Interview:

Well, let me put this straight: spirituality frightens me. Not because of a possible unknown power of an otherworldly nature or something like that, but because it deludes people. Throughout history we’ve seen thousands of examples of people and movements and thought up phenomenas, all trying to reassign itself the very basic concept of religion. To create a universal solution for all the troubles of mankind, and preferably also cash in by the founder’s interests.

Spirituality for me is nothing short of the weaker people’s excuse for not dealing with reality. I cannot for my life see why any rational individual would choose an unprovable and, to say the least, highly unlikely thesis before an actual take on the truth. Well, generally speaking that is, but all these incarnations of the concept really annoy me. People who rather put faith in an obvious fantasy annoy me, and people who trick other people into believe in these fantasies annoy me. Taken to the extreme, it’s just plain dangerous and inhumane. Just look at the concept of dianetics for instance, or why not the unbelievably enduring astrology where your fate is considered firmly locked up to the position of the stars. I mean, what’s the sense in that? And for the sake of religion, be it Christianity or Islam, I just can’t get a grip of the people who claim they feel safer in the hands of an almighty and untouchable god, notice the non-capital G, than within the paradigm of plain reality where you actually can control your life on terms with concrete facts.

So what’s all this got to do with music, you ask? Well, it hasn’t because music is real and for sure a product of hands-on writing and crafting and, at best, utter intelligence and skill. It sure evokes feelings if the performer and the listener are on the same level, but I wouldn’t address it as spirituality, because that would degrade it from the level where one could actually by all sense relate to the music itself, and remain aware of what’s actually going on in the playing. And yes, I’m the kind of performer that actually prefer the audience standing still and listen to the songs rather than head-banging the whole experience away. But I’m sure you can count the likes of my thinking on your thumbs.

“[Music] sure evokes feelings if the performer and the listener are on the same level, but I wouldn’t address it as spirituality.”
– Fredrik Andersson, singer and flautist in Burning Saviours