Interviewed by Khrysanthoney, 2011

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-Tell me something about your band.

Petrychor: Petrychor was officially formed only a few weeks before I recorded Dryad, but I had planned on doing a black metal project for about six months before that. After listening to a lot of black metal, I found there were certain concepts I thought would fit very well within the genre that weren't tried and tested. I formed the project to put those ideas into practice. Also, Petrychor's music serves as a form of meditation and stress relief, especially the vocal work and thickest sections of layered guitars.

-What would you like to say about "Dryad", you first EP?

Petrychor: I would like to thank everybody for the overwhelming support I`ve received since its release. Your words and actions have been most inspiring and I hope to continue to exchange art and ideas with you as the project progresses.

-The sound is extremely raw in places, specifically in the metal parts, yet in other places there are clean breaks and melodic acoustic passages. Was this mesh of contrasting elements something you intended to do?

Petrychor: Chaos is something that interests me greatly, especially the elements of order we perceive within it or create via our understanding of certain catalysts and their reactions. The stark duality of Petrychor's music is very deliberate; I feel it represents my attempts to create a personally satisfying world within the confines of a caustic culture. On a purely physical level, I love white noise and distortion. I don't partake in drug use, but if anything I do could be likened to it, it would be noise worship!

-What is your favorite aspect of "Dryad"? How about your least favorite?

Petrychor: I'd prefer not to answer this question.

-Was the process of creating this EP difficult? What sort of time and effort was put into making it from start to finish?

Petrychor: Being that Dryad was merely an experiment, putting some ideas together in a compact package to see if they worked, it was a fairly simple process completed in about two weeks. Effigies and Epitaphs took much longer due to needing to cut material that didn't fit with the concept of the album and the larger scale of the individual pieces.

-Did you have any idea that reception to "Dryad" would be so positive? Some bloggers have called it one of the best recordings of 2010. What do you think about that?

Petrychor: I did not predict much of a reaction at all so I am very thankful for the kind words I have received. It is heartening to know firsthand that there are like-minded individuals out in the world who can be contacted through art, especially when one might not often meet them in person.

-Was there any label interest in Petrychor before Khrysanthoney contacted you?

Petrychor: There hadn't been, no. Dryad was originally created to send to labels and I was preparing the packaging to do so when I was contacted by Khrysanthoney, then still Starlight Temple Society.

-I`ve seen numerous comparisons to Wolves In The Throne Room and other Cascadian black metal bands like Addaura and Agalloch. Do you think this is accurate? If not, what sets Petrychor apart from bands people generally associate with this genre?

Petrychor: It is an apt comparison in that there are similar ideologies behind many of these projects, but I think that Petrychor occupies a different sonic medium. Sure, we share elements of melodicism that are often not present in Satanic black metal, or other more established forms, but these have existed and mutated in some form since the birth of black metal. Nagelfar is a great example and one of my favorite black metal projects.

To directly address the second question, I feel that Petrychor should ideally have enough familiar genre elements to draw people in and enough surprises to keep them there.

-Besides Petrychor you have duties in Beware Of Safety and a few of your own solo adventures. What can be said about these other endeavors of yours?

Petrychor: Each one has its place and I love them all equally for different reasons. I cannot imagine wanting to limit myself to only a few avenues of expression, despite the fact that some fanatics within each art form I work in would claim that my methods lessen the "purity" of what I do.

-What advantage is there to having more than one outlet for creating music?

Petrychor: My reason for learning several instruments, learning electronic programming, and working in several genres is to have no sonic limitations on expressing whatever concept enters my head, whether it's a philosophical point or merely a catchy phrase I cannot forget. Different moods necessitate different sounds, which sometimes necessitate different projects.

-Was Petrychor your first attempt at creating metal orientated music? If so, how is it different from creating music for your solo projects and playing with Beware of Safety?

Petrychor: It is indeed my first metal project, but I haven't come across much of a difference from creating other music other than the logistics of the recording process.

-Your guitar work for those who have heard it, and now seen it from the various videos you posted on YouTube, is something bordering on the supernatural. How long have you been playing the guitar and by what means did you develop such a heightened level of skill?

Petrychor: First of all, I would like to thank you for the high praise. I have been playing guitar since I was 16 years old and am self-taught. As for my style, I can attribute its development to my jazz percussion training and interest in Leo Kottke's guitar playing. Using that as a foundation, the rest was done by ear and experimentation.

-How would you rate your skills with other types on instruments?

Petrychor: I'm not sure exactly how to answer this, but I generally say that I know enough to get the job done. Breakbeat and jazz drumming are two of my favorite things to perform and I'd say that I'm fairly accomplished within those genres.

-You fancy yourself as following in the footsteps of traditional traveling musicians. In what ways are you upholding this custom?

Petrychor: Though that reference was to a specific song cycle, I do believe that statement has significance to all my projects. The foundation for every album I've put together is a time and place that I feel needs commemorating. Being on the road whether it's on tour, sleeping on friends' couches, or just a day trip is very important to me; this is where I gather a host of ideas to be assembled and synthesized upon my return.

-Which bands and musicians do you admire, and for what reasons?

Petrychor: I have a great many albums, so answering this question in totality would be nigh impossible unless an entire interview were devoted to the subject! I doubt that would be interesting for anybody but me. In regards to Petrychors' Effigies and Epitaphs and Carbonscape's Artistry of Exhaustion II, I was inspired by the music and writings of John Cage, specifically the contrast between noise and silence (Petrychor) and indeterminacy (Carbonscape). The noise music of Daniel Menche and Prurient was a big influence, and Alva Noto's Xerrox series played a role as well.

To speak in general terms, the things I admire about any artist are integrity and honesty. Speak your mind, do not waver, be inventive in all that you do, and truly own it. Any artist in any medium that does this has a high chance of being alright by me.

-What kinds of things interest you outside of music?

Petrychor: Visual art, dance, literature, hiking. I read extensively and am currently finishing up a book of poetry.

-Do you have any specific political or philosophical beliefs? Do any of these creep into the lyrics of Petrychor?

Petrychor: Without becoming so overt as to beat people over the head with any single message (I prefer to allow people to interpret the works in whatever way is most significant for them), let us state that I am not fond of capitalism, exclusive clubs, or large societies in general. To me, Petrychor is a logical reaction to these stimuli; a way of taking the chaos and noise of every day life and spinning it back into something positive.

-Sometime soon after this is published on the web we`ll have out your debut album and a re-release of "Dryad". Would you be willing to share some information about this?

Petrychor: Effigies and Epitaphs is essentially one long piece broken up in to a handful of movements, crafted to put to rest certain doubts and sources of depression that have entered my life over the past six months. I only hope that it can do the same for others, that we might share in this experience.

-How will the debut album differ from the EP?

Petrychor: Honestly, other than extending each concept present in the EP further, there won't be many differences. The production is slightly cleaner, but still sufficiently thick. I like to think of Petrychor's guitars as tonal wind.

-Tell me about your plans for Petrychor after this first album. Do you see the band doing anything radically different, or trying out something new?

Petrychor: I have several pieces in mind that would fit well within a few EPs or splits. Though not entirely divergent from Effigies and Epitaphs, it will be apparent when they are released that they would not have fit within that album's context. One or two of these will be released this year, so I won't go into too much detail.

-Thanks!