Cold Meat Industry Newsletter
No. 57 - 6th of february 2008
Basic info by :Golgatha:
Golgatha is the common name of the spot where the Christian prophet Jesus was crucified. It is interpreted by the evangelists as meaning "the place of a skull" (Mt 27:33, Mr 15:22, Joh 19:17). Its name represents in Greek letters the Aramaic word Gulgaltha, which is the Hebrew Gulgoleth meaning "a skull." Therefore the name Golgatha represents the skull-mountain, looking like a skull and bearing the bones of the crucified? According to Origenes the skull of Adam is buried there. Golgatha-mountain is located at the northern side of Jerusalem and became a kind of symbolic place for the ongoing conflict between the source of western religion on the one hand and oriental belief on the other. It can be seen as a representative for the current ideological and religious conflict happening between east and west. The music of :Golgatha: appears to be a careful reflection of this seemingly eternal conflict on a mythical as well as concrete level ? yet without taking one of these sides. There has to be another way of dealing with humanities darkest aspects?
:Golgatha: are: Christoph D. (vocals, lyrics, several drums, sounds, flute), S. Marleni (guitar, keyboards, vocals, lyrics), Sorakey (vocals, Lyrics, artwork). Occasional Guests: Anna-Maria K. (viola), Ild? (vocals), Patrick Leagas (vocals, lyrics), Tony Wakeford (vocals), Beinhaus (several drums, sounds), Herbst9 (sounds, mixing), Mink Moe (keyoards), Tho-So-Aa (sounds), Claudia J. (vocals).
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Interview with :Golgatha:
by David Borghi - with kind permission by RITUAL - the biggest magazine in Italy dedicated to the dark, goth, electro, industrial, ambient, black metal and avantgarde music, scene and culture.
 Q: Your ?Seven Pillars? is a musical reflection upon the myth of Thomas Edward Lawrence, best known as Lawrence of Arabia, almost a soundtrack for his life and adventures. I must admit this is a pretty unusual topic for a neofolk/ambient band so would you like to tell us why choosing this character and why you found him so charming ?
:G: - First of all :Golgatha: should not be considered as a usual neo-folk or ambient-band. We use sounds and music as media of spiritual and mythological reflection which sometimes use folk, ambient and ritual-structures. As the name :Golgatha: signifies we use this certain place as symbol of ambivalence, as a place between several quarrelling cultures and beliefs until today. And I am not speaking from a certain religious perspective, but from a more abstract viewpoint. Therefore the book ?Seven Pillars of Wisdom? by Thomas Edward Lawrence prove to be an inspiring example of reflecting these cultural conflicts from the inside and creating its own myth at the same time. Most people know Lawrence from David Lean?s movie, but we were more into his writings and the very interesting biographies which came out over the last years. We tried to create an a-chronological reflection on his life and times, mostly associative, but full of references and ideas. So this album is about the myth of Lawrence, not really on the search for any truth concerning his real life or personality.
Having stated this I would dare to say that the myth of T.E. Lawrence perfectly fits into the world of new folk and ritual music. In fact he seems like a possible fictive character created within this context?
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 Q: Many bands of the so-called ?Grey Area? seems to have a special appeal about European history or WWII characters and events. Sometimes this could lead to misunderstanding or ambiguous interpretations of the ideas and meanings of musical projects. I don?t think this is :Golgatha:?s case, but would be interesting to hear your opinion about this topic.
:G: - I would not consider music as an ideal medium of intellectual expression. It is more sensitive and irrational. This may be the case why it is possible to handle even cultural or historical taboo?s in the form of sound and voice. And the European view of WWI and II is full of such taboos. The problem is that some musicians use the music to promote certain ideological ideas, while others reflect these topics by musical means. From the outside this often seems very much alike. People search for the breaking of taboos for any reason will find it there, no matter how or why it is initially in it. :Golgatha: is not interested in promoting a certain ideological idea or to break any taboos for it?s own sake. We choose our subjects following our interests in mythology and spirituality. I think this will be clear for everyone looking at our first album ?Kydos. Reflections on Heroism?. This was inspired by René Girards theory of sacrifice as well as Yukio Mishima?s ideas of heroism. Texts and images are full of ambivalences and traps. Everything is soaked by several layers of ideas and meaning corroding each other. As a result of our method of open ambivalence ?Kydos? was never attacked by reviewers who misunderstood this concept and took it as affirmation of heroism, militarism etc. ?Kydos? is actually a pacifistic album on war. I think most people got this, didn?t they?
