Ritual Howls Interview
Ritual Howls
Detroit three piece Ritual Howls mould an array of dark influences and come out sounding uniquely morbid, raw and unyielding. Collaboratively, the trio create a surreal, introspective gloom. A band very much in stellar form, Ritual Howls continues to enthral and develop with an intriguing level of aptitude… We talk to Paul Bancell about combining influences, the impetus of film and being intrigued by the horrific yet triumphant nature of people…
TSH: Over the course of two fine albums, how do you feel the band dynamic has progressed?
Paul: Hey thanks for the kind words, we're glad you like the records! Well, we're much closer now than when we started. We've spent two days a week for the past three years hanging out, developing ideas, making music and art. We are much more in tune with how one another works creatively. Our philosophy to music hasn't changed much. I think we've always just made what we like listening to.
TSH: With the most recent album ‘Turkish Leather’, there's a notable transition in instrumentation with regards to the layers of fuzz bass, ominous riffs, and mechanical beats – what kind of focus did you place on incorporating new devised sounds?
Paul: We spent a lot of time developing the songs and experimenting with sounds in rehearsal; live drums, loops, delays, Ben using his bass as more of a percussive and textual instrument. Chris also spent a ton of time tweaking and sequencing samples.
TSH: Furthermore, with ‘Turkish Leather’, how fulfilling was it that the band collectively wrote and arranged the songs to result in a more unified sound?
Paul: It was a journey. It felt good to stumble upon a "sound" for that record. We all come from different musical backgrounds: industrial/noise, country/twang rock, experimental jazz. I think it was a surprise that we found a way to combine our influences.
TSH: How much of your output do you feel is a delicate balance between catering to a great production and also doing a song justice?
Paul: We always just focus on making what we would want to listen to. We are all into lo-fi, minimal, blown-out tape shit, in addition to super produced records. Personally, I think the song exists separate from the level of production. It's just a matter of the medium. We've recorded the same song for a friend's tape label; super minimal cassette four-track, as well as recording studio versions with multiple guitar and synth layers. They both sound killer, it's just a different vibe.
TSH: Let’s talk about the album. Firstly, the stellar opener ‘Zemmoa’ – it’s such a well-layered and intense track. What ideas and methods would you say were imperative for the forming of this song?
Paul: Sonically, the drums are the most important aspect. The drum samples are pretty unique to the record and probably our most "danceable". It's really just a party song, about a boy obsessed with a girl at a show; so we wanted to make it up-tempo and hit hard. Chris spent a lot of time getting the drums to sound right. The drone/chant thing I pulled off of a television at some cheap motel in Florida. It's a bunch of young nuns reciting the rosary, layered with a ton of delay. I'd just been to a funeral, and I could hear people fucking in the room next to me. I thought it was a creepy moment so I pulled out my phone and recorded the TV!
TSH: Also, ‘No Witnesses’– what does the song’s overall feel convey to you personally?
Paul: It's an homage to the devil in us all. I love how people talk all high and mighty about their moral structure; looking down on others, and expressing disgust at those labelled as degenerates or criminals. But then when they're alone, or in their mind, their just as fucked up as everyone else! I used to work at this restaurant with a guy who did time for selling guns or something. He was talking one day about a bunch of kids who were fucking with him and wanted him to fight. He said, "I don't fight people with all of their friends around. I just wait till their alone. Maybe some night when they get off work, I'll be waiting for them and they'll just disappear." I was like, "holy shit! I gotta write a song about that’’. I firmly believe we all have both the kindest, most compassionate spirit in us, as well as the sickest demon. So who's to say what cards people get dealt? What fucked up shit might impair one's ability for self-restraint? I've definitely felt like making someone "disappear" before, just been lucky enough to not have acted on it. But who knows?
TSH: Tell us more about sequencing and ending the album with ‘I’d Rather Not’…
Paul: Honestly that track was difficult. It didn't go on the vinyl because there really wasn’t room, so we added it to the CD. We wanted people to enjoy the song but couldn't figure out where it should go. I think it got added to the end of the download for the "bonus track". Sequencing the rest of the album came pretty easy. The eight tracks we're the strongest and fit on the record without compromising fidelity. We tried a few different sequences and stuck with the one that sounded best.
TSH: Was there anything that you read, watched or heard the crept its way into your production for this album?
Paul: Yeah, we're all super film buffs so I think a lot of movies made their way in. At the time I think we were watching stuff like: Hellraiser, Paris Texas, a bunch of Tarchovsky shit like Stalker and Andrei Rublev, and anything Orson Welles. The original title for Final Service was ‘Turin Horse’, named after the movie by Bela Tarr. I think I was reading ‘Growth of the Soil and A Heart so White’ at the time. The opening suicide scene in that book messed me up pretty good.
TSH: At what point in the process do you realise what you’re going to do vocally with the sounds that are being formulated?
