INTERVIEW: Dissociative Identity Quartet drop debut album

From the UK music scene emerges the enigmatic collective known as Dissociative Identity Quartet. Born out of a desire to shift away from the glare of individual recognition, this newly formed anonymous outfit comprises members who have previously released music to personal acclaim. With a shared belief that solo success offers only fleeting gratification, they’ve united their talents to forge a new sonic path, one that draws attention not to the individual but to the collective artistic vision they now share.

With a debut album that defies convention and challenges auditory norms, Dissociative Identity Quartet introduces us to Excursions, a 12-track musical odyssey that invites us to journey deep into their sonic realm. Released via the Cruel Nature Records imprint, this album is an invitation to experience rhythm and noise as never before.

Excursions is a beat tape carefully crafted with two primary aims: to explore rhythm and noise in their purest, most unadulterated forms. The album unfolds with “As The Heart Beats,” an audacious opening statement that beckons the listener into the project’s sonic labyrinth. A cascade of percussive tones patters and echoes, like the reverberations of a mechanical heart, while a swirling drone texture stretches across the auditory canvas. This track captures the quartet’s artistic ethos, setting the tone for the journey ahead.

The record continues to weave its intricate tapestry of sound, with each track offering a unique exploration of rhythm and noise. “Time Passes” is a sonic experiment in bleeps and bloops, an avant-garde playground of mechanical tones that evoke a sense of both dissonance and intrigue. “I Lost My Step” unfurls with ominous synth tones and a driving rhythm, evoking a mysterious and foreboding atmosphere that leaves the listener suspended in sonic suspense.

The album’s final moments are marked by “The Wind Rises,” a fitting conclusion to the musical voyage. Buzzy synths and pulsating beats intermingle, creating an experimental jam that encapsulates the quartet’s willingness to push sonic boundaries. As the track surges with energy, listeners find themselves immersed in an otherworldly soundscape, a showcase of the quartet’s ability to craft sonic landscapes that challenge and captivate.

Watch the visuals for The Wind Rises below

Dissociative Identity Quartet’s Excursions is an exercise in artistic liberation. This collection of tracks is not meant to be passively consumed; rather, it demands engagement, interaction and immersion. Each composition is a doorway into a new sonic dimension, an invitation to explore rhythm and noise from fresh perspectives. Excursions is an emblem of their innovative approach to music-making, a journey that promises to resonate with those who dare to venture beyond the familiar into the uncharted territories of experimental music.

We caught up with Dissociative Identity Quartet to find out more about the project, their debut record Excursions and what they’ve got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Dissociative Identity Quartet below.

Hey guys, how’s things?

We are doing very well.

Yes, as a group of musicians we are doing exceptionally well and are overwhelmed with the response to Excursions. We liked what we got going but knew from experience that does not necessarily have to apply for others. And now it seems to be other human beings that enjoy what we happen to have made together.

It is strange that you called us musicians, I simply cannot identify myself as a musician. That is people that are good at instruments. That actually know what they are doing. Big imposter syndrome in this corner.

I would say we all feel like imposters and that is the strongest reason for us to have started making music like this.

How did you get together as a collective?

We all shared similar experiences of creating as a mean to deal with our existences. Let us call it self-help. Everyone doing things on their own. All had created pieces and shared it with others. A process that can be incredibly stressful. Hi, this is me, this is my heart and soul, what do you think of it?

We ended up in lengthy discussions on the subject and a voice of clarity spoke; why not try doing something anonymous?

Almost felt like cheating first. What, I can give away my essence and no one knows it is me?
We all decided this was the way forward for us right now.

It was not a “now we start a band” kind of deal.
It was simply let us try doing something together and we will see where it takes us.

How do you find remaining anonymous allows you to express your artistic vision?

I would claim that us being anonymous is very liberating. We are grown-ups who are taking on different personas as if we were young children who roleplay. Acting the part in the play that suits us for the moment and by doing so explore sides of ourselves and others we never could have done otherwise.

Yes, this project was all about exploration, therefore the name Dissociative Identity Quartet. We are exploring our different selves. Then take the album Excursions, maybe you could even call it an EP, but with so many interludes that it can disguise itself as an album. Being anonymous makes us naturally playful.

I have pondered lately. We thought that if we would be anonymous focus would only be on the music. But now I am thinking that us being outspoken about our anonymity results in the opposite. Every time the project is introduced, this is the first thing mentioned. We are not without identity. Anonymity has become our identity, but if that is clouding our artistic vision for others to see. Who knows? But it do seem like it built more interest to our persona and taken a bit of focus from the music at times.

