Beat a Go Go

Dreaming Dark Waves

True to the mystic overtones of their band name, Richards and Faith perform musical alchemy. Rooted in deceptively simple refrains, each song swells upward in a dreamlike weave of textures. Hypnotically, it rides into your subconscious, drawn on echoes and half-heard phrases. Unlike most pop, which batters its way to attention, the songcraft of Faith and the Muse insinuates itself into the listener's imagination. Where many artists of the rock-'n'-pop persuasion kick in your door and dance into the room, Faith and Richards drift in, light a fire, and invite you to dream.

Not all of those dreams are pleasant. True heirs of darkness and light, Faith and the Muse retain their post-punk bristle. The descending snarl of "Annwyn, Beneath the Waves," the angry shriek of "Plague Dance," the dissonant lilt of "When to Her Lute Corinna Sings" -- these evoke a shadow-soul that no New Age flutterby would be caught dead near. There's a rich stew of influences simmering in this band's kitchen. Some of those flavors enchant you, while others bewitch.

Mystic metaphors suit this band well. Their artwork and imagery evoke a primal anima, spun with electronic effects and hard-rock fury but rooted in classical Romanticism. Electric guitars and vocal sampling meld with harpsichords and hammer dulcimers; lyrics by Goethe and Tennyson ride on industrial soundscapes. In the growing underground of magical eclectia (epitomized by Enigma, Dead Can Dance, Loreena McKennitt, and others), Faith and the Muse are perhaps the most intelligent, diverse and ambitious of the lot.

That restless sense of intelligence sets the band apart from many of its hippie-drippy peers. Although often lumped with the gothic gloom crowd (or the equally disreputable prog contingent), Richards and Faith transcend the facile cliches of both camps. In place of Byronic excess or hyperproficient wankery, the couple meld an affection for Old, New and Altogether Different with restless experimentation and a refusal to talk down to their audience. During the Evidence of Heaven tour, the band blew their old Goth tag to pieces by hitting the stage in dazzling white -- an image which provoked roars of approval from the audience.

Like any experimental project, Faith and the Muse have had off-kilter moments and flirtations with cheese: the Disney windstorm effect that mars "Iago's Demise"; the hyperbolic meltdown of "Caesura"; the Haunted-Mansion-on-crack of "Through the Pale Door"; and other slips. Yet given the artistic leaps taken by each song -- and the conceptual constipation of the musical establishment -- Faith and Richards can be forgiven their occasional missteps. Their vision deserves credit simply for daring so much, and for so often achieving it.

Restless Spirits

In slightly less than a decade, Faith and the Muse have produced three studio albums, a collection of rarities, and a handful of tracks for anthology compilations. (See below for details.) Individually and as a couple, Monica and William have labored generously in the underground, providing artwork, musical production, representation and publicity for various causes and struggling artists. A respected musician and producer, Faith has performed for numerous bands (including Shadow Project and Christian Death), and produced albums for Autumn, This Ascension and a handful of other artists. In addition to a musical career that began in the Washington, DC punk scene of the 1980s (including stints with Strange Boutique and Madhouse), Richards' multimedia experimentation features a growing portfolio of exhibitions, books, performances and appearances. Partners in art and life, Faith and the Muse are in the studio crafting their fourth studio album for a 2003 release. This project, The Burning Season, continues the artistic alchemy that has come to define both the band as a whole and the two individuals at its core.

In the studio, Faith and the Muse are a two-person project. Faith plays the majority of the recorded instrumentation, based on compositions worked out by both artists. Each musician handles vocals, but Richards does most of the singing. For concerts, they hire additional musicians, although several tours have seen them perform solo. For the most part, Faith and the Muse avoid pre-recorded sequencers for their concerts. The music, though undeniably electric, is produced live.

