Crywolf sheds his pores and skin and turns into one thing stunning within the closing chapter of oblivion, ‘Exuvium’ [Interview]
Because the starting of the Crywolf challenge, the music has at all times expressed parts of introspection and self-discovery. Via the artist’s personal battles with psychological well being, the experiences and classes discovered all through their journey have been exhibited entrance and middle all through the music. On high of being a particularly proficient musician in his personal proper, the background additionally offers the music an exceedingly visceral and acquainted feeling.
That motif is nowhere extra salient than his newest album, exuvium [OBLIVION Pt. II], created following a interval of intense turmoil. The ache and grief within the music is sort of tangible, the highly effective melodies and lyrics seething by way of the audio system with intense fury.
When Crywolf launched Cataclasm in 2015, we included it in our checklist of Prime Albums of the 12 months and known as it an “album for the post-EDM period.” Not counting the 7-track Skeletons challenge launched in 2017, the two-part OBLIVION sequence has been his first return to the album format in virtually half a decade. Loads can change on the earth between then and now, most of which we most likely don’t must remind you of.
However that point was additionally a interval of intense private development and self-discovery for Crywolf himself.
Following the discharge of the album, we spoke with him concerning the album, the influences inside, and what the way forward for the Crywolf challenge appears like. Take heed to the album under and proceed scrolling for our interview.
So what was the distinction in your mentality between Widow, pre-pandemic and Exuvium popping out? You recognize, after this international trauma had been skilled for a 12 months and a half.
I truly wrote most of Exuvium earlier than the pandemic. I wrote it after I was dwelling in Bali. I moved again from Bali a couple of month earlier than the pandemic began. So most of those tracks had been written there. And so I wouldn’t say that the pandemic performed an enormous position within the substance of the album or the themes or something like that. However I do discover the juxtaposition of the 2 albums actually fascinating. As a result of principally the entire Oblivion sequence covers what was basically my darkish evening of the soul or my, you understand, like quarter life disaster. I feel lots of people undergo that close to the tip of their twenties.
Yep–
The place they’re kind of like questioning all of the buildings that they shaped over the course of the early components of their twenties and every little thing’s sort of beginning to lose its luster, they usually must make plenty of adjustments by way of how they deliberate their life. Profession clever, friendship clever, life-style clever issues like that.
This all sounds very acquainted.
Yeah, yeah. How previous are you now?
31.
Okay? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. After I began going by way of it, it felt like my life was ending. After which I lastly began speaking to individuals of their thirties and everybody was like, “Wait. How previous are you?” And I used to be like, 27. They’re like, “Oh, my god. After all you’re. That’s precisely what you have to be doing at this age.” And I’m like, I really feel like my life is over! It didn’t make it any higher, however I simply actually began to query plenty of the issues that I used to be doing with Crywolf. My life simply obtained so unsatisfying and that kind of set off this cascade, it actually triggered my preexisting bipolar dysfunction. And like my depressive and anxiousness signs obtained so crippling for, like fucking three years. And I wrote Widow kind of proper through the starting of all of that, after which I wrote Exuvium proper on the finish of it. So Widow is actually darkish, but it surely’s darkish in kind of this, like helpless, tragic manner. Form of simply being thrown round by the void and, you understand, swept up in nihilism and the meaninglessness of all of it.
After which Exuvium, I feel is kind of the right counterpart to it and ending half for that sequence as a result of it has the identical kind of themes, the identical kind of imagery, but it surely has a really completely different tone by which it approaches it. It’s sort of approaching all of it with rather more energy. It’s like going through that kind of inventive destruction that wanted to occur. However as a substitute of that inventive destruction being a tragedy prefer it was in Widow, as a substitute, it’s like the last word power, the factor that’s fueling you.
One of the issues I seen is there’s a rather more salient Latin and spiritual affect in Exuvium. After I was at your early-listening showcase, it was virtually like I used to be listening to a sermon at sure factors. The place did the place did that come from? Is there Is there any kind of imagery or metaphor to be gleaned from that kind of wild departure in theme.
