Sum Of R: interview

By Alice Kundalini - She Spread Sorrow

On 9 April 2022 Sum Of R are coming to visit us at the Cascina from Finland, for their only Italian date. I didn't know this musical project, but as soon as I listened I was illuminated (or perhaps darkened, considering how "black" their music is): super drones, experimentation, psychedelia, incredibly deep doom sounds, with those lovely frequencies that vibrate from your stomach to your brain.

It was love at first listen.

Before the world turned strange, Sum Of R were supposed to go on tour. The line-up was already set up as a duo, with Reto joining forces with drummer Jukka Rämänen, known for his presence in luminaries of the revolutionary Finnish psych scene such as Dark Buddha Rising, Atomikylä and the supergroup Waste Of Space Orchestra (Oranssi Pazuzu & Dark Buddha Rising), not to mention Hexvessel and Dust Mountain. Reto Mäder (bass, drones, synthesiser, effects), Marko Neuman (vocals, synthesiser) and Jukka Rämänen (drums, percussion): the result of these three wandering spirits being let loose in a converted barn in the Finnish countryside near Jyväskylä is Lahbryce, the surprising new album by Sum Of R, the most disconcerting and colossal work the band has ever committed to record.

I don't know what they do to these lads from Northern Europe, but let's be honest: when it comes to gloomy, dark, black, murky sounds, their music is unrivalled. Like the cold of a dense forest at night, it gets into your ribs and there's no getting it out again.

While waiting to meet them, I asked them a few questions.

Your new album Lahbryce has just come out: how does it differ from your previous releases?

The previous Sum Of R albums (2008 “Sum Of R”, 2013 Lights On Water and 2017 Orga) are instrumental albums and were recorded as a solo project with changing guest musicians. Since 2008 the project has gone through several metamorphoses, from atmospheric doom and ritual drone rock to dark ambient and experimental music. Lahbryce is the result of this transformation from a project into a three-piece band with a singer. So it is the first album by Sum Of R as a band, and for us it feels like a debut album. If we have to talk about genres, Lahbryce is harder to classify than the previous albums, which makes it more personal and adventurous.

What is the hallmark of Sum Of R?

The name is symbolic and stands for a new sum, formed through reduction. This symbolism can also be found on the cover of the album Lahbryce, which also describes the music. The photo is by Rachel Bühlman. It is a Stillleben (still life), an art form. It shows a staging of "dead" objects. So it is about scarcity and about how to put something in the right light in order to bring new life to the whole. This staging can also be applied to musical instruments as a hallmark of Sum Of R.

What are your sources of inspiration, both musical and otherwise?

Symbolism, silence and subliminal perceptions. Musically, as a band, we share common influences such as Neurosis, Cluster, Brian Eno, John Cage, (Horror) Movie Soundtracks and Sonic Youth.

What would you like to convey to your listeners through your music?

The pleasure of new adventures and continual transformation, as a shared experience that heightens subliminal stimuli.

Esotericism and music. Your personal connections.

The union of esotericism with spirituality and mysticism is an important part of our music and of our existence. Without inner balance, silence and sensitivity we would not trust one another. So we would not be a band and we would not be playing Lahbryce at Cascina Bellaria soon. :)

Black Pills is a column that does not set out to teach anything. There are books, articles and manuals that deal with the biographies of artists, films and works of art in a detailed and exhaustive way. This is not one of those cases. The black pills are small glimpses of cultural and artistic landscapes, at times very broad, which offer the chance to explore themes that do not entirely belong to mass culture, but move along other channels and other circuits. In a world where the choice is often limited to what is defined, in the broadest sense, as pop, I highly recommend taking a few pills of a different colour and perhaps discovering something new, which in some cases, as in mine, can stay with you for the rest of your life.