Meaningful music for meaningless times. That tagline (or one close to it, anyway) advertised the 2001 release Vera Causa. It also makes a fine summation for the band in general. While pop continues to slide into a glossy stupor, Faith and the Muse aspire to something greater. Reaching into the mythic quality at the heart of music, Richards and Faith catch the spiritual hunger of our current age, then weave fire and storm into a banquet to feed it. The meal won't suit everyone's tastes, but then it's not exactly fast food. Unlike bland Top 40 treats, this music satisfies.

Burning Seasons, Mystic Revival, and Paul Stanley Hair

I first encountered Faith and the Muse in 1994, during their first tour together. Plagued by bad sound and upstaged by the preceding band (Das Ich), they made an indifferent impression at the time. Later, a friend lent me the then-fresh 1996 release Annwyn, Beneath the Waves. From the first note to the last, I was smitten; the album has since become one of my all-time favorites, and I myself became an eager fan. On later tours, I met the artists on several occasions; most recently, I caught up with them for an exclusive interview.

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beat: The romance and trappings of myth and faerie tale seem to have a growing appeal in this new millennium. Why do you think that is? And what part might you see Faith and the Muse playing in that mystic revival?

Monica: Stories of other worlds and realms have been a source of fascination to me since I was a child. I've studied and compared world mythology, and find it very inspiring to me. The real world, the mundane, it is all getting too hectic, too stressful, and too frightening. I see this revival as a sort of retreat to a simpler place, where qualities like honor, truth, and chivalry have meaning. We've always been there.

beat: So how did a metalhead and a punker wind up decked out in neo-Renaissance wear and recording a tribute to the Mabinogion?

Monica: Who knows!?? I actually started that way, but became a punk in reaction to years of harassment from other kids -- due to my innate "strangeness". I always had the need for other realms inside myself. It was a slow progression into being just who I wanted to be, and when I began to research Welsh mythology, it all seemed to fall into place with our music. We have changed a bit since that era, though, Annwyn came out in 1996!

William: Metalhead???

beat: Joking. (Note: William is a professed Kiss fan whose original hairstyle evoked both Robert Smith and Paul Stanley.)

beat: Your work combines a diverse palette of influences. What artists, musical and otherwise, inspire you both?

Monica: Artists like Bowie, writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I enjoy artists who journey on down their paths, learning and changing, able to express the nuances of life through their own mode of creation.

William: It's always evolving and mutating, but the constants are definitely Bowie, Peter Gabriel, The Stooges, New York Dolls, The Velvet Underground, The Birthday Party, The Damned, Kate Bush, Japan, Swans, etc. -- as always, the list goes on...

beat: Despite obvious electronic technology and effects, there's a very organic sound to your music. Where do you think that comes from, and how -- from a technical perspective -- do you achieve it?

Monica: We do our best to play the real thing rather than just use synthesizers. And I very much enjoy world-folk musics, which have a more "from the core of the heart" feel. We're using a bit of classic synth work on the new album, but mixing it in with real drumming and instrumentation.

William: It's a fairly delicate balance of technology and live instrumentation. That balance is all based on how it sounds, really -- but we try to use as much of the real thing as possible.

beat: You've covered songs by Bauhaus, Christian Death, Kate Bush, Paul Williams, Queen Elizabeth, and others. Yet somehow those works have a certain unity. What draws you to the songs you cover, and where do you find their common threads?

Monica: Oh, I don't know if you can find a common thread in all of them -- other than the fact that we love the songs. Our tastes run the gamut, which is why our musical work is just as varied!

William: The songs are actually somewhat disparate in appeal; the only constant being that we are moved by them, and felt we could contribute something of our own to them.

beat: Your own songs have included lyrics from Goethe, Tennyson, Campion and several anonymous bards. What draws you to those sources, and where do you see the bridges between their work and our age?

Monica: It's important to read literature from the past in order to see how we got here. I chose to study literature rather than history, because you get into the minds of those who lived so many years ago, and they had very much the same fears, loves, problems that we have!

beat: William is a formidable musician, and you're no slouch yourself. Both of you seem to be accomplished artists in various media. What are your backgrounds, and how do you weave them into your work?

