The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Fredrik Eytzinger of The Other Sun

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Artistically I am a musician and a writer. I also paint a bit, but that is nothing I consider to be a big part of what I do. My father tought me to play the acoustic guitar when I was 10 and from then on it just felt natural to express myself through music.

Describe your first musical memory.

When I was about 7-8 years old I heard “Break on Through” by The Doors on TV. It felt very forbidden and potent and it opened up a new world. Another very important musical memory for me was when I inherited my uncles LP collection a couple of years later, containing a lot of Judas Priest albums, Thin Lizzy and ELO. That really shaped my taste in music.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Very hard to rank. But to give you something odd I saw Marcela Lucatelli close to midnight at a graveyard chapel in Copenhagen, performing an ecstatic Pompa Gira impersonation.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Interesting question. I believe I do not have a lot of very firm beliefs. But probably when my children were born.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Exploring new sides of your self. Artistic exploration is very ecstatic for me. It’s one of man’s initiatory tools.

How do you define success?

Being able to work with your art in a way that does not interfere with your integrity. It is interesting to consider the obsession in this society to reach out, to be published or score a record deal. We should not forget that art is a language and not a currency.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Nothing. Ideally I want my mind to be strong and flexible enough to endure all types of hardships. Even German schlager.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A movie or TV script.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To explore the unexplored and to show others the mapped territory. To heal, to destroy and to elevate. I belive humans are essentially explorers. And to have a great laugh, of course.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I will soon release a book about the encrypted rune row Uthark in the US. It was previously released in Ukraine and I am looking at publishing it in other countries as well. Soon I will also talk about the book at a bookshop in London.

https://theothersun.bandcamp.com
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https://invictusproductions.net/

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The Other Sun, “Lion Spell” lyric video

The Other Sun, Daimon, Devil, Dawn (2024)

Pressed to tape in an edition of 150 copies through Lapis Niger Productions and released today, Horizon Between the Eyes is the debut EP from Swedish outfit The Other Sun. And though its members might be recognizable from bands like Nuclear Spells and Saturnalia Temple, their formative collection speaks to a different kind of vibe, blending modern cultistry with a surf rock sound that gives an impression as much fresh as it is familiar. Sleek-sounding guitar and semi-spoken vocals commune with dark atmospheres to give a brooding and urbane feel to what’s presented nonetheless with an intricacy of rhythm and craft. Thanks in no small part to their echoing guitar tones, “Fifth Sun,” “Stalking the Stalker” and “Horizon Between the Eyes” carry a significant spaciousness but there’s an early-rock influence to them as well, as shown in structures used and periodically cast aside.

From “Fifth Sun” onward, there’s a sense of restraint one can hear in the material that, to me at least, speaks to a metallic root on the part of project-founder Fredrik Eytzinger. The Other Sun is not metal — willfully, directly not — but as Eytzinger and co-conspirator Tommie Eriksson play toward different levels of tension, a bit of holding back an explosive impulse can be heard. Instead of shooting up, though, “Fifth Sun” spreads out, and that method works in kind of diffuse the finale title-track. Somewhat shorter and more direct in its swing, “Stalking the Stalker” doesn’t seem to want its tension shunted, and while capping off its surf vibe in wisps of floating guitar, the distorted vocals still maintain a particular threat of violence that lends weight as well to the song’s title.

The plan as I understand it from the info below is for The Other Sun to go back and create a full-length from the foundation laid with Horizon Between the Eyes. After that, the future will be what it is, of course, but the particular stylistic niche into which Eytzinger and Eriksson have inserted themselves is yet-uncharted, and the EP only piques interest as far as curiosity to know what they might be able to do with a complete album’s reach. For now, the lesson seems to be that darkness can and will lurk just about anywhere.

You can see the premiere of the “Stalking the Stalker” video below, and stream the full EP at the bottom of this post.

Please enjoy:

The Other Sun, “Stalking the Stalker” official video premiere

Second track from debut EP ‘Horizon Between the Eyes’ by The Other Sun. Released by Lapis Niger Productions in 2019.

Horizon Between the Eyes is the debut release from Swedish band The Other Sun formed by guitarist/singer Fredrik Eytzinger (Nuclear Spells, ex-Masugn) known as writer of Solomonic Magical Arts (Three Hands Press).

A three track EP is released on cassette and in digital format through Tommie Eriksson’s (Saturnalia Temple, Eldhamn etc) Lapis Niger Productions. Tommie is also drummer and guitarist in The Other Sun. Mastered by Esoteric founder Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios. The artwork, a painting called Yak’Ab Balam was made by fine artist Davis Herrerías.

“We wanted a sound that embodied both the curious spirit of the 50’s and captured the feeling of walking through an endless desert towards a setting sun at the horizon. Having lived in Mexico, I guess I have been very inspired by the vibes and rhythms of Latin America, and while I have my roots in Sweden it has been very interesting to explore the mystical relationship between these two enchanted landscapes,” Fredrik says and adds that the outpouring is a result of a continuous spiritual exploration of himself, the world and the otherness.

“Otherness is everything that has not yet been defined. It can be basically anything, but deals essentially with the exploration of uncharted territory, either related to your shadow, your own notion about reality, or it could be something completely objective. That’s why thresholds, borders and passages are generally interesting to explore both musically and spiritually.”

Currently working on a full-length album, The Other Sun is hoping to dive even further into uncharted territory and bring back yet another psychedelic, uncanny release.

The Other Sun, Horizon Between the Eyes (2019)

The Other Sun on Thee Facebooks

The Other Sun on Bandcamp

Lapis Niger Productions on Thee Facebooks