Interview: Petr Tománek (Lykathea Aflame)
Way back in 2018, I interviewed Petr Tománek for a piece on lost albums.1 I promised Tománek I'd post the full transcript of the email exchange to preserve context. I did so on my old auxiliary WordPress.2 Seeing as I haven't touched that thing in eons, I didn't want that interview to be washed over by the sands of time when the blog is inevitably deleted. Tománek hasn't gone on record much, and considering that the cult of Lykathea Aflame continues to grow, I think it's worth preserving. So, here it is in its entirety.
First off, how are you? How is everything?
For me as analytical, deep thinking and sincere person one of the tough questions, to which the answer could become an essay on my life up to now.
But to put it simply, I AM. I am observing life and learning, going through all that emotional variedness arising from confrontation of self with the outside world. Sometimes in great and positive vibes, sometimes in less great and positive ones.
… and I am working with full focus on the successor of Elvenefris.
When you spoke with Maelstrom (Issue 13), you said “Each element of the music on Elvenefris is a part of me.” Has anything changed in how you regard your previous work and do you feel as though it still represents you?
I am not thinking this way. It represented other me back in time and the whole music and lyrics were sincere artistic statement of who I was. Evolution process took me further so now I create music and write lyrics according to who I am at this moment.
In that same interview, you said “Each of us has his own path and the best leader on it is a voice from the heart. Listen to it and it will lead you home safely and straight.” How has your heart been guiding you over the past 18 years?
What a question! Answer could be another essay on my life. That inner voice (of higher self/source/…) is there all the time and I am in the process of perfecting the ear to hear … not hearing it all the time or sometimes mistaking it for suggestions from the hidden ego but still on the way home.
Have you found peace and absolution? Has that influenced your current musical journey?
I find peace every time I am aligned with my “higher self/source/…”. It is not influencing the music I create, it is influencing the lyrics I write as being aligned with “higher self/source/…” is a state of great inspiration and knowledge.
Do fans have a relationship to a creator or just the work that they create?
This is very individual, depending on the personality type and the level of evolution and understanding of self and this world’s processes. But to a certain extent the positive emotional outcome from enjoying the music is probably always reflected in fan’s projection on their inner image of creator.
Have you felt any internal or external pressure to deliver a follow-up to Elvenefris
No, I do not feel any. I always work in accordance with my inner voice and am guided by emotional navigating system. I am not getting confronted with the outside world’s expectations which is allowing me to stay free in my music expressions. Elvenefris was once made and there will never be Elvenefris II. There is a new time for something new to be born.
Do people reach out frequently to ask about the status of a follow-up album?
No because I am out of active musical business and world for many years and I am not active in social medias. But the status is that more and more music is done and completed and we plan to go to studio to make 2 promo songs this year.
Do you find that fans have an unrealistic expectation that you should continue making music in that vein? Is that frustrating?
I must say that I faced only curiosity about how the new record will sound like after those years, no unrealistic expectations. And even if I met some I would not get emotionally involved so it would have no effect on the music.
Other musicians I’ve talked to have spoken about being worried about the “sophomore curse” and living up to genius instead of recognizing that they are capable of genius. How could musicians and fans think differently so this outlook doesn’t swallow them up and impede creativity?
Very easily and I have already touched it in my previous answers. The key is to follow the inner passion and not to get distracted by the outside world and all its expectations and judgments. In other words, the key is to listen to the inner voice/heart and not to the ego. The key is to recognize the value in self and not to feed the ego by “how am I perceived and judged by the outside world”. Expressing the individual uniqueness is a value, only by that we bring our own contribution to “life”. The key is to find the true self-confidence and to recognize the fallacy of ego-driven self-confidence and its motives.
I wanted to share something John Gossard said about his band Weakling when he was 34 and I wanted to get your thoughts on it:
We got to a point where we got our claws into the edge of the cliff of the best shit. We were never able to pull ourselves up to the top of it. But if you had given us time between the first album and [whenever] the second album would have been, we would have gone farther than the top of the cliff. But then there might have been a point where we were no longer edgy or sketchy… I don’t know if that would have been true. It’s a personal flaw of mine never to want to stick around long enough to see if that’s gonna happen. Everything I love artistically in music is guaranteed to fail by the second to third album.
Here I must say that my level of English does not allow me to understand the question fully so I cannot comment on this. Just general feeling tells me that none of the above-mentioned problems is part of my world (thinking/ approach). I have no insecurities/doubts about the music I create in any respect.
Your work has been repressed and reissued multiple times, finding new fans with every re-release. If this is all you officially release, are you satisfied with what you’ve accomplished?
The measure of my satisfaction is the sparkle/joy/passion/enthusiasm/happiness in the eyes of those who listen to our music. In general I am not thinking about my achievements as I am not much looking back but rather focusing on the now.
What has your musical journey taught you? Is there anything you wish you could tell your younger self?
I am learning in general on my journey through life so I cannot come up with anything particular. I would also not tell anything to my younger self as I was always acting in communion with my inner guidance and all what I went through was exactly what I needed to go through.
Tellingly, none of the albums discussed in that intro ever came out. (Anata, I will pay for the mastering if you're not George RR Martining us.)
I think I’m going to dust off at least one more post from there.