1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording of the new album?
Having had such a long period of inactivity I feel we have a lot of catching up to do, so we certainly haven’t been resting on our laurels. The next album is also mostly recorded, so I’ve had the opportunity to live with the material for a while and to patiently refine it. I’ve also been laying the foundations for a couple of new collaborations which I’m very excited about – so all told, there’s a lot a gunge in the tank waiting to be deposited. As always, we’re constantly searching for new angles of attack on our sound and to maintain the optimum quantity of creative instability.
2.In December you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
Given that we actively reformed rather than simply picking after a long hiatus, there’s extra impetus to make a decisive statement about what Axis is now, as opposed to then. The last two albums we’d done – Urfe and Tenements – were designed to map the outer limits of the band’s identity. They represent how fully we are prepared to commit to industrial sounds to the exclusion of metal, and then vice versa, without diluting our character. Having done that, it makes sense to reassert the centre ground of our sound, which to our ears is a balanced and integrated hybrid of industrial and metal music. “Apertures” was about taking everything we had learned about composition and sound design in the intervening years, and using that to reclaim what we see as our primary territory.
3.This is also your first album in 13 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
Well, to start with, we split up in 2013. At the time I was feeling burnt out and disillusioned, and managed to convince myself that continuing the band was having a negative effect on my mental health. It is the nature of Axis that we wallow in a great deal of ugliness, negativity and dysfunction, and I felt I was getting too entangled in that. In hindsight I think I was just having a rubbish time for other reasons and spun myself a yarn about how this decision would somehow fix other problems. I just needed a break and acted rashly because at the time it didn’t feel like a hiatus was a big enough step. Over time, however, the ideas crept back, the motivation built again and eventually I couldn’t deny them anymore.
We announced our reformation in early 2019, but it took me the best part of that year to finish my PHD, so we didn’t really get the ball rolling until that Autumn. Then, once we were starting to gain momentum, the pandemic happened, so that threw a spanner in the works. Complications arising from that basically meant that the album took a lot longer to finish than planned. In the meantime Brooke moved to Europe for his career and besides being exceptionally busy because of that, also had difficulty accessing recording facilities. So for very boring logistical reasons I ended up doing the vocals. Likewise, the original plan was for our old drummer, Dan, to take part in the album, but for similarly uninteresting reasons that didn’t pan out either – no reflection on Dan’s talents, I hasten to add!
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as a songwriter over the years?
Our subject matter hasn’t really changed over the years. We are interested in isolation, alienation and the very dark places you go in your head when you’re not well, spiralling into irrationality and dysfunction. That underlies everything we do and the rest, whether it is draped in the aesthetic of science fiction, or urban horror, or whatever, is basically an elaborate extended metaphor for mental illness. Because the last couple of albums had been entirely defined by an overarching narrative concerning the Urfe character, we wanted to avoid a story element this time around. The goal for “Apertures” was to present a series of surrealist vignettes, almost like the soundscape equivalent of Beksinski paintings, addressing a variety of mental health-related topics in very abstract terms. I have very little to say about my own progress as a songwriter – I just try to do better every time, and if I fail, I try to fail interestingly.
5.I know you have been heavily inspired by the 'Silent Hill' videogames, what are your thoughts on the films and tv series based upon the game?
Around 2003-04 I got extremely fixated on the Silent Hill series as it was at the time (basically the first three games) and probably allowed it to impact on Axis a bit too much. Our aesthetic and the game obviously aligned and it remains a profoundly important creative touchstone for me, but there wasn’t really any need to namecheck it as much and pepper our releases with so many samples. The “Urfe” album came about largely because I wanted to move away from sampling films and games altogether, because I felt like I was trying to launder their impact instead of properly developing our own content; working with an actor seemed like that perfect way to address that, and Les was the perfect foil to help us achieve it. I enjoyed aspects of the first film, though I think it made some fairly crucial mistakes in how it handled the material. The second film was an absolute trainwreck and I haven’t checked out the more recent series, or any of the games after “Origins” for that matter (though I hear great things about the SH2 remake).
6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
Grace is an artist I met through one of my jobs, who had produced a very compelling exhibition earlier this year called “Mind and Judgement”, involving beautiful painted sculptures, which - as I understand it - were inspired by her experience of scrutiny as a queer, neurodivergent person. While developing the exhibition she made a series of photographs of her work sited in derelict spaces, which I found very haunting. She very kind allowed me to use some of her photographs in the “Apertures” sleeve and think they align very well with the both the aesthetic and the modus operandi of Axis.
7.On the new album you recorded everything by yourself but have worked with musicians in the past, do you prefer to work solo?
The core of Axis is, and will always be, the duo of me and Brooke. The fact that he wasn’t able to participate in “Apertures” is just a temporary glitch as far as I’m concerned. Beyond that I think it’s healthy to work with other people to keep us on our toes and to keep our music fresh. Since we reformed I am going to more effort to seek out people I admire to get involved, and to operate the band more as an extended family around the core duo. Our long-time compadre Saulius (also of Haeiresis and Sisyphean) is also an indispensable part of the family now – “Apertures” is about a 1000% better than it would have been without his involvement.
8. With the live line up what are some of the best shows that you have played and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We have only played two shows – once in London supporting Anaal Nathrakh, which was utterly diabolical, a waking nightmare for all concerned. I wouldn’t be surprised if our set is still the worst show some of those in attendance have ever seen. The second, at Causing Chaos for Cancer festival in 2010, was OK – you can find footage of this on Youtube. Generally I don’t think the stage is the right environment for Axis. Our work is designed to be evocative and to play on the imagination, not to be reduced to a mere collection of nondescript people, partitioned from the audience.
9.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
No.
10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of industrial and black metal?
I find it very hard to tell. I suspect, as Axis is neither fish nor fowl in this context, our audience occupy a niche within a niche. The people who follow our social media profiles have been very nice but beyond that it really remains to be seen.
11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
I very much hope I will continue getting better at what I do! Music being my raison d’etre, I have a number of projects and goals occurring simultaneously. The way people consume music seems to be in a state of intense fluctuation at present, so I find it very difficult to predict what adaptations will be necessary to allow us to continue to reach people.
12.What are some of the bands or musical styles you are currently listening to nowadays?
I got very disheartened by the victory of Trump the other week and since that happened I have listened almost exclusively to death/doom, primarily Evoken and Esoteric. I find their sense of discouragement and pessimism a very agreeable companion to wallowing in self-pity. Before that I was going through the discographies of Boards of Canada, Burial (the dubstep artist rather than my labelmates – sorry lads, you’re cool too!) and loads of Coil, who are a perennial favourite.
My favourite album that I’ve heard this year (though it came out last year I think) is the debut Healthyliving album “Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief”, which is just a phenomenal, moving, effortlessly balanced record. I can only aspire to producing something as beautifully pared back and perfectly judged as that.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
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