Yeah, I imply, over the course of this complete course of, I actually began diving into the works of Carl Jung, the psychologist who coined the entire concept of the collective unconscious, shadow work, archetypes. And particularly with archetypes, basically the concept we have now these sort of advanced energies inside us, for lack of a greater time period, not like precise power, however simply kind of these patterns of psychological conduct and that it’s best for us to know these issues if we externalize them. As a result of plenty of occasions they virtually really feel like one thing separate from us, like falling in love or getting so indignant that you simply do one thing. If you happen to actually give it some thought, it looks like one thing else is controlling you, such as you’re not making the selections that you’d usually make, you’re sort of being influenced by one thing.
As human beings, it’s so much simpler to say, “Oh, I’m beneath the affect of Cupid or Aphrodite,” and it’s like, “Oh, properly, that is smart. That’s why you’re being that manner proper now.” Or, you understand, channeling Ares the god of struggle, after which, “Oh, that is smart. That’s why you’re so violent proper now.”
So, you understand, to me plenty of these non secular figures are kind of these archetypal position. They play these archetypal roles for us. Sometimes, I might keep away from any kind of like non secular or esoteric imagery with my stuff, as a result of I’ve been scarred by the church and customarily keep away from faith. However to me they’re kind of these highly effective symbols, particularly by way of just like the harmful archetypes.
The second observe on the album known as “Abbadon,” who is likely one of the demons of the Apocalypse. And there are many references to, such as you noticed, there’s plenty of references to that kind of factor on the album. However I feel it could be misguided for anybody to interpret that as an precise reference to the non secular beliefs of any of these. It’s rather more like that is a straightforward solution to discuss with a sure kind of power that’s so ineffable. It will take so lengthy to explain one thing absolutely. However but you’ll be able to discuss with a personality and that character embodies kind of the essence of what all that has to do with every little thing.
Completely, and the phrase Exuvium itself, I simply Googled it to make certain, means “one thing that’s solid off, such because the exoskeleton of an animal.” So is the is the album about kind of shedding that previous self and popping out one thing new, one thing wonderful and exquisite?
Yeah, undoubtedly. I imply, I feel the entire theme of OBLIVION is kind of confronting the void and the meaninglessness, basically attempting to make sense of it in some kind of manner. Every thing that I write, it’s at all times kind of a strategy of discovery for me. Normally I’m writing and I’m simply channeling no matter’s inside after which afterwards I’m it and I’m like, “Oh, my God, this isn’t solely describing precisely what’s occurring inside me,” however plenty of occasions it’s kind of like predicting the long run. I’ll write an album after which I received’t actually absolutely perceive that album till six months after I launch it, as a result of it’s speaking about issues that I’ve but to undergo. After I was writing Exuvium I used to be nonetheless in the midst of this loopy interval. I keep in mind after I wrote that music, which ended up being the title for the album, I didn’t truly know what Exuvium meant however I used to be simply going with these lyrics, and I simply put that phrase in there. Then I seemed it up later, and I used to be like, “Oh, sick.”
Yeah, it labored out.
Possibly it was similar to, you understand, buried someplace deep inside me, and I didn’t actually have acutely aware information of it. However yeah, it’s undoubtedly like that ending level the place you shed that remaining layer and kind of emerge from the from the like, darkish, spasmodic, painful womb of that specific kind of change.
A wordsmith certainly. [laughs] So that you talked about you understand that this album was completed earlier than the pandemic. Was the pandemic a part of the explanation why it wasn’t launched till now? Or such as you mentioned, did it take extra time so that you can absolutely perceive what the album meant to you, and also you wanted to sit down with it for a bit bit till you launched it out into the world?
