Album de la Semaine : Thought Forms - Thought Forms

Thought Forms

Thought Forms (Réédition 2013)

Interview de Thought Forms, par M3 Event

Bristol based effects pedal enthusiasts Thought Forms combine a love of feedback, My Bloody Valentine and Shamanic improvisation to create a truly overwhelming sonic experience that is not to be missed. M3 had a chat with guitarist Charlie Romijn about their free live EP, the smell of vinyl & the band’s recent US tour with Portishead…

M3 – First of all, could you tell us a bit about yourself, and what it is that you do?

Charlie – I’m Charlie Romijn. I play guitar in Thought Forms.

I have a solo project called Silver Stairs of Ketchikan and a blog / DIY label called Lava Thief.

I like making stuff.

What inspired you to start Thought Forms? What are your own musical backgrounds?

We got together in May 2004 – a friend of mine from school, Emily Mcmullen, was jamming with this guy called Deej Dhariwal who she’d found on a local music forum (he’d just come home after finishing university and was looking for a band) and she asked me to come along.

There was a spark there instantly and we had a lot of fun making a lot of noise that afternoon…

We became Thought Forms.

Emily decided to leave the band in 2006 so we asked Guy Metcalfe to join us on drums; he was 13 at the time, we’d seen him playing in his band Caldera (a kind of post rock / metal band) when they supported us at a local show and he was the first person who came to mind when we lost Emily!

Before I joined Thought Forms, I had a band called Poor Eric – we played kind of garage punk stuff.

Deej is a bit older and did a bunch of stuff when he was at uni – a lot of soundtracks for the films he was making and he was also in a band with Mel from Ashtray Navigations.

How did you come to be involved with Invada records?

MV/EE asked us to support them at The Cube in Bristol when they were over on tour in 2006 – Fat Paul (co-owner of Invada along with Geoff Barrow) was DJing that night.

He loved our set and came to introduce himself (life hasn’t been the same since…) and asked us if we’d be up for doing a record with Invada.

We went over to the Geoff’s studio to seal the deal a couple of weeks later and have been part of the Invada family ever since!

You recently finished an American tour with Portishead, how did that go?

It was absolutely amazing!

We got to travel all around the US and Canada, meeting wonderful people, playing in these ridiculously huge venues with one of our favourite bands in the world and if all of that wasn’t enough, we had a really great response from their audiences too. We had such a good time, we’re very lucky.

Many people have claimed that there is no longer any money in record sales, and that touring is the most efficient way to earn an income as a band. How much truth do you think there is in this sentiment?

If you’re a “big” band then there’s probably a lot of truth in it.

At our level though, not so much – touring is expensive and sure, you can break even (some of the time) and if you’re lucky maybe even make a little on top, which goes straight back into the band fund for next time.

Recently, there seem to be a large number of bands offering their releases for free via sites like Bandcamp. What do you think of this distribution method, do you think it is a realistic solution to the problem of illegal downloading?

I think it’s great, you can give things away for free if you want to, which is cool – we’ve put a few live sets up for people to download that way and it’s nice to be able to share those little extra things that you wouldn’t necessarily want to make a release out of but which you think people might enjoy.

I don’t think it is a solution to illegal downloading but it is kind of… the other side of the coin.

People seem more than happy to pay for music on sites like Bandcamp as well as making the most of the free downloads – in fact, quite often people have paid MORE than the minimum amount for something, which shows that there are plenty of people out there who value music and want to support the artists.

What would be your preferred medium to listen to music (eg. Vinyl, CD, tape, MP3 etc.), and why?

Vinyl is my favourite, it just feels nicer somehow to put a record on than a CD.

It feels more long-lasting too, you’re not going to lose an LP in your car or get the cases all mixed up! Plus they smell good. I like tapes a lot too.

Do you feel the idea of an album, as a piece of art that people will listen to from start to finish, has been undermined or forgotten about in the digital age?

To an extent.

