Tribes Of Medusa is not the typical husband/wife ‘cluster’. Formed in 2009, in Brooklyn, the couple has been creating dystopian, industrial dark ambient soundscapes. ‘John & Yoko of U.S. industrial dark-ambient’ were thrifty and willing enough, to answer the following questions from music to the forthcoming U.S. elections…
So guys, tell us the latest news regarding Tribes Of Medusa.
We just released an EP, ‘Lunaris’, as a free download. We hope everyone enjoys it. We are working on a new EP that we hope to release early next year that will incorporate some different sounds that we have not explored before.
Recently you aired the stunning ‘Betrayal’ official video. Could you share a few words about this? How did the collaboration with Dominic F. Marceau come about?
We have known Dom for a few years and like his artistic vision with videos he creates. He has always supported Tribes Of Medusa so it seemed natural to work with him on this video. We are beyond pleased how it turned out.
Why did you choose to release ‘Lunaris’ EP, as a free digital download on bandcamp?
We were inspired by the dark moon at the time and wanted to share this release with as many people as possible.
Copying this text from your bandcamp page: ‘Runorna was created in late summer, early autumn 2015. The intent was to make a ritual ambient album that could be used as a vehicle for meditation, spellwork, etc.’ What’s the feedback about ‘Runorna’? Is your fanbase satisfied with this one?
The feedback has been great! It brought us quite a few more fans from all over the world. We did hear that some people wished the songs were longer, which is nice but we intended them to be a auditory overview of the Elder Futhark runes.
From your debut self-titled EP, till today, in what way do you think the ToM’s sound has progressed?
We have gotten more layered in some songs and more minimal in others. We have always wanted to have fluid dynamic in our music and not write the same album repeatedly. Our fans deserve a different experience with each release in our opinion.
How’s living and creating music with your wife/husband? In addition, apart from ToM are you involved in any other music projects?
it is just an extension of our relationship, we both love music and to create music of our own. Aside from remixes or collaborations we do not have any other music projects, ToM is always going to be evolving so there is no need for side projects.
Which other acts, no matter the genre, would you recommend to our readers from your hometown Brooklyn?
This is actually tough to answer because we don’t really go out to local shows. So in all honesty your readers could probably recommend bands from Brooklyn to us haha.
Do you believe that dark ambient can be better appreciated as a home-listening experience than a live one? Do you believe that a laptop and a projector can ‘fill the gap’ of the actual live performance?
Yes we do actually. While we appreciate hearing dark ambient acts live we can see how it loses something when the focus is not on what the listener is envisioning. Now there are some acts that use a laptop and projector and can create the haunting ambience; Svartsinn is one that comes to mind.
A tricky one! On November 8th US elections. Clinton Vs Trump? What’s your opinion? Is the artists’ community happy with these candidates for the U.S. Presidency?
It’s a shit show. Neither candidate is worth supporting . This country needs change and without options of better leaders there is little hope for that. The revolutionary spirit of this country seems to be missing and therefore inspiration for artists is very low.
Last one! What are you planning for the months to come?
As we said next year keep a look out for a new EP. We want to experiment more with structure and instruments in a way we haven’t before. We are excited to see how it will come together and hope our fans will like it.
Photo credits: Francine Grillo (1st one), Nisi jacobs (2nd one)
Christos Doukakis