Monica: As far as background, my family on both sides is full of artists and musicians -- it's in my blood. From the [first] moment I can remember, I began to draw and sing -- it was all around me. My mother was a trained soprano, my father a baritone, and a musician. Both were interested not only in classical music, but also in folk music. That (eclecticism) allowed me to be open to quite a bit of music from all ages and continents, which I have worked with all my life.

William: My musical life began with trying to learn to play bass at the age of 13; I sat in my room and learned songs off of albums by ear. Once I had enough confidence to play in a band, I formed one with some friends, and that led me all the way to Faith and the Muse. I didn't really start focusing on other instruments in a serious way until we put this project together. Ever since, I've enjoyed the freedom of picking up and learning whatever instrument I think would fit a song.

beat: I've noticed that both of you keep busy with other projects. Could you tell us more about them?

Monica: I do a fair bit of everything, but it's all my own work, just in other areas, be it writing or creating visual art. I have my fingers in so many pots... which is lucky for me.

William: I spend my so-called spare time working with other artists in a production/engineering capacity in my studio, Wisperthal.

beat: What's your method when you decide to hit the studio? Do you write around an initial framework, or does the framework evolve from the early material?

Monica: The latter, definitely. We've been writing (The Burning Season) for the last year and a half, but only when we actually hit the serious recording do all the pieces start to come together. </font&gt

beat: What elements and inspirations fuel that current project?

Monica: Fire! Strength. Working against fear. Choice in life, choice to make something of yourself, emotions that are hitting us all -- it's personal in a sense as to the human condition, and how world events touch all of our lives.

beat: What can you tell us about that forthcoming album?

Monica: The Burning Season utilizes everything we've worked with, our earlier influences and styles. I'm using a great deal of my own poetry this time, putting music to the words rather than words to music. We're experimenting with old and new musics along with organic and electronic sounds, as well as trance and tribal, our early punk roots and futuristic atmospheres.

beat: Cool. What sorts of songs or themes can we expect?

Monica: These descriptions and lyric bytes might help a bit: The Burning Season is cinematic and classical, a neo-tribal soundscape featuring two voices -- one the voice of quiet exhaustion as to the current state of life, the other as a wiser Truth-consciousness that runs as the undercurrent. "Sredni Vashtar": This is not a darker age, just the turning of the wheel... It's a hard-rocking death rock/tribal song that rises in intensity. "Gone to Ground": There are truths behind the death in eyes/ love may have no afterlife... This one's a classic 1940s jazz torchsong about the onslaught of depression, with raw instrumentation. (We hope to literally capture the sounds of a forgotten smoky club atmosphere).

beat: Sounds like a really good choice, especially given the success of the film Chicago...

Monica: "Relic Song": This one comes from our punk rock roots -- it's our answer to the "new" punk scene that's recently emerged, but with a great deal of humor added. There is a New Wave-ish silliness in this one, and I think people our age will have a serious laugh! This is a big favorite of ours! "Visions" (that title may change): I walk with phantoms... Misty and driven, from dulcimer to electronic rhythms. I would compare this slightly to (the Evidence of Heaven song) "Shattered in Aspect" stylistically. "In the Amber Room": In this Risen moment, I am with you, my Love... Almost ambient, fairy dust put to music, a simple love song. I'm singing in a completely different register for this one, letting the vocals simply soar into the aethers. "Boadicea": A woman's heart/much deadlier than the sleeping beast... This one's a slow, strange ringing guitar dirge, comparing the Celtic queen's fall to the expectations of what "Woman" really entails, and what women have of themselves.

beat: Sounds like an echo of Annwyn's "The Sea Angler" and title cut, and the gallery of faces given in "Iago's Demise" -- those images of haunted yet defiant women. Appropriate.

(Monica merely smiles.)

beat: Could you tell us about the bond that drew you and William together? How did you meet, when did you realize the connection between you, how do you work with it -- in and out of the studio -- and how do you maintain it in such a stressful vocation?

