Artist of the Week – OMNIA • Public Republic

Artist of the Week – OMNIA

December 15, 2008 by · 1 comment

Vanya Nikolaeva

With eight CDs and a DVD to their name, OMNIA is one of the pioneers of the “PaganFolk” movement in Europe and has harvested international acclaim on many Pagan, Folk, Medieval, Gothic and Fantasy festivals, as well as in many theatres.
All of this is entwined and bound by haunting and powerful vocals singing in English, Gaelic, Breton, Latin, Finnish, German and Hindi…

“Alive”

“Our music is more a testimony than a real message in itself. Our values are of course shown through it, whether we want it or not. Some songs are more obviously committed than others, it depends on our temporary feelings during the writing process. But in general, I think that we’re always instinctively evocative and “invocative” in our songs, on a pure pagan point of view. Primary anthems to the Earth, to the pagan cycles of life and death, to the spirits of Nature… We simply express our communion with our beliefs and sensations. The emotional level of the way we express these feelings makes our music an invitation to the listener to experience them too, simply by letting their pagan heart speak instead of their overexploited brain.”

“The place we play is not the most important aspect, even if it’s always nicer to play somewhere in the woods, in the fields, where the energy of our music is not distracted by the negative aspects of modern life. The people we’re playing for is a much more important factor. On stage, we’re not simply an act, we’re in real interaction with the audience, it’s a nearly spiritual exchange of energy, a shamanic experience. We really need this interaction to give all its dimension to our music, and the audience has an important role to play.”

“We have a very special connection to our lyrics. They are all linked to specific moments, feelings, personal stories, discoveries or meetings. Most of the lyrics are written by our frontman Steve, they are a reflexion of his pagan state of mind and values. We’re also using poems or texts by writers like Edgard Alan Poe, Shakespeare or Lewis Carroll. Not only because we love their work, but also because they completely fit to our music and its spirit.”

“Etrezomp ni Kelted”