Because online translation tools always generate weird results, I am posting the original English language text of the

DarkCity interview

(from December 2025) of

issue 140/2026

here. I hope it helps.
 

I

choose

to believe that they

had

to write such a borderline hateful introduction, as to not get punished for having a

q

u

e

e

r

person featured in their magazine. I don't know.

Disclaimer

:
As for my own shortcomings, I pretty much "copy/pasted" two of the answers (#1 and #9) from the German

SIEGESSÄULE

-interview (to be found

), because I was being a lazy cunt that night and not really in the mood to do this interview in the first place. Also, interviews that are just a list of questions (as opposed to those that are more of a conversation piece) are weird to begin with, especially when they are done in a "mutual second language", where things sometimes get lost in translation and then sound stilted, rude or just plain stupid. You know, the usual. ;)
 

So, yes ... with that in mind, here is the original English language version of that interview:

AVC

:

I may have to answer in fragments...
 
Last year, I had initially planned to start with a different, more "normal" album, but somehow I could not find a way to approach it that was not also terribly depressing. And I am not talking about a cute melancholy that ultimately turns out to be somewhat uplifting and/or liberating, but rather a truly draining negativity that simply brings nothing good... and I absolutely did not want to go down that terrible road.
 
But since I desperately needed to create something new -- preferably something that would also bring me some kind of "joy" (in the broadest sense) -- and to keep my mind at least halfway sane, I decided to compose the score for an imaginary zombie film from the late seventies instead. I had already designed the film poster for it about two years earlier, along with a few other movie posters and lobby cards that I did "just for fun", by using generative artificial intelligence out of mere curiosity. (That was before I knew anything about it.)
 
I have always been fond of fantasy and science fiction films since I was a child, and for the last 30 years, certainly in terms of physical media, I have mainly bought and listened to movie soundtracks. So, the idea of writing the score in that analogue, pulsating synthesizer-style of a gloriously trashy 70s/80s horror-film had been something that I wanted to do for a long time.

DarkCity

:You wrote the script yourself, and all your previous albums also came completely from within you. Would it be fair to say that this soundtrack album is as personal to you as everything you've done before?

AVC

: Yes, absolutely, 100%. This is so very much a typical Anna-Varney creation. Though it is not as painful (for myself) or as hard to digest (for others) as SOPOR's previous albums -- fortunately --, it is still very much in the same spirit as everything I have done before.

DarkCity

:Were you drawing on any specific plots when creating your imaginary movie, or did you rather reflect on the general traditions of the corresponding films of that era?

AVC

: The narrative of "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

" (1979) is very much in the tradition of the trashy European horror cinema of the late seventies and early eighties. Specifically, the Italian approach to storytelling that is commonly (and rather generously so) referred to as

nightmare logic

... which, in reality, is really just a euphemism for

bad script writing

... where, upon closer inspection, nothing really makes a lot of sense, continuity is merely an option, and the dialogues tend to be either painfully stupid or downright borderline psychotic. These movies often feel very much like

"

hey, let's throw a bunch of stuff at the wall and then see what sticks

"

, or like the pages of each scene were written only on the very morning of the day of filming, and were then re-interpreted by the actors ... only to later be overdubbed by different actors in post-production. That sort of thing. -- But, please, understand me correctly, I am not being disrespectful to any of these films and/or directors. After all, there is a certain beauty and unique atmosphere to some of these Euro-horror-movies that is a direct consequence of this particular style of filmmaking and/or the general circumstances under which these movies were produced.
 
By basing "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

" (and also

"DEA MUTÁRION

") on this cinematic heritage, it allowed me the freedom to basically do whatever I wanted, without having to worry about whether or not everything made perfect sense or even needing to endlessly work on even the smallest detail of the script. It was enough to merely suggest certain things and hint at others, which I found to be a very liberating and enjoyable thing to do.

DarkCity

:Which similar films do you like the most?

AVC

:There is nothing similar to "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

", because this movie (albeit imaginary) is entirely unique. However, since we just talked about the Italien horror cinema of the late 70s and early 80s, Lucio Fulci's "

ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS

" (1979), to name just

one

example, is, at least partially, very much in that line of aesthetic.

DarkCity

:Why are only rats and queer people immune to the zombie plague in your film? You don't give the others a chance? Is this revenge?