Which artists do you draw most inspiration from today?

There are many inspiring artists out there. But I can’t say we taken inspiration from someone in particular.

This might come off as cocky, but we never sent a single thought to other artists and what they are doing when creating Excursions. We entered our own micro sphere and did not a single time discuss what is going on in the macro cosmos of music. We have read some comparisons that been made between Excursions and the work of other artists. But so far, the artists that has been mentioned none of us has listened to.

I for one do not listen to anything that is remotely close to Excursions in style and out of the styles that I can sort of trace a hint of in our music, there is only really hip hop with which I am well accumulated.

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

Earlier we have all made music that derives from feelings and/or a need to articulate our experiences. But when we made Excursions all our focus was on playfulness.

I would say that Excursions was born out of the urban setting we all dwell in. The cover art is not a coincidence. It is a summary of what the album expresses.

The album is us trying out new approaches to the creative process, playful and cheeky. But at the same time, it is the result of the culture we have been brought up in and we spend our everyday life in.

What do you love (or not) about the UK music scene?

I prefer to focus on the positive. Nothing is ever perfect, but I can choose where I spend my energy. So, with that said, the UK music scene is vast and diverse. There will be a spot for everyone. Sure, it can take time to find your place, but somewhere in the periphery you will find a stage with likeminded.

I want to send out shout outs to all zealots who run small labels. Does that do it for the love of music. There is nothing more beautiful. They do it out of the kindness of their heart, helping creative souls reach an audience.

Thank you, Steve of Cruel Nature Recordings.

Another part of the scene are the zines and blogs that also spread the word of the unheard. All of us need each other. We are an ecosystem who all thrive because of one another.

We should not forget to send love to all the small radio stations. Some strictly digital, others still broadcasting locally and the radio DJ’s that spread the music that otherwise would not be heard. Then you add all the small venues and places where music can be performed. These must be cherished and cared for. If these are lost, all that makes music in the UK interesting will in my eyes be gone.

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

Never thought about that. In honesty we did not have listeners in mind at all when creating Excursions. It was a recording for us, and as we really enjoyed the results, we decided to share it with others.

It was a case of if we like it, there must be others that like it too. So, we sent it out to see if we could find the individual that would find it intriguing.

To answer the question, we preferably should know what our sound is, but I haven’t got a clue. Excursions was the result of playful exploration. If we manage to record another record, I am fairly sure it won’t sound the same.

All of that is true, but I would say there is truly little music that does not benefit from being listened to at night. In the dark with less distractions for your senses, all focus can truly be given to the sonic landscape. So, I say do that and hopefully you will enjoy what we created.

How did you find making your debut record ‘Excursions’?

Excursions was born out of fun and games. We would leave our wish for order at the door and randomly turn knobs on the synths with the sound turned off. Then when we felt it was time to listen to what had come out of our random actions, we turned on the sound. The more unmelodic and stranger sounding the better and we would sort of compete in who could achieve the most in the classical sense unmusical sounds.

That is what it was, fun and games. Then came the question, can we turn these ventures into tracks?

We quickly concluded that rhythm is the solution to the equation and before we knew it, we had started working on a bunch of tracks. The playful approach had led us on an excavation of possibilities and the unthinkable. The playful approach had led us on an excavation of noise and rhythm.

There is only one track that breaks this pattern in our approach and that is Afraid of Water. Would this album been a strictly digital release, I am quite sure we would have skipped it. As a physical release with two sides, Afraid of Water became the perfect intro to side b.

What message did you want to get across with this release?

I hope the album speaks what can be achieved when playfulness and sonic exploration are front runners.

You could say what can be achieved when the search for your own enjoyment comes first. The track titles are often tongue in cheek kind of deals given to the tracks after the first sound recorded for them was made. The only track that was made with the realisation that we are creating an album is A Final Track?. In the end it did turn out to be the final track we recorded for the album.

We all come from personal processes where the message was there before a single note was recorded. Excursions was random in that regard and grew by itself into a fully developed beast. There was never a thought of a massage, even more so as there never was a thought of it being made for an audience.

It was and is for us. That is one of the main reason we are so very humbled and surprised by the respons Excursions have amassed.

What artist have you been listening to most recently?

