IN LONGING SPIRIT

Andrea Haugen is a well-known and respected name in ambient and folk-noir. Initially, she drew attention to herself with the Aghast album Hexerei Im Zwielicht Der Finsternis, for which she referred to herself as Nebelhexe, but she attained wide and long-lasting attention with Hagalaz’ Runedance, which has now existed in seven years. This is however not the case anymore. Andrea has made a decision to bring Nebelhexe back to life, but neither in connection with Aghast nor Hagalaz’ Runedance. She has released the album Laguz – Within The Lake, which brings Andrea into the third era of her musical career, and this time her personal characteristics stand out once and for all. Andrea called up yours truly to talk about her decision to step out of the comfortable shade of Hagalaz’ Runedance in order to re-establish Nebelhexe.

# You have gone back to your old name Nebelhexe, but I suppose you still want to progress and not return to the Aghast days music-wise?

I am supposed to move forward, definitely.. I just thought of new ideas, and the old name came up again. At first I was like, ‘Oh no, it’s starting all over again’, with that name, but it came naturally to me to use it again, and it is meant as a step forward.

# You have incorporated a lot of new elements like samples and guitar, and you’re using a lot of different expressions compared to the Hagalaz’ Runedance releases?

That’s what I had in mind when I moved on to Nebelhexe, because over the last years with Hagalaz’ Runedance, I got fed up with playing acoustic music with medieval themes, only. All along I experimented with the new elements, but reached a point where I knew I had to do this for real and not just from time to time in Hagalaz’ Runedance. I felt I had to explore that new sound and really create something ‘full-blooded’ from it. At last I thought, ‘Okay, let’s just do it.’

# It was not a hard decision to leave Hagalaz Runedance and everything you have accomplished behind to sort of start all over again?

No, not really actually... Because I really got fed up with Hagalaz’ Runedance [laughs]. You go into a direction as a musician, and suddenly it’s like you are not going by your own free will in that direction anymore. You are getting pushed in that direction where you music is supposed to fit into a box, and that’s how I felt in the end. It became like, ‘Okay, you are doing this kind of music now and you can not add anything new and different because it’s supposed to sound like this and only this..’ Everybody expected Hagalaz’ Runedance to sound in a specific way and for me to have a specific image, and I did not like that in the end. I finished Frigga’s Web, and I was satisfied with the album as a Hagalaz’ Runedance album, but my mind was already far ahead with other projects, and I was thinking very much outside the concept of Hagalaz’ Runedance. It also got to the point where it was no fun doing interviews anymore, cause it was all about northern paganism here and northern paganism there, and every time I thought: ‘Can’t you ask about something else? I have been answering this for the last seven or eight years.’ I was not an artist anymore, but a representative for the pagan movement, and I did not want to be that anymore. So I decided to move on... I did not feel comfortable anymore with the name Hagalaz’ Runedance because it symbolized northern mythology and a northern concept only, and I had ideas based around everything that has inspired me all my life and not just northern myth. So I was looking for a more neutral concept; something that still represents me – but on all levels. I thought about the name Nebelhexe which I have used before, instead of finding a completely new name which nobody would recognize, so that’s why I went back to the old name. It’s still me but with new ideas. So I have moved back to my old name but forward with my musical ideas. I was actually supposed to call myself only Nebel, but that was not possible because others had already copyrighted that name, including a band, so I picked Nebelhexe instead. What’s really funny in a way – and on the other hand not really – is that I searched for Nebelhexe on the internet, and there’s actually a call-girl in Germany who is calling her website Nebelhexe. I was a bit shocked when I saw that and thought, ‘Oh no, I really hope people are smart enough to realize that it’s not me....’ Otherwise, I’ll get interviews asking about my ‘other job’ [laughs]. I went with the name anyway, and I hope there’s not too much confusion with the name change.

# Mortiis also became frustrated with his music and image and broke the barriers with The Smell Of Rain...

Yeah, I know – and that’s kind of interesting because Mortiis and I have been following the same path. Mortiis is actually my neighbor [laughs]. Well, not anymore. I have moved now, but he used to be my neighbor, and the interesting thing is that somehow one of us was always one step behind or forward of the other. So when we met and talked, one of us would go, ‘I’m doing this now’, and the other would go, ‘Oh really? I have been thinking about the same thing.’ I got a book out about northern tradition, magic and pagan thinking, and he’s got a book out about the concept of Mortiis. I had a video idea and he, of course, was doing this video idea by pure coincidence. Then he got into industrial rock and broke the barriers of Mortiis.. I told him I had thought of changing the concept too, and he advised me to go for it. A lot of the reviews for Laguz – Within The Lake actually says that the album sounds like a mix of Hagalaz’ Runedance and new Mortiis, which is kind of ironic considering the fact that Mortiis and I have discussed a lot of music during the years without directly influencing each other. We have never worked on any music together, but we are very similar and share the same interests. So it’s kind of ironic to read that we have similar sounds and ideas.

