The Bastard Laments

We set upon our maiden voyage on fine form with this interview with Nathan Dylan Bennett, the visionary behind Capricorns, White Daughter, Bridge and Tunnel and the best music to ever come out of London. The first time I saw Capricorns I walked into the gig riding the at the drive-in wave and came out wanting bigger riffs and bigger amps from every next record I picked up. He's currently living in Germany and is set to invade Japan where I'm sure he'll start something else that'll level the place like a hairy Godzilla plugged into a Sunn Model T.

What brings you to Japan? What brought you to Germany? Have you lined up any bands to work with? What type of things would you like to do musically?

An opportunity recently arose for me to relocate there for awhile. As a frequent visitor to Japan, due exclusively to romantic endeavors, I've always wanted to live there for a spell. It will be an opportunity to finally learn the language and try and convince those guys in Corrupted to do a side project with me. Germany has been kind of a retreat from London for me. London was raping my brain on a daily basis, my wallet too, and I felt the only way for me to get any perspective on things was to get the hell out for awhile. I thought, Berlin is dirt cheap and not very far away so why not head over there for awhile? It's got to be better than Walthamstow! Anyway, with my newly attained perspective I've realized Berlin is cheap because it's dirt poor and full of hippies but it may be possible to make a buck or two teaching 'rock English' to pop stars and record executives in Tokyo despite the looming U.S. recession! Musically I want to do a million and one things. I want to do a large ensemble based project, a euphoric crust band, a doomed out electro thing and I figure Tokyo is the place to be to start that creepy psych band I've always wanted to do.

What's happening with Capricorns? Will you continue to do the band after the move?

Well, we've got an album coming out. We'll probably tour it and then see what happens.

What can we expect from the new record? Any titles or tentative release dates? I remember before you guys had a record out, live you'd introduce songs with titles like 'Pigeon Fist' and 'The Bastard's Lament'. Do you ever plan to use those? They're genius!

The album is called 'River, Bear Your Bones' (just to clarify that's bear as in carry not bare as in exposure) and it will be released sometime in early Summer. I've stolen all the song titles from a book but the album title is my own. I forgot about Pigeon Fist and The Bastard's Lament - they were good weren't they? Dunno maybe I'll use them in the future but if anyone wants to steal them go right ahead!

Eugene Robinson from Oxbow did an amazing job on 'The First Broken Promise'. Will the new record have any other guests? I heard there were plans to get Mike Williams from Eyehategod on one of the tracks on Ruder Forms but it fell through. Is this something that will happen with the new record?

You know, I was torn about this. I like the idea of having guests butI never wanted to have a Probot or a Sunn scenario where it's expected of you. I wrote 'The First Broken Promise' expressly for Eugene as he's one of my favorite singers OF ALL TIME. And I mean that, he's got something that no one else can touch. He's like a feral Sam Cooke or something, first and foremost a soul singer in my opinion. So I'm thinking, hmmm how do I top that? Mike Williams, who I also love is kind of hard to pin down. Then there was John Brannon who's a genius but I don't think our new material suits him at all. Then I thought about the guy in Wolfmangler, I even contacted him and he was interested in doing something but the tune I had in mind didn't really suit him either. Then a friend of Dwid from Integrity said I should get him on the record but that guy guests on everything. So you can see my problem, nobody quite fit. Well, apart from Glenn Danzig who's my hero but he's not going to do it for anything less than several thousand pounds and then I might end up hating it anyway... So I thought it best to avoid guests on this. Though as I write this I think EYE from Boredoms would be perfect on this one song...

What were some of the ideas and concepts when you started the band? Did you intend for it to be instrumental? Also I've always been into the raw rock n' roll swagger present in Capricorns' output that distinguishes it from the Isises and Pelicans. Was this 'vibe' something you planned out or did this happen naturally with having members of Iron Monkey, Orange Goblin as well as a result of some of your previous endevours? Or do I have it ass-backwards and you were trying to start a crusty sludge band that came out the way it did because of your work in Bridge and Tunnel and you love of film soundtracks?

No concept. Whenever I try to realize a concept it falls flat on it's ass. We didn't even intend for it to be instrumental, we got a gig booked after about 5 rehearsals and we were like "Shit, we don't have a singer but we have all the riffs kind of arranged." So we just went and did the gig without a singer. I think people were kind of expecting me to take on singing duties but I didn't start this band to be a front man, I started it to NOT be a front man. But then I kind of ended up being the only person who would speak into the mike anyway. I think your ass-backwards take on things is probably more accurate. Capricorns was definitely meant to be a crusty sludge band but I've got this real melodic side to me that I find really hard to shake. I mean, if I could start all over again or if I find myself with loads of time and money on my hands in the near future I would try for a degree in composition. I'm that fucking fruity man.

