{"id":36586,"date":"2021-10-20T18:05:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T16:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/?p=36586"},"modified":"2021-10-20T18:40:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T16:40:05","slug":"interview-thief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/en\/interview-thief\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Thief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thief emerged from the shadows in 2016 with his evocative, unorthodox sound that summoned up delirious journeys through Carcosa and the Asphodel Meadows, experiences unnerving enough to bring even the most level-headed listener down to their knees\u2013all of which raised the question: what is this artist\u2019s modus operandi? El Garaje de Frank met with Los Angeles-based Dylan Neal on Zoom to talk through his new album The 16 Deaths of My Master<\/em>, dark arts of sampling, Joseba Eskubi\u2019s paintings, evolution of vocal cords, victim mentality, and suffering in life. \u201cTime to buckle your seat belt, Dorothy, cause Kansas is going bye-bye\u2026\u201d \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Pictures: Milana Burdette<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/strong>Thief\u2019s Facebook page has a brilliant photo of you as a teenager where you are proudly wearing Suffocation T-shirt. What did metal mean to you?<\/strong> \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013A lot of people talk about having a crystallising moment when they realised something was for them. I definitely had that with extreme metal and death metal and bands like Suffocation<\/strong>, Death<\/strong>, Cryptopsy<\/strong>, Cephalic Carnage<\/strong>. There is something about the ferocity and power of it. It\u2019s just so foreign and extreme, you know, always having goosebumps, listening the same 30 seconds of maybe a particular track over and over and over cause it was sooo awesome… So, I became really identified as a hardcore metalhead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014So, it was a real visceral feeling that you got from the music.<\/strong> \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Oh, yeah \u2026 uncontrollable feeling of needing to spaz out while I\u2019m listening [demonstrates this by thrashing around in his chair] Even just sitting alone in my room. Looking back, I get religious dancing now. Like being overcome by the spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You grew up listening Bj\u00f6rk, Massive Attack, Ulver, and Aphex Twin as well as Sacred, Gregorian, and Orthodox chant music. I get the first four but the last three\u2014let\u2019s face it\u2014it\u2019s not something you find in every teenager\u2019s record collection. How did you get your hands on that stuff?<\/strong> \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I believe the first time I was using some filesharing service, I don\u2019t remember whether it was Kazaa or Limewire or Soulseek. I was just poking around, and I saw MP3 called Dark Evil Estonian Chant Music<\/em>. I clicked on it, and it was Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/strong>\u2019s \u2026 shit, how do you say it\u2026? I\u2019m gonna Google that real quick [types the title and gives the pronunciation best shot]<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Kanon Pokajanen, yeah.<\/strong> \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Oh, do you speak Estonian? \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No, no, it\u2019s just very close to Finnish, which is where I\u2019m from. Anyway, it turned out the evil choral music was Arvo P\u00e4rt.<\/strong> \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Yeah, yeah \u2026 which I get cause that whole collection of work is very haunting. I was home alone a lot as a kid, so I would put it in the home stereo system, burn it on a disc, and I would crank it up, and oh my God! I remember I would search for more. \u201cWhat is this Estonian Gothic chant music!\u201d And eventually I found out it was Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/strong>, and then went from there exploring that whole world of chant, Gregorian chant, Byzantine chant, all that stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014While you were also listening to Bj\u00f6rk and Massive Attack\u2026<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Yeah, yeah\u2026 To me, Bj\u00f6rk<\/strong> and Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/strong> and that early music, they make sense, especially if you listen to track 4 from Bj\u00f6rk<\/strong>\u2019s Med\u00falla<\/em>. That whole album is just voices, there\u2019s no other instrument. And I think she really shows some of the same qualities there that the voice evokes that you hear in chant music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Sure. The same sensibilities but in a different context.<\/strong> \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Yeah, yeah, yeah\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n