Darkswoon On the Making Of 'Antivenom'
Punk Head: The project began as a solo endeavor and has grown into a trio with a very defined interplay. How has that shift changed the emotional weight of the music and the decisions you make in the studio?
Darkswoon: I still begin each project on my own, composing the electronic elements (synth and drum machines), adding textures and layers. Guitar is my primary instrument. Sometimes I still begin with guitar, but more often than not I start with the electronics and then shape guitar around them. L come together from journal entries; vocal lines usually last. When this project was solo, I would stop there once I was satisfied. But with the band, this is where collaboration begins. I really value the feedback from both Rachel and Norah about what the song needs as we start to work on the music together. Norah always writes her own bass lines and comes up with some of the coolest, original licks I’ve heard. Once she settles on her part, the song usually starts to feel more complete. The formation of our trio has fleshed out and solidified our sound, allowing space for depth, exploration and empowerment.
Punk Head: There’s a compelling duality running through the album: cold, mechanical textures against very exposed emotional writing. How did you navigate that balance without letting one side overpower the other?
Darkswoon: The emotionally charged writing comes from a place of wanting to stay authentic and vulnerable in the creative process. I can’t get into it if I don’t feel it. In the past, I’ve held back lyrically and later regretted not pushing the boundaries, editing lyrics down to coded meaning. Like letting the lyrics come out almost too poetic to the point where I’m disconnected from the original intention. Although I do love to write from a place of open interpretation rather than staying on the nose. This album ended up full of visceral feelings that stand with more clarity. The electronic structures sometimes leaning into a harsher, darker territory than we’ve landed before. There is a juxtaposition of organic instrumentation and vocal emoting up against the heavy syncopation and dark synths. I wanted to push my vocals a little harder but I also wanted everything to go a little harder so maybe this desire to level up on certain elements stuck the balance.
Punk Head: The record leans into hardware-driven production. What do machines let you express that a more organic setup wouldn’t?
Darkswoon: I love electronic music and the freedom to explore it allows. One of the unique features of our hardware setup is the Elektron Digitakt which is a sampling drum machine. This instrument allows me to sample my own weird sounds into the mix to further chop and manipulate layers. I really love to sample my voice into this machine and then mess it all up either by turning it into a vocalized beat or an unsettling vocal synth. This paired with the Digitone which is an FM synth sequencer (which can build a sequenced repetitive hook or stand alone as a synth) is at the core of the customized sonic backbone of our sound. There is a lot of live tweaking that can be done through twisting the knobs and fading sounds in and out. It’s electronic but there is still soul in the execution and beneath the manipulation,
Punk Head: “Antivenom” suggests both poison and cure. What felt toxic that you needed to extract or transform on this record?
Darkswoon: I was questioning the value of creating art in a time of such turmoil in the world. Like the world is burning but I’m just writing music in my basement? I was struggling with the idea of releasing new music, the self-promotion it requires and feeling depressed about it. But I decided that it’s still a meaningful pursuit to create when so much is in literal destruction. To find connection with each other in this way and how music and different artforms can be an antidote to the poisons of the world is really at the crux of this album. The song Antivenom is more specifically about the hatred targeting trans people, wanting to protect and resurrect the victims of that hatred. Writing the album as a whole was a transformative process for me. Filtering pain and personal poisons through music and into something cathartic and even (hopefully) beautiful.
Punk Head: You’ve described this as your most focused release. What were the distractions you had to cut through to get there?
Darkswoon: Almost every song on the album was written on the Oregon coast over a period of a year and half (give or take). At the beginning of 2024, I decided to start taking music writing retreats-go to the coast alone with my guitar, drum machines and a synth, turn off my phone and keep a strict composing schedule in an inspiring environment. It was a privilege that came with a time of being under employed and having access to a friend’s place in Manzanita. Through this experience, I put together demos of songs and took them back to Portland to workshop until they were ready to present to Rachel and Norah, where the songs would often continue to be tweaked until we were all satisfied. Also, having a deadline we established with our label was super helpful in propelling the process forward. Side A came first and took twice as long as Side B as we pushed to finish and meet our deadline. But I don’t feel like we cut any corners. We were just given a reason to buckle down. The last song written for the album (Devour My Eyes) made it in just under the wire. Norah wrote her bass part in the studio while we were recording. Same with the washed-out guitar part. It all came together with a lot of dedication. Not to say that previous releases did not. But the focus of our shared goal was executed with more intention.
