Dendritic Arbor Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before can you tell us a little bit about the band?

We are a group of people creating dark music influenced by existence, and we hail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

2. How would you describe the musical sound that was presented on the new ep?

Loud, Noisy, Chaotic, We choose to push our music as much as possible, with Sylvan Matriarch, we wanted our first release to display the striped down, bare sound of more traditional metal acts, but still have a sound that is more contemporary.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?

The content lyrically draws from the many forms of apathy that is directed towards our environment, and the guilt that should be, but is not recognized by humans.  Our place here on Earth is not a welcomed one, and with Sylvan Matriarch, It is an explanation of things to come if we continue this ignorance.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Dendritic Arbor?

The most important cells in your brain are called neurons. They send and receive signals from other cells throughout the body, including other neurons. Dendrites are branching filaments that extend from the body of most neurons, and can be thought of as the pathways by which the neurons receive electrochemical stimulation, via synapses, and then transmit them to the body of the neuron (the soma).The branching of dendrites extending outward from the neuron’s body is sometimes called “dendritic arborization”. The more you interact with the world around you, the more engaged and interested and stimulated you are by it, the more lush and leafy and dense your dendritic arbors are.  We use this music to expand our consciousness, figuratively growing our experiences through heavy music, We want people to react to our music, not accept it.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Well we have been playing shows for about a year, and have had many good ones thus far, but one that stands out was in Baltimore, MD at a house venue, DISHAUS. Great bands, true metal in a small, awful smelling basement, which we are quite use too from previous bands, but this particular space was quite the inspiration, To see that many people and bands come out to such a strange place, with no A.C., and a questionable neighborhood, truly engaged us.  We are very much so into performance art as well, and use our backgrounds in creative mediums to display more than just a show, by using different forms of textile and fabric arts, we act as our monikers Quercus, Boris Malus, Thaddeus, and Beller Ophon.  Our stage shows keep crowds engaged, as we were, in more ways than just the music.  We plan on expanding our live show with more visuals.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Yes, we leave for the No Minds, No Souls tour on November 1st, a trek that will take us to the Mid-West, and then south to New Orleans.  It is a 17 day tour that will be in support of our 7" inch split with the Texas band Communion of Thieves, out of Unholy Anarchy Records (US) and At War with False Noise (UK).  We also plan to tour the West Coast in the spring months in support of a forthcoming full length.

7. You have a split album coming out with Wrought Iron, can you tell us a little bit more about it and also what are your thoughts on the other band that participated?

We already released our split with Wrought Iron, which is a limited release on Ageless Curse, but we might be re-pressing it.  Our next split is with for mentioned band Communion of Thieves, who hail from El Paso, TX.  They are a great band, creating very dark circumstances with their blackened sound.  We truly are excited to work with them, and hopefully play some dates together in the future.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and other extreme forms of music?

Considering the short amount of time we have spent as this project, we have had a great response from a small number of fans all over, but our draw in the states is becoming better, and we hope to be able to reach more of an international audience at one point in our time spent together. Hopefully with At War With False Noise releasing the split in the UK, we will be able to tour through Europe in the summer.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

I don't think our approach will change much, we will continue creating music organically, by having strong writing sessions, and discussing our outlook on each present day.  Emotion means a lot to us, and we use all of them to create.  I don't think we could foresee a change in attitude, but a possibly audible difference might be heard by others.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Well we speak as two member now, Quercus and Beller Ophon, but our music is inspired by many different styles, old school death metal and thrash play a big role in our musical catalogs, but we also enjoy the many forms of black metal available now, from the earlier traditional forms to the contemporary musicians bending the genre. We have been interested in bands like Drudkh, Gorguts , Deathspell Omega, and Aosoth as a big part, but we all also enjoy jazz, fusion, and prog, bands like Goblin, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes.  Our musical taste also lead us into hip-hop, lots of chip-tune, and many forms of classical music.  I'd say we all listen to way to much music, but that can't be a bad thing.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Well we all have different lives, but speaking for all of us, any form of Artistic creativity, whether we are printmaking, illustrating, or the many other artistic mediums, we find enjoyment out of expressing ourselves.  Of course some things of leisure also make for experience, like physical activity or even work, can be outlets to expanding our thoughts.

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

We would just like to thank anyone who has or will entertained the notion of our music,  the larger picture of metal music seems to be getting quite convoluted, and people who continue to support the underground are the only reason we are able to be speaking with you. Check out Unholy Anarchy Records and At War with False Noise in the next few months for our split.

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