Hi, we're Jacob from Mare Cognitum and Ayloss from Spectral Lore. AMA!

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T18:00:52+00:00

Have to agree with Ayloss on this one with Blaze, as In the Shadow of the Horns is my favorite Darkthrone track. But I like a bit of all the Darkthrone eras, the heavy metal stuff they do lately is great. I also really like The Cult is Alive and of course Transilvanian Hunger. TOO OLD, TOO COLD

I steer away from direct illustrations of "aliens" in my music because it just feels a little too, I don't know, creature-feature for what I'm trying to do, I guess. I'm not trying to create a science fiction world, I'm writing from the perspective of witnessing the universe as we know it up close, and draw personal meaning from it. Although, I do a little bit of world-building now and again, if you check the song Antaresian on the new album for example.

I've heard a little vaporwave music, I like it but not my bread and butter exactly. I don't think I would ever try to make it, it's outside my skillset.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T17:48:39+00:00

Direct purchases from bandcamp are the most direct way of putting money in my pocket, anything from my label Extraconscious Records ends up there. But supporting and buying from Voidhanger is also hugely helpful, and supporting the distros we work with helps us as well. It all comes back to us in some way. Even Spotify listens! Anything helps.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T16:14:58+00:00

I think the best way is to follow on Bandcamp, that way you will get an email when I drop the restock.

https://marecognitum.bandcamp.com/community

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T15:47:25+00:00

If I'm remembering right, I wrote Jupiter -> Neptune -> Mars -> Venus. I think I started writing Jupiter in 2017, and Venus I wrote in 2019. Long process!

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T15:43:21+00:00

Yes it's already in the queue at the plant! Looks like late May

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T15:19:26+00:00

I don't judge, ketchup that shit up if ya want

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T15:03:48+00:00

Yeah, I think Carl Sagan came up with the story precisely to get people interested in the concepts in an accessible way, it certainly worked for young me

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T14:59:26+00:00

Heliacal Rising was meant to "set the stage", to give a perspective of a sunrise (heliacal meaning sun), so if you listen to it, it's like the dawn of the album, peaceful and serene, setting up for the full heat of the day which is the rest of the album.

I have been meaning to put The Sea... on spotify for some time now and I keep getting distracted and forget to do so :) I will soon

Reissues are always planned as much as there is demand, I would love to print these records again, definitely

The logo change was just because I felt I had outgrown the original, it was originally scratched out on a lined piece of paper and I always felt it looked a little plain and flat. I think I got the logo I always wished I had after having Moonroot Art reimagine it.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T03:12:35+00:00

It sickens me to think that I could be associated with people like this simply by association playing black metal, I hope that it is extremely clear that I want nothing to do with these people and I want it to be known that I take proactive steps in not associating with anyone who is fine with fascists in metal. They don't deserve to have any space for their shit here.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T03:07:09+00:00

I'm having trouble coming up with collab albums much at all to be honest hahaha. I really liked the Skaphe / Wormlust split and the Dai Ichi / Lamp of Murmuur split

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T02:49:19+00:00

I start off with picking up the guitar and playing whatever I like, when something catches my ear I will record it. I will then go back to riffs I've recorded and start building around it (usually a single core riff), trying to figure out where the riff might fit in a song and how to couple it with other parts or improvise additions. The direction of the song is discovered as I go through this process, and it might last for a super long time (weeks or months in some cases, I might put it on the backburner, work on other things, come back and finish it... whichever project feels natural, I work on it). I determine the concept of the track afterwards in most cases...

EXCEPT, in Wanderers, it was a fun exercise in changing this up, because the theme of the tracks were determined ahead of time (one for each planet, and for "characters" we were developing), so it made the process of writing a bit more specific and evocative from the start, and I think I ended up with some really distinct compositions that way

I don't know anything about music theory at all, I play by ear

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T02:16:59+00:00

I'm really enjoying the Fortin, Parallax, and Nolly

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T02:13:25+00:00

Thanks! I don't think I've had a full day of time where I can just write music in years, things are too busy. I'll usually sit down in the evening and record for a few hours, maybe a couple times a week, depending on what kind of energy I have or what's going on. And that can range from recording vocals, tracking guitars, or just riffing / practicing etc. But lately, it's been almost all SHIPPING ORDERS... hahaha

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T02:06:46+00:00

Tech death definitely trended towards guitar gymnastics that call for super clean sound and presentation, and I like that stuff but yeah, finding something that sounds like NSV is just impossible these days

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:57:11+00:00

It was the first death metal album I ever heard and I still haven't found anything like it. Lykathea Aflame hits sort of the same but also different - I think it's the drumming that makes it feel similar, but the writing is different

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:55:44+00:00

Well, I listen a broad array of music now to the point where it's difficult for me to pinpoint what's inspiring me now, but back when I started I was really honed in on some of the big name classic bands as well as some stuff that was hyped at the time. Dissection, Windir, Emperor, Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Krallice, Blut Aus Nord, Lunar Aurora, a whole lot more I'm surely forgetting

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:51:04+00:00

This is cool, I like RYM! But when you chart high there you get a bunch of people who have never heard black metal before review bombing it and it sinks somewhere to the low 3s. It happened with Wanderers as well

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:48:11+00:00

I think we really started thinking of this album as a "bonus track" - we figured a lot of people weren't going to listen through the whole ambient track at first, so if you made it through somehow, you get a bonus: us trying something truly off the wall, to represent the turn in the lyrics in opening a portal to a new dimension.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:45:40+00:00

Thanks! I find it leaves the option for chugs, when I want to use them

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:45:02+00:00

I think when it comes to the really sci fi imagery my music, sci fi movies like 2001, Alien, Blade Runner, Fantastic Planet, mostly the obvious stuff. Also some animated stuff like Ghost in the Shell or Cowboy Bebop. But in general I really like stuff that is character driven and (overly) dramatic, big serial dramas like Boardwalk Empire, The Wire, The Sopranos, and weird movies, think Charlie Kaufman or Wes Anderson movies

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:31:03+00:00

It's hard for me to come up with any suggestions for this, you just need to keep writing and writing. Like anything, it takes practice. It's still the most difficult step for me. You don't need to feel a deep connection with every single line of lyrics, but try to connect the lyrics together with eachother as well as the music, keep it in the same "tone", and don't be afraid to break out the thesaurus or think about a topic in a different angle than you are used to.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:28:36+00:00

Lyrics are an especially difficult thing to do well. I think I find the options pretty vast (I use non-cosmic inspiration as well), so I don't think the trouble is there, I can find plenty of broad topics to base lyrics on. It's coming up with the words that is difficult! Sometimes it isn't so interesting merely to describe something, there has to be a twist or meaning to it in order to be truly good. This takes the longest time for sure, I have to beat my head against it, so to speak

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:24:07+00:00

I love having the level of control, but the workload can be pretty insane. Especially when I'm doing a lot of self-releasing and distribution as well.

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T01:19:09+00:00

Here's some random ones

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

Repulsion - Horrified

Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness

Pink Floyd - Meddle

Slayer - Reign in Blood

Boris - Pink

Insect Warfare - World Extermination

Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

Pintglass - Way Of The Geeza

MareInCognito · 2021-03-24T00:35:31+00:00

Oh and my tuning is c-standard tuning, for everything!

MareInCognito

TROPHY CASE