# Maybe you should give the critics something to think about and do a CD together with Mortiis?

No-no-no-no... I don’t think I would be interested in that. He’s a pretty weird guy [laughs]. He’s much weirder than I am, and I guess he’s a difficult person to work with, whereas I’m rather easy person to work with. I don’t think I would like to find out how difficult he is to work with, even though we do have similar ideas. 

# Were you nervous about the way critics and fans would feel about Nebelhexe?

I was very nervous when I put the new elements into my music. I want to do what I want to do, and I really like my new songs, but I was really nervous about the reviews and fan reactions. Would people think the new album is totally shit, and would my career be over and forgotten, or would they accept it as a development I needed to go through? But I wanted to take the chance and release the album. The response has so far been surprisingly positive from the Hagalaz’ Runedance fans, and I’m happy about that fact. It also seems that some who are more into alternative and metal think it’s a cool album and find it not so ‘narrow-minded’ with acoustic and medieval music only. Not that I’m saying Hagalaz’ Runedance is narrow-minded, but it can be hard to get into if you’re not into neo-folk. I had expected the old fans to complain about the new elements in the music, but so far it seems like they are enjoying it. One fan even wrote to me and said that it was smart of me to change the name, so the diehard Hagalaz’ Runedance didn’t feel the legacy of Hagalaz’ Runedance was ruined. Had I released this album under the old name, the complaints from old fans would have come – for sure.

# That must then be the difference between you and Mortiis, because his change was not well received by all old fans...

Yes, that’s a difference because I do not experience this. I can always say this is a new musical idea I have now, whereas Mortiis did not change the name, he became... Actually, that’s quite true! You know who also had this problem? Facing The Muse.. They continued to be called Facing The Muse, even though they turned their music totally into more ‘punkish’ hardcore, because they really wanted to do this kind of music, and they got really terrible reviews by people telling them, ‘You’re not the same anymore and should quit the business.’ They got really upset, of course... I haven’t got that kind of reaction, and I’m happy I haven’t. I’m glad I changed the name. I feel Hagalaz’ Runedance has released the albums it should – and no more. It was time for something new and fresh, and I did not want to ‘spoil’ the name but change that as well.. Also Nebelhexe symbolizes me as a person where Hagalaz’ Runedance rather symbolizes a way of life than an individual. I will not limit myself to a certain genre with Nebelhexe like I did with Hagalaz’ Runedance, but let it be a place where there’s room for all ideas unlimited. On this album there are influences from folk, goth and the eighties, but on the next album it might be classical, pop-rock or whatever. I don’t want to limit myself anymore to a certain concept and to a certain musical style. I’m still a pagan, and always will be, but this is how I express my ideas these days. Nebelhexe is not about mythology or paganism; it’s just about me and my expressions. Some think that in some ways it’s similar to Hagalaz’ Runedance, and I guess it’s because I have not changed as a person. It is still based around my world with nature, images, magic, animals, gods and goddesses; anything I’m into.

# The personal elements are obvious as Nebelhexe still contains the longing feeling for something that’s not here, which also characterized the Hagalaz’ Runedance album, and the loneliness on Laguz – Within The Lake is evident?

Well, yeah, that’s exactly what it’s about. I had a conversation with somebody the other day, and the person said that my lyrics are filled with despair and loneliness, and asked me if I’m a lonely person. It’s hard to answer that kind of question, but I guess I’m honest about how I feel inside and express my feelings. It does not mean I’m a negative person, because I’m not. I do a lot of fun things in life, and probably have more fun than people with ordinary lives and jobs. But when it comes down to it and I’m sitting home alone, then I guess I have deeper feelings of loneliness than others, and that is what comes out through my lyrics and music. When you express something artistic, it’s usually something that sits really deep, and in my case it’s deep longing and loneliness; things I don’t have in this world and probably never will have. I don’t know.... I guess if I could choose what kind of world I could live in, it would probably be in a world like Harry Potter or some kind of fantasy world where what I dream about comes true. Here, in this world, you can live ordinary lives, and that’s it. We are very limited as humans. You cannot do nothing out of the ordinary; things you can do in your dreams, for example. For some people this longing is stronger than in others. Some live their lives and are happy with that, but when it comes to the person I am and many individuals I know, there’s an interest in the ‘escape’ in form of music, movies, role-playing games, or going to Viking markets to find a more exciting place than the present world. A place where you feel more at home.

# It helps you as a person to get these feelings out through your music?

Yes, I think it definitely helps. I think this is what I have always been doing – also with Hagalaz’ Runedance. I had a lot of songs about feelings and personal longings, and there are songs where I felt better after I wrote them, and had hopes that maybe somebody who would listen to them could understand how I feel. I think it made me feel better knowing that somebody might listen to me.

# Was it hard for you to face the emotions again when you performed live with these songs?

No, not at all. I like playing live and sing the songs; that means a lot to me. I enjoy it more than being in the studio. I want to bring a certain feeling into the music, and you can maybe do it in the first take, but after that you lose it. You often have to record the same thing over and over again, and in the end what you sing about becomes nothing. When you are on stage, it’s all about the feeling you express in that very moment, and it’s an honest expression. It’s very hard to find that feeling over and over again in the studio. But to get back to your question, I think it’s nice to get it out live and get into the frame of mind again.

