by John Wisniewski for MK ULTRA Magazine
NOT MY GOD recently released the haunting new album “Obverses,” on Metropolis Records. This menacing album of dark electronic soundscapes and chilling vocals is NOT MY GOD’s third full length album and features Nero Bellum of the infamous Psyclon Nine and Tim Skold who has performed with Marilyn Manson, KMFDM, Motionless In White, FLA, Shotgun Messiah and his very own SKOLD, who has a new forthcoming album along with a project called Love Ghost X SKOLD. After the recent Front Line Assembly European Tour, we sat down to talk to Tim Skold as he gets ready for a full summer tour of North America with SKOLD.
John Wisniewski: You have now collaborated with Nero Bellum on a number of occasions. First off, when and how did you meet Nero? Secondly, do you write together in one place or do you send songs back and forth to each other?
Tim Skold: I think the first time Nero and I hung out, and also sat down and talked about making music, was in 2011. Initially he was wondering if I would consider producing Psyclon Nine.
The majority of the material is done separately, but we converse at great lengths about almost every aspect of the work.
JW: Did you and Nero have some central ideas for how the music should sound and then set out to do the NOT MY GOD album? Are there any improvisational aspects to recording a NMG album? Will you and Nero be recording again soon or is it an ongoing collaboration?
TS: Yes, yes and no. The vast majority of the work starts as improvisational / experimental and is then later fleshed out into more cohesive structures. This happens at different stages and often several times per composition. “Obverses” is the last and final album from Not My God.
JW: Will NOT MY GOD be playing any live dates or is it strictly a studio project?
TS: NOT MY GOD was not designed as a studio only project, quite the opposite. On the other hand, we never really consider the live show aspect in the studio, so how it will actually translates to the stage is still an unanswered question. I wonder if anyone will ever find out. We are seriously looking at the possibility of live performances right now.
JW: The title of the new album on Metropolis is “Obverses,” this seems to have a few different meanings including “the opposite of truth.” Can you tell us what it means to you?
TS: To me it means that every truth is based on perception and vantage point. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. One person’s fate is another’s destiny and so on.
JW: You have performed with quite a legendary list of bands including KMFDM, Motionless in White, Marilyn Manson, ohGr and currently with Front Line Assembly. That said, do you have any particular big moments or shows that stand out in your memory with any of those bands? Do you have any plans to collaborate again with any of the aforementioned bands?
TS: That is such an enormous question, I would literally need to write a book to answer that. I do want to say that sometimes it’s not the “big moments” that really count, a lot of times it is quite the opposite.
Some of those mentioned I would like to work with again but not all of them.
JW: Do you consider yourself a gear enthusiast? If so can you tell our audience about some of your favorite musical gear?
TS: To me the Roland W30 will always stand out since it was my first synthesizer/sampler/sequencer. Essentially what we now call DAW (digital audio workstation) but on a very small LCD display and with very limited memory. Being able to work inside those confines forces me to think hard and make hard choices that are really difficult to explain today. Back in those days I also got to spend time in some of the coolest and biggest recording studios the ever was. For example, Chicago Trax and A&M in Hollywood. Working in those spaces and on the very top of the line equipment also forced me to think hard and make hard choices but in very different ways. But yeah, you can just hand me any old guitar and I’ll have some fun.
JW: Any upcoming news on your own project SKOLD or any other projects you want to tell us about?
TS: The next SKOLD album drops late July. It is titled “Seven Heads” and this one will rattle some cages for sure.