I also think that people don’t really take as many chances on new music anymore.

It used to be that you’d go and buy an album perhaps on the basis of one song you’d heard or on a recommendation or just because you liked the cover and you’d listen to it over and over again and get to know it – and sometimes there would be records or songs which you didn’t really like at first that end up being your favourites.

These days, most people can just check out a band online and if they don’t like it within 30 seconds, the music probably won’t get a second chance.

What is your take on the current SOPA/ACTA controversy?

I haven’t really been following it… I don’t think it would stop piracy anyway.

What would you say are the main challenges facing an up-and-coming musician/band in today’s cultural climate?

Well one thing is that in most cases, you can’t really make a living from being in a band, so you have to have another way to make money to live on… but of course, it’s not always easy to find a job that allows you to go away on tour, recording or even just for one off gigs when you feel like it!

It can be tricky to juggle at times.

Finally, what does the future hold for Thought Forms?

We’re finishing off our new album right now, that’s coming out on Invada in July.

We’ve also got a tape coming out on LF Records and some shows lined up in Europe.

Line Up :
Charlie Romijn 
Deej Dhariwal
Guy Metcalfe

Label :
Invada Records

Playlist :

1.	20 Satellites On My Hill 04:08
	2.	Industry 04:13
	3.	Dust Magic 05:09
	4.	Nothing Is As Easy As You Think 06:34
	5.	Sonny 01:46
	6.	We Would Be So Happy If... 06:18
	7.	David, 18 05:12
	8.	Mr Steve Has Eaten Your Dog 03:15
	9.	Maggie 04:09

Album de la Semaine : Pontiak - Innocence

Pontiak

Innocence

Interview de Pontiak, par The Negative Trip

Jennings Carney photo by Lino Brunetti

Virginia brothers Jennings, Van, and Lain Carney comprise one of the best bands around. If you haven’t checked out Pontiak, do so immediately. In the last five years or so they have released five albums full of interesting, intelligent, and inspiring music on Chicago’s Thrill Jockey label. Sun on Sun, Maker, and Living are mandatory listening if you have even a passing interest in the rock n’ roll. They are the epitome of the power trio, creating a wall of great textures and tones using bass, guitar, drums, and the brain-melding primal connection that only brothers possess. My pets like them, my little boy loves them, and my wife blushes when they visit. Check them out.

1 - We talked about some new recordings you guys have done, including 

single track long-song EP. Can you talk some about that?

JIC -We have been in the studio for several months now working on a 

bunch of stuff. We just finished an EP that will be out later this 

spring/early summer and an LP which will be ready for a fall release. 

Can't say too much about the EP just yet though! But I am very excited 

about both the EP and the LP.

2 - I think it is cool that USX and Pontiak have a lot of parallels. 

For example, we both did a song called "Suzerain". We are both from 

Appalachia, both from small towns/rural places. Both of our bands have 

managed to spread our music around while still keeping our roots in 

solid ground. And as I mentioned before, we both just recorded a 

single track album. The cultural similarities are interesting but the 

ideas are harder to explain. Some of them might come from being 

exposed to the same literature, music, or modern events. But I feel 

like ideas, particularly among musicians, seem to take root on a 

subconscious level and can do so simultaneously among bands and 

musicians of the same era. I have noticed this many times in the past 

with other bands we know. What do you think about this? Have you ever 

noticed parallels with other bands?

JIC - Yeah. Regarding "Suzerain", that's pretty awesome. I really 

love that song, and the whole album "Sea Voids". Secondly, I would 

agree with you about the connection of the two bands. It's a very 

interesting concept to me and one that I see often. There are these 

ideas that pop up among groups for no apparent reason. A general 

zeitgeist among peers. It happens a lot with any kind of movement. One 

could put that to a subconscious information exchange or we could have 

our higher antennae tuned-in. I am not sure. It's like the theory of 

entanglement. That an idea/information is exchanged simultaneously 

among a system. But I also think that staying connected to the place 

where I grew up, and that I identify myself with the Blue Ridge 

Mountains must put me into a mindset that is sympathetic to your 

similar background. I could probably go on about this for a long time.