AVC

:That is simply the plot of the movie. ;)

Intially, I wanted to reply

"

Yes, it is. Kill all the straight people!

"

, but then figured that it might probably not be such a good idea to say this in a Russian magazine (of all places), even though it would quite

obviously

be meant as a joke. But I really didn't want to risk being misunderstood or - even worse - getting the magazine into trouble. So, yeah...

DarkCity

:One of the story's protagonist is a 10-year-old boy. The zombie-outbreak instantly ravages his family, but he manages to escape at the last moment and runs off to an underground nightclub run by a transvestite porn actress. What will the boy experience in this place at that age? Will these unchildlike things be more terrifying to him than a bunch of zombies replacing his former relatives?

AVC

:Wait a second. Let me get this right: So ...

in

your

head

... watching a gay cabaret performance is more disturbing than witnessing your own family turning into ravenous, flesh-eating cadavers that try to rip you to pieces? -- Hmm,

interesting...

DarkCity

:Do you identify with this boy?

AVC

:No, I identify with

all

of the queer characters.

DarkCity

:The album is supplemented by the EP "

DEA MUTÁRION

" in which aliens -- the source of a deadly signal -- have come to Earth to collect the dead bodies, and rats have mutated and are now having sexual intercourse with humans. Was this second story a later development?

AVC

:Well, "

DEA MUTÁRION

" is a

sequel

to "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

", so by its very nature this storyline had to be developed after the first film was completed. So, yes.

DarkCity

:Why aren't there any vocals in these releases? Does it clash with the soundtrack concept?

AVC

:I really wanted a soundtrack that was pure and, in a way,"timeless"... and not be tinted and therefore limited by lyrics and/or my voice. Also, I wanted music for

myself

, that -- unlike with previous SOPOR albums -- I could have play in the background at any time, without me having to relive every detail of the story and then feel miserable again. For the first time, I wanted to record music that I could later listen to and enjoy in the same way I usually perceive other people's music:

neutrally

, if you know what I mean.
 
Nevertheless, "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

" and

"DEA MUTÁRION

" still sound unmistakably like SOPOR AETERNUS, which is rather calming. I really do find the music on these albums very

comforting

... --  but maybe that is just my own perception.

DarkCity

:Would you like these films to be really made? Would you watch them?

AVC

:Yes and no. Ideally, I would prefer that they already

did

exist since the late seventies, because then they would have long become cult-classics, and I would have had enjoyed watching them back in the day. In this alternate reality, they might very well be two of my all-time favourite fantastic movies now. -- But, as it is, I would not be opposed to someone buying the rights to the story and have the movie(s) made today.

DarkCity

:If someone were to ask you to write a soundtrack for the dark gay porn films of the 70s, would you consider it?

AVC

:What is "dark porn"... and why does it have to be dark in the first place? Why can it not just be beautifully sensual and erotic?
 
Anyway ... if anything ... I would much rather score

my own

gay-porn. Mind you, not a porn movie in which Anna-Varney Cantodea is starring in, because ...

urrrgh

, seriously, no-one would want to watch that sad tragedy (least of all I) ... but an erotic film that is simply more in tune with my own personal aesthetic preference, that would be nice. Because, let's face it ... gay or straight ... everybody was so gawd-damn ugly in the 70s. I mean, the hideous haircuts alone ... and don't even get me started on the nasty nightmare that is

bush

.
 
The thing about porn, though -- aside from it getting boring rather quickly --, is that the music in the handful of films that I have watched is strictly meant as background noise, to merely generate a vague ambience or rhythm. It is certainly not supposed to draw attention to itself and distract from whatever is happening on screen, nor does it have any serious connection to the plot either. Though there were some listenable mood-pieces back then -- I am thinking of

s

for Al Parker's gay sex- fantasy

"TURNED ON

" (1982) right now --, it is still more or less just forgettable background noise, and I do not find that interesting to create. I need things to have more ... well ...

meaning.
 

On the other hand, you

can

create unexpected significance and/or powerful imagery by combining things that initially had nothing to do with each other, and I would not mind someone using SOPOR's music in a moody, artistic gay porn. As long as it fits, that is. So, maybe that is an option, too?
 
