Within the Weeping Forest resides a mysterious new artist. This is RUNEREADER, and he has been crafting something that is currently making its way through the midst. This new sound has been piquing curiosity from different corners. Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham caught up with the man behind RUNEREADER away from the Weeping Forest. They spoke about the sound, the debut EP Forn Siðr – En Ny Början, and mental health.
For those who haven’t heard Runereader before, can you explain a bit more?
Well, they might be disappointed! [laughs] The concept wasn’t originally going to become what it became. It was me wanting to make music. I love working in bands with other people, but I feel like in my life I have been too dependent on other people to have any semblance of a career. I wanted to have some independence and control over my own fate with that.
I guess it gives you the freedom to experiment with all sorts of sounds, like you do in the EP.
Yes, because I have never liked only one genre of music. I’ve not been just into metal or folk music; I’m into anything. I like so many different genres. I know as well as anyone that they can be mixed, and the new EP Forn Siðr – En Ny Början was essentially me trying to see whether I could do this. That’s why this EP is important, in the sense of what Runereader has become, with my identity not being publicly available.
Naturally with anything like this, there are people who know who it is and who I am. I would ask those who do know: don’t spoil it for people who don’t. This whole project is a lot less mysterious when you know who is behind it! [laughs] That aspect came about slowly. As I was working on the EP, I was working on other music as well, and other songs that are for Runereader and not on the EP. The majority of them you will hear at some point.
Part of it was wanting to see the difference between how those who knew me would react, versus those who have no idea who is behind the music. At this stage, I don’t feel like it needs a face. It’s the opposite to most bands and how they form. The faces are the first thing you see before anything else, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it to go in a different direction. At some point I will reveal who I am; the mysterious persona is something that might run its course, but at this point I personally feel it’s better I don’t reveal my identity. There will always be that alter ego side to it, but these days you can’t keep anything a secret for five minutes, especially in media and music.
That reminds me of the band Ad Infinitum; it was only last year the rest of the band revealed their identities and removed their masks.
Exactly; I mean, there are going to be a chunk of people who already know or who have figured it out, and that is going to happen.
Is there a fate for those who reveal your identity too soon?
No, you’ll just make me sad! [laughs] I’ve worked hard at this. I’m not going to be very happy. If you’re a fan or a friend of mine and want to reveal my identity, why would you do that? That would tell me that you’re not a fan of the music or a friend. I’m way beyond going out for revenge. One thing I will say is that the man behind Runereader is no longer a young man.
You’re not going to cast the runes and put a curse on them?
I wouldn’t even know how to cast a curse! I’m no necromancer.
Going onto the EP, I’m curious to know if the title Forn Siðr – En Ny Början translates into anything.
Of course it does; I didn’t just make up words. [laughs] There are two parts to the title; the first part came later, weirdly. Originally, the title of the EP was just En Ny Början which is Swedish for ‘A New Beginning’, and I wanted that because for those who don’t know, I was in another band before; there are similarities. That’s why it was a new beginning, because it was me not being with that band anymore.
At the time, I was still with that band, and we have since come to a mutual agreement that it was time for us to split. I wish the band nothing but the best; we are still very good friends. We still send each other songs and demos; we talk about them as well. There’s no bad blood there at all. There will be some who will know whom I am talking about, and hence know who I am as well.
The first half of the title is Forn Siðr, which translates roughly into ‘Ancient Ways’ in Icelandic. It made a lot of sense in terms of similarities within the sound to my old band. So it translates into English: ‘Ancient Ways – A New Beginning’.
Which track on Forn Siðr – En Ny Början was the most challenging to put together?
It’s a double point answer, because the earliest song – the first I made for the EP – was ‘On Your Battered Altar’. That was the most challenging from a music standpoint, because it was literally the second song I had ever made. I’ve been a singer, I’ve played bass, and I’ve written lyrics; until that point, I had never written music, or made music in any kind of production way. In that sense, that was challenging.
