In a fast changing everyday life that we all experience, sometimes we keep wondering if there is a proper deal. From an artist’s side, many musicians have pointed out in their own way, but the one who made it to the utmost in my humble opinion is that great personality Mister Rob Miller. Of course many of us enjoy the musical talent of that super group called Amebix, but unfortunately they did split up.
Today we have the great pleasure to chat with Rob miller about his new band Tau cross… Simply amazing creations. I couldn’t imagine the extreme sound without his presence… It would be so boring.
Rob, thank you for giving us the opportunity to chat with you, it is a great honor for us. Tell us the latest news about Tau Cross!
At the moment we are working on a demo for a third album, the drums have been tracked so we now proceed to pull the guitars and vocals together from different parts of the World. The intention is to go into the Studio later this year, the first time for Tau Cross, hopefully it will make a lot of difference to the recording .
The band was formed if I am correct in 2013, right? How did this project come to life? Your collaborators have played in big bands (Voivod, War/Plaque), and a lot of people refer to you as a super group. What do you say about it?
The tag Super Group was used mainly as a way to draw attention to the band, I do not feel super, maybe Away is, as he has been playing full-time since the early 80’s, but I took 20 years off. We met online when I was trying to find musicians who would work with me, everyone else turned me down, so I guess I was not super after all.
Tell us some things about your latest album ‘A Pillar Of Fire‘ that was released in the summer of 2017… What is its thematology/concept and its musical style?
The Tau Cross’ style seems to be pretty original, we don’t stick to one style or genre, but there is still a heart in the music that beats through the various different textures, I am not able to be objective about my own work really, there are a few lyrical themes which I am interested in that tend to recur in our work. A lot of it is open to interpretation too.
How did the band’s name come about? Correct me if I’m wrong, is the symbol the same one that we see on the ‘Sonic Mass‘ cover of your previous band Amebix?
That is correct.that symbol seemed to present itself a lot in my subconscious over the past 20 years, and emerged fully with ‘Sonic Mass‘, so I took it as being very emblematic of my own particular journey, although there are several interpretations of the symbol I am treating it as a meditative device,to see what it tells me about itself, rather than a strictly religious interpretation of an ancient glyph.
Since I am aware that there is a considerable distance between the members of the band (Canada, United kingdom, U.S.A.), has this made it hard for you or contrariwise convinced you more to move on?
It has been very challenging, we don’t have much time or money, so it is difficult to travel to meet up and practice, to tour etc. It is not a very practical arrangement but these are the right people for the job, we have a particular chemistry that just seems to work very well. As I mentioned earlier, this will be our first studio album, and we have released two already, but made via file exchange due to necessity.
Do you feel more creative with Tau Cross than before?
Yes,this has allowed me a lot of space to just find music I want to make and express myself with,it is also good to be working with different people, this is the only other band I have played with since I was 16 years old.
Many big bands of extreme sound and many fans around the globe consider crust punk as a great influence not only musically but also as a way of life since that notorious ‘no gods no masters‘ slogan, I have seen it sprayed on many points of my city. Since you are one of the innovators, do you think crust punk has pushed the evolution of extreme metal?
That is difficult for me to comment on, as I retreated from music in around 1990, Amebix had failed the first time around and I simply did not listen to music for 20 years or take any interest, so I don’t know what happened to our legacy really, apart from a lot of people citing the band as an influence, likewise I know nothing about metal in that time either.
Do you think that music and rock, in general, metal or punk is a means to tackle and criticize all these bad things happening in the world with more courage? Especially vulnerable social groups?
Well, music has always been a media for political ideas and social critique, the question is really whether or not it has any actual effect on the issues,other than giving people a sense of a group they can belong to and ideals they can share. Music is certainly a soundtrack to life, the person can change as they grow, and likewise a musician may go through a lot of changes of perspective, particularly by my age ;).
To a more personal question now; After all those years of artistic career and as a person if Rob Miller believes more in this thing called “life”?
I have no choice, we are alive. as to whether or not that is a good thing, well it can be, it is certainly a miracle, but I do not subscribe to the religious theories, the Gnostics do appeal to me however, they seem to have had a more mythological yet scientific view of Life and the cosmos. I have enjoyed the experience of being alive very profoundly, I have also experienced pain and difficulty which can shut us off from that primal experience, so we do fluctuate between worlds.
In addition to your musical activities, I know that you are a sword manufacturer, which one is your favorite you have done so far? Beyond that do you, and the other band’s members have any other hobby or activity we should know of?
Well, Away (Michel Langevin) is an artist and also plays in around 5 bands I think ! I do enjoy the sword making, but it is really the creative side of things that attracts me, I think the creative person MUST create in one way or another, we have no choice, I have been lucky enough to make a living doing what I love, although I don’t think I would like to be a full time musician, that would be hard to maintain.
I have nothing else to add. Thank you for the time you dedicated to us, and feel free to close the interview as you want …
Thank you, I do hope that people continue to enjoy our output and hope to meet people along the way.
Michael Natsis