netra has recently conducted an interview with the Swedish underground Magazine 'Funeral March Zine'
This interview will appear in Issue #7, so if anyone is interested in owning a copy of this magazine that features the first ever netra Interview, make contact with Funeral March Magazine at www.myspace.com/funeralmarchzine (Issue #7 is not out yet, but will be soon)

FM - Netra was formed back in 2003, what can you tell us about your history so far?

netra - Not much actually, things have been going quite smoothly until recently. Two anecdotic demos, an album on Hypnotic Dirge Records, and that's pretty much it.

I have not heard your to demos unfortunately but the full length release is a true piece of art. It was recorded back in 2006 and not released until last year. Why did it take so long to get it out?

Let's just say that motivation has not always been there. Meanwhile, even though every "organic" parts were recorded back in 2006, the production has kept evolving since then, it took me a long time to achieve something really satisfying. As for the demos, you're not missing much..

The name of the album "Mélancolie Urbaine" is also the name of the second demo, how come that they have the same name?

The demo actually contains earlier versions of songs from the album. Back at this time, I was not yet thinking about a longer release. I figured after a while that I needed to bring the "Mélancolie urbaine" to another level.

Your music is rather unique, if you try to put words on what you create, how would you describe it?

Ok, here comes the tricky question... Well, I do write music for myself first of all since I consider songwriting as kind of an introspective journey, an insight into oneself. Ok, that sounds like a cliché, but anyway, this is how it works. Then, once a song is completed, the creation is over, and the song gently fades in my mind until becoming no more than some archive file in a folder that I open just once in a while. It's not an easy task to take perspective and describe what I create. To me, one song depicts one particular moment or period of my life, no more, no less.

Talking about the music, what is it that influence you musically? How does a song take form?

I try to let my life influence netra, not the other way around. A thought, a sight, a smell,.. usually something very simple that somehow turns into a melody, reminding me of a particular state of mind that I was in at a particular time. All the simple things of everyday's life... The real challenge is then to give shape to the song, it can take hours like it can take months and there is no particular rule for this. Inspiration usually comes to me when less expected, and, to be honest, not so often. I guess there is no point in forcing oneself into songwriting, one just has to take his time. It's like writing a book, sometimes you can write dozens of pages in a single day, but sometimes, you spend weeks just having the feeling that something's missing without getting a hold on it. In these conditions, time flies quite easily. Moreover, the closer the story I write gets to my own life, the more I dread "facing" it, which only makes things worse. I just try to let things gently converge by themselves.

On to the lyrics now, can you tell us what you write about and what it is the you want to reflect lyrically in a song?

For the lyrics, I usually go the minimalistic way, that is, depicting complex thoughts out of very simple words so that nobody can really understand what was initially meant. This is a way to keep things kind of fuzzy since I usually allow myself to have some freedom when it comes to interpret my own songs. To answer your question, having myself a hard time finding out what my own lyrics are meant to reflect, all I can say is that my lyrics make sense to me, but in a very devious manner.

You are alone in this project, is it the artistic freedom that makes you want to create music yourself or any other reason?

I cannot really think of any other reason than artistic freedom actually. I've been playing in several bands and, well, each time it seems that I don't allow myself to go past certain boundaries in terms of expression. I want netra to tackle very personal topics, things that I cannot really share with anybody.

France have given us many good bands lately and it seems like the French metal scene have somehow exploded, at least when it comes to black metal at similar music. What is your view on this scene?

I can't honestly say that I am well aware of the "French metal scene", and even less of how it is perceived from abroad. I have been following for some years now a couple of great black metal bands like Peste Noire or Deathspell Omega but, overall, I must say that I haven't been looking much into the recent trends.

As the album was recorded some years ago, have you got any new material for another release now? If so, what can we expect from the coming music of Netra?

Some new material is indeed waiting for completion, therefore I'm pretty sure that there's gonna be another album ready within a year or so. Yet, it's a bit early for me to give you insights into it, all I can say is that I don't think having ever wrote something as melancholic. Not sad nor "depressive", just melancholic.

What are the plans as it looks now for you?

To see how things are going with this second album. To take care of my other artistic activities.

That was all, any last words?

You guys from zines and labels are really doing an amazing job, all for the sake of music. Thank you for that.