The Obelisk Questionnaire: Kimi Kärki of Lord Vicar
Posted in Questionnaire on March 3rd, 2014 by JJ Koczan
As Peter Vicar in Reverend Bizarre, guitarist Kimi Kärki helped to start a wave of traditional doom in Europe during the mid-’90s that continues to this day. That Finnish outfit’s influence has endured even after their split in 2007 following the release of their last album, III: So Long Suckers — a variety of splits and comps continued to surface for a couple years after — and Kärki‘s career has continued to branch out, working with former Saint Vitus and now Goatess frontman Chritus Linderson in the righteously doomed Lord Vicar as well as putting out new material from the Reverend Bizarre-concurrent project Orne, founding and exploring psychedelic experimentation in E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr, playing with Uhrijuhla and working as a coordinator at the University of Turku. Late last year, Svart Records released his solo debut, The Bone of My Bones (streamed here), on which Kärki showcased progressive folk songwriting to create evocative and deeply resonant atmospheres.
Last month, Svart issued a 4LP edition of III: So Long Suckers with expanded liner notes in memory of Reverend Bizarre‘s legacy, and E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr are slated to appear at Roadburn next month.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Kimi Kärki
How did you come to do what you do?
Because it felt right. I followed my intuition and walked on the footsteps of the giants.
Describe your first musical memory.
It is hearing my mother sing a classic lullaby “Sininen uni” (Blue dream), originally sung by legendary Finnish javelin athlete and singer Tapio Rautavaara, the text being a poem by P. Mustapää. I love that song and sing it to my own children now. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCMI91DCTRg
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Hard to pick up the best… Perhaps hearing the master of In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend for the first time, or the first time I saw people in the audience singing my lyrics.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Every day.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
To a better focus, deeper musical layers, profound lyrics and sometimes an early grave.
How do you define success?
That I feel pleased with what I have done, can love and be loved, and survive the tests of living.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Images of parents carrying their dead children, that is the ultimate horror.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A theme album which is musically solid and has a coherent, emotionally touching narrative.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Finishing my Ph.D., finally.