I have gone back to Slum Village’s Fantastic vol. 2 a lot lately. I am a massive Dilla head and that is the album that got me to investigate who stood behind the music. Still an incredible album. The production is unmatched.

For me it has been Sam Gendel who always got something new cocking.

The other night I gave Pre-Post, a new album from La French out on Waxing Crescent Records a spin. Great stuff, very worth anyone’s time.

Bandcamp really is the place to seek out when it comes to exciting music. Sure, Bandcamp isn’t an artist, but I can’t recommend anything better than to sink your teeth into what that page has to offer.

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?

Happiness. There is too much hardship out in the world and believe me when I say we do know this first hand. We all had our stumbles and falls mentally. it’s all about finding joy in the trivial things. For us Excursions is a grand source of joy now. Hopefully, others can experience that same feeling as us.

Your videos are also pretty striking, how do you try to enhance the listening experience of your music by using unique visuals and art?

The videos are a chapter in themselves. It wasn’t until Excursions had found a home at the wonderful Cruel Nature Records that we started contemplating visuals. Walking around in urban settings that compete in who can be the greyest, the cover for the album felt given.

We needed a photo, but aiming at being anonymous it was out of the question a building in or around our neighbourhoods would cut it.

The one who seeks, finds.

Then came the first video, and the first idea was dancing buildings. Then we thought it could be fun if we would film ourselves in masks, silly dancing in public places. Not brilliant ideas and again, that would make it easier to trace where we came from, so we never acted on the ideas.

Then one day my child comes home and have created a stop motion video as a project I school. There and then we had found our way to make a video of dancing buildings.

We spent two full days instructing AI to generate pictures of buildings, picking out the ones we wanted to work with, then we used those pictures as inspiration pics for AI to create new pictures. With time we had found what we were looking for and started turning them into sequences by putting them into a program to make stop motion films. The result was much better than we ever could have imagined.

We could have made the animation slicker but found that the haltering slower animation in repeated sequences better fitted the qualities in our music.

When you look at it it becomes mesmerising. It is the old hypnotist trick. Repetition is the key to it all.

The two other videos we made was continuations on the same theme and process.

To be honest, I can’t believe we did those; they look pretty sick.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

That is a hard question to answer. I watched an exceptional performance in a local pub the other night. Then there are those memories of grand festivals where performances moved an unthinkable crowd. Or for that matter even just a magnificent street musician I passed on the street who really got me to a full stop, and I was stuck there for ages. I could never give one favourite, there are so many great performances in a wide variety of settings that cannot be compared to one another.

Yeah, that is like asking one to choose their favourite child. even if I could, I most likely wouldn’t…

I am in honestly overly impressed with every person who stands up in front of others and performs. we can always claim that we will not perform live, as that would give away who we are. But in reality, we would never dare to do it.

Who would be 3 artists to headline your dream festival? And where would it be?

We must start with the location. I would love to visit Iceland and what could be more immaculate than holding a festival at a volcano?

Then the first headlining artist will be the obvious choice of Björk.

I would love to see Takako Minekawa as the second artist. She will forever hold a special place in my heart and be a good match for Björk.

Then I say the third headlining artist would be Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, she is simply outstanding, and I am sure these three would attract an interesting crowd of visitors.

I am incredibly pleased with these answers, can someone please make this happen, now?

Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?

Do the music that speaks to you. If you like what you are hearing, there will no doubt be others that will like it too. Even if it is just one person, it will make everything you worked for worth it.

Yes, always make music for yourself. That will give the music value no matter what.

We have spent years cocking up music and things do take time. I would never claim we are good at what we are doing, but even with that said I can see a lot of progress. Excursions is not a tight album, but even so it has taken us years to reach here and this sound. To make something on purpose untight that still work is much harder than it sounds. If we would have tried coming together 5 years back, Excursions would never had been the result. Even if we only would go back a year in time, the album would not be the same. Time, practice, and experience will slowly make you evolve.

It is that, plus joining Bandcamp.

Finally, what do you have lined up for the rest of 2023?

Before Excursions came out, we had not decided if this would be something more than a one-time thing. Now we are quite sure Dissociative Identity Quartet will stay around for a bit longer.

Therefore, hopefully we will create a new album. The idea right now is to make more melodic music and maybe even record some vocals the next time around. Cannot promise we will dare approach that last one.

Well, we created Excursions because we went on a venture and are incredibly pleased with it. If we want to continue this journey we set out on, we need to explore new grounds. I say let us try vocals.

Listen to Excursions below