MISERERE – JASON KÖHNEN
Bio: The Lovecraft Sextet is one of the many projects from multi-instrumentalist Jason Köhnen. Renowned for his previous projects Bong-Ra or The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. The Lovecraft Sextet was evoked after a void appeared with the ending of his other Darkjazz outlets, firstly TKDE and TMFDJC and then the short-lived The Thing With Five Eyes project, which saw Köhnen’s first flirtations with Arabic scales and instruments, progressively transforming into his Mansur project together with ex-PHURPA member Dmitry El Demerdashi and avantgarde metal Thy Catafalque vocalist Martina Hórvath with which he shared the Doom Metal project The Answer Lies in the Black Void. The Lovecraft Sextet releases albums on Denovali Records and Debemur Morti Productions in a way where the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde part of this project comes to its best and most creative fruition. Besides the conceptual audio releases, The Lovecraft Sextet navigates through the multi-disciplinary arts. The ‘In Memoriam’ release saw the first in a series of short stories and audiobooks combined with an album. Future releases will see more art disciplines combined as a release. The upcoming 2023 album ‘The Horror Cosmic’ will be a multimedia release of an album, illustrated book and narrated audiobook.
For the past 20 years, I have tried to perfect my craft as an artist by creating a particular form of Transcendentalism. With all my different projects, my principal goal is to take the listener on a journey and guide them to the universe created for that specific moment. I have found the artistic tools to provide the vessel and bring that listener to the exact place I had imagined. I am a practising Stoic, and I try to live my life through the teachings of this philosophy.
I don’t idolise anyone, especially not in the music industry; there are very few artists/people who I think have something worthwhile to say. Most of it is shallow and lacks depth. My reason for creating is personal, and I find explaining why doing so destroys the mystery around the music. I do what I do because it needs doing.
I’m pretty disciplined. I don’t drink alcohol, use substances, or smoke, and I live a healthy and sober life. In that sense, I like to evoke hardships to push more discipline and focus, which is part of the Stoic teaching. A strong mindset helps my creativity. As long as your moral compass points the right way, I don’t care if you are an average Joe or Jesus Christ. Do the right thing and try to speak the truth.
Music is the most important abstract form of communication and expression. It manages to evoke feelings through the power of vibration, which is, at the core, the foundation of reality. So yes, it’s very spiritual for me. Unfortunately, a lot of music has been diluted for mass consumption, and like food being a nourishing element, it is predominantly ‘junk music’ like junk food which is widely consumed.
https://redrumrecordz.bandcamp.com
