12 questions for BLAKMOTH
No one does it quite like BLAKMOTH. The Maryland-based musician paints sonic plateaus of brooding darkness with simple but highly effective tools and uses his emotional energy to push the barriers of his own ‘Doombient’ genre with every release. His latest EP ‘Duality’ was just released on ERRORGRID and marks another important step in the artist’s journey.
1. What drives you to create music? What do you seek to achieve with it?
A passion for creativity. Music for me has always been an escape and therapeutic. There is also a hope to inspire others to create or provide them the with a safe space to meditate within. While on the other hand, music is also an outlet for my imagination. A way to convey an idea with music. I like to write and often theme my music like a soundtrack around these ideas. I hope to one day score the ideas of others.
2. How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard music before?
I’ve been named the “Grandfather of Doombient” which as a style is the bridging of my love for drone, ambient and doom jazz/ metal themes. Dark brooding thought invoking soundscapes are the motivation, as well as a rhythmic intention over the melodic. There is also a story telling element.
3. Which album do you wish you had made?
I have this cool idea to do an album themed around the Lovecraft mythos.
4. If music is a form of therapy, what is it healing in you?
It soothes my anxieties but also allows me to vent my depressions. These are things I deal with on a daily basis. At times it’s simply a sacred space to shut out the external. I learned long ago from my child psychologist that music was my medicine. Once we discovered this, my sessions were simply putting on headphones and listening to ambient music for an hour.
5. If you could use one image to represent the intention of your work and burn it into your audience’s heads, what would this image be?
Monochrome. A leaden sky over a black endless sea in all directions.
6. What do you consider your best piece of work yet? And why?
Oddly enough, Final Boss EP. I put a lot of time and attention into it. Both in composition and sound design. I’ve got a lot of love for video games and wanted to make a mini soundtrack to an 8 bit adventure. This was Final Boss EP.
7. What is your sentiment about the current music scene, and how is it helping with the state of the world?
I’ve always said music should be a destination. I feel as creators we provide both a point of view or perspective in our art form as well as a a place of fantasy to escape into. In the current world times as in others music is most important.
8. How would you describe ERRORGRID in your own words? What is it to you?
Errorgrid is a secret dark order of adept occultist who have harnessed the powers of darkness to create music. Not really....
To me, Errorgrid is a community of like minded artist with an affinity for the dark and quality music, as well as a place of understanding and acceptance for this who embrace the shadow self.
9. When do you consider a piece of music finished and ready for others to hear?
All my pieces evolve from a drone or texture. As I build the piece, once it triggers an emotion or provokes a though or idea I consider it done. If I don’t feel that connection it gets scrapped.
10. How much importance do you put into your tools?
A lot. I spent months planing the “The Spirit Box” I knew in my head what I wanted my sound to be and what my goals were in my music career. I also considered workflow. I researched what modules would get me there and have been building on that idea. Same goes for all the tools outside of the rack.
11. What is the one piece of equipment you will never part with?
Easy. Manis Iteritas. It’s the foundation of my sound.
12. What do you have in the works/ what is next for you?
Up next for me is a full length album that I’m hoping to release early next year
The new 5 track Doombient EP ‘Duality’ by BLAKMOTH is now available on Bandcamp and Spotify.