I remember the first time I saw the band at the Underworld with Lungfish and PW Long (awesome show) and later with Nashville Pussy. Unfortunately i left to return to Hong Kong not long after. Did you continue to play gigs on mixed bills often or did you find yourself playing with more stoner/doom bands?

Things started getting a lot more typical shortly after that time unfortunately. I mean, we always play with great bands for the most part but I really enjoy doing those incongruous shows - they are so much more fun to play and to attend. I remember thinking the Nashville Pussy crowd was going to hate us but we actual ended up going down pretty well with those maniacs. If you have the right amount of attitude you can get away with anything.

Looking back, how would you remember your time in London and how do you feel about how far Capricorns has come?

My time in London was great, it made me as English as I am American in many ways. I mean, I lived there for 12 years - I kind of 'found' myself there so to speak. I think Capricorns has done well, better than I thought we would do. I mean, we're just a dumb underground band but I'm pretty proud of our little following and we played some major gigs. I met a lot of heroes with this ridiculous hobby and have seen some parts of the world I never would have seen otherwise, it's been great. It takes character to do a job like this, most people can't hack it!

For the uninitiated, can you discuss some of your other projects? (Cattlepress, White Daughter, Bridge and Tunnel, as well as any I may have missed out!)

Cattlepress is ancient history. I learned how to play guitar in that band. We were a bunch of knucklehead kids from New York who were into crust and hardcore. They kept going and got a whole lot better after I moved to England. I'm still in touch with those maniacs. We might try to do a project some time in the near future. Actually, the Cattlepress bass player Javier Villegas, who was also in Born Against and happens to be my best friend in the world played with Capricorns on our last Euro tour. It was really great to play with him again after so long. White Daughter is kind of still happening at a glacial pace - we released an album called 'Stiff With The Invisible' a couple of years ago that I'm quite proud of. B & T is definitely over, that was a weird mix of all the things I'm into or was into at the time – I can hear some of it now and manage not to cringe!

How did the shows with Baroness come about? At the time was there a sense that they'd get as big as they did? I saw a Guitar World magazine article with them recently and Baizley was wearing the Capricorns Sharon Tate shirt!

We contacted Baroness the old way, directly, and mentioned that we could probably get them over to England for a tour with us. I knew they would get big and I think they'll get bigger. They've got massive hooks and can play they're asses off. I love that whole southern rock element they've got going on, I really hope they don't lose it like Mastodon did. They are sweet as pie too, love 'em to death.

You've had a long history working with Mark Bihler (Capricorns, Bridge and Tunnel, White Daughter) how did you first start collaborating with him? Do you plan on doing other projects with him in future?

He had a studio opposite a bar I worked in London years and years ago. We just got to talking about music and I ended up at his place with a pile of modern classical and soundtrack records that I thought would be worth looping over some Dale Crover breaks. This was kind of at the tail end of trip hop in the UK before it became a complete embarrassment. We just clicked musically. As people we are very, very different and don't always get along but when it comes to 'the music' we've got this synergy that's really special. And we're not gay, honest. We'll continue to do White Daughter, I've got tons of ideas
and want to take it to some really dark places!

Any final words of wisdom?

I always seem to be reminding myself that where there is horror beauty is never far away.

Thanks again, hope all is well.

No problem Arthur, see you in the far east. Oh, I won't forget about the shirts.

Capricorns – 'Ruder Forms Survive'

When Capricorns finally took some time out from destroying every single darkly lit room in London and introducing the English to Baroness to record their full length for Rise Above Records, I had the feeling they were going to come out with a masterpiece. It had seemed like a long enough wait having only been partially satiated by the ep they put out. But 'Ruder Forms Survive' over shot any expectations I had, and they were pretty damn high too (the expectations, not the band). Yes it is a masterpiece, yes it has understated moments of ethereal beauty. But these only serve to make the band hit harder when they all dive in and damn near kill you with the riffs. The guitars crunch without sounding saturated, it's sludge without the lumbering, geeking-out-on-smack shambles and the record sounds more live than most bands' live albums. No small feat considering Bennett recorded his tracks Anselmo 'Era-Trendkill' style in a separate studio in Germany, in an old radio broadcast studio used by Hitler no less. The one track with a 'singer' on it comes in 'The Last Broken Promise' featuring Eugene Robinson from Oxbow turning in a performance that ranks high among his most unhinged as well as his most vulnerable moments.