3 - You guys have toured extensively in both Europe and North America. 

Can you discuss (from a touring musicians perspective) some of the 

contrasts you see between these two places?

JIC - Touring the N. America is completely different, obviously, than 

Europe, but the differences are in the style or the shape of the tour. 

For me, the US and Canada lacks good, wholesome food on the road. You 

can't just stop at a gas station and get some non-processed good food. 

It's processed so much that it won't break down, it's fast food, it's 

disgusting. That said, Europe has its fair share of bad food, but you 

can find simple, fresh food readily available. Food aside, the culture 

of the concert goer is much different too. In the US particularly, 

there is so much competition for listeners' ears that it's a buyers' 

market. We have had our fair share of good and bad shows and the 

extremes of both. But I feel like in Europe, people go out to shows 

because its what they do for art and culture. People go to shows in 

the US because they want to have an experience/entertainment. Both are 

valid. And I am making huge generalizations. But I spend a lot of time 

behind the merch desk at shows, and I talk to a lot of people. My 

experience is that in the US, the bands have to prove themselves. I 

guess if an American band can make it to Europe, then they don't need 

that rite of passage as much. Who knows. I love to tour in Europe 

though. It is great to be able to see a cathedral or a castle for a 

few hours and then head to sound check and then have a nice dinner 

after the show! But at the same time, if we play New York, for 

instance, we can check out an exhibit at MoMA and then head down to 

Brooklyn for a show. But the exotic feeling of Europe holds a special 

place for me because it still feels new.

(The brothers Pontiak next to their mobile home.)

4 - We talked some about some of the gear you tried out overseas, 

particilarly the Verellen amps. Can you sort of retell that story 

about the amp you tried out? I have yet to play one of his amps, but I 

have heard they are amazing.

Yeah. I love the Verellen bass amp - the Meatsmoke. Before one of our 

tours I had spoken to Ben Verellen (maker and owner) about his amps 

and what I was looking for in an amp. I currently use an Ampeg SVT 

Classic with an 8x10 cab. I had been thinking for awhile about looking 

for a handmade amp that was point to point. I found out that even the 

first SVTs had boards in them so that got me thinking about the 

Meatsmoke. We use Nomads of Prague for our backline in Europe and 

Tschepitz, the owner told me when we got to Prague before the tour 

started that I could take the Meatsmoke out on the road to test it and 

that I could send back any amp I didn't use with our driver who was 

switching out after the third show. So the first three shows I used it 

in Krakow, Warsaw and Berlin. I have to say that I was completely 

blown away with the tone and the power of the amp. I usually have an 

overdrive pedal from Fulltone which is on most of the show with an 

SVT. I didn't need it for the Meatsmoke. It has it's own overdrive 

channel. In fact, during our London show at the Old Blue Last, we were 

playing to a packed house and in the middle of the second song, the DI 

box cut my stage signal so there was still power to the mains, but I 

lost my stage volume. So I took out the DI, and turned the amp all the 

way up, All The Way. 300 watts. It was incredible. I spoke with a few 

people that night after the show and no one noticed at all. That's 

power! Talk about sustain!

An interesting side note. I forgot to give our first driver one of 

the bass amps to take back to Prague from Berlin. Earlier while we 

were driving to the Berlin show from Warsaw he was talking about how 

in Poland and Czech it's really dangerous to drive at night because of 

wild boars running across the road. Anyway, after we said our goodbyes 

in Berlin he left and 30km outside of Prague a boar ran across the 

road. He was going about 130km/75mph and flipped his car totaling it. 

If he had had that amp in the car (it was a Mazda hatchback) he 

probably would have died from having a 80 lbs SVT head flying around 

in the car with him. That was a close one. And I am glad I forgot to 

give the amp to him!

