Nightmare Songs : The Sleazy Beauty of Slasher Film Festival Strategy

This is a repost from April of 2016 when I talked with Christopher Ashley of Slasher Film Festival Strategy. Great talk and felt it was worthy of a repost. Tune in tomorrow for an exclusive premiere. You’re gonna dig it. – J Hubner Growing up a horror hound, there were many aspects of those sleazy, […]

Music From Way Out: The Interstellar Psych Of Jakob Skott

So for this short 4-day week I’m taking a bit of a break. That doesn’t mean I’m leaving you all high and dry, no sir. Instead, I’m re-posting some some of my favorite interviews of Complex Distractions past. Many of you weren’t around the first couple years I was doing this writing thing, and I’ve […]

Psychedelic Isolation Blues : Kanaan Talks New Album ‘Double Sun’

Kanaan are a psych/fusion rock trio from Norway. If you’re familiar with these pages then you probably already know that as I’ve talked about Kanaan before. First their 2018 El Paraiso Records debut Windborne, then a scorching live session at Øra Studio in Trondheim, an in-depth interview, and most recently their collaborative LP with Jonas […]

A Turning Point : Jon Dobyns Talks Alone in the Woods’ Brilliant ‘Kwaidan’

Few artists evoke such visuals and imagination in their music like the production duo Alone in the Woods. AitW, which is comprised of studio wizards Jon Dobyns and Lonn Bologna, take the art of songwriting and songcrafting to new levels of meticulous beauty. Their self-titled debut with Burning Witches Records last year was one of […]

Exploring The Circuits : Astral TV Talk ‘Travelling The Circuits’ and Improvisation

Featured Photo by Kristoffer Vollmann Two years ago an album dropped from the ether called Chrystal Shores. The album was by the electronic duo Astral TV. The record didn’t actually drop from the ether. More like Denmark, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Chrystal Shores was an immense electronic album for me. […]

Blue Sky High : A Conversation With Monarch’s Dominic Denholm

There’s a certain vibe you get when you drop the needle on a Monarch LP. It’s a blast of classic 60s and 70s psychedelic rock and roll, but with more heft. A band that pulls as much influence from Hawkwind and Can as they do Allman Brothers and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac. Chiming triple guitar […]

Drown It Out : A Talk With Ohio’s Penny Wishes

Penny Wishes are a three-piece indie/alternative rock band out of Lima, Ohio. They’re a band fronted by bassist/singer Siera Lynn, with Nolan Klock on guitar and Jesse Martin on drums. The music these three create is thick with urgency and buzzing guitar jangle. Listening to their full-length self-titled debut from last year I’m reminded of […]

Oslo Grooves : Norway’s Kanaan Explore New Musical Ground

Oslo, Norway three-piece Kanaan have recently been on a tour of Europe. Playing in small clubs, in front of record shops, and any open space that will have them, most of these crowds have no idea who this loud and precise rock trio are, but by the end of each show they’ve made new fans, […]

“A dark phase of early industrial music” : A Few Questions For Papir’s Nicklas Sorensen

The Danish three-piece powerhouse Papir are readying the release of their sixth album, titled VI. The album is four tracks at just under 40 minutes and it’s an absolute stunner. Papir, which consists of Nicklas Sørensen, Christoffer Brøchmann Christensen, and Christian Becher Clausen have been making music together for well over a decade. Their self-titled […]

Improvisation For A Day : Nicklas Sorensen Talks Side Project A2

If Nicklas Sorensen isn’t melting minds in main gig Papir, then he might be in the studio laying down crystalline guitar tracks with Causa Sui’s Jonas Munk for a solo album. Or, if he’s doing neither of those things Nicklas could very well be holing up in a studio for a day creating improvisational, free-form […]