"Is It Christian? Is It Satanic?" ††† embrace the ambiguous
With their long-awaited debut LP finally due for release this month, Chino Moreno and ex-Far guitarist Shaun Lopez tell us they've found comfort in †††
Chino Moreno's longstanding side project Team Sleep might have fallen by the wayside in recent years, but that's not to say the Deftones frontman hasn't been busy with other extracurricular affairs. Aside from an ongoing career with his main band, he recently collaborated with ex-Isis members for last year's gorgeously expansive Palms LP. It's perhaps less well known that he's also been spending spare time working with ex-Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and Chuck Doom on another band, ††† (Crosses), whose recorded output goes back to 2011, when they released their first EP online as a free download. Its understated arrival generated relative online buzz due to the people involved, but compared to Lopez's work with Far and Moreno's with Deftones, fanfare was slight.
They preferred it this way, as Lopez recounts: “We just wanted to release it on our own, and for it to come out of nowhere. A lot of the time when bands talk about a project and they haven't recorded anything yet, there's a lot of hype. It's almost impossible to meet expectations. We wanted to put music out there that we made and that we loved, counting on the fans to spread the word. I think it worked – it was definitely passed around. It means a lot more to find something on your own, or through word of mouth. We wanted to adopt that mentality.”
To Moreno, the low-key release reflected the nature of the project's formation: “I was just hanging around in Shaun's studio at his house. Chuck and Shaun were just writing some tunes together. There weren't any plans for what it was going to be. I just happened to show up to hang out there, and got asked if I could go into the vocal booth and put down an idea. It started very innocently that way, and from that point on it organically grew into a project. After a month had gone by of me showing up between tours, we had a lot of material.”
"People would talk about my approach with Deftones, trying to tell me how I should sing. That shit drove me crazy – now I just ignore it" – Chino Moreno
The word spread, but the cryptic artwork and lack of context for the project led the internet to make many assumptions. One was that ††† were part of the thriving Witch House movement, a reaction which appealed to Lopez's sense of humour: “That was funny, just because people always have to tag something. It was weird, people saying we were trying to be a part of this genre, when clearly we weren't at all! I don't know if it was angry Witch House fans causing mayhem or whatever...”
Moreno was less amused, but he's used to colliding with the expectations of fans and detractors: “I understood why, because of the symbols and the band title, but we weren't going for anything in particular, musically. I used to read forums where people would talk about my approach with Deftones, trying to tell me how I should sing. That shit drove me crazy – now I just ignore it. People are passionate about their preferences in music, but I can't dictate what I'm going to come out with because of those people.” Lopez is just thrilled that anyone else outside the camp is so passionate about their direction to begin with: “People wake up to free music every day. It's a big deal that someone cares about it, period. There's so many options for entertainment the minute you wake up, so if someone will listen to your music and care about it, you'd best not take it for granted.”
For Moreno, there's no pressure with †††: “The bottom line is that you can either listen or not listen. As busy as I am with Deftones, I have a lot of spare time left over. I don't really have any other hobbies other than listening to music, researching music, and making music. I could either be making nothing or making something. That's as deep as I try to look at it, because if I went on the internet and started reading all these comments, I'd drive myself fucking nuts!”
Content with the first EP's reception, the band worked on more music until a second offering followed in 2012. Now, they're preparing a self-titled album for physical release, comprising their discography so far and a selection of new cuts. Moreno describes it as a package for the fans who have been keeping track, but its adroitness as a fluid debut for newcomers to sink their teeth into shouldn't be overlooked.
All past achievements of their day jobs considered, it's understandable that Moreno and Lopez would want to create something anew from the ground up, without label pressure and over-privileged fans breathing down their necks. Lopez sums the ethos up nicely: “It's fun. Definitely a lot different from the kind of recording schedules we're used to. We're usually rushed. Making this record was not bad at all. It was just done over time.” As for his approach: “There's guitar, but a lot of the time a guitar sounds like a synth. I record so many guitars that I'm always trying to make them sound like something else. Because there was no schedule or expectation with this project, I had a lot more time.”
He goes on to suggest that †††'s real source of inspiration was the surrealist imagery they'd immerse themselves in while they were in the studio: “When we were making songs, I'd always put something on the TV, " he elaborates. "Obscure, visually stimulating movies. Anything from Holy Mountain to A Clockwork Orange. It's weird, because those moods have crept into the sounds. They set the vibe for †††." Lopez is also pleased with the uncertainty of their moniker, as if he's relieved to be part of a band without limits: “If you think of a cross, it's very ambiguous. Is it a cult? Is it Christian? Is it Satanic? You don't really know. I love that.”
Images and the ideas they convey are also important to Moreno, who explains the effects of Lopez's taste in films on his vocal performances: “There's a lot of religious symbolism and supernatural vibes in those movies. We used those as a catalyst to spark ideas, whether it be a chord change, or a lyric, anything really. I appreciate that approach, because when I write words, I do so in a very stream-of-conscious way. I wanted to react to the music and the visuals. What exactly are we trying to say? I don't think there is a message, at least not one I can think of. It's more about moods and general ideas.”
Moreno, not one for navel gazing, has become increasingly prolific in recent years. The Skinny asks whether these side ventures have afforded the relative veteran a new creative freedom. “I feel busier than I've ever been in my career," he starts. "With Deftones, there's a lot of wiggle room. It's not confined. We're considered a hard rock band, but there's so much room for other styles and sounds. I don't feel restricted by that project as it is, so with ††† it's not any different. The songs themselves aren't guitar based or aggressive, which makes it a little different, but my approach is still the same. What you have on these records is my reaction to the music, and there's no real boundaries. I feel like it's easier to make music now. I feel less pressure. Maybe it's because I don't have to participate in these projects, but instead of wasting time sitting around smoking weed and playing video games, I get to make something that wasn't previously there.”