5 - Final thoughts? Feel free to talk about what Pontiak is doing now, 

or in the near future.

JIC - Well, we are planning on doing SXSW this year and the Austin 

Psych Fest in April. I am excited about both. It will be our first 

time for both though we have played Austin several times. We are 

working on putting some shows together around the festivals, and we'll 

be playing those various shows with our friends White Hills and 

Cloudland Canyon. We have some European shows planned as well for next 

fall too and hopefully some festival dates in Europe and the US this 

summer. Finally, we are beginning work on the full length and that 

will be released in September. It'll be killer.

Thanks for taking the time and interest too! I love getting a chance 

to play with USX and hangout. It is always a great time. I hope to see 

y'all soon!

Line Up :
Jennings Carney
Van Carney
Lain Carney

Label :
Thrill Jockey

Tracklist :
01 – Innocence
02 – Lack Lustre Rush
03 – Ghosts
04 – It’s The Greatest
05 – Noble Heads
06 – Wildfires
07 – Surrounded By Diamonds
08 – Beings Of The Rarest
09 – Shining
10 – Darkness Is Coming
11 – We’ve Got It Wrong

Album de la Semaine : Mogwai - Rave Tapes

Mogwai

Rave Tapes

Interview de Mogwai, par Thomas Burgel des Inrocks

Près de 20 ans de carrière et une “young team” qui a su, définitivement, gagner son indépendance, multiplier les projets et ambiances sans, jamais, renier ses qualités initiales : Rave Tapes, nouvel album de Mogwai, en est une preuve éclatante, belle, spectrale, encore pleine des fantôme habitant la précédente et magnifique bande-son des Revenants, dont les Écossais avaient la charge.

Quelques jours avant sa parution, l’intégralité de l’album est en écoutesur Soundcloud : un clic sur ce lien et il déroulera ses beautés et cauchemars, l’occasion également de lire ou relire l’interview que nous a récemment offerte Stuart Braithwaite.

ENTRETIEN

Mogwai a 20 ans d’existence : es-tu fier de cette longévité ?

Stuart Braithwaite : Je n’aime pas ce mot, “fier”, je préfère celui de “content”. Je suis avant tout content de ce que nous sommes, humainement parlant : je pense que nous sommes de bien meilleurs amis que nous ne l’étions au début du groupe. Au départ, on rêvait de jouer pour John Peel, et de faire un concert au Barrowlands, une salle importante à Glasgow. Et encore, on rêvait surtout de réussir à faire la première partie de quelqu’un, rien de plus. Vingt ans plus tard, on a simplement de la chance, de continuer à faire de la musique. Et de pouvoir le faire en se sentant un peu plus en sécurité qu’en enregistrant nos tous premiers disques : nous publions nos chansons nous-mêmes, nous possédons notre propre studio, ça nous offre une certaine liberté. On a surtout de la chance de voir que des gens continuent à s’intéresser à nous… On essaie toujours de nous forcer à réfléchir autrement, de faire les choses un peu différemment : il serait impossible de justifier notre existence si on se contentait de se copier-coller d’un disque à l’autre.

Comment conserver, sur la durée, son excitation, son désir ?

La manière de ne pas la perdre est une certaine éthique de travail : nous travaillons beaucoup. Et, dans le même temps, nous attendons toujours beaucoup de nous-mêmes. Mais les choses sont peut-être encore plus simples : nous continuons à nous exciter en jouant des choses qui nous excitent. J’ai quelques amis qui tiennent des magasins de disques à Glasgow : ils passent leur temps à me faire découvrir des choses intéressantes, le fait de tourner beaucoup permet aussi de voir jouer pas mal de nouveaux groupes, tout ceci permet de ne pas s’endormir, de penser les choses autrement.

Y a-t-il des groupes que tu admires pour leur capacité à durer ?

