Dajana: Madre, Protégenos is out since November 27, how is the response so far? Are you satisfied with your work?
Duncan: It’s had a positive response so far. A lot of people have understood it and got something from it, which was the intention from the very start, so I'm satisfied with that. Also, the first pressing sold out in less than a month, which was surprising at that time of year.

Dajana: Looking back on a long path of your musical career, where you got off the grid with Anathema, it is quite surprising, where you ended up in 2006. Is ÍON your musical destination or just another stop in your own metamorphosis?
Duncan: I don’t know really, I have no masterplan; I'm always coming up with ideas and concepts. It doesn't stop, though sometimes I wish it would so I could give my brain a decent rest. I think if you are a writer then you have no control over this. At the moment I'm content with this concept, and the idea that it’s bringing something positive into the mix.

Dajana: Is the music you do in ÍON something you always wanted to do or is it more a natural development from the base Antimatter was built up to and outer influences?
Duncan: Yeah its something I'd often thought about, but if I were to try out every idea I have thought about I wouldn't have time to do anything else. I guess it fell into place, the right thing at the right time for me. From the Antimatter stuff either of us could have gone in any direction, as there were a lot of diverse influences, especially on the first two albums. Then we toured as an acoustic act, but we could have easily gone out with a full electronic rhythm section too.

Dajana: In a recently conducted interview I read that you “quit” Antimatter already with Lights Out, that you did not have much to do with Planetary Confinement. I guess many people will be surprised about this fact… Mick wrote everything all alone? Would this album have turned out in another way, if you had been (more) involved?
Duncan: I still wrote half of Planetary Confinement, but it wasn't as much of a creative process more like a job that needed doing. My heart wasn't really in it, but that doesn't mean that my tracks are just fillers or that, as they were already written before I decided what to do. I don't want to take anything away from the album though, as I know that Mick put everything into it and that’s set him up for his solo career now, which I hope goes well. I'm sure it would have turned out completely different under different circumstances, but that’s how it was and it turned out ok in the end. It’s just not something I will look back on with great enthusiasm as of where my head was at the time.

Dajana: I also read that you are very interested in the culture and history of Latin America. Is this interest based on the music you now create or is this kind of music a result of your interests?
Duncan: Its more about traveling and reading than anything musical really, although I love Cuban percussion and have I some folk music from Chile and Argentina but haven’t been influenced by that so far. I read a lot of books about the origins of the Americas and the political histories of each country. I do know a great percussionist/pianist/singer from Mexico who I hope to work with on the next album, then I may incorporate more Latin influence into my music.

Dajana: How did you choose the different singers and musicians for Madre, Protégenos? How you learnt about Emily A. Saaen? I mean, she comes from Russia and seemingly does not fit into your “Latin-American concept”. Do not get me wrong, she is a fantastic singer with an amazing voice…
Duncan: As I mentioned before, it’s not really a Latin-American thing much further than the title track and some of the Spanish and Portuguese lyrics. A lot of the ideas were born in Mexico though. From the beginning I had this idea about the album being a global thing, and it would have been great to have people from even more countries involved. Some of the musicians on the album are local Irish people, the others are people I know from my travels or have contacted me online. Emily got in touch with me and offered her services if I ever needed a vocalist. It turned out that I did and I was highly impressed with the songs that I heard from her. I sent her a demo version and lyrics of one of my tracks, with no vocals, just the melody played on keyboard. She returned it with a great version, and she fitted the vocals just where they were meant to be. I was amazed by this and asked her to sing on a couple of tracks, which turned into most of the album. Emily is my heroine; I can’t speak highly enough of her.

Dajana: What to tell about all the other musicians involved? And how did you record/produce all these different parts?
Duncan: To be fair there’s not so much instrumentation on the album. By looking at the list of musicians you may expect a big epic thing, but it’s quite minimal really. I recorded most of it in my friend’s studio in Longford, Ireland. Then it became difficult to get studio time there, so my friend in Greece, Vangelis Yalamas, invited me to record some stuff in his studio in Athens (Fragile Studios). There we had a really productive session, he was really into it and helped me a lot.

