Interview with Corpse / HrG
History: Michail Vorobiev, more known as Corpse/HrG, is an outstanding musician - a tracker whose creations are known not only in Russia, but in the western countries too. Everybody wishing to become familiar with his works could visit the site: c0rpse.narod.ru
So, the first question: What did your interest to the music in general and tracker music in particular begin from?
I have always been interested in music. This is ancestral - my mother is a singer, laureate of lots of competitions and singing festivals, my father is a jazz drummer with absolute pitch sense. All together it would be strange, if a kid in such a family wasn't interested in music in general. I began to feel interested in it when I was about 10 years old, when I myself (!) decided to learn playing the accordion for some reasons. But this fancy didn't last for a long - I had studied for a year, passed the exams and sent the school to hell. The tag of the tale was such - what the teacher is, the same is the pupil. But I wasn't regretting about it for a long time. In a short time I found a business in that I started learning playing drums in a school pop group (so, "hits" like "Mirage" and "Maskovy Lay"). Played-played and transferred to another school, where I someway started singing and writing songs for a punk-band called "Experiment's Error". This lasted for a year and a half. We were setting up the popularity. But this last much too - I entered the institute and had to leave the band-group... After that I played as a drummer in one team with tEr.
And my fancy for tracker music began exactly so. In about 1992, when I was passing my summer practice, suddenly I noticed the one (who had arrived from a business trip) showing my mate something which makes sounds via pc-speaker and what was the most amazing thing - I heard that this was digital sound, not usual tones. This was like a shock for me then... And after some time I got a cd with a proud Chineese title, something like "Music and computer" where different modules were compiled, with an inconspicuous Scream Tracker... The year 94-95 was a technology learning year for me. Only a few people listened to the crap I then made in spare from studying time (but sometimes instead of studying). Also I noticed on the internet something with the name Impulse Tracker and decided to give it a try. After that switching on a new technology my role as a musician "who writes music at a computer" began. =)
Your music style is very distinct: even not knowing what compositions are being played in this moment, the music, written by you, is easy to guess. And the question isn't only in the identic sets of samples: the style is felt.
Thank you, it's really so. It's exactly the thing I was longing to. I wanted all I've made to accord three things: style, quality and recognition as an author.
Who or what has influenced your musical tastes and whom of the artists/groups do you regard as your idols?
I have no idols. For me there's no such a concept. There are simply people you want to learn something from. =) My musical tastes were forming for a long time... I had started "using" metal in the 89th year. Everything was beginning from Kiss and W.A.S.P. First time the head was aching from the new, but it all was funny. Later, when I had accustomed myself to it, I decided to make the impression harder and began listening to such a bands as Metallica, Sodom, Kreator, Master (both Russian and non-Russian), Anthrax, etc... But this wasn't enough for me. And I found, that I like groups, where the evil men bawl with the foul voice - yes, you've guessed. I had found the DeathMetal genre (I had begun my learning from the deathmetal's grandfather - Chuck Schuldinner and his creation - Death band), which stands for me as a reference of professionalism in music to the present day, forasmuch as all those, who tried to assure me in that "IT" may be played by a right leg through the shoulder were only making me smile and light disdain as lamers, who understand nothing in extremal styles and and genres. The bands, which are actual for me to the present day: Death, Edge of Sanity, At The Gates, Dark Tranquility, In Flames, Vader, Gorefest, Cannibal Corpse. The last one was so extremal and brutal in those 90th years, that I decided to take a part of the name of the band as a nickname. And, so, I haven't forgotten about the extremal "electronics". In short, all, that was connected with the extremal music styles for me - all that was interesting, all that I tried to make myself on a computer.
And in the beginning of the year 98, I've proved myself, that participating in the competitions is no longer interesting for me, because I've attained my aim - I'm known in a "heavy" scene, my music lets no one apathetic, I do the qualitative things. And I've abated. For example, on the "The Dead Sun" composition tEr directly proclaimed, that it's perverse enough and it's time to start working on something more conceptual. =) This is what I've started practicing. The things, released after the year 98, were more reasonable and conceptual.
Despite most of your compositions I was able to listen to belong to a Death metal genre, their form seems not very standard for this style: in particular, they abound with lots of acoustic pieces (guitar/piano). In some ones even the dance tunes appear. Sounds really cool! Is it your love to classics?
Both yes and no. Particulary, it's my love to melody, from the other side - it's my love to hard and brutal sound. These almost contradictory things I try to ally in my creative works.
And how have you met the Scene?
Scene... The word "scene" for me is associated with the HRG group. Participating in the process of the creation and "rolling" of the group, I was meeting the scene. I could tell nothing specific about this process. All was natural. There were ambitions, were the fortunes, were the disillusions - but all this was a part of life of the group and a part of the scene... it is a pity, that life takes its back and the need to earn money leaves no time and wish to participate in the life of the scene, which doesn't exist.
Does it mean that the chances to hear the new releases are small?
Not everything is so bad. Sometimes I'm though able to get to a tracker. The last idea was to start writing vocals to tracks, processing them and making mp3s. I could exemplify the track "No Law! (vocalized version)". It may be taken from c0rpse.narod.ru. But the only knot - to continue the project I need lyrics in English =) So I invite all the solicitous to send me versions of their lyrics to my tracks (to corpse@inbox.ru - note by SacRat). I'll make the vocals to the best ones, master it and publish the ready mp3 on the inet.
Thanks for taking time for the interview!
SacRat
Translation: SacRat, Iliks.