Ten Questions to ... Slow Danse With The Dead

Goth’s longstanding reputation for miserabilism has its roots in the earliest days of the genre, with the likes of Joy Division and The Cure creating melancholy gloomscapes which counter-intuitively had an uplifting effect for their many fans who found real solace in wallowing in what are traditionally regarded as more negative emotions.

With song titles such as Awaiting My Death, Just Another Tragedy and I Prefer To Be Alone, Slow Danse With The Dead’s eponymous debut EP places the New Mexico artist right at the forefront of the “miserygoth” strand of the current post-punk/darkwave revival, alongside equally introspective artists such as Suffering For Kisses and Into Grey.

Johnny Ray M’s Albuquerque-based project was originally named The Endless, under which name he digitally released a series of largely coldwave tracks at a prodigious rate over the past few years, before changing the project’s name to the more memorable Slow Danse With The Dead (one of The Endless’ song titles) earlier this year.

The seven track digital EP, also released as a four track cassette that is virtually sold out, showcases a winning combination of lugubrious baritone vocals, strong melodies, and deceptively spartan arrangements dominated by synths with a judicious use of dark guitar motifs that combine to create what Johnny describes as “the sound of the dead rising”. Slow Danse With The Dead’s mesmerising mournfulness has quickly attracted the approbation of the scene’s most respected connoisseurs, with tracks played by Highway 7 and Frontiere Rock, highlighted on White Light//White Heat and set to video by George Chlioumis amongst others.

With surprisingly little background info available online, I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview Johnny to find out more about the inspiration and aspirations for Slow Danse With The Dead, and would like to thank him for his full and frank answers.

Slow Danse With The Dead’s highly-recommended EP (and the previous releases initially released under the name The Endless) can be obtained from Bandcamp.

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1.       How did you into goth/darkwave in the first place. Which artists did you most admire?

I was raised by a single mother in a Catholic family. My parents split before I could even remember. I have two older sisters, one was adopted by a family member and the other spent most her childhood in a hospital. As a kid I was always alone, quiet and shy; my mother was either on drugs or working and my father was absent and eventually serving out a sentence in prison for drug related charges. As my mother was always away, I spent most of my childhood at my grandparents’ home with my grandmother and aunt. My grandmother lived in a part of town that was riddled with crime and violence and most of my cousins who lived in that area at the time were in gangs. I had no proper adult influence in my life other than my grandmother and aunt.

Instead of following in my cousins’ footsteps, I chose music as a way to express myself and basically get away. My aunt was very much into metal, gothic rock, and the more aggressive/darker side of music. She had a major influence on me. She was usually in a leather jacket, band tee, and always rocking her combat boots and always listening to something good! As far as writing music, I think a lot of that has to do with my father. My father is a musician and, in a way, I always looked up to him and it was he who gave me my first electric guitar before he went to prison. Since he wasnʼt around, I pretty much taught myself how to play it, that is, until my aunt met her love, Dave a.k.a. “Uncle Feces” and it was Uncle Feces who taught me my first power chord and how to produce music on a computer. He introduced me to bands like: Ministry, Prong, Type O Negative, Revolting Cocks, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, etc.. I think it was Uncle Feces that inspired me to look further into the darker electronic scene. I was only 14 and very impressionable.

 

2.       This project was called The Endless until relatively recently. Why did you decide to change the project name to that of one of your songs? Has there been a subtle change in the music and lyrics?

I loved the band name The Endless however it was already taken! I had to come up with a name on the spot and Slow Danse With The Dead seemed like the perfect fit. In order to understand the light, one must learn to appreciate the dark. Slow Danse With The Dead felt dark and romantic. The name change had no affect on the lyrics.

 

3.       In that song (Slow Danse With The Dead), the word “danse” was originally spelled with a “c”. What influenced that change, the UK goth band The Danse Society, or Danse Macabre (either the Steven King novel, the record label or the classical music piece)?

 The title was most certainly influenced by the classical piece, Danse Macabre!

 

4.       So far the debut album has been released as a twelve song Spotify list, a four track cassette and a seven track download, all containing different selections. Which do you consider to be the definitive list of songs?

The 4-track cassette EP is based off my 7 track debut album on Bandcamp which is the definitive list of songs. The cassette EP comes with a code to redeem the digital 7 track album.

 

5.       Are the plans for other physical releases of these recordings, such as CD and vinyl?

Most definitely! Iʼm currently looking into a production contract but the details are not set in stone as of yet!

 

6.       Your music has had a lot of support from the online community, such as DJʼs, websites and podcasters. Have you been surprised by how quickly the project has taken off?

Iʼm very grateful for all the support within the online community! It has been great and I appreciate it all! The support has given me motivation and such positive drive to keep producing! As for your question, yes I am very surprised how fast this project took off! The musical project was originally started in 2015, roughly. The fast progression has been in the last year or so and it has been an amazing journey so far!

 

7.       There seem to be quite a few US artists independently producing coldwave “miserygoth”, such as Suffering For Kisses and Into Grey. Do you think that this is a reaction to the political situation in the US?

I think that might be a possibility. Who’s to say?

8.       Youʼve recently been advertising for other musicians to join the project. Is this for studio work or just for potential live gigs?

Mostly for potential gigs and possible studio work down the line.

 

9.       How do you go about the songwriting process? Do you start with the lyrics, a beat, a melody or an overall concept?

When writing a song, I normally start with an idea or concept. I like to imagine a story and how the story plays out, how it makes me feel. I then compose a beat (usually a vintage drum machine). After I establish that beat, I can add a baseline, either with bass guitar or a synthesizer followed by guitar and synth strings. Once i have a solid instrumental, I usually begin the vocal/lyric writing process. The instrumentals write the lyrics for me.

 

10.   Whatʼs next for SDWTD?

hmm.. I think what’s next is working on merchandise such as t-shirts, posters, pins etc. Also, I plan on releasing a new single followed by a new album, and a potential music video or live web performance! But ultimately the plan is to continue to write music, perform live and eventually tour!