Muet is the sound of American Noir. Sonically defiant art Rock sung under the shadow of a long brim hat. Deliberate dissonance and heartbreaking melody are stitched together beneath sodium light with tales of the tragic, the romantic, and the bizarre. The band features Steven Seibold, Daniel Evans and Vince Mcaley, of various Post-Industrial bands Hate Dept, Pigface, Chemlab, and Die Warzau. Based out of Chicago, the trio is set to release their debut eponymous full-length album on Metropolis Records. Dark Beauty spoke with Daniel Evans to find out more…
Interview Meikee Magnetic
Where were you born and where are you now?
I was born about 30 miles east of San Francisco and have lived in Chicago for 15 some years now. Vince is a native Chicagoan and Steven lives in rural Indiana but hails from upstate New York.
How did you start the project and what was the method of songwriting?
We did this project entirely remotely via file sharing. Vince and I would record bits of music and send it to Steven and he would sing and lob it back to us. We did the whole thing piece by piece like that.
Who are you as artists and how long was the road to get to where you are today?
We’re all pretty classic rock n’ roll floozies. Each of us has played music our whole lives and in many, many different projects of varying styles with varying success. However, Muet’s coming together was rooted in industrial music. We met playing in bands at the first Cold Waves Festival, celebrating the life of our friend Jamie Duffy. We kept in contact and toyed with the idea of doing a project together. Something organic without any programming or sequencers. I had been writing a bit more of this dissonant textured stuff during that time. Vince and I have played in at least 5 different bands together, so we gel very well. We recorded a few rough musical ideas and sent them to Steven with no real expectations. He responded with ideas in a matter of days and it just kept growing from this idea of being a simple, straight forward, angular 3 or 4 song burst, into the 11 track aberration it is.
Who are the band members and what are their roles?
Steven Seibold is the vocalist and outside of singing, he plays some organ and made a bit of guitar noise. The drums are courtesy of Vince McAley, and I play all the guitar and bass, except ‘On2u’, where Mike Love plays the bass. Vince and I worked on the noise drone pieces together. He made a feature length film at one point and created an entire soundtrack that he didn’t use. We reconstituted some of those into the ambient parts of the record.
Are you excited about you debut full-length album release?
I believe excited would be an understatement. There was a romance that came with working on this project via mail, without ever really being in the same room all at the same time. You never knew where the idea you sent off was going to lead the other, or down what path their returned idea or augmentation would lead you. We took our time as we all had other projects and shows to play with other bands. We’re thrilled with how it came together and are curious how it is going to be received.
Tell us about your song ‘Muscle’ and the meaning behind it:
Muscle is a tortured poem about vulnerability. Quite literally offering yourself up on a platter. I always envisioned the ‘Muscle,’ as a heart. When you love someone enough to allow that love to destroy everything.
What can people expect to see during a live performance?
A low lit, timeless visual aesthetic coupled with a dynamic, cathartic auditory experience. Uncalculated responses to ourselves and those who would be watching. We’ve never played a show together as a band, and the only time we’ve ever played all together at the same time was when we recorded the music video for our song ‘Muscle.’ Though we’ve all played many shows, every configuration is different and you never know what surprises can occur when all the cogs are turning.
Future plans:
We’re plotting to release more visual content in the shape of video and photo to accompany our album release. We have a loose mystique we’ve written around the project that we’re excited to explore more deeply and share. We’re currently planning shows to support the release and always working on new music.
What does Dark Beauty mean to you?
The very words Dark Beauty suit us well. We’re drawn to the shadows cast by great luminosity setting out to create something cold, but yet organic and compelling. We’ve found great company in Dark Beauty. It seems we have similar goals in wanting to convey a message or image that can transfix and unsettle simultaneously.
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/muetband