En termes de longévité, j’admire The Cure ou Sonic Youth pas exemple, qui ont réussi à maintenir leurs exigences initiales malgré les années, la lassitude qui peut survenir, le piège du confort dans lequel on peut tomber, qui se sont constamment renouvelés, ou qui ont su évoluer.

Quels sont les événements les plus importants que tu aies traversés ces dernières années ?

Je ne sais pas… (silence) Mon père est mort il y a deux ans, c’est sans doute l’une des choses les plus importantes que l’on peut traverser dans une vie. Ca bouleverse évidemment beaucoup de choses dans sa manière de penser, mais je suis incapable d’expliquer précisément ce que ça a changé en moi…

Tu t’exprimes souvent sur les nouveaux modes de consommation de la musique…

C’est un sujet complexe. Je suis inquiet par le système de streaming illimité par exemple, pour une raison simple : les artistes ne gagnent presque rien, c’est un système très injuste. Et c’est un système dangereux pour la musique elle-même : si personne n’achète de disques, si les plateformes de streaming ne paient pas les artistes, il n’y aura tout simplement plus d’artistes. C’est basique, mathématique, et il faut s’en soucier au plus vite. La disparition des labels n’est pas une bonne chose non plus : il y a évidemment eu et il y aura toujours des labels dont le seul objectif est le profit, mais la plupart sont indispensables pour leur fonction de tri, de recherche, de soutien. Sans eux, sans filtre, il y a beaucoup trop de musique, et beaucoup ne trouvent pas leur véritable place.

Et Mogwai ?

Nous sommes vraiment particulièrement contents de ce que nous avons fait pour Les Revenants. Le projet était excitant, et il nous a poussés à changer assez radicalement nos manières de faire.

La mort de ton père, un an plus tôt, a peut-être laissé quelques traces sur ce projet…

Je ne sais pas, peut-être… (silence) Je ne sais pas, c’est difficile à analyser, ce serait peut-être aller trop loin que d’entrer dans ces explications.

Quelle était l’idée à la base de Rave Tapes ? Quelque chose de précis ?

Non, pas vraiment. Nous voulions simplement faire un autre album, c’est tout : le reste, généralement, arrive en studio, par accident, par accidents heureux.

Il vient après Les Revenants, et les deux disques semblent parfois liés, comme si certains des fantômes de la B.O. vous avaient accompagnés en studio.

Je ne sais pas s’il existe un lien direct et conscient entre les deux disques, mais je pense que la musique que nous avons écoutée pour écrire la B.O. des Revenants a continué à nous influencer pour Rave Tapes -les bandes-son des films de John Carpenter, ou de Dario Argento, les disques de Goblin notamment. Mais l’équipement, notamment électronique, des vieux synthés par exemple, que nous avons utilisés sur les deux disques participe aussi peut-être de cette impression.

Que peux-tu me dire de l’enregistrement ? De la forme qu’a priseRave Tapes ?

L’album a été enregistré assez rapidement. Nous avons joué pour la première fois en live, pour une tournée en Grande-Bretagne,  Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, et nous sommes ensuite immédiatement entrés en studio, où les choses ont été assez intenses. On a essayé beaucoup de choses, ensemble, et tout est venu naturellement. Encore une fois, des accidents heureux… Les éléments électroniques n’ont pas été pensés a priori, par exemple : ils étaient nécessaires aux chansons, elles allaient dans cette direction, nous l’avons suivie.

Comment décrirais-tu Rave Tapes ?

Je le trouve assez minimal, assez sombre, et je le trouve un peu à part dans notre discographie. Pour le reste, j’aime imaginer que les gens se feront leur propre avis, leur propre impression, différente selon les personnalités.

Tu sembles être quelqu’un d’assez politisé, est-ce que ça peut, même de manière lointaine, avoir un impact sur la musique du groupe ?