I might like to blame it on the pandemic. That may undoubtedly be undoubtedly be a a lot simpler excuse, however in actuality, actually, I used to be simply fucking having a psychological breakdown for like two years. I had this era in Bali the place I used to be feeling higher, and I wrote a bunch of these items after which, a pair months later, simply was going by way of it once more. So there was like an entire 12 months there the place I simply couldn’t convey myself to work in any respect. And I used to be in despair on a regular basis. After which after which I truly ended up taking a 12 months lengthy sabbatical after that. So, the album was written in Bali, after which this 12 months I’ve lastly actually felt like reapproaching Crywolf. There’s truly a interval there the place I used to be contemplating not doing Crywolf anymore, as a result of it simply developed to the purpose the place it was creating a lot anguish in my life. However then this 12 months, I like actually rediscovered my relationship with music and determined to reapproach this album and knock it out, so many of the precise ending work has been performed this 12 months, whereas all of the writing was performed in Bali, all of the composition and stuff.
You talked about the opportunity of the Crywolf challenge itself not current after this. You had been in a position to overcome the psychological anguish and the problems and also you got here again, completed this album up, launched it. So what’s the plan now that it’s launched? Have you ever reignited your ardour sufficient that you understand there’s going to be extra music? Are you planning on possibly touring this album after which hanging up the towel? What’s kind of the long run plan now could be as far forward as you’ll be able to inform.
My relationship with Crywolf was sophisticated, but in addition my relationship with simply being a musician was sophisticated as a result of one of many issues that I used to be having a disaster about was the truth that I had, with out actually realizing it, devoted like 12 years of my life into this one trade. And you understand, I really like music. I’ll at all times create artwork. Rising up it was a giant a part of who I used to be, but it surely wasn’t all of who I used to be. I wasn’t a type of individuals who grew up being like, “I will likely be a musician or I’ll die.” You recognize, like that is the one factor I need to do? There’s numerous stuff that I need to do.
However my relationship with music itself, I really feel like was fully rejuvenated. I’m so into making extra music, and I’ve already been writing a bunch of recent stuff. My relationship with Crywolf is fairly good. I kind of made an settlement with myself that I might end this album, after which I might do yet one more tour. After which if I nonetheless wished to stop after that, then I might stop. Whether or not that appears like beginning a brand new challenge, whether or not that appears like taking a while off to pursue different issues, after which possibly reapproaching music later, I’m undecided. However I might say with this album’s reception and every little thing that’s gone into the album launch and the way a lot I’ve actually loved that once more the best way that I used to, I feel I’m fairly positive that I’ll proceed doing Crywolf. We’re planning this tour for April/Might and that’s going to be actually enjoyable. Simply because this album is so cinematic and so like epic, and, making the entire visible journey for that and constructing that complete tour out goes to be actually enjoyable.
Plus, it’s simply enjoyable that like… You recognize, with Widow? It took it took individuals like two years to actually get Widow. Um and I get–
Your music is a bit, I might say, mental.
Yeah, I imply, particularly that one as a result of it was it was so– It simply was not one thing that was made for individuals to love. I imply, I keep in mind recording Widow and I would love I might do 5 vocal takes and I might select the worst one attainable. I wished it to be dangerous as a result of that was sincere on the time, like I used to be a fucking mess, and I didn’t need to make music that sounded polished. I didn’t need to make music that was catchy or that drew individuals in. It was imagined to be ugly. And so it took individuals actually very long time to know Widow. Whereas with Exuvium there are already so many individuals which can be like, “That is my favourite album you’ve ever performed.” So touring with an album like that’s far more enjoyable than touring with an album that folks nonetheless have but to actually perceive.
You recognize, there’s 5 months in between releasing it and enjoying it out, and with an album like this, as quickly as I’m on tour, there’s gonna be tons of individuals like screaming the lyrics to each music. Whereas Widow I used to be not fairly as excited to tour with a bunch.
However now I’m simply imagining the gang like yelling out in Latin, similar to–
I hope so. In the event that they know all of the Latin that may be so sick.
I don’t know whether or not I would love really feel like intense like group and, like togetherness, or simply straight up worry at that second,
I hope kind of each. That may be an ideal mixture of emotions.