Ahead of their Saturday night performance at the Electrowerkz as part of The Trip’s five-date psychedelic extravaganza across London, the first stop on their Dead Comet tour around Europe, Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt of Icelandic "monks of the dead temple" Dead Skeletons has exclusively told The Quietus not very much about the creative process involved with their forthcoming second album.
You’d previously said that your debut album, Dead Magick, wasn’t planned. How does the process of recording your second album differ from the debut?
Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt: Nothing is really planned with this project. We like each other’s company and creating things with each other in general. It’s not unlike songwriting but we have no specific idea usually to start with, besides what happens at the moment.
Is there a single theme running through the new album?
RCVK: That would take specific forethought so I would answer “no”. And “yes”.
When I spoke to members of the band at Corsica Studios last year, everyone seemed to deny actually being in the band and described it more as participating in a project. What’s the group mindset this time round?
RCVK: The same.
Are you still going to be painting on stage? And what have you done with the paintings you made on the last tour?
RCVK: You would have to ask Jón [Sæmundur]. He’s the artist.
To what degree is the music you make an extension of your art? Is it a natural progression or a separate entity?
RCVK: Again with forethought.
I was told that the band engaged in a peyote ceremony in Mexico. Has the group participated in any other rituals since and what effect have they had on the music and the group dynamic?
RCVK: We shan’t speak of such things.
Read our more word-heavy interview with the band from last year here, head to the band’s website for full details on the tour and get tickets for The Trip here