Monica: I was in Strange Boutique, and William was touring with Shadow Project in 1992. My band opened for his, and there was an immediate rapport. I saw something in William that I had been searching for -- an artist willing to believe in me, my work, and my way of working. We just clicked, and when we began to write music together it was as if we had been working together for years! We maintain our way by respecting the other, allowing each other their dignity and creativity. I need him in order to explore my own creations.

William: I can only agree; I knew from the moment I saw Monica performing that she had great talent, a very bright and vibrant spirit, and I saw in her much of what I wanted to express. Once we began to experiment with songs, we both knew it was something unique and amazing -- it was almost too easy. We've maintained it through respect, and allowing each other space to experiment; we labor under a creative tension which I feel is essential to good art -- unchecked creativity can and does often give way to overt self-indulgence -- so we sometimes give each other a nudge in a certain direction, but always, always with total respect and latitude.

beat: That respect comes through beautifully in your work... not only a respect for one another, but a respect for Spirit in general. I hear that spirituality running deeply throughout your music. What inspires that element?

Monica: Searching for meaning to life... really that's the key.

William: Simply finding things that thrill the heart, challenge the mind or make a connection. We make music that pleases us and expresses what we want to say; we release it and perform it so that we can share these thoughts and expressions with others... When they feel or understand what we're saying in our music, and express the same back to us -- that connection is about the most spiritual phenomenon I can think of.

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Faith and the Muse Discography

As mentioned above, Faith and the Muse have three -- going on four -- studio albums and the Vera Causa collection. They've appeared on roughly a dozen compilations, although many of those tracks have been gathered on Vera Causa, or were drawn from existing albums. The primary Faith and the Muse discography features:

Elyria (Metropolis Records #MET207; originally released on Tess Records, June 1994) If The Burning Season is Fire, the band's debut release is Air. Monochromatic yet intricate soundscapes evoke a melancholy dream. The most "Gothic" album of the lot, Elyria is sometimes a bit too self-consciously cerebral for its own good; even so, it boasts several breathtaking moments, and stands apart even at this early stage from nearly everything in its class. Highlights: Sparks, Annabell, Iago's Demise, The Trauma Coil, Heal.

Annwyn, Beneath the Waves (Metropolis #MET208; originally released on Tess Records, June 1996) -- My personal favorite, Annwyn spins a pagan tapestry from the Welsh Mabinogion, Wolfgang von Goethe, Old Gods and modern rage. Like the Water element it invokes, Annwyn glides from Renaissance-faire lyricism to apoplectic post-punk, often within seconds. Highlights: the title cut, The Silver Circle, Cantus, Fade and Remain, Arianrhod/ Branwen Slayne, Cernunnos, The Sea Angler.

Evidence of Heaven (Metropolis #MET209; originally released by Neue Asthetik Multimedia, June 1999) -- Earth in the elemental spread, Evidence recalls the ghosts of the past. Beginning with a faint recording of Monica's mother playing a recital, the album moves across the emotional spectrum of grief and restoration. The band's most accessible album to date, Evidence features a defiant thread of hope running through pre-millennial anxiety. Highlights: Scars Flown Proud, Shattered in Aspect, Patience Worth, Importune Me No More, Old Souls.

Vera Causa (Metropolis #MET225; originally released by Metropolis Records, October 2001) -- A two-disc set of covers, live cuts, alternative mixes, acoustic versions and rarities, Vera Causa shows the many faces of the band. Although the house remixes are dispensable, several of the alternate tracks equal or surpass the original recordings, while the live cuts demonstrate the band's formidable concert presence. Highlights: Frater ave atque vale, Running up that Hill (Kate Bush cover), Breath of a Kiss, Annwyn, Beneath the Waves (acoustic version), A Winter Wassail, All Lovers Lost/ Arianrhod (live).

The Burning Season is scheduled for release in July 2003.

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Other information about Faith and the Muse, including MP3 sample downloads, can be found at the band's website: http://mercyground.com/

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