Interview by Dylan Raine

In 2005, West Virginia, Nechochwen were born. Introducing passionate explorations of Native American Indian heritage through stunning classical guitar instrumentations and atmospheres, combining obscure intros in extreme metal, folk metal and melodic metal; I caught up with Nechochwen following the release of the Oto LP.

Dylan: How long have you been together as a band and how many other releases do you have available?

Nechochwen: I started writing music for Nechochwen around 2005, and back then I was just concerned with making dark acoustic music based on local Native history. It wasn’t a band at all really, just a collection of my acoustic, classical, and traditional music that gave a loose narrative of events, emotions, tragic events, etc. that occurred in the woodlands of North America in the Eighteenth Century. This was the Algonkian Mythos cd release on Dark Horizon Records. The research of this subject hit close to home as I found connections in several branches of my own family to some of the events I was writing about. At that time Pohonasin only had a production and support role.
After the first album we contributed a track to a two-disc compilation called Der Wanderer uber dem Nebelmeer. The track was called ‘Winter Strife’ and was quite a departure from the début. I really felt the song needed distortion, bass, and drums in the latter half. So that’s how Pohonasin came to be drummer and bass player for Nechochwen. Soon after, we got to work on the second album; a loose concept piece based on the Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley called Azimuths To The Otherworld.
Hopefully our third release (first on LP), Oto, will be available by the time your readers see this. It is intended as a limited double EP; Side A is acoustic, Side B is metal. This album focuses on ancient tradition in modern times and the importance of giving thanks and respect to your ancestors.

Dylan: Talk to me about the concept behind this album, how was the foundations set for everything that happens in part A of the album?

Nechochwen: Over the past two and a half years I’ve reconnected with some old friends of the same ancestry and made some new friends as well. I learned about lots of things that had always been mysterious to me. Woodland music for example! I learned a lot about music of the Shawnee, Lenape, Kickapoo, Cherokee and more. Ancient crops as well, like certain kinds of corn, squash, and tobacco. Maybe the thing that fascinates me the most is language. Communication, even the smallest conversation, in a language spoken by your ancestors is profound. I feel strongly about preserving these languages and songs. Writing lyrics for Oto was a great exercise for me in learning the Shawnee language. It certainly was a challenge.
The intro track, ‘Cultivation’, is an homage to perpetuating all of these things in an unlikely time, the 21st Century! Perhaps these traditions can flourish in modern times like they did long ago. ‘On the Wind’ and ‘Otomen’pe’ remind us of this importance and that the best guides for the living are spirits. ‘Haniipi-Miiši’ honours a tree that is sacred to me, a local elm that is nearly 400 years old.

Dylan: In the track “Elm Tree” I hear so many influences coming from Classical traditions all the way to Native Indians whilst maintaining the folk metal foundations. Where would you say your main influences lay?

Nechochwen: This was played on a Paax Muul classical, but I think my influences were more acoustic folk or something here. To be honest, I’m not sure; I just thought it was a nice series of riffs that felt good as a tribute for a great tree. There might be some influence from Nick Drake or from Iron & Wine. Maybe some Andrew York or Steve Morse influence too. The slow rhythm part at the end uses this weird “every other string” pluck thing I’ve been doing since about 2003. I use it a lot, but I have no clue why i started doing it. Usually I use it with alternate tunings, but it served me well here, the song is in standard tuning with a capo on the 2nd fret. The vocal part at the end uses traditional syllables and was sung in tribute as well. The vocal influences when I sing like this are artists like David Gilmour, Jonas Renkse, and Dan Swano to some extent. In no way do I claim to be of the same calibre, but they are influences.

Dylan: How would you say this LP differs from your previous works in terms of musical attention and spiritual awakening like in the track “He Ya Ho Na“?

Nechochwen: I felt a greater connection to the subject matter than ever before, so I think that was the main difference. The first half of the song was a bit more calculated, like previous material, but the second half was a riff that was largely improvised, like a flute melody. The way I think about writing music changed a bit last year. I’ve been shutting off my brain and just letting music come out. So I think there was actually less musical attention, more emotion and instinct. It’s more rewarding in some ways but out of my comfort zone because I’ve studied and written so much structured music. I think this was the first album that had my own feelings and views in the lyrics, not just a narrative of events, people, or traditions. In this way, maybe the music is a bit more abstract and personal.

Dylan: Having not had the opportunity to experience your live shows can you tell me what you bring to the live stage in terms of atmosphere and experimentation?

Nechochwen: We haven’t been doing live shows. Occasionally I do classical guitar recitals, and I always throw in some Nechochwen pieces, but Nechochwen is a studio entity for now. Our focus is on making albums with atmosphere and experimentation, and we have only played a few songs live at local events.

Dylan: Listening to the tracks “He Ya Ho Na” and “On the wind” with the very Opeth feel and expressions making the listener feel as though they’re there with you. Was this a deliberate set-up for this type of feel or were you trying for something else?