Paul: The lyrics come first. After writing and editing them we see where they fit, and then write melodies accordingly. If we are working on a song in rehearsal that I don't have lyrics for, I'll sometimes sing random phrases to get an idea for a melody. But I try to have the lyrics done first, so that we don't alter the words to fit a song.
TSH: When combining field recordings with electronics, what sort of impetus and direction commonly gives you the desired result?
Paul: We have a lot of different kinds of samples. I guess field recordings would be one, such as the intro to ‘Zemmoa’. Most of the samples are percussive, and are sequenced in the drums. Chris will record kick drums, snares or any other sound he likes and manipulate it so that it fits within the sequence. He'll add effects and a lot of triggering or arpeggiation with MIDI. MIDI is a big part of combining the drum samples, field recordings, loops, film samples, etc.
TSH: You’ve also touched upon having a ‘bizarre level of functionality’ in your group, including not really having issues anymore – how do you feel this development came into play?
Paul: I think because we started Ritual Howls without a big plan, or crazy expectations, it's helped the band evolve into whatever we each want it to be. The three of us are pretty laid back and grounded in our art. We don't have big, ego driven arguments. No one is really trying to prove anything to anyone. I think we come from a place of mutual respect and admiration for one another's art. If we didn't genuinely want to collaborate and learn from one another, things would fall apart quick. We also have a lot of other shit going on: other projects, work, and family. So we live our lives, and come together to contribute to Ritual Howls. I think it's all about not flaking on shit, and respect.
TSH: Talk us through another Ritual Howls feature with yourself gathering a collection of ideas from books and films and then elaborating on the ideas to fit the songs personality… How this features?
Paul: We think the next project, after the current album we're working on, will hopefully be a film. We want to continue to make records and play live, but also want to expand into making movies. Chris has a few art films under his belt, and we've spent some time developing ideas for a screenplay. We'll have to see. Lyrically, for the current record, I'd like to expand on some idea's I have surrounding the murders at the Taliesin house. We recently recorded a song for a split tape with a friend of ours who goes by Marital Vows. The song is titled Julie C, after Julian Carlton. The story is bizarre, and tragic. It just pulls you in.
TSH: How key is the notion of balancing all elements that are important to you, so they can feed each other?
Paul: If I can keep a balance of things: art, family, friends, intellectual and physical pleasure. Then I can enjoy and focus on each one, and be present. If things get too out of balance, I end up extremely frustrated and depressed. Balancing all the elements of a song is crucial! It really determines the power of a work. If it's too busy, or different elements are fighting to be heard it can be annoying, unless of course, that is the intended effect. If the song is sparse, and the sounds lack anything sonically interesting, a piece can fall flat on its face. As a collective, we seem to have found a way to find this balance intuitively.
TSH: For future work, have you discussed the possibility of integrating non-conventional methods?
Paul: I don't know? We've discussed adding more acoustic percussive sounds to our live set. We bought a bunch of contact microphones that you can stick to practically anything and amplify. We'd like to maybe amplify some crazy industrial equipment or something. But Faust was doing that like 50 years ago, so I'm pretty sure that would be considered conventional.
TSH: Performing live, what sort of motivations/atmosphere do you feel is important for your live shows?
Paul: Unless there is someone cool running lights, like the show we played last year at Nothing Changes, we usually ask for the lights to be turned off and we'll setup a projector or something. Since we use a drum machine, a big part of our show depends on the PA. We try to prepare and bring more amps if we know the sound is going to be shitty, but if the PA is good and the subs are hitting hard, we really don't have to do anything. Just turn off the lights and play. The songs create the atmosphere for us. If the sound system sucks we have to improvise. We want people to get something, some kind of experience, either introspective/spiritual or just raw entertainment that fuels a goodtime, whatever comes to them.
TSH: Speaking of performing live, what can you tell us about your experiences of playing the UFO Factory on New Year’s Eve?
Paul: That show was a really great time! The UFO is such an amazing space. It's one of the few newer Detroit venues that has a real desire to throw great shows, and be a space for the bands to do their thing. Dion and the rest of the UFO crew have been doing cool shit here for a while, and I think their venue is going to be a destination for a lot of bands on tour. That New Year's show was fun. The place was packed, the PA sounded great - we just had to show up.
TSH: What do you feel defines the Ritual Howls ethos as you progress further?
Paul: We always want to make our best work, and enjoy what we are doing. At the moment we are constantly intrigued with dark imagery, and the horrific yet triumphant nature of people. Who knows what will strike our curiosity in the future. We plan on continuing to make music with beats you can feel in your chest, melodies that make you feel like you're on drugs, and lyrics that give comfort to those who feel they're the only person on earth who thinks fucked up thoughts.
Ritual Howls - “Zemmoa”
Turkish Leather
