Interview: Electromancy

Recently, DutchMetalManiac’s Tim van Velthuysen interviewed Electromancy’s Satyra.

Hey, how are you? 

It’s a crazy world we live in! I’m holding it together though. 😬

Can you tell us something about the history of Electromancy?

I’m Satyra, the creator of Electromancy. I met my bandmates at a recycling center, where I haggled for their lives to then only carve out their faces and fill them with hacked together electronics. My bandmates are all mannikins.

About 2 years ago I started having strange and intense health issues that, among other things, caused me to lose a lot of function in my hands. Honestly, I didn’t know if I was dying or not (and sometimes I still don’t know). It was a huge kick in the butt to stop putting my dreams aside, a big one of which was releasing a metal album. But with my hands’ issues, I couldn’t play instruments anymore. So what did I do? I built robot guitars, drums, and bandmates to play my music for me. 

For people not knowing Electromancy (yet), how would you describe your music yourself?

My music is solidly black metal. It also incorporates a lot of oppositional minimalism and experimentalism. It is both atmospheric and in your face, a very textural experience.
I would count my biggest influences as Portal and Liturgy on the metal side, and Dan Deacon on the compositional side. Moritz Simon Geist was also a big influence on the robotics side of things as well.  

When someone doesn’t know Electromancy yet and you can choose one of your songs to present yourself, which song would that be?

Right now the main song of ours you can hear is our cover of Transilvanian Hunger, but very soon we are releasing a single called The Spark which I really love. The second half of that song always gives me goosebumps. Much more than the cover, The Spark will give you a real feel for what this band is and where we are going.

What makes Electromancy unique? 

Robots play the fucking instruments because my hands are probably permanently broken. My upcoming album is a raw look at my emotional & spiritual experience suffering from physical disability and chronic illness, while mannikins with their bodies as broken as mine emit lights along with the music. The whole thing is as real and honest as it is raw and unique. There is nothing like it.

Any future plans you can already tell us something about? 

Gearing up for our debut album release is the focal point of my musical future. In the meantime making the drum mechanics more robust for live shows for once we all survive this pandemic.  

Any upcoming gigs for Electromancy? Maybe coming to The Netherlands?

We will definitely be playing some live shows in 2021, but I’m not making any plans until the pandemic is over. My health issues put me in more at risk for Covid, so I’m not counting any chickens before they hatch. 

How do you think your life would be without music?

A lot harder. My music has given me such a great outlet to process my feelings around my health, and something exciting to create and strive for during these dark times. I’m so grateful for what music has been giving me.

What advice would you give to young and starting bands? 

Just make stuff, make anything, get started and get it out there and keep going. I feel like a lot of musicians get caught in perfectionism, trying to make their first song/first release/first anything perfect. It will not be perfect, you will always be getting better. The more you create new things the better you will get. Just get out there and stuff holding yourself up!

Thanks for your answers! Is there anything you want to say to DutchMetalManiac’s readers?

Thanks so much for being interested in what I’m up to! It’s been one crazy adventure and it’s just getting started. I’m posting all sorts of videos and crazy shit all the time and have a ton of new music coming out, so please follow along and be a part of the journey with me!

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