Baby Chaos – Ape Confronts Cosmos

By starrymag | July 31, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) A calamitously harmonious blancmange of biting riffs and bellowed soul.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I can speak of the influences of my youth in the context of Baby Chaos and to the early influences of some of our 90’s contemporaries whose presence exerted a challenge on our own creativity, after this you become your own person and influence feels much less relevant. So, in loose chronology; Queen, Van Halen, G’n’R, The Cult, Crazyhead, The Godfathers, Smashing Pumpkins, Helmet, Nirvana, Soundgarden.

 

Q) How has your sound evolved since your album Skulls…?

 

A) I think on Skulls…. There was an obligation, after such a long hiatus to have some kind of line tracing back to the early albums. On this new record (Ape Confront Cosmos) there was no such obligation and so we were freer to try some other angles out, in terms of the overarching sound and also the dynamics inside of and between tracks. In essence, this album is a little more expansive and spacious in scope and sound.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Sometimes the lyric and the music happen at the same time, even if it’s just a scrap of lyric. I can think of only a few occasions where a lyric comes first and when I say I can think of them I can’t actually remember them but I am sure that they must have happened.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) 100 percent. I am a megalomaniac. [laughs]

 

Q) What are some themes you explore on this new album Ape Confronts Cosmos?

 

A) Themes are like dreams now for me when it comes to lyrics. It may look like it’s going somewhere and then one word will have it careening off at seemingly unrelated tangent. I have developed a faith that when it feels right, I can leave it at that. Often five or twenty years down the line another meaning will come to light.

 

Q) What songs off your new album Ape Confronts Cosmos hold a special place in your heart and why?

 

A) Hmmm. Maybe the final track “Cut Through the Ocean.” I think some lines in that I had been hanging onto my whole life waiting for the right moment.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

 

A) A wholly satisfying and deeply rewarding forty minutes that brings a tear to the eye one moment and a fist in the air the next. This is the craft of writing and track-listing an album and I wholeheartedly believe it still has great relevance for a great number of people.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live Baby Chaos performance?

 

A) Maximum commitment and the odd little hint that it could all collapse into an unbearably rambunctious ear-bleeding cacophony.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

 

A) I don’t listen to much music outside of my creative hours, but here is a song I like and listened to just this morning.

Raury “The Devil’s Whisper”

And I love this album;

Young Fathers “Cocoa Sugar”

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) My understanding is that this is the only relevant show in town now when it comes to communicating with and expanding an audience. Although one bristles a little at the apparent monopolies of the big players it would be self-defeating not to use these platforms at least until the revolution. [laughs]

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Thank you for listening. Thank you for your kind comments. Although we enjoy the process of making music, that enjoyment is made all the more relevant and meaningful by the fact that you engage so wonderfully with it and reflect your feelings back to us.