Which reminds me ... only recently I had been watching some amateur gay porn of a white-trash otter and a meaty bear having sex in what looked like a rundown trailer. I had the volume turned off and, instead, was listening to Klaus Doldinger's soundtrack for

"THE NEVER ENDING STORY

" (1984) on headphones. The effect was hilariously brilliant, as it felt like a sarcastic commentary on the hetero- normative, romantic fairytale-bullshit that Disney and the like have been feeding the masses for decades (well, centuries even). It was just so beautifully wicked.

DarkCity

:Why is it important to you to use live instruments when reliable samples are readily available for everything these days?

AVC

:Because I prefer it this way.

DarkCity

:I saw someone's comment on social media that the music on "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

" was written by A.I. -- Obviously, that's not true, but what's your general attitude toward artificial intelligence in music? What value do you place on the human mind, and how important do you think it is for it to reclaim its creative role from machines?

AVC

: Music generated by A.I. is just worthless shit. Period. It steals the human voice and copies what actual human artists have painstakingly created with their blood, sweat and tears, only to effortlessly and without emotion re-arrange it, and then

shit it out in a perpetual stream of steaming hot diarrhea

. That's it. Oh, and while doing all this, it consumes valuable resources that human need to survive (like water and power ... - or so I was told).
 
There is no value to any of it (even though it may sound "cool" at first), quite on the contrary. -- True art

CANNOT

exist without the human factor, the human experience from which all art is born. Everything else is just a soulless imitation.

DarkCity

:Mass culture in capitalist society is geared toward the most mindless consumer, so when you look around, it seems like EVERYONE has degenerated. In my opinion, that's not really the case: there's still art for every social class, you just have to dig deep to find it. Would you agree with that?

AVC

:I am not entirely sure that I understand your question.  I mean, yes, when your aim is to be appealing to as many people as possible, then you kind of

have

to be ordinary, I suppose, because that is what most people are.
 
The entire post-punk, goth and independent music of the late 70s to 90s has largely been a niche phenomenon (sort of), a so-called subculture ... and, before the internet came into existence, you really had to search long and hard to find this kind of music (when you lived isolated from where it was happening). In fact, it was only by sheer luck and coincidence that you even discovered this genre in the first place.
 
For example, where I grew up, there was nobody even remotely like me, and the only music available for me to listen to was whatever was playing on the hit-radio or on one of the three TV channels that we had. It was only when ... I want to say "destiny" struck ... when I met someone, who was already connected to the

alternativ

e scene, that I was introduced to music that actually spoke to me, and which eventually offered a way for me to express myself through art ... and which, in turn, helped me to become the fabulously beautiful person I am today.
 
So, what I am saying is, if you are not into mainstream music (or mainstream art), it has never been readily available to you. You always had to somehow

find

it ... and, I am assuming, that this will always be the case in one way or another.

DarkCity

:Recently, you released a boardgame along with the album cycle "

ALONE AT SAMS

". Do you like board games?

AVC

:Well, I like THIS boardgame, because it is beautiful and fun, it is easy to understand, and it does not take long to play all the way through. Also, it is a great way to get to know someone new, simply by watching the way they play it.

DarkCity

:SOPOR AETERNUS is a personal project, but since you officially release your music both digitally and on physical media, others can experience it, too. It helps many people get through difficult times in their lives; I know someone like that myself. Is it important for you to be a support for someone, even if you don't initially plan it?

AVC

:Yes and no. --  No, because I do not consciously think about any of this when I am creating art. That is not how things work. I remember, though, when I started making music many years ago, I thought to myself at one point that, if I only managed to help

one single person

in this world to feel better, then it was all worth it, and I can count myself successful. Oddly enough, I was not even thinking of myself back then. --  Now, 30 plus years later, I do feel better than I did all those years ago. So, I have helped at least

one

person that I know of.

DarkCity

:Would it be fair to say that you're grateful for your difficult childhood for the sake of SOPOR AETERNUS? If things had been different back then, the project would probably not exist. Would you still have become a musician then?

AVC

:There is really no answer to this question.

DarkCity

:Thanks for the interview!

AVC

:

Hmm

...

DarkCity

:Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the film "

THE DEAD HAVE COME

" was your imaginary creation and does not really exist. How did the idea for something like this come about? Had you been wanting to work on a soundtrack like this for a while and were you waiting for the right moment, or did it happen spontaneously?