Hails Black Emperor Jogezai! First of all tell me why, back in 1999, you decided to form Taarma...

As a listener I always had the urge of expressing in the same manner as the bands that I listened to, which lead to the birth of Taarma, but initially due to lack of necessary facilities and such dark social circles the idea remained dormant until 1999 by then I realised that if I was ever to follow this path it had to be done on my own and by 2002 I had gathered some necessary equipment and the same year recorded a single, the lyrics were written long time ago probably in 1990, but back then i had no idea that this would be the lyrics to the 1st Taarma track.
2nd part of your question seems to be why, well nothing too complex, extreme metal has always been the way I view things and specially bands that theme around subjects such as solitude, depression, and all sorts of human sufferings and despair, and other than that personally for my own self it is a solitude filled place I like to visit in my thoughts and feelings, through which I am able to reflect the ugliness of this life as I have seen and felt it, it is very personal, you and the breathing mirror....

The Canadian label Suffering Jesus Productions has just issued your debut CD, entitled “Remnants of a Tormenting Black Shadow”. What is the background to this recording and how did you come into contact with SJP?

Hate and depression!, before i preferred to keep apart both the topics, but with time they have gathered as 1 and maybe further in time it reflects other such elements as well, it directly depends on the global atmosphere and how it effects the silence of our darkness, further disturbances are approaching, more blood will be shed, more truths will be untold, time will not heal nothing, the cancer only spreads further with time, so i think sounds created should be true to the atmosphere somehow or the other, it should relate to your inner and outer darkness.
Introduction to SJP was through Krall from the canadian bm band Funeral Fog, he is a very good friend and as I am a keen supporter of his band since i heard their 1st track, so it was basically him who introduced me to SJP, they did not dislike the demo too much and so we agreed on releasing a Taarma full-length .

There's also a 7” E.P. out on legion of death records, “In Death I submerge”. Were these tracks recorded at the same time as the debut? There's also a gothic looking church featured on the cover. Was this chosen simply for atmosphere, or is there another meaning?

No it was not recorded at the same time as the full length, and about the album photo, well this building is situated at marri hill station in an old english time collage, as most of the old buildings and blocks have been demolished this still remains, and I always felt it had some sort of an eerie presence about it, and the other reason was before this cathedral/hall was demolished as well, I thought to capture it in the memory of an album cover.

Taarma's music is very depressive sounding. Is this something you set out to achieve with the music or is it more accidental than that?

Same sort of an accident cannot happen every time, depressive and hateful black metal accompanied by some atmospheric moments is what I set out to achieve and to my own self the sound carries a suffocatory atmosphere which is very intentional, no accidents with this, from the dull to the somewhat better moments in taarma are all intentional, but yes room for improvement will "always" remain.

A typical question, but sometimes an interesting one... Your influences? And which was the first black metal act you listened to?

Influences can be from different sources and mediums, most of it naturally comes from other depressive black metal acts and the desolate, barren landscapes, a band that stands above all for my own personal reasons is "Xasthur", after listening to this project/band I found the sound I was looking for, a sound that expressed the way I wanted to feel.
1st black metal bands?.. I don't have a great memory but I think it was Venom if you even want to call that black metal, Bathory was one of the greatest bands I know, and a major influence that drove me further into the realms of black metal and its sub genres, and another name must be the french band Mutiilation.

“Apparition of Misery” is probably my favourite song from the debut CD, you said yourself this is little more experimental than the average Taarma track, will we possibly see more experimentation in future or will Taarma stick resolutely to the black metal rulebook?

I am not exactly the rule book type of an individual, that sounds like a prison, i intend to experiment but at the same time keeping true to what i set out to achieve initially and that is depressive and hateful extreme metal.
Yes that track you mentioned sounds a bit different musically then the usual Taarma sound, but the directions and signs still point towards the same sort emotions that Taarma is concerned with, the sounds in my opinion should vary and change from time to time, otherwise every track will sound alike, but the idea is to stick close to your basic themes and sound as that portrays the identity.

Taarma hail from Balochistan, this is an area most Europeans will probably be unfamiliar with, please tell us something about your land...

Balochistan was first settled around 2000 BC, it is situated at the borders between Afghanistan and Pakistan, trecherous and mountainous terrain, the society is powerfully built around tribal cultures of different type, main people of Balochistan are the Pashtun, Baloch and Brahvi's, Baloch and Brahvi historically came from different parts of the sub continent and Iran, while the Pashtun hail from Afghanistan and further.
Half of Balochistan was Afghanistan while the rest was independent, these days on paper it is said that Balochistan belongs to Pakistan, Balochistan joined Pakistan in 1948 but it remains a disputed territory, the Pashtun (Afghan) culture and civilization cannot survive under the slavery of Pakistan, this way our historical past and current bleak situation will both be totally and systematically eradicated from the human map.
The people see 3 options for the future, 1 is to keep fighting until western and Pakistani occupation is over in the whole reigon,  the 2nd is that Balochistan can be seperated into 2 sections Brahvi/Baloch side of Balochistan to join Iran, and the Pashtun belts rejoining olden Afghanistan, I hope this account briefs the location and the geo political situation of Balochistan.

Taarma is often listed under 'Afghanistan' as country. Clearly, people are interested that black/dark metal can originate from this part of the world. Would you say that your location has been a good or a bad thing for Taarma?

My land is my respect and pride, I as a Pashtun (Afghan) am proud of my heritage, history and my militant tribal culture, I know there is no scope for any metal acts from this land as the people barely have knowledge of its existence and what it exactly means.
I can't comment on the location bit with much authority, but I can tell you is that Taarma is personal, an individuals thoughts and distorted views, any location would have resulted in the same sort of frequencies, maybe with less people recognizing it, as due to my location some people consider it a good chance to throw some real negative remarks, but I don't mind that, in fact it is just another drop of fuel to the raging fire, more pain one feels more truth he sees...

How difficult is it to be a metal fan in Balochistan? I've heard in some countries, such as Iran and Lebanon, extreme music is totally illegal. Do you have any such problems there or is it not a problem for you to listen to what you want?

We are under a western backed dictatorship so no concerns of that sort, and on top of that a land that currently burns in so much troubles, who would be concerned about someone playing a specific genre of music?
I think it would be the least important agenda to address by the government, i have had no problems as such, but yes receiving my packages from respective music labels is major trouble for me as the Pakistani customs harass and make excuses to not give me my material and music until I pay them taxes twice the actual price of the material, like for my own material, for Taarma records and CDs, you got to pay for your own art when someone is a slave.

Is the desert, wilderness and nature sounding you an influence upon Taarma?

My side of Balochistan (Zhob) is not a desert, it is barren and covered with mountains, extremely cold in winters, and yes all these factors do effect Taarma largely.

A lot of old-school metal fans (myself included sometimes) bemoan the 'digital revolution' and enjoy the days of analogue recordings, paper fanzines and demo tapes. If it wasn't for digital technology and the internet... Would Taarma still exist?

If's and but's are possibilities that we as humans create in our imaginations, Taarma was meant to be unchained, maybe the source of growth would have been different if digital technology did not exist, surely lesser people would have known about Taarma if there was no internet, i think if it would have effected Taarma it would have effected foreign based bands as well, it is evolution, and with time we are bound to see and experience more advanced technologies which we might not have an ideas about now.

What does the future hold for Taarma?

Pain, more depressive moments, and uncertainty!

Thanks for the interview Jogezai. You may have the final words...

I greatly appreciate the support, and thank you for the interview.

Official website: www.freewebs.com/taarma
Interview by Jamie Smith, February 2007