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 Q: Golgatha: seems to be an open project with many guest and contributors. Can you tell us the main personalities involved and the concept behind :Golgatha: ?
:G: - :Golgatha: evolved out of the raw artistic vision of myself some years ago. As I am not an educated musician I had to search for collaborators who share this vision in one way or the other. Fortunately this worked well from the start, and most of the musicians who worked with :Golgatha: return to participate again, which I am really happy about. Today :Golgatha: is the musical output of at least two people, myself and S. Marleni, who is into folk music and pop. I am usually working as a journalist, Marleni is a musician for many years and worked with several bands from the gothic area. But there are recently also important ?female influences? like Sorakey, whose voice you can hear on ?Rite of Spring? and ?Garden of Love? or ?Tunguska?. Or the viola-parts by Anna-Maria K. She is actually a classic musician working in different fields. Most of our ? but not all ? contributors have a connection to the gothic subculture. Claudia, who spoke the Arabian vocals on ?Seven Pillars?, has no sub-cultural connection at all.
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 Q: Golgatha: is a pretty new band but you released two Cds, beside some eps and limited editions, one of your track was featured on the SAW2 soundtrack and you had two wellknown guest appearances such as Patrick Leagas and Tony Wakeford. Would you like to share with us your feeling toward your achievements with this project so far ?
:G: - The music of :Golgatha: is a constant exploration of feelings and ideas. And since there are several contributors, several ideas flow into one. This may be the explanation for the relatively large output we had so far. On the other hand some of my ideas date back many years ago, when I was occasionally working with local wave- and gothic bands (e.g. Alice D.), which may be forgotten by now. ?Waste Land? was the fruit of these early experiences.
Marleni personally knows Tony Wakeford, so it was our honour and pleasure to invite him to speak the Ezra Pound-lyrics on ?Seven Pillars?. Some people will know that Wakeford likes this poet a lot. Patrick Leagas on the other hand was simply contacted by mail. And without him we would have missed two of our best tracks: ?Icarus? and ?Final Age of Heroism?, where he re-interpreted some of his own lyrics in a great way reminding of earlier Death in June songs. We are really proud of these songs. Fortunately he liked the result which we sent him?
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 Q: I found your ?Seven Pillars? album interesting but sometimes lacking of tension and, on the other hand, ?Deep listening is required? is stated on your website. Don?t you think you are running the risk of being a too ?intellectual? project ?
:G: - Hehe, you think so? Well, ?too intellectual? doesn?t seem like something negative to me. But anyway, ambient and ritual music is not an intellectual means of expression. What you refer to may be the background concept, but I think you can also simply enjoy the music. ?Seven Pillars? may not work as a pop album or even as a neo-folk-record, but who says it should?! We feel closer to ritual music like Vasilisk, Herbst9 or Desiderii Marginis than to your typical neofolk- or military-act?
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 Q: An usual question maybe, but really fitting for :Golgatha: : what about writing a whole soundtrack for a movie ? This would be a charming challenge or a difficult task to face ? And which kind of movie would be interesting for your tastes ?
:G: - As you mentioned we already undertook some forays in this area. ?Shred your skin? on the SAW II-compilation was our idea of creating a fearful sound-scape. We did two short-film-soundtracks and one for a documentary which you will find as free downloads on our web-page. But these were very small university-projects. If someone is coming up with a professional project, we would take the challenge for sure! And we are open for genre cinema like horror films and thrillers, but also art house fare, even audio-video-installations would be possible. We have some own ideas on this as well, but time will tell.
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 Q: Would you like to tell us which artists influenced your artistic background ? I am thinking not only about musicians but maybe filmmakers or painters?.
