Having brought forth a catalogue of more than 70 releases in less than ten years CROWHURST definitely stands as one of the most productive projects in the American black metal and noise scene. After handling the releases all on its own, the band finally released their latest record „III“ through Prophecy Productions – a worthy occasion for an interview with mastermind Jay Gambit who, among other things, explained to us how he managed to create that much music over such a short period of time, why he wouldn’t rule out any genre of music in advance and which alleged facts about the band should be questioned more thoroughly.
From noise to black metal and sludge to post-rock, you’ve already embraced a lot of different styles in CROWHURST. Are there even genres that you would never get in touch with?
Genre is fluid, so probably not. I think it’s important to understand that musical styles live on a spectrum. There’s a gradient, and I feel as though that gradient is what makes it so there probably aren’t any genres that we wouldn’t touch. It’s as though there aren’t any lines between where one stylistic pattern begins and another ends, which is why we don’t really limit ourselves.
As fundamentally different as your songs are, it’s hard to tell as a listener how your songwriting usually works. So, what makes a piece of music coherent in your opinion?
If it resonates emotionally, that’s all I really care about. Hearing a composition and feeling it is what matters to me. I want it to evoke a reaction and if it does that I’m happy. Our music should be about the atmosphere that compliments your feelings in my opinion.
With CROWHURST you have created over 70 releases, at least 30 of which are full-length albums. How did you manage to create such an insanely big output?
Unemployment and mental illness are the two keys to my relentless output. I didn’t have a job which allowed me free time. There’s various neurosis I feel that I want to explore. I think that’s how I managed to create such an “insanely big output”.
Were there times between all these releases when you felt like your creativity was exhausted?
I’m exhausted all the time creatively, but I am inspired by my peers and collaborators enough to make up for it. Obviously working on music consistently can drain you but there are enough people I am surrounded by that I feel a spark fairly consistently.
Looking back, are you still completely satisfied with all your releases or would you decide not to release some of them if you had the choice today?
I don’t listen to my old releases but I suppose my first ones were worse than the others. Revisiting old compositions is something I try not to do.
Some of your album titles are directed towards other musicians and not in a flattering way, for example „Fuck You Morrissey“ or „Fuck You Dave Grohl“. What’s that all about?
It’s just what we feel most passionate about.
Has any of those artists ever heard of that and reacted to it?
I suppose you’d need to ask them. I don’t think so. I don’t have direct contact with Morrissey, nor do I know Dave Grohl personally. I’ve never met Bono or any of the Beatles. Not even Ringo.
In the last few years you became a bit more moderate about your release workload and you turned CROWHURST into a full band. How did this come about?
It’s always been a full band even when it’s just me. The structure is the only thing that’s changed. I feel as though the definition of a “full band” is individual. The way the songs have been laid out have changed and I think that’s a big part of the mainstream interpretation of the group but even the smallest amount of research would show that we have been performing as a unit in one way or another since 2013. I think it’s easier for people to reduce it down, but I find it insulting to myself and every talented artist I’ve been fortunate enough to work with to categorize things in such a simplistic fashion.
With your current album „III“ you have completed a trilogy. What did this trilogy begin with?
The album ‘Crowhurst’ in 2015. It’s that album that we called “I” because it was the first in the trilogy. The official title is ‘Crowhurst’ though. I feel like this may be somewhat confusing if you actively divorce it from context. I don’t care though, I am entirely unconcerned with guiding people towards figuring that stuff out unless it’s presented as an obligation.
What connects the three albums of the trilogy?
Thematically they’re all about being taken advantage of, deceived and carried into a living hell where every day’s pleasures are tied to the crushing weight of silent manipulation and marginalization.
You also created a music video for the track „Ghost Tropic“. What was it that appealed to you about visualizing this particular song?
We love the song and we love Jane so it just made sense. That was our favorite song on the new album. Andy and I felt that it was the strongest track on the record and we wanted to introduce the world to this album with that song. That was the first thing we wanted people to hear after all of the anticipation for the record, and after two years of constantly building it up with the clear and distinct artistic vision of leading people to this album that means so much to us artistically and personally we managed to at least have it as our second single.
As far as I know, some songs on the album are inspired by „Natural Born Killers“ and „The Twilight Zone“. In which way do these influences manifest themselves in the course of the album?
There’s a lot of misreporting about what the album is inspired by. I’m personally inspired by those NBK as an artist but I said that once in an interview and I think people ran with it. It has a lot of cuts and fits into different categories I guess. People tend to read snippets of an interview and take what they want from it. The more you say, the easier it is for someone to twist your words to fit their narrative so often things like this get blown up. It’s a shame that people can be so lazy.
Renowned artists like Tony Wakeford, Ethan Lee Mccarthy and Tara Vanflower contributed to „III“ as guest musicians. How did this collaboration come about?
I sent them emails and they replied. I am very fortunate.
What are your next plans for CROWHURST?
I don’t know. That’s the beauty of it. Not knowing the future is the essence of this project. The absence of plans is what makes things wonderful. We don’t place rules upon ourselves so there are no limits to what we can do. Plans often fall apart so we don’t make them, and instead we embrace the unknown.
Finally I would like to do a short brainstorming with you. What comes to your mind first while reading the following terms?
Music genres: fluid
Split EPs: ignored
Art: everything
DIY culture: essential
CROWHURST in five years: ???
Thank you again for lending us your time. Are there any last words you’d like to address to the readers?
You know they say that all men are created equal, but you look at me and you look at Samoa Joe and you can see that statement is not true. See, normally if you go one on one with another wrestler, you got a 50/50 chance of winning. But I’m a genetic freak and I’m not normal! So you got a 25%, AT BEST, at beat me. Then you add Kurt Angle to the mix, your chances of winning drastic go down. See the 3 way at Sacrifice, you got a 33 1/3 chance of winning, but I, I got a 66 and 2/3 chance of winning, because Kurt Angle KNOWS he can’t beat me and he’s not even gonna try!
So Samoa Joe, you take your 33 1/3 chance, minus my 25% chance and you got an 8 1/3 chance of winning at Sacrifice. But then you take my 75% chance of winning, if we was to go one on one, and then add 66 2/3 per cents, I got 141 2/3 chance of winning at Sacrifice. See Joe, the numbers don’t lie, and they spell disaster for you at Sacrifice.
19. Juni 2019 Stephan Rajchl
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