. But which publication should I point out here for people who are not familiar with any of my work yet? That's really hard to say because the scale of my publications is so wide, especially in their literary forms. But the most flawless publications up to date are probably my first novel "Valkama", the previous lyricbook "The Feelings Underneath" and "From The Icy Fire".
Her contribution means a lot to me and I feel honored that she did this friendly turn for me. As in the previous book's case, which Viola's vocalist Riku wrote an opening for, it´s based on a personal connection, a friendship. I like Mari and the guys of The Chant a lot. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of their music, we've become good friends in recent years. The aesthetic vision of The Chant's lyrics and visuals – which often feels quite similar to my own - and the sophisticated approach of Mari in particular made her a perfect match for Eleanorth.
In how far has your approach to managing the art direction changed? Do you already picture certain images / frame while writing? Has the importance of images been a different one in FTIF?
No, nothing has changed in that field. As before, all poetry came first and the images were added afterwards. The images have been as important as before, but the main element is still the poetry – that's what people should primarily be interested in. Eleanorth is not a fucking gallery offering self-important “modern art” or equally useless shit but a visual-poetic scenery of my inner world.
Could you elaborate on the German-Finnish connection: how does it feel to have had a helping hand from Finnish artists? And furthermore, would you like to share with us, what Finland means to you?
Above all, Finland has always been a source of inspiration and joy for me. The nature, the culture, the Finns I was fortunate enough to make friends with – it had a noticeable impact on my development as a person and as an artist. It may all have started out of my interest in Finnish Goth-Rock and my admiration for HIM-leader Ville Valo when I was a teenager, but it has grown into something profound and lasting. That's also the reason for moving to Helsinki for my Master studies this summer – basically I can only say good things about Finland, so it's a logical step to go there for more than just a vacation. Anyway, getting Finnish friends involved in Eleanorth was perfectly natural for me – because a circle was closing this way. By making the project “officially” a German-Finnish one I could do justice to my primary artistic and aesthetic inspiration for Eleanorth: Finnish Melancholic Rock, above all Sentenced and old Shamrain.
It would be great if people questioned certain social rules and habits. In a way, I want to remind them of the importance of “ancient” friendship, of a sincere and profound connection beetween individuals. We're living in an age of artificially created loneliness. Social media like Facebook have their advantages, but for many people of our generation they have become too essential. They're not essential and never will be. To me, it's much more important to remain curious towards what's physically out there. To build a world out of nothing between different individuals – through real experience, through journeys, projects and whatnot – that's one of my principles in life, one of my driving forces. Sadly, many of my efforts to live that ideal have failed in the past years – a lot of people I considered as close to me didn't meet my expectations of true companionship. Therefore, the book has often a desperate and angry tone, but at the end of the day it is all about love. On a certain level, FTIF is about values and about defending them against all the shit that is surrounding you day by day. Even if you were the last one on earth to believe in ideals such as honesty, trust, honor and reliability – you shouldn't let go of them. Never. They are the only things that potentially set us humans aside from beasts.
Where do you generally draw inspiration from? It must be quite rough on you to openly share your inner self with your readers, especially since the meaning of words and paper seem to rapidly diminish thanks to the iGeneration. Is there inspiration left for possible future projects?
My main inspiration is definitely my social life, I could go on pondering and writing about human relations forever. Which doesn't mean I'll necessarily do it though. At the moment I feel quite drained, but another main source of my inspiration could solve this problem at some point: Traveling. There's still so much to discover on our little blue and green planet. As much as my stay in Tanzania opened up a whole new world for me (and changed me as a person on certain levels), other cultures and ways of life are awaiting to be tasted. Very reliable component suppliers for my ideas are of course also books, movies and music. A couple of poems in FTIF carry a certain Nietzsche-spirit, I was told. That's something I can totally live with.
I'd like to call you the modern version of Clemens Brentano. In a gloomy, doubting way, like his discerning doomed evil twin. Or who would you like to be compared to?
How nice of you to compare me to a hopeless romantic, haha. Well, I'm an underground-artist with only a few readers being aware of my existence and my work, so any comparison I might suggest could be misinterpreted as pretentious. I see myself as a seeker, a restless person driven by a will to create art and the desire to share my thoughts. I have a certain sense of mission, I find beauty in an exchange of ideas with others. When it comes to the bigger picture, I definitely see myself as a spiritual child of Friedrich Nietzsche with the longing for innocence long gone that's so typical of Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen. Sami Lopakka (Sentenced) and Matti Reinola (Shamrain) used to be people I looked up to as lyricists, but I wouldn't want to be compared to them.
How nice of you to compare me to a hopeless romantic, haha. Well, I'm an underground-artist with only a few readers being aware of my existence and my work, so any comparison I might suggest could be misinterpreted as pretentious. I see myself as a seeker, a restless person driven by a will to create art and the desire to share my thoughts. I have a certain sense of mission, I find beauty in an exchange of ideas with others. When it comes to the bigger picture, I definitely see myself as a spiritual child of Friedrich Nietzsche with the longing for innocence long gone that's so typical of Nightwish's Tuomas Holopainen. Sami Lopakka (Sentenced) and Matti Reinola (Shamrain) used to be people I looked up to as lyricists, but I wouldn't want to be compared to them.
Probably not for everyone, but I don't have much of it left at least.
How is life as an ambitious young poet and journalist in the 21st Century. Do you habe any tips for people interesting in writing?
It's tiresome and not as rewarding as I hoped when I started, but it's still a nice way of creating meaning for you personally. Euphoria will only follow if it becomes meaningful for others too. But that's probably a very individual thing. And another writer would surely answer the question totally differently. But you asked me, so... the bigger the crowd, the bigger the motivation. And when it comes to youngsters dreaming of a writer's career... My only tip is: Stay true to yourself and work in your own time, let never get anything or anyone get in between you and your art. They are your creations, your babies. And in the darkest hours your only home and comfort.
How is life as an ambitious young poet and journalist in the 21st Century. Do you habe any tips for people interesting in writing?
It's tiresome and not as rewarding as I hoped when I started, but it's still a nice way of creating meaning for you personally. Euphoria will only follow if it becomes meaningful for others too. But that's probably a very individual thing. And another writer would surely answer the question totally differently. But you asked me, so... the bigger the crowd, the bigger the motivation. And when it comes to youngsters dreaming of a writer's career... My only tip is: Stay true to yourself and work in your own time, let never get anything or anyone get in between you and your art. They are your creations, your babies. And in the darkest hours your only home and comfort.
So why should you give a darn for "From The Icy Fire" and Behnisch' other "whimsical, so not cool papers with kinda okay pictures"? Does it have the power to change our behaviour? Hardly. But it has the majestic grace of changing our approach, the grace only those things have that shine the most when they are kept secret... Switch your iPhones and other soul-consuming machines off and act. Breathe. F e e l. R e a d!
Alexandra Zischow - 19.06.2012
Photos: Eleanorth
HB-related news and former Eleanorth publications can be found here and at cosmopolitansoul.wordpress.com.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 08 January 2013 16:55)