2024 Retro – INSECT ARK

"We are a drop of light
Burn another night
That body′s still swaying" ('Youth Body Swayed')

As part of our ongoing retrospective series, we now spotlight the June 2024 release of "Raw Blood Singing", the singular new album from INSECT ARK which traverses the boundaries of avant-Metal, psych-Doom, and experimental Goth. We also invite you to revisit our previous instalments on the latest albums from WAIDELOTTE, PESTILENGTH, and SELBST.

"For the first time, we can hear Schechter shifting the avant elements from structures to textures, embracing a simplified, more melodic and unencumbered, even pop-like aesthetic in her songwriting, which she then lets flow through crushingly heavy forms and layers of intricate instrumentation. The ultimate effect is thoroughly intoxicating…" (PopMatters)

"Raw Blood Singing", the fourth full-length from INSECT ARK, emerged after a year of intense creative exploration. Fuelled by a shared drive for innovation and refinement, the duo of Dana Schechter (SWANS) and Tim Wyskida (KHANATE) crafted a sonic universe that oscillates between overwhelming intensity and desolate isolation. Initially composed by Schechter in solitude during 2021, many tracks underwent a transformative process of deconstruction and reinvention when Wyskida joined in 2022.

Schechter discussed the songwriting process in an interview with ChaosControl:

"The songs started as my demos, very detailed with layers of synths, lap steel, bass, and electronic drums. That's pretty much the way it's always started. The songs were instrumental, with no intention to change. Tim had interesting insights into defining and honing in on the top-shelf ideas. We worked on the songs every day for a year in our Berlin studio, very focused; we made a lot of demos. Some songs had multiple approaches. Eventually, we felt satisfied that the material had been pushed as far as it could go.

This album, as a follow-up to 2020's "The Vanishing," was planned to have Andy Patterson on drums again, but Andy felt that a long-distance project (during Covid) wasn't really working for him. I had already decided to stay in Berlin after getting stuck here. I wanted to start working on a new album…. Tim and I were friends for some years back in NYC, and he decided to relocate to Berlin, so it was a natural pairing. When we started playing together, to both of our surprise, we discovered a very natural rapport. It became clear that a writing collaboration would yield unforeseen but welcome new results. That was super exciting. We're both obsessed with capturing those delicate juxtapositions between minimalist power, strong melody, texture and dissonance, and so on. I'm not so interested in authoring things alone anymore, so the new blood was most welcome. Tim and I both wanted to make music that forged its own unique path, and everything aligned. It felt organic."

Musically, the album defies genre labels, residing at the crossroads of avant-Metal, psych-Doom, and experimental Goth. INSECT ARK weaves soundscapes both sprawling and oppressive, shifting seamlessly from subtle synth nuances to a thunderous crescendo of noise – bolstered by the addition of Schechter's vocals on an INSECT ARK record for the first-time. Exploring themes of evolution and the interplay between the visible, tangible world and the unseen forces that shape it, the album's atmospheric essence is not only captured vividly in its lyrics but also via the cover art, created by Chris Friel.

As Dana explained in an interview with Vampster.com, the visuals align perfectly with the album's intricate narrative:

"Chris Friel is a master of mystery and shadows, and his images are very impressive. I like that you can't really assign them to a physical space. The cover is actually a combination of two of his images that I put together; the roots were originally trees in another photo. I love playing with the reconstruction of images, and I liked the idea that the underground part provides a rare glimpse into what is happening and growing beneath the surface. It's a bit like an allegory for the mystery of what happens outside the field of vision, under the shadows of the external."

Listen to the full album below, on our YouTube channel and via all streaming platforms:

As 2024 reaches an end, Dana takes a moment to look back on the year gone by, offering insights into the band's upcoming plans for 2025 and revealing her favourite album of the past year:

"2024 felt like a big year in the band's evolution; after 10 years we shed our skin as an instrumental duo with the release of "Raw Blood Singing". I started singing again after more than 10 years off. In summer we started performing as a trio, with myself on vocals/bass, Tim on drums/electronics, and our friend/comrade Lynn Wright on lap steel and guitars. It felt amazing to set this music free, and while the band is at our core still a duo, the experience of re-adaptation as a trio has been rewarding and illuminating, both personally and musically, and will inform what's coming next. With 2025 in view, we're writing new music now, and excited for several planned 2025 tours and festivals in Europe, UK, and North America.

My personal favourite album of 2024 was ORANSSI PAZUZU's "Muuntautuja." Their personal brand of shape-shifting dynamics, noise, groove, melody, and chaos is so damn exciting. I feel the hairs on my arms stand out when listening...I love their fearlessness, as writers and performers and recording artists. Muuntautuja feels like a clearly realized jewel of absolute intention. Pure gold."