Beach Mountain|Darsombra|Loser Magnet @ The White Squirrel, Sunday, September 3rd: Darsombra Q&A

Maryland sorcerers Darsombra will be gracing us with their presence/presents this coming Sunday, September 3rd. St. Paul will just be one stop on their Fall tour as they are spreading the word about their new album Dumesday Book (Pnictogen).

I had a chance to ask a few questions of Brian Daniloski (guitars, bass, vocals) and Ann Everton (synths, percussion, vocals, projections) as they embark on another chapter of their storied and surreal career:

Reviler: Congratulations on the new album! Or should I say – – congratulations on making it this far to put out a new album! It seems odd to ask such a question of such an artist, but how have the last few years influenced this new collection of songs?

Ann: Absolutely! Our new album, “Dumesday Book”, is a concept album surveying our feelings and internal experiences from the start of Covid quarantine in March of 2020 to returning to the road post-vaccination in May of 2021.
Brian: We were still refining and defining the new album at the beginning of this year. We put out our last album “Transmission” in late 2019, about a half a year before the world changed. We didn’t expect to find ourselves writing a new album again so soon afterwards, but then the project just got bigger and more complex as we really had nothing else to do. There’s still several albums worth of material from those sessions that we haven’t finished. Maybe it will all see the light of day eventually…

R: Speaking of, what was the process to come to Dumesday Book? I recognize some music from last year; was there always a plan to unveil a larger picture?

Ann: Yes, we put out a single of two versions of songs from the album, “Call The Doctor” and “Nightgarden”. The album versions are a little different.
We always had a plan to do a big ridiculous pop album, even before the start of the pandemics, so we really just used all that early what-the-fuck time in spring of 2020 to compose it, and then the rest of the past three years to render the fat into golden grease.
Brian: We just jammed a lot when we were stuck quarantining for unknown months in 2020. The project became immense. We decided to put out a few advance songs in 2021 as a stop-gap measure, and to cheer ourselves (and hopefully other people) up while we were adjusting to the new reality and continuing to work through the project.

R: I hold you amongst the best sonic craftsfolk on the road currently today.The gearheads want to know: guitars? Synthesizers? Name names.

Ann: Thanks! I adore my Roland Gaia SH-01…it’s quite versatile and not too digital-sounding in my opinion. Though sometimes there’s a use for that sound!
Brian: For the album I used a bunch of different guitars. My main axe on the road and on the album is my trusty ’87 Gibson Les Paul custom, but on the album I also play a Rickenbacker 4008 8-string bass, a Fender Strat for when I need that single coil sound or some whammy bar action, a Martin acoustic, and a newly acquired Bass VI into which I’ve just begun to delve.

R: Even if your Polaris doesn’t seem to be obvious to everyone it is quite evident you have a Northstar. How does Darsombra continue to follow their muse?

Ann: We don’t have a choice! Do this or…??? Sometimes your Polaris obliges you to wander off the beaten path and make 18-minute songs about watching the angle of the sun change over the course of a year!

Local anonymous collective Beach Mountain will be opening the evening with another cryptic aural transmission. An unsolicited statement was provided via email in anticipation of this Sunday at the White Squirrel:
Beach Mountain returns to the corporeal state after an extended travailing of the periphery of the known: they found states of being and non-being that defy the sensations capable of being perceived. The occasion: the migration of Baltimore’s mighty Darsombra through the region, both geographical and psychic. Joining this hallowed congress of mind-melting will be Loser Magnet, the quartet of acclaimed dreamwrights.

Music at the White Squirrel should commence around 8:00 PM (Earth time); and did I mention this monumental event is FREE? Because it is. Make sure to head over to Bandcamp today and pick up Dumesday Book (as well as Beach Mountain and Loser Magnet swag) for Bandcamp Friday!