To me, the most difficult song on the EP was probably the title track. For so long, I didn’t know where that particular bit of music was going. At one point, it even had a different set of lyrics and a different title; there was no title track. It was a totally different song musically and lyrically; it didn’t feel right, so within the last few days of recording the EP, I sat and went at it again. I rewrote it and changed the song, and then it made perfect sense as the title track. That was the hardest one because I was back and forth on what I was going to do with it for so long.
For this EP, you got Marco Pastorino from Temperance to provide his vocals to one of the tracks. Could you tell our readers how that came about?
This is another case where if you know who I am, you will find out easily, because I can’t talk about this song without talking about my old band. The song ‘More to Life’ was the first one I had ever written that was me keying in and playing the notes in the writing process, rather than just dumping in samples. It was the first one I sat at a keyboard and wrote; I can’t really play keyboard! [laughs]
That song is really special to me. When I listened to the instrumental demo of it, I could hear different ways I could go, and it just felt to me that it should be a Production Line song. There were two tracks that lyrically I wrote and vocally I performed for my old band. I got in contact with them and asked whether it was okay to call this ‘Production Line III’ for my EP; it was the secondary title, as I felt like I wanted to go in that direction, and with the theme Production Line had.
I listened to it more and more. I’m a big fan of Marco and I am lucky enough to call him a friend. The more I heard it, the more I thought that Marco could sing this really well. I hesitated at first as he is a busy guy and I am new to all of this. Also, I realised that I can’t hit that range, so I messaged him and asked the question. I really wanted Marco’s voice on that song in particular. I am very appreciative that he agreed to do it, and I am really pleased with how that track turned out.
Production Line is about the amount of crap we put up with in day jobs; ‘More to Life’ expanded on that. The feelings are still the same, but it’s also been like a vehicle to expand on how those feelings can manifest into life in general, and I also like that it gives me two options. It’s either the perfect end to the Production Line songs; or it opens up the possibility of Production Line carrying on if I want it to, with a slightly wider scope of where the lyrics can be drawn from.
Where do you draw influences for lyrics like with ‘More to Life’?
‘More to Life’ is a stand-out track musically and lyrically. It has a different source to everything else. The rest of the EP is, at least on some level, rooted in Norse culture and Paganism.
You definitely hear that in ‘The Rising North’.
‘The Rising North’ is so simple in a sense. When writing it, I was thinking it’s the kind of song where the chorus would be easy to remember; like when you go to a power or folk metal gig, they have those types of songs. They’re never my favourite songs by the band, but they always come out well live, and I wanted something like that. ‘The Rising North’ made sense for that.
There is a theme of Pagans taking back our land. I mean, it’s not even their land; we took it from them first! There’s sort of an idea of Pagans rising up, and there is that theme across the tracks. That makes for a good song too. It’s also probably obvious by now that the man behind Runereader is Pagan! [laughs]
‘The Rising North’ and ‘On Your Battered Altar’ were released as singles; how have those gone down?
It’s all been good; I was surprised, especially with ‘On Your Battered Altar’, because I think that’s the one that’s the most “out there” and most different to what you normally hear. So I was quite surprised at the response that one got, but it’s also one of my favourites on the EP. So I am really happy that it was received really well, because at the end of the day, I am sitting in my studio making songs I really want to listen to. Whether one other or a thousand others enjoy it as well, I still do, and people spreading positivity about it tells me I am doing something right.
I mean, the songs are so catchy, I don’t even have to read the titles for them to pop into my head.
Something that’s catchy is important to me; any song should be. I mean, I’m not saying every song should have a catchy chorus – I like a lot of prog. There will be melodies, something that will stick in your head. I can’t imagine a song that doesn’t have something in there that I at least think is catchy.
Is there a particular thought process on what kind of tracks you’re going to be making or is it a case of experimenting and seeing what works?
