Please introduce yourself and/or your project. Please give a brief relevant history.

My name is Niko Karlsson, and I’m a musician and artist. I mostly make music on my own these days, but sometimes also with my dear friend Miki Brunou as Altaat and occasionally in some other projects. Breath Sun Bone Blood released my fourth solo full length album Burning with Gold last January.

What does the word “Animism” mean to you? This can be as literal or abstract as you wish. Does it find life in your project or in your day to day movements?

I think there’s more to this world than what we can simply see and touch, that there’s a soul, an energy, a mystery in all, something that connects everything. This, I guess, can be seen as Animism. I find it very hard to be sure of anything, but I’ve always felt there’s a spiritual dimension to existence but at the same time it has been somewhat elusive. I wish, sometimes desperately, that all this would be clearer to me as I crave for a deep sense of connection and belonging. I feel like I know it’s there, that it’s real, and I try to open myself to it but most of the time there’s something standing in the way. Whether it’s centuries of anthropocentric thought and action or something else, I don’t know. Usually all I get is inklings of whatever more there is… I hope the veil will eventually be lifted and a clearer path will reveal itself. For now I just try to act with respect to my surroundings and those around me, but sometimes the haze of modern life is so strong that it’s easy to forget about all this. I certainly try to find a meaningful way of existence but it is not simple, and all of this without a doubt also bleeds into whatever I do creatively.

Do you talk with spirits or deities? Do they answer back?

Well yes, sometimes I do. I think there’s something not easily contained or explained in all things, our surroundings, everything around us, and there is some kind of a correspondence going on. Usually it’s me who does the talking, as I haven’t really heard back, but I have to trust that the possibility for connection is there nevertheless. Maybe everything we experience can be taken as answers, questions, truths, riddles…

If you could have a secret magickal power or have one, what would it be? Or, what is it already? And finally, what would you wish to do with such a power?

Unfortunately I have no secret magickal powers. Shapeshifting would be lovely, though. If I could do that I think I would enjoy life for a start, then I’d use it to turn this world around. We’d have a great time, friends.

What is the season of the year that resonates most deeply with you and why? Do these vibrations appear in your work?

Life mostly feels pretty uncomfortable to me, but autumn is the time when the outer world and my inner world are somehow most in tune. It doesn’t necessarily mean living is any easier but there’s an element of tranquility that is hard to find in other seasons. I love summer so much, but it’s also short here, and trying to keep up with everything that’s happening, somehow trying to drink in as much of the sun, warmth and energy as possible to get through the winter can also become another source of anxiety. There’s something special about autumn, when everything around you reminds you that it has truly given its all, the cycle of life so clearly felt… It’s such a sublimely sorrowful season. And with the somehow sharper light during the day, the fall colors and the dark nights, just so beautiful… Definitely inspiring to what I do.

What do you dream of destroying?

Sad to say this but I dream of destroying the human race. I live in a place where things are supposedly as good as they can be on this planet, and even here things are going to hell so fast. Indifference, selfishness and greed all around, a disgusting government, devastation upon devastation… I do see myself as a gentle person, and I’d rather not inflict suffering on anyone so I hope we’ll just fade away and let the poor Earth recover. Then again, it’s pretty hard to imagine this happening gently, though, and I’m sure it’ll only get worse before it gets even worse. In the meantime I would settle for destroying the patriarchy as it’s so obvious that its constructions are the cause of pretty much everything that is wrong in this world…

What do you dream of creating?

Well, back to reality, and I can’t see much hope for a better world, but I’d be grateful if I was able to make music that resonates with someone and counters the misery even a little bit.

What does the word ‘ritual’ mean to you? Do you incorporate any rituals into your daily life? Your practice? Your performances?

I see ritual as a potential way of bringing meaning into whatever we do, possibly even a way to bring change. There’s too little ritual in my life, for sure, but for example I do try to thank all beings, the Earth and the Sun when I forage or work in our garden. Creating and recording music requires a certain mindset, sometimes very hard to get into, but at its peak moments I guess the proceedings might resemble a ritual. Playing live is a challenge, maybe some kind of a ritual would make it more pleasant and also powerful. Something I should think about…

Do politics enter into, inform or speak through your creative workings? What are your thoughts on the responsibility to, or freedom from politics in your creative process?

Well, I certainly hope every sound I’ve ever made has been political. Usually I prefer the message and intent to be subtle or abstract on the surface, as it feels more interesting and real to me, though there are times when I can be moved to make some kind of a direct statement. Making music and art is still such a mystery to me, I feel like I can usually control it only to a certain extent and after that it kind of takes a life of its own and hopefully leads to something I recognize as worthwhile. For that to happen whatever I’ve been working on has to feel in a way all encompassing, to have ingrained in it my whole experience of the world. It has to feel real. There’s no way politics could somehow be excluded. What would be the point of music or art if the person making it didn’t pour their entire being/experience/view into it?

What does the word ‘community’ mean to you and how does it influence your process and practice?

Looking back, I can see I’ve tried to find a community for myself a few times, but I’ve always been more of a loner. These last few years I think I’ve grown even more solitary. That said, I do recognize and value communities around me, and it’s great to see good people coming together and achieving things someone acting alone simply can’t. That said I feel deep love and connection to certain individuals, beings and places, rather than any human community.

Any last departing offerings? Anything you would like to talk about that wasn’t covered?

Thank you for asking these questions and giving me this opportunity to try and answer them. This really gave me a lot to think about… Live with love and stay wild.