Je ne sais pas si je suis quelqu’un de particulièrement politisé habituellement, mais je m’implique beaucoup, autant que je peux, dans le référendum à venir sur l’indépendance de l’Ecosse. C’est pour beaucoup d’entre nous quelque chose de vraiment important : si l’Ecosse gagnait sa liberté, là je pourrais parler de fierté. Après, l’atmosphère générale du monde dans lequel nous vivons a sans doute une influence sur notre musique, mais je suis incapable de la mesurer.

Line Up :

Stuart Braithwaite
Dominic Aitchison
Martin Bulloch
John Cummings
Barry Burns

Label :

Rock Action

Tracklist :

01 – Heard About You Last Night
02 – Simon Ferocious
03 – Remurdered
04 – Hexon Bogon
05 – Repelish
06 – Master Card
07 – Deesh
08 – Blues Hour
09 – No Medicine For Regret
10 – The Lord Is Out Of Control
11 – Bad Magician 3 (Bonus Track)
12 – Die 1 Dislike! (Bonus Track)

Album de la Semaine : ERAAS - Initiation

ERAAS

Initiation

Interview d'ERAAS, par Ryann Donnelly d'Interview Magazine

You can take the boys out of New England, but you might have a hard time taking the dark and weird vibes out of the New England boys—unless they're filtering them directly into their music. Case and point: Robert Toher and Austin Stawiarz, the evil geniuses behind emerging band, Eraas. The pair united in early 2010 after the disintegration of their former project, Apse, an elaborate post-rock outfit signed to the cred-heavy ATP Recordings. Now based in Brooklyn, the new sound of Eraas blends various '80s "waves"—ever-moody and pulsing—with tasteful breaths of electronics. It feels solid and dance-worthy, without crossing too far into pop territory. Toher's warm, ghostly wails weave between the compositions, invoked with a sense of his rural upbringing around howling winds, barren winters, and potentially haunted colonial houses.

In anticipation of the October release of their self-titled debut LP on new Brooklyn label felte, Eraas have leaked two singles: "Briar Path" and "Fang." Both tracks retain Apse's attention to kinetic rhythms, but with a simplification of the dynamics and overall instrumentation. For Toher, who started Apse in 1999 at the age of 17, much of Eraas seems to be about finding the minimalist foil to his original musical impulses. When we chatted with him recently, Toher compared both projects, addressing the new sound, live setup, and approach to songwriting.

RYANN DONNELLY: What is the configuration of the band right now—for songwriting, and for live shows?

ROBERT TOHER: Live, we're a four-piece band. Songs are written by myself and Austin Stawiarz. Our debut album is coming out soon. We sort of wrote that together. I had started some of it on my own, and then joined up with him and wrote some new songs, and finished some existing pieces. For live shows, we like to have a full band atmosphere and setup. We don't use too much pre-recorded stuff, like I feel a lot of bands around [New York] are doing nowadays. We like it to be more visceral.

DONNELLY: Your previous band, Apse, had a bit more instrumentation. Are you happy with the more minimal setup of Eraas?

TOHER: Yeah, I am. Apse—which wasn't dissimilar from the kinds of things we're exploring with Eraas—was at one point a six-piece, with two drummers, and in the latter days had two guitar players, bass, drums, me doing various things, andvocals, and then someone doing clarinet or piano stuff. I mean, it was too much. It wasn't really efficient or sustainable. I would like to write a composition at some point that might employ a larger body of contributors in the live scenario, but as far as this project goes, and the music that we've written, and will continue to write—I envision it being performed by a quartet.

DONNELLY: Has the writing process been different with fewer people involved?

TOHER: The process has changed between the album we're about to put out, and the songs we're writing now, which is good. I'm glad that it's changing. I had started a lot of songs for this album while Apse was still together. We had put out kind of a shit album that got bad reviews, and it was the kind of album that, I thought, had too many different hands in the pot, and too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. So I just decided to write some of my own stuff, totally by myself, and just pretend no one would ever hear it. I figured that would be the way I could write stuff I really wanted to, without looking over my shoulder the whole time, which I had felt I was doing more and more with Apse at the time.

