First off, I want to thank you Bryan for taking the time out to do this interview with me. I know your quite busy working on the following up to "Help a Body" which was just a fantastic debut and I cant gush over it enough. I guess we should start with how Westering came about and what the thought process was when you created this dark monster?
I started Westering in 2007 as an extension of an earlier project. I had recently moved here to Seattle from Phoenix and I didn't really know anybody, had a lot of free time on my hands, and had a lot of anxiety about everything. I really felt like the world was going to end, or I would be run over by a car, or whatever. I felt like everything I was doing musically was awful, so I started over with Westering.
Does the name mean anything in particular, how did the name come about?
Yeah, more or less. But I definitely encourage that it not be thought of as being a very strict meaning. I was just thinking of things westering; celestial bodies, ships out here on the pacific, etc.; and I was thinking of that being a metaphor for dying.
I know in private discussions you and I have talked about the influence of bands like The Ruins of Beverast. Ive seen reports that maybe Joy Division may be an influence so I was wondering what other influences does Westering share? I find it interesting because I am a big Project Pitchfork fan and they have a whole darkwave vibe which I can kind of see in your music.
I never really sat down and took an inventory of influences. The way I work, I really can't listen to anything too similar to what I'm doing because I want to avoid ripping another artist off, and in any case, the result is mostly a series of happy accidents so it would be pointless anyway. I think the record reflects a certain perennial interest of mine in big, dramatic, reverby music with guitars and synths. So whether that be The Chameleons, or Swans, or older Ruins of Beverast, I can't really include Westering in that tradition, but that was my intention anyway. I read books and watch movies too, that may be an influence. I live in a city, surrounded by forests, the weather here is rainy, etc.
I am personally very impressed with your work and yet find that there isnt quite the buzz yet about this record aside from those who have read my own writeups on the record. Is it maybe a little frustrating that there hasn't been more responses about it?
At times I'm a little frustrated. But by in large, I'm so focused on moving on from Help A Body that I don't particularly mind that no ones hearing it or writing about it. That being said, I do greatly appreciate what little has been written, yourself included. Part of the reason for the silence about the record may be that these songs are fairly old, and they reflect an approach to black metal that was maybe timely, or maybe even prescient when they were made, but by now may seem a bit tired to a lot of listeners. Help A Body may be riding the backlash against shoegazey black metal. Which is fine. I never intended it for a particular type of listener, the songs are there, so hopefully that gets noticed.
Although I share a love for many bands, genres, etc. I have a huge admiration for solo musicians who can create entire albums basically by themselves (Trent Reznor, Devin Townsend, VLE, Sig:Ar:Tyr, etc). Although im sure you get guest musicians to help out it would seem that the brainchild is primarily your own vision correct?
I did everything on the record. I'm not a great drummer, so I programmed those. But I played every instrument.
How long have you been a musician? Is this something you just woke up one day and decided to be or did you know from a young age what your passion was?
Well, I wouldn't really call myself a musician. At some point, years ago, I decided I wanted to make music, but I was surrounded by truly talented musicians. I was too intimidated to try out for bands or expose my interest in making music, so for years I made songs and never showed them to anybody.
As I kind of previously stated ive been a huge rock/metal fan for years and im aware of the scene that Washington has with bands like Alice n Chains, Soundgarden, Nevermore, and most recently Wolves in the Throne Room. Is there a serious black metal fanbase in WA or is it still primarily a small core group as the state isnt really know for its black metal prowress?
There's fairly large interest in black metal here in Washington. There are quite a few black metal bands, or black metal related bands, but maybe not as much as in Oregon. Interest here tends to fall into two camps, and I identify with neither of them.
One of the great things I love about "Help a Body" is how it flows so perfectly together in sound and atmosphere but I was wondering if there is a deeper concept to the album in terms of lyrical content? Where does the inspiration come from?
I would say yes, but again I would caution against a strict interpretation. In the end, all I can say is that Help A Body is about the struggle against the gravity of our own inner capacity. The fight against our innate limitations. Our DNA I suppose. But while making We Buried Him Preciously, for instance, I was thinking a lot about the animator Richard Williams, who was unable to finish a film he'd been working on for decades, which is a horribly depressing idea to me. So that's not the same thing exactly, but maybe not all that different. And maybe it fits loosely with the currents that run through the other songs.
Another thing that is highly impressive here is the production and mix of this album. For me personally, I have a pet peeve when it comes to black metal in general regarding production. Im not a huge fan of the rawness or demo-esque feel that you often find in the traditional black metal recordings. You have come out and given it a polished and clean sound yet you don't lose any of the cold raw atmosphere or musical integrity on this record while doing so. Was that the intention or just how it ended up turning out?
I really dislike the demo sound you mentioned. I hate that stuff. I don't understand it. As soon as I hear white noise, in the red, guitars, or a 'practice space' sound to the drums, I completely check out. That stuff seems to be everywhere these days too. Like I alluded to earlier, a lot of the production was the result of happy accidents. The guitars, for instance, sound the way they do because I was trying to obfuscate the sound by running it through different near-broken processors and shitty amps. I recorded four tracks of some guitar part, layered them, and listened back and liked the result. It was a fairly random process. I don't particularly agree with lofi-as-an-aesthetic approaches to making music, though I have to admit that my taste often tends toward lofi or necro records. But when it's a process, a 'necrotizing' process, it feels a little dishonest to me. There was a push/pull in this regard while making the record. I needed to do some obscuring with the use of reverb and layered distortion, etc., but I didn't want to use those tools as a crutch. Apparently my ear errs on the side of a slightly clearer sound than is often exhibited by the world of one man black metal bands. I'm using very shitty equipment mind you. There's no reason for people out there with fancy computer programs to be making crap, 'raw' records just so they can release 6 albums a year.
Do you have any favorite tracks on "Help a Body" ?
I'm still fond of We Buried Him Preciously and To Lurch And Fall.
Now being that Westering is basically a one man project do you perform live or can you do it live?
I'm in the early stages of trying to put a live act together for Westering. It's hard. I don't want to half ass it. Obviously, a lot of one man projects end up as a guy with a guitar and a drum machine. I would never do it that way. The new songs have a lot of sequenced stuff so I'm trying to figure out how that would work with one or possibly two drummers, as would be my preference.
Now, I know your working on a new record so how is that coming along? Last I saw you had at least 3-4 new songs that were still in the early stages yet.
The follow-up record is all done except vocals, which I may do in a friends studio. We'll see. But it has ten tracks.
Is the plan on the new record to be a continuation of "Help a Body" or are you going to try different things with the new one? And do you have a working album title yet?
It'll be very different from Help A Body. I would say it's a somewhat cleaner and much more dynamic record. Less claustrophobic. Agoraphobic maybe. No title yet.
Is Westering the only project you have or are you involved with any other musical endeavors at this present time?
I have one other project at this time, but I'm getting some help in the vocal department, so until that's done I'm keeping it under wraps.
Well Bryan, I want to thank you for taking the time to sit down and do this with me. Again, I love this debut and look very forward to future releases from this project. I definitely wish you luck and look forward to speaking too you again. So im going to give you the last word here to speak your mind and tell the fans whatever you wish.
Well, I just want to thank you Anubis for this forum. Cheers to everybody.
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