Yes and no. ‘More to Life’ had some kind of idea behind it. For the rest of the EP, I wanted to play around and mess with sounds to see if something worked, if something caught my attention, and then build on it. Now, when I am writing for the stuff that’s going to be coming out moving forward, that’s more 50/50. Sometimes I’ll sit and want to play; other times I will want to make a track with a particular sound or tempo, and I will go from that. Some songs, I will sit down and go, “Let’s see what happens.”
Would you be open to suggestions on what styles of music to mix? Like if you posted that question on your socials.
No. Runereader is insanely personal. There will be some light-hearted songs, and I’m not saying I won’t do anything that’s satirical or in the comedy realm, as I like songs like that; but it’s still personal for me. If someone suggested something and I liked it, I might try it. I wouldn’t be asking people for ideas; I like to let the music go where it wants to go, essentially.
Our mission at Rock Out Stand Out is to keep the conversation about mental health going. It sounds like making this music has been really cathartic for you.
In a lot of ways it’s given me focus; I think that’s the big thing. There are songs that I am still prepping and working on that do dive into mental health. In that sense, interview me again in six months as I will have a lot more to talk about.
I do have my own issues with mental health. Making music is cathartic, and I had a feel that I wanted for this EP. ‘More to Life’ comes through with the mental health theme through the lyrics: “Find your way through the maze/never feel like you regret your days”. I know how shit life can be, but I’m also fortunate enough to be able to fight through that, and find that there are always better days ahead. That’s about as far as I have been able to touch upon mental health on this EP.
In terms of mental health, what’s been the biggest lesson you have learnt?
Don’t suffer on your own. I’ve tried that and it didn’t go well. You end up going lower and lower. If you need help, get it. I know it’s difficult to do these days, but just keep reaching out because someone will hear you eventually.
I still get the feeling I am bothering people when reaching out.
I think most of us do. We live in a world now where you can live halfway across the world from someone, but you don’t hear from them just once a week when you call, or once a year when you see them. You can type out and press a button, then the message is with that person. I think we have developed a bit of a culture of feeling like you need to reply instantly. These little rectangles [points to phone] that allow that, I’m not chained to that. It’s a wonderful tool – they’re probably the best tool we’ve invented in the last fifty years – but that doesn’t mean everybody has to be at the beck and call of everyone else. I think people feel too much pressure because of that.
Given that Runereader is someone in a mysterious wood, which five beings would you take to a festival in the woods?
If we’re talking about the Weeping Forest, I wouldn’t take anyone I like there, as it’s not a nice place. If we’re just talking about any old woods, I’m not sure that there are five people I like! [laughs]
I’ll answer with celebrities: Sir Christopher Lee; Matt Berry, as he would just make everything funny, and these days we all need a laugh. Then Ville Valo, Tobias Sammet, and Anna Murphy, as she can play the hurdy gurdy for us and provide an amazing soundtrack.
You have four other singers too.
They can all perform together.
That would be amazing. Do you have messages for our readers and your followers?
To those who are following, Runereader wants to thank you for joining the tribe. To those who haven’t, check out the EP. You might like it or you might hate it. It’s fine either way. If you like it, join the tribe. If you don’t like it, there are so few rules on what Runereader can be and is. Keep your eyes out; at some point there is bound to be a song you will like.
Thank you to everyone who has shown support and enjoyed the songs. I hope the EP has been a continuation of that. I hope that anyone who has heard Runereader for the first time through the EP has enjoyed it. To anyone who reads the interview and then decides, “I’m not listening to that,” then maybe with new releases moving forward, you might change your mind.
I’m grateful to anyone who gives the music a listen, reads an interview, or likes a post; I appreciate those who have joined the Runereader Tribe. Whether you’re really into it or not, it’s all appreciated, as it’s all something and it means a lot.
RUNEREADER’s debut EP Forn Siðr – En Ny Början is out now. You can find RUNEREADER on Facebook.