DONNELLY: How did you meet Austin?

TOHER: I met him when I was about 13. I grew up around him. He was born in the Bronx, and then his family moved upstate, just near the New York border where I was in Connecticut. And I'd see him at punk shows, and we became friends. He was actually in Apse for a long period of time.

DONNELLY: How are you guys approaching the sound differently for Eraas?

TOHER: With Apse, we had started playing in 1999, I was 17, and it was a three-piece band. We weren't listening to bands like Mogwai, and Explosions in the Sky, but we were leaning toward this "post-rock" genre. I really don't like how limiting that term is, but anyway, it was that kind of thing. And, as we got older, we started getting more interested in darker music, in tribal music, world music—but not in a cheesy way, or hopefully not at least. So we started incorporating those two worlds. We had this dark, atmospheric, tribal—even though that word is kind of loaded—"post-rock" band with all this crescendo, and that's really what Apse was. Eraas is different because we're still dark, but I feel like we've shed a lot of the teenager-ish qualities of Apse. Eraas is a little stranger, and darker in a much different, much older way—older world mentality. At the risk of sounding boastful, I think it's more sophisticated than Apse was.

DONNELLY: Are you planning how you want the music to progress, or how you want the next album to sound, or do you take it one song at a time?

TOHER: I don't have a real grand scheme, and I think that things are going better because of that. With Apse we tried to steer things so much, and were so conscientious—especially in the later years—asking, "What's the right way to do this?" We lost the original mentality, and the spirit, which was that we were doing it because we really enjoyed it. We want to take what comes to us, and just go with it, rather than steering it so much or thinking, "If we had a song that was like this, maybe we could raise a few more eyebrows." We started to get into that territory. It's always dangerous, as an artist. With Eraas, we made our first record, we learned a lot from it, and we're very happy with it, but we've started working on the next one. The next album is a bit different. It will sound like the same band, but it's just an album-by-album basis. Every different part of our lives is influenced by different things in art and music, or other circumstances, so I think we're just gonna take it as we go.

DONNELLY: You've been doing music since you were 17; does it feel like your job yet?

TOHER: [laughs] It does now, but not in the way that I dread it. There is so much time that goes into writing our music. And I really love only working with one other person. I only have to talk to one other person, convince one other person, or be persuaded by one other person. There's just way more freedom and flexibility, and also it's way more time efficient. But it does feel like my job. It's always on my mind, I'm always working on new stuff. We usually make a lot of music, and then pull a selection from that. There's always shit to do for it, and obligations. Obviously, we wouldn't do it if it wasn't worth it, though. No complaints.

DONNELLY: Can you talk about the imagery associated with the band? There seem to be a lot of references to where you're from in New England.

TOHER: There's a thing going on right now, and I don't know how much longer it will last. I cant think of the right word for it, but its this whole thing with the occult, and this kind of imagery—it seems to be really popular in independent music, here in New York, and in LA. There's a lot of this sort of element of feigning witchcraft. There's a lot of imagery and artwork that I think draws upon it. And band names. 

And that's fine, but I was raised Catholic, and a lot of Apse's music was spiritual to me in that it was about confronting paranoia, or trying to reconcile existential crisis: life, faith, and religion. It was never a direct thing where a song was about something specific, but it was more about setting the mood of that kind of stuff—the darker side—not of religion, but of spirituality, and sort of what one can open themselves up to—doors that you can open that you may not be able to close. So I think our imagery, always, before this new wave of bands latching onto the occult thing, has had to do with New England, rural New England, seasonal things, witchy, but not pentagrams or anything that direct—more like, nature as related to a darker kind of aspect of spirituality.

Line Up :

Rob Toher 

Austin Stawiarz

Label :

Felte

Tracklist :

01 – Looking Glass Pettibon
02 – The Dream
03 – Above
04 – Guardian Descent
05 – Old Magic
06 – Circling
07 – Splitting
08 – Initiation