:G: - Okay, there are plenty. Among artists I like are Joel Peter Witkin, Anselm Kiefer, Eiko Hosoe, Jean Cocteau, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman. Here are some filmmakers I adore: Luchino Visconti, Bernardo Bertolucci, Wong Kar-wei, Kim Ki-duk, Akira Kurosawa, Nagisa Oshima, Michelangelo Antonioni. Writers will be Yukio Mishima, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Alexander Kluge (also filmmaker), Georges Bataille, Joseph Conrad, Friedrich Nietzsche, Lou Salomé and Edgar Allen Poe. Musicians I see as an important influence are Nico, Leonard Cohen, the late Johnny Cash, Woven Hand, Steve von Till, Sol Invictus, 6
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:GOLGATHA: Tales of Transgression and Sacrifice CD (cmi176)
 ?Transgression means to step over a certain point that normally cannot, or should not be passed; to transgress boundaries is to break down boundaries ? transgression is a departure from the given, the existing, the normal, the world as we know it.? The French philosopher Georges Bataille serves as the inspiration for the new and third fulltime album of the German ritual-folk-band :Golgatha:. Founded in 2004 by Christoph Donarski and S. Marleni, :Golgatha: began in the dark realms of ambient-drones and continually developed their use of acoustic instruments to create a unique mixture organic and electronic elements. After two acclaimed albums on the subject of heroism, ?Tales of Transgression & Sacrifice? marks a certain change of course in the music of :Golgatha: ? in a psychonautic trip from ritual-drumming via multi-textured soundscapes up to catchy folk-songs this album appears even more sensual, erotic and fascinating than before. Included are new versions of the songs ?Rites of Spring? (from CMI-compilation ?All My Dead Friends?), ?Garden of Love?(from NONPOP-compilation) and ?Flesh of the Orchid?. This time :Golgatha: introduce the beautiful female voice of Sorakey besides a wide variety of acoustic instrumentation (acoustic guitar, viola, bodhran drum, Asian gong, flutes etc.). ?Tales of Transgression & Sacrifice? was produced in close collaboration with German photo-artist Birthe Klementowski, who has done mystic and erotic pictures for each song contained, reproduced in the booklet. The new album by German ritual-folk-band :Golgatha: will appeal to fans of apocalyptic folk, shamanistic soundscapes and gothic-mysticism alike. Comes in a very exclusive DVD-sized digipak with 32 pages booklet.
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Review by Lee Powell / Judas Kiss Magazine
 Golgatha: - 'Tales of Transgression & Sacrifice' CD (Cold Meat Industry) 'Tales of Transgression & Sacrifice' is album number three for the prolific German group :Golgatha: who have now found a home on the legendary Cold Meat Industry label. Housed in an DVD sized black card case and accompanied by a stunning 32-page booklet containing a series of photos pertaining to each of the album's 13 tracks by German photographer Birthe Klementowski., 'Tales.' is perhaps the band's most accomplished and diverse album to date, and sees a shift in general sound and direction for the band whilst still remaining true their own identity. Musically 'Tales.' brings together three styles of music, fusing them to create an imaginative and darkly passionate set of recordings. From the ritualistic drumming of 'Initiation' with its occult riddled atmosphere and presence, to the lushly dark ambient textures of 'Scared', through to the phenomenally catchy folk number 'Garden of Love' with its beautifully delivered female vocals and foot-tappingly catchy folk-inspired musical accompaniment, :Golgatha: have patiently worked hard on producing three varying styles of music ,skilfully interweaving them together so they delicately flow into one another with great ease, and without losing the dark atmosphere that the album's built up track by track. One minute you're swaying to melodic folk, the next you're led into a captivating barrage of intensely stimulating ritual drumming, before being lost in swirling dark ambient soundscapes. This constant movement of sound and style could fall flat on its face, but :Golgotha: have managed to prevent this from happening, and instead each style just seems to complement the others, keeping the listener transfixed throughout the entirety of the album. With a combination of deep-rooted gothic sensibilities, neo-folk attributes and a huge swath of atmospheric occult and ritualistic touches, 'Tales..' really is one deeply imaginative and compelling listen from start to finish. The huge crossover appeal that the album produces in sound will no doubt please old and new fans alike, and once they cast their eye over the artwork that accompanies the CD whilst their ears are seduced by the ever-evolving spectrum of sounds that 'Tales.' produces, it will help cement Golgotha's place firmly in the ranks of the dark post-industrial elite. If a band like :Golgatha: can release a such an impressive array of music over the their three albums, in such quick succession and so early in their career, I can foresee very exciting times ahead, not just for the band themselves but also for those who are fortunate enough to experience the imaginative, dark and passionate music the band produce.
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:GOLGATHA: - live March 22nd at Kantine, Augsburg.
 EASTERN-Festival with :GOLGATHA: Sol Invictus, Absolute Body Control (Dirk Ivens)... Ah Cama Sotz Slick Rogers
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/Roger Karmanik.
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