Dajana: I noticed that you still get angry when talking about your past in Anathema. After such a long time, should you not be through with it, having made your peace with the past?
Duncan: I have made peace with my past and let all that go. It just took a while to deal with it while there was still shit going on. I believe that things are all in place now, and that everyone knows where most of the trouble came from, and why. We were surrounded by vultures that were just waiting to get what they could from us. Unfortunately it happened, and I bore the brunt of it, but it’s sorted out now. I speak to the lads quite often, and I think we are all doing what we are meant to be doing.

Dajana: And you still play acoustic shows with Danny and Vincent Cavanagh. Do you still feel that they could have achieved more if you were (still) involved or contributing music to them, anything like this?
Duncan: I don't know really, as I believe that Danny’s music is infinitely more commercial than mine is. Maybe the direction hasn't been as solid since I left, as I’m into concepts and that, but that’s their choice and they are still going stronger than ever. I think that they have found their direction now though; having heard some of their new stuff it seems to fit together really well.

Dajana: What musical vision do you have that still need to be achieved?
Duncan: I'm still chasing the idea of making an album that I'm 100% pleased with. I'm sure I speak for a lot of musicians when I say that. I would like to work with an orchestra and choir one day too.
Dajana: But to release an album you are 100% satisfied with, means to me to create the perfect album, one that cannot be topped forevermore. Can you imagine creating such album? Will there not be always little details you could have done a little bit better? ;) Or asked the other way: does not a perfect album mean that you have reached the end of all (musical) things? What to do afterwards then?
Duncan: I'd probably try and do another one after that, or try something in a different format. God knows, but it’s something that keeps us going and I've no plans on quitting music just yet, after all I've been through so far, even if my next album is the perfect one ;)

Dajana: Apropos… Do you have other outlets for your creativity? Which ones?
Duncan: I'm into drawing, although I don’t do as much now as I used to. I'm into tattoo art and draw a lot of my own tattoos. I also have the plots for two films, one short movie and one full length. I tried to work on them as books, but neither story would come across well in that format. So I'm working on the storylines for them and hope to find someone suitable to work on them with.

Dajana: Do you plan to perform Madre, Protégenos live and how will you do that? Are there already dates in the works?
Duncan: I'm speaking to promoters at the moment, and I have a live line-up together for gigs. It’s just a case of seeing what the options are and if everyone’s available at the right times.

Dajana: The route of your latest shows left a big hole on the European map. I saw gig dates in Turkey and Greece, now one in Romania and a gig in Paris. What about the rest of Europe?
Duncan: They were all separate ventures, Greece was a DJ set, Romania was a tribute night, and the Turkish gigs were me and Vinny (Anathema) playing acoustic sets. I haven’t been near Paris though for a while ;) I hope to cover most of Europe with my new stuff; hopefully it'll happen this year.

Dajana: I suppose that all these shows were planned and realized more or less spontaneous by friends, is it easier this way to schedule than to enlist a booker/agency?
Duncan: It depends who the person is. Sometimes it is easier to deal directly with venues, or have friends to arrange it. Some people are reliable, some are not, but like to think they are and are all talk. I'm sure going with an agency would make life easier in a lot of ways, but its getting into the side of the business that I'm not so keen on.

Dajana: That brings in mind that you told that you got often betrayed, ripped off and disappointed by people and so-called friends. Now you are doing most stuff yourself. I guess that does not make the business things easier… On the other hand I guess you also got positively surprised. Does that not give back some faith to rely on the “good ones” and to bring your projects on a higher level, where people get aware of your music a bit faster?
Duncan: Being independent is very liberating, if it’s what you really want to do. Its also very rewarding when things go well, knowing you can exist without dealing with any of the superficial bullshit that is rife in the music business. I have built up a lot of contacts who I trust and who understand where I'm coming from, and that’s good enough for me.

Dajana: You still run your label Strangelight Records. How is it going? Are new releases planned next time? New great artists/musicians discovered?
Duncan: I will release the Leafblade album this year, a project that Danny Cavanagh is involved in. That’s all I have scheduled at the moment, but I plan to start releasing my own stuff again at some point.

Dajana: Ok, many questions, time to come to an end. Thank you very much for answering all this? I wish you all the best and hope to see ya soon performing live :) Cheers!
Duncan: Thank you for the interest, and the coverage, and for taking the time to think up all these questions. Good luck!