>> MUSIC OF THE EARTH
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known surface on Earth, and possibly beyond. Simple and inescapable, their primitive resilience is matched only by Violet’s crude but honest approach to garage rock.
on, especially my debut, that’s got to be the one!� she says. “Goner is legendary! They fight the good fight, and it’s undeniable that what they’re doing is for the betterment of rock ’n’ roll as a whole.� Any conversation about Violet’s influences will necessarily take a turn down the sinkhole of Guitar Wolf lore, particularly their starring performance in the 1999 grindhouse extravaganza, Wild Zero.
Starting out as a one-woman production (Archaea), she eventually requited “It’s like the best musical you’ll ever see!� she Chyppe on bass and Chase on drums says. “It’s something that everyone can reto form The Archaeas proper. While she late to when they’re young, me specifically enjoys playing with a full band, she still with Tobio [played by Kwancharu Shitichai] has an affinity for the aesthetic rawness the transgender character. I related heavily of many one-musician garage acts, like to her.� Mark Sultan, aka BBQ, and Ty Segall.
INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST VIOLET BY MICK R.
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he first thing you should know “And I just heard that prefix, ‘Arche,’ and it about Louisville’s fuzz czar congre- can mean old as in archeological, but the gation, The Archaeas, is where they got way that I really liked it after researching it their fabulous name. was in terms of archaea bacteria.�
“When I was like 15, I was sitting in AP U.S. History and having a bit of an identity crisis,� guitarist and lead vocalist Violet explains.
Ancient organisms that homestead in your guts as well as the deepest trenches of the ocean. Universal beings, who occupy every
“Ty Segall’s songwriting tendencies are very sound, and some of those things have rubbed off on me,� Violet divulges. “I think he’s such a fantastic song crafter.� You can hear Segall’s jigsaw-like influence rippling throughout The Archaeas’ debut self-titled record, released through Goner Records. Of course, being signed to Goner is something that Violet is not shy about. “If there is one label I could have my music
As for the universal themes of a film that pits humans against zombies against aliens, Violet unpacks the archetypal roles of the film’s central protagonists. “"[That film] released me!â€? she says. “I feel like Tobio, Ace [Masashi EndĂ´], and Guitar Wolf are the archetypal pieces of one great character. The feminine, the masculine, and the truth.â€? A trinity of ass-kicking, rock ’n’ roll fury, not unlike the one Violet finds herself helming outside of the world of celluloid. đ&#x;’Ł
BOTANIST INTERVIEW WITH PROJECT FOUNDER OTREBOR BY CALEB R. NEWTON
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an Francisco’s intense, avant-garde metal project Botanist dedicate their work to the natural world.
On their new album Photosynthesis, project founder Otrebor and his latest co-creators have crafted an eight-track journey that lyrically explores the title process. The album drops on October 30 via San Francisco label, The Flenser. There’s a sense of awe-inspiring majesty that runs through the album’s melody-centered-yet-magnificently-intense tracks—which seems fitting, considering the essential nature of photosynthesis itself.
like an ethnic population that exists simultaneously over unconnected geographies.� The music of Photosynthesis runs on intricately propulsive drum rhythms, grounding basslines, and the simultaneously wistful and richly immersive contributions from the hammered dulcimer, an instrument which consists of a series of strings that are struck when performed. Otrebor handles the dulcimer, keyboards, and some vocals on the album. The album, which like all other Botanist music does not include a guitar, feels both staggeringly intense and invitingly breathable thanks to the elements like the earthy dulcimer tones and the album’s sometimes ethereal vocals. In a way, the music feels like it captures an experience of stepping out into a scene of richly vibrant nature—the sound’s thickness and propulsion relate to the magnanimity of the natural world, but there’s also a space for life itself. Photosynthesis seems beautifully melody-driven, not chaotic.
Photosynthesis was composed around the same time as Botanist’s 2019 album Ecosystem. Otrebor explains that the albums’ guiding lyrical principles “were both chosen for having simple, strong themes that could offer broad interpretations.� Those broad interpretations were partly meant to facilitate lyric writing from the PHOTO SIREN SEA MEDIA project’s then-singer Cynoxylon, but they “moved on from the band to start a family.� point, and in that time, environmental Otrebor explains that he himself finished “I'm a metal kid and have been obsessed awareness seems to have only grown—alwith metal my entire life,� Otrebor shares. though botanically focused, avant-garde writing the lyrics and tracking the vocals “Heavy metal, power metal, black metal, metal albums may still be a rarity. while on tour in Europe in 2017. death metal, doom metal, grindcore—these have always interested me, and I drew inspi- “I can't control what others will be aware of Photosynthesis offers a sonically powerful ration from them in wanting to pay tribute or what they focus on,� Otrebor shares. “Botjourney. to the hundreds of artists I was inspired by. I anist focuses on the beauty of the natural wanted to make my own page in the book of world and go so far as treating it as divinity. “‘Verdant alveolus diaspora’ is the lyric that heavy metal. In Botanist, I emotionally mar- I believe that the most tangible aspect of most singularly encapsulates the album's ry the aforementioned with my reverence romance,� Otrebor shares. “Forests are the divine we humans can be aware of is for the classical in both art and music.� seen as being the lungs of the world. Lungs through what exists in the natural world. are made up of alveoli, and these floral inBotanist are about a decade old at this “The aesthetics of Botanist are equally carnations are spread throughout the world
10 NEW NOISE
inspired by classical, botanical art and nomenclature as well as art and literature produced during the Romantic period. These aspects are channeled with a strong desire to pay tribute to all the music that has moved me through my life, lovingly taking various aspects of that immense library to suit the needs of the project. I'm so humbled by how many people have been inspired or assuaged by Botanist— how many have connected or re-connected with plants either in appreciation or application. I, in turn, am re-inspired by these accounts. Thank you all.â€? đ&#x;’Ł
