viktor zolotarenko was far beyond us in many ways, in both space and time. the music he made was not easy to produce - not just technically but more importantly emotionally, psychologically, and physically demanding on the artist . . at 25, he could do things musically with computers and electronic instruments that some of us will only dream doing of all their life . . the way he affected some of us, and how this feeling will last forever . . . i hate to acknowledge, but i can understand his wanting to leave this world behind. he already had done so in ways both spiritual and psychological . . i wish he could've found more meditative / yogic alternatives to what was eating at him. he had already accomplished a great deal; he probably thought a lot more was expected of him . . if so, i wish he hadn't . . . as someone who appreciates all forms of musical expression, i feel he made history in that his musical voice was so special, refined, and unique . . in this great big world we live in, he was one-in-six billion . . . the sadness lingers still for our and his mother's loss . . . 
michael a. / aziz2012

funny. It started with my undying love and affection for a piece of music called Oil and Gold...that brought me to discover The Veils; It wasn't their wonderful songs; like the one at the end of Mr. Brooks...I knew nothing of the group then...nor any of the other songs I have heard from them since, having fallen in love with each and every one. I must say I have become quite enchanted by their music...which is what makes this so wonderful. With over 5000 songs on my Ipod, I simply haven't had the notion, or the time, to go looking for new music for what seems like ages now, this probably somewhat also due to the fact that I am, musically speaking, from an earlier time, and maybe a bit how they say 'out of the loop' regarding certain modern sounds...
This is what makes life fun. Discovery...of New Things...
In my humble opinion, some of the first New Things - that man, as a man, not an animal...way back at that certain time in history when we had already had mastered much of the 'easy stuff', like fire, and the wheel, and many other terrestrial things...was the extra-terrestrial. The extra-terrestrial has, since day one, in my opinion been the ultimate object of wonder for us all.
The Sun - our glorious Sun - well, what can I say that has not already been said? Not much. We wouldn't exist, if it were not for Our Sun. Simple as that. Every man, woman, and child, not to mention ALL LIFE, owes a debt of gratitude to the big ball of fire in the sky. Since the earliest of times, all the peoples of the earth have been aware of this fact to more or lesser degrees. And it is precisely those communities, tribes, and peoples that went ahead and acted upon this awareness by observing, studying, and learning from This Teacher, that brought them to grow and evolve beyond their fellow man.
Every star in the sky is a Sun. Every star is a Sun! (except for a few of the close ones, which are planets). Billions of them. I wish I could post a billion signs all over the earth, with that statement, in every language, in our children's classrooms, so more people would recognize this intriguing fact. It's funny, and unfortunate; because even if I did, I don't think it would assist in opening up the minds of any great quantity of people. Like it helped mine. When I was in my mid to late 20's, I must have repeated that statement thousands of times. To any of my friends who would listen. In the hopes it would conjure up all sorts of ideas about other planets, revolving around these suns. And life...on some of these planets. Intelligent life...
When I first read the title of The Veils album, Sun Gangs, I smiled with joy; it usually takes more than that. I was happy and excited, not to mention curious. You could even say my faith in humanity was restored somewhat, especially in the context of modern independent/alternative/other musical offerings i.e. bands, as well as other artforms of late. I sensed right from the start that behind a name like that, it would therein contain nothing less than a universe of it's own. Two simple words.
Two simple words. Quite a metaphorical achievement, in that they reduce the entire history of man's longing; for his ultimate truth, his purpose, direction, his dreams and desires - a fantastic and complex tale which transcends culture, language, race, and time - and condenses it into something the public can easily digest. As well as provoke more esoteric thought among those of higher intellect. A subtle and modest evaluation/explanation, of what and of how. We of course know why...
It began simply enough. The Sun was God. It was our ruler. It still is in a way. After all, from the dawn of man's history on earth - millions? - of years ago, up until practically just yesterday, it was and is along with the rise and fall of the sun how we; every man, woman, and child - lived their lives. Those communities and tribes that had a better grasp of the sun, and the seasons, came to have a better crop at harvest time. Those people that had greater knowledge of the cycles of the earth, moon, the sun and stars - a science - they became better at math and geometry. It didn't take long. Those who were better at math and geometry; they were better at building things. Impressive structures...and infrastructure. Tools. Weapons. It was also soon realized that this advanced knowledge must remain hidden - within occult wisdom - in order to gain the upper hand on competing tribes and peoples, as well as control the members of their own community. And there's so much more to it. Through hidden knowledge, and respect and fear of the unknown. These 'Sun Gangs' have been, since ages ago, since the beginning, competing with each other. All the way up to today. I can visualize an otherworldly being, reporting back, after a visit to an earth-like planet, the existence of a large population of 'Sun Gangs', as if it were denoting something primitive, yet consistent among all intelligent humanoid life at a certain stage of evolution, throughout the known and unknown universes...
It seems like this 'Sun Worship' was and still is the basis for many of the worlds religions and belief systems, as is the study and worship of many other great celestial bodies, both moving and fixed. We have Africa, Egypt, The Americas, the Greeks, the Jews, the Muslims, the Far East, and the Christians...
The word 'gang' in my opinion implies force. Competition, and possibly/probably violence as well. 'Ganging up', overpowering and beating on another gang, until there is basically one gang left, the strongest and toughest gang, that is running the show. 'Sun Gangs' puts into perspective, with two simple words, what's really been going on from the start...God Gangs.
The god of Ancient Egypt was the sun god Ra. When we look at the name Israel...Is-Ra-El...it looks like the Jews are also worshipping the sun. Now there are those who say Christianity is nothing but a form of sun/planet worship, and that Jesus, the Son, was and is actually Jesus the Sun, and that metaphorically and symbolically, since after all, during his recorded ministry on earth, he was a walking metaphor - he spoke in parables - the movements of Jesus coincide precisely with the movement of the sun at specific days throughout the year...starting with his birth....
The star Sirius, in the east, is the brightest star in the night sky. This makes sense, since it's also the closest to us in light years. On December 24th, the three brightest stars in Orion's belt, known as The Three Kings, align with Sirius, only to point at the spot where the Sun will rise the following day (The Sun Rise). The Bible tells us that the birth of Jesus was preceded by the arrival of 'Three Kings', who followed the 'star in the east' to reach the place of Jesus' birth (the Rise of the Son). Hmm. Metaphors. Symbolism...
The constellation Virgo is also known as The Virgin, as well as the House of Bread, in that it is always portrayed as a chaff of wheat or an ear of corn, representing harvest-time. Bethlehem, the place of Jesus' birth, also translates to House of Bread. It is believed that the Bethlehem of Jesus refers to the constellation Virgo, not a place in Israel; there was no Israel in Jesus' time.
The twelve constellations - The Twelve Disciples. And so forth and so on. There were many, many of these 'Solar Messiahs' , with their respective gangs, throughout different places and times in history, all with the same astrological attributes...with Jesus' being one of the most popular and most recent.
I'm rambling. the first draft of this letter was accidentally erased halfway through, so I had to redo it. Somewhere I lost my train of thought. It didn't come out as 'Automatic' as I would've liked...
I'm no expert. But I have figured out a couple of things. I certainly have lots more to learn. And a Truth to discover somewhere along the way...
Simply put, 'Sun Gangs' is deep. To me it conjures up a lot of what I have just described. But it also goes further, to places in the past as well as the future, that have yet to be revealed.
Me? I believe we were created, from wisdom and love, and come from another place and time beyond what we know. And that our purpose in life is to acknowledge this fact, to embrace it, to try to understand it, and act upon that understanding. It's our choice...to move closer to what created us, or to move further away from it... Good luck...
We'll see...