# Do you plan to play live with Nebelhexe?

Yes, I do, and that’s also one of the reasons I changed from Hagalaz’ Runedance. I had so many problems finding musicians. I always had to find some folk musicians or someone who could play bagpipes, and it always ended up with me finding one musician in Bergen and another in Stockholm, etc. So there was a new problem with figuring out how to rehearse with musicians from all over Scandinavia, so nothing much happened in the end. Now I have the usual things in a band: synth, bass and guitar. We rehearse in Oslo, and I think it’s a really good line-up.  

# So things have all in all changed to the better since you went from Hagalaz’ Runedance to Nebelhexe?

Yes, I think so, especially when it comes to playing live. That’s a big burden taken of my shoulders.  It has always been one of my dreams to have an ordinary band which I can rehearse with on a regular basis.

# You also have plans to expand Nebelhexe beyond the musical barriers by doing visual art and video concepts?

I have so many visions and have written some concepts for various video projects, and really want to do it but it’s all a matter about money. I hope to get help from artist foundations to visualize these ideas in time. There’s a video for “Wake To Wither” on the new album, but it’s not included on the first press as the pressing factory ‘forgot’ to put it on. I was so pissed off when I first heard about it. The webmaster of my website was supposed to put the video on the site and he told me he could not find the video on the CD. And then friends and fans all began to ask about the video as none could find it on the CD. I contacted Karmageddon Media, who looked into it, and it turned out that the factory had ‘forgotten’ to put it on the CD. If you buy a copy of the CD without the video on, the label will replace it.    

# Why did you pick “Wake To Wither” for the video track, as it’s probably the most melancholic song on the album?

I’m not sure... Maybe because this song represents both the new ideas as well as the basis for the old songs. We also thought about doing “Celtic Crows”, but in the end we thought it would be a bad idea, as it would give the audience the impression that this is a metal album – and it’s not. It also comes down to the budget. I really wanted to do a video for “Reverse”, but it would then have to be a video with a lot of scenes, shots and blood, and would have been more expensive than the budget allowed. So we settled for a song that would be very easy to make and very simplistic in style, and “Wake To Wither” fitted into that category. Actually, I also wanted to do a video for “Touch Of Morpheus”, because I feel this song represents everything I stand for on the album. But again it came down to the lyrics, which demanded a lot of different scenes and effects, and that would not be possible to make with the budget we had.

# There’s still a trace of Hagalaz’ Runedance on Laguz – Within The Lake as you have included the Hagalaz’ Runedance song “Raven Night” in a new mix on the album?

I like to rearrange old songs and experiment with them, but I also wanted to include a Hagalaz’ Runedance song on the first Nebelhexe album to make a connection between the two bands. It was important for me to show the old fans that this is still me even though it’s released under a new name, and hopefully the included Hagalaz’ Runedance song will show the fans that this is a release they can still relate to. It’s a very different version compared to the original on Frigga’s Web and the changes has made it groovier. When I recorded Frigga’s Web, I wanted everything to be perfect and concerned myself with every little detail. With Laguz – Within The Lake I loosened up and experimented more, tried new things without concerns about the concept and the little boxes everybody expected the music to fit into, and that also affected “Raven Night”. It was so much fun to make the new version of “Raven Night”, and we were actually laughing when we were putting the song together. Maybe we did because it felt good to break down the barriers, I don’t know....

# You have entered a new era in your musical career with Nebelhexe, but did you ever imagine being not only a musician, but also active in paganism as well as the debate in Norway concerning the preservation of wolves, paganism vs. Christianity, etc.?

No. I don’t think I’ve had any thoughts of what I wanted to do in my career as a musician and life as a pagan. It just came. I guess when you are older or you have some things to look back on, it’s easier to get into new beginnings and you have the foundation for new ideas you can grow into. When I was much younger, I was just diving into things without thinking about how it would turn out. Let’s see how this goes... Oh, it does not work, so let’s see how this goes, etc. Today I do not just jump into something in the same way just to try it without regards to the consequences and future. I have an idea as how to continue and an outcome to work towards.

# Do you have any regrets concerning you jumping into things in your earlier career and life?

Oh well, there are many regrets [laughs]. I can be irritating, because I’m the kind of person who’s thinking a lot about what I might have done wrong and could have changed, if only I knew better at that time. Would I have been more successful; had I joined another band instead of doing my own thing? Would I have liked that success compared to the one I’m experiencing now? Maybe I would have been living somewhere else now, and maybe I would have found happiness? What would have happened had I not moved to Norway but a different country? I’m always thinking; ‘what if?’ But when it comes down to it, I have done what I have done and I can regret some things – but not change them. I just have to make the most of it. That’s why I decided to go with the influences I wanted to work with but could not use in Hagalaz’ Runedance, and therefore I moved on to Nebelhexe, basically. I could have done what I would have liked to ten years ago, but I did not so I’m trying to do it now instead and see how it goes.    

Conducted and written by Bo