Nechochwen: I hadn’t thought of it this way! Again I was interjecting my thoughts and feelings because the album focuses on ancient tradition in modern times. This is the only era I’ve written about that I’ve actually experienced first-hand. No matter how much knowledge you have of the ancient or historic past, I can’t comment on what it would have felt like to live in those times. I can only speculate. Ironically, the earlier albums seemed easier to make in some ways! For me it’s easier to make lyrics and atmospheres about the past; I just imagine I’m there and I can get creative with it. It’s much more difficult for me to try to be eloquent with my own feelings about my life and how I choose to live it. I didn’t set out to do that initially, but I think that I needed to do it for myself. Maybe if the listener feels some of the same things I’ve written about in the songs, they’ll feel involved in the music as you’ve described.

Dylan: Talk to me about the track “Our Ancestors“. The lyrics are deeply outstanding and delicate. Was there a particular line of thinking behind this song? The finger picking guitar us beautifully played here, can you say who the main influence for writing like this is?

Nechochwen: The lyrics are just some realizations I had made while giving thanks. Some of the most basic, simple acts in life are some of the most important; when you acknowledge those who came before you, I believe you are acknowledged in return. “Otomen’pe” is about incorporating ancient ways of living your life into modern times and in turn nourishing and sustaining those close to you in our dysfunctional society.
Thanks for the great compliment on the guitar work! The beginning reminds me, in hindsight, of the classical guitar piece “Romanza” that most students learn at some point. I threw in some grace notes that were used in pieces by Sor, Guiliani, and other composers of the Nineteenth Century. So it was influenced by the old guitar masters that are such a joy to study. The middle section has almost a Celtic feel to it. Maybe the melting pot of German, Scotch-Irish, and American Indian music that I simply think of as Appalachian is at work here. The end section sounds flamenco, but my intent is purely American! I wanted a big build-up there, so rasgueado strums with a lalawas (rattle) were what I chose to use. I learned these strums not from Spanish flamenco dances but from studying the tango music of the Argentinian composer Astor Piazzola. His guitarist, Baltazar Benitez, used some amazing right hand strums that I’d think would be of Spanish origin. The way that they’re used gives the music more of a Western Hemisphere vibe though (to me anyway), so I wanted to incorporate them. They are also used in the second half of Cultivation.

Dylan: On your final track I hear combinations of black metal, folk, folk metal and Classical. How many more are there?

Nechochwen: I think you nailed it! The end section is more in line with acoustic finger-style music. It’s the same musical theme as the layered heavy part right before it. I really liked the theme but I didn’t want to keep doing the same thing over and over in the song. I thought this finger-style approach would provide a contrast while continuing a similar melody.

Dylan: How many people are in the outfit?

Nechochwen: There is just me and Pohonasin, and for now we are a studio entity except for some acoustic pieces I play when I do solo guitar recitals/concerts.

Dylan: Do you have any tours/gigs coming up?

Nechochwen: No, we don’t have any plans for that. I’ll be doing a few solo classical guitar performances locally but no plans to tour.

Dylan: Talk to me about instruments, I hear loads but there are some obscure ones in there too. Can you tell me what they are and why you chose these particular instruments?

Nechochwen: I played a Cedar flute on Side A for a couple songs, and the lalawas I mentioned before; it’s a fine rattle I made from deer rawhide. These are traditional instruments that can still be used in modern music. For the acoustic guitar material I used the Yairi steel-string that was used on all the other recordings (my favourite guitar tone comes from the vintage type, 12-fret folk style), but I used a Paax Muul Classical instead of the Yairi classical this time for its punchy spruce top and that funky elevated Humphrey style neck it has. I was told the guitar practically mixed itself in the tracking process. For Side B, I once again played the LTD Eclipse for rhythms and leads but we tried some different amps than on Azimuths – we wanted to experiment a bit with different tones. I can’t get by without my Ebow; it gives those sounds that are more like a wooden flute and less like those used in an orchestra. Those sounds at the end of Cultivation: that is the sound of wood being prepared in the construction of structures and flint being knapped for tools and projectile points. In the background is a man singing a melody to the beat of a hand drum. I think it’s one I made from deerhide stretched over a hollowed-out gourd. I thought this was a good way to represent the sounds of a village being ‘cultivated’ out of material provided by the earth.

Dylan: Can you give us some links to videos, music, pages etc…?

www.nechochwen.com
www.bindrunerecordings.com
www.bindrunerecordings.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nechochwen-Official/110325015754751

Dylan: Thanks for sharing and talking to us at Metal Shock Finland

Nechochwen: Thank you for your thoughtful questions and careful listening! It is a pleasure to be featured at Metal Shock Finland.

Don’t forget to check out the Nechochwen “Oto” review HERE