Could you talk about Stephen Brodsky’s contribution to the record?
Jacob: “Sure. I’ve known Stephen since we were teenagers. In my opinion, he’s been one of the most talented, natural players I’ve ever known. I guess what I mean by that is he has really sharpened his technical skills in such a way that it looks effortless, but it’s really from a million hours of bedroom shredding as a teenager. But he is absolutely incredible and I have always wanted to do more with Steve. He was actually in our band at an early stage, playing bass, while Cave In were on a hiatus way back in the late ‘90s, and I really enjoyed being in a band with him at that time. We went in different directions because he went on to do more Cave In stuff. But we’ve always remained fast friends, and he’s always remained really close with Ben Koller, Converge's drummer. He’s also Kurt’s old roommate, and he plays in bands with Nate. We’re connected in all these ways… But he brought such a powerful musical sensibility to the project. Some of his riffing and basic melodic ideas he comes up with are just so powerful. It really connects with me in a special way, both in this band and with everything else he does. I’m just a fan, so being able to work with him was really special.”
Chelsea, what, if anything, did you learn about yourself as an artist during the making of this album?
Chelsea: “I’m sure there’s a ton of things, but nothing’s coming to mind right now.”
Jacob: “I don’t know if it’s the same for you, Chelsea, but the pandemic put such a weird pause on creative folks. Everyone had a need to be creative, which I felt pretty stifled by. I don’t work like that. It took a while to get to a point where I even felt comfortable making something. So for me, Bloodmoon had a really cool support structure. We’re all peers who care about each other, and respect each other as artists, so even if we weren’t fully confident in doing something so big and elaborate, there’s so much comfort and support from the seven of us that it almost takes away that artistic doubt everyone has when they’re creating something. It made me feel that I had to be looser with my ideas. I just threw things out there rather than endlessly honing each idea. It fulfilled me in ways that a normal record wouldn’t have typically done.”
Last question: what happens now?
Jacob: “The logistics of taking it on the road are complex, but we did announce that we’ll be playing a Converge Bloodmoon show as part of Hellfest next year, so I think that’s the goal that we’re all working towards right now. I think we all hope that we can get other things together, but, again, it’s a lot of moving parts that we don’t control. So we’re just being as available and flexible as possible… So we’re getting there. We’re definitely getting there. We hope to do something for sure, but the world is still a dumpster fire.”
Bloodmoon: I is out now digitally via Epitaph. Vinyl releases will arrive on June 24, 2022 via Deathwish.
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