Interview / Morag Tong

Hailing from London, Morag Tong is a stoner-doom metal band that formed in the year 2014. The foursome is made up of Adam Asquith on Drums and Vocals, Alex Clarke on Guitar, Lewis Crane on Guitar, and James Atha on Bass. To date, they released the EP Through Clouded Time in 2016, and a full-length album in 2018 titled The Last knell of Om.

Their latest single, 'At First Light,' was just released on July 14th, giving fans a taste of what's to come from their forthcoming album, 'Grieve,' which is set to release on October 6th."

I sat down with Alex and Adam for an in-depth interview.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you guys on the upcoming release “Grieve” in October.

Adam: Thanks! It feels great to finally have a release date.

It’s been 5 years since your last album, what took you guys so long?

Alex: The pandemic took its toll for sure, but honestly we just took our time over this album. We had really hit on what we consider to be "our" sound towards the end of the writing process for the previous album, and a lot of the writing time for this one was spent exploring where we could take that sound before we laid down any concrete song structures. "Grieve" was musically complete at the start of 2022, and we've spent the time since focusing on getting the release right; the right label, a good set of live shows, and a video that we're incredibly happy with. Ultimately we think that this album is worth hearing, and while it's been a bit agonising to hang onto it for so long it'll reach more people this way and we're lucky to be partnering with a label that believes in the album as much as we do.

Should your fans expect a continuation of what you guys did with “Last Knell of Om”, or is there a departure from your sound?

Alex: A continuation is a good way to put it. "Grieve" certainly still has that drone doom/post rock thing going on but I think the songs are straight up better written this time. We wanted to capture that otherwordly feeling we've been striving for since "Last Knell..."

Adam: We've definitely been more brutal with our selection process while writing, there were a lot of decent riffs and part-songs that we had spent a lot of time and effort on that didn't make the cut. We allowed ourselves to try out a more diverse range of musical ideas this time and a lot of them made it onto the album; there are some beautiful clean guitar parts influenced by early psych, the vocals are both cleaner and harsher, there are smatterings of synth throughout and an aggy harsh noise break, all while giving each section room to breathe. Heavier, softer, prettier, bleaker - it still sounds like us, just more.

A lot has happened over the past 5 years, including a global shutdown that resulted in plenty of time for people to introspect. How has that affected you as a band?

Adam: Obviously it was a worrying and desperately sad time, it's already hard to think that not so long ago we were watching death tolls stack up every day. It affected us all mentally but we were lucky to have stayed fairly safe, and it was a learning experience for us as a band.Our writing approach was largely jam session-based up to that point, so we had to completely re-learn how to collaborate, demoing individual parts and sending them to each other while we couldn't get into a room together. We've actually stuck to this ever since, it seems to bring out the best in us.

The covid lockdowns and political climate also brought a lot of lyrical material to the fore. 'At First Light' is a personal, emotional response to feeling trapped in a city, far from nature, and just getting through the night, into a brighter dawn. There's a wider context too; the line 'Tomorrow can be kind, an opening door, welcoming and mild, so much worth fighting for' was written on the day that Colston's statue was toppled in Bristol, and with the Black Lives Matter movement spreading worldwide, climate protests in every city, and essential workers finally being given a little respect, it really felt like a time of huge societal change, like we might emerge into a better world.

In addition to the music, a lot of us are drawn to the visual aspects of album covers. Avid fans of vinyl records notice the remarkable attention to detail and thought-provoking imagery that often graces your album covers. We would love to hear more about your creative process and the significance you place on the artwork accompanying your music, particularly when it comes to tangible formats like the vinyl record. How do you envision the connection between the visual elements and the sonic experience? Could you share some insights into the inspiration behind your album covers?

Alex: It's important to us that the artwork evokes the same feeling as the music, and even though nobody's selling album's based on how good they look on the shelf any more we place a lot of importance on artwork that really grabs you. Now that music is so freely available, I think it's more important than ever to create a quality package if you're going to sell a physical product! We're very particular about the artists we choose for our album packaging and merch designs, so more often than not we prefer to let their imagination run wild and pull from their own experience for inspiration. Continuing with the emphasis on the visual elements of a record, the cover for Grieve is a stunning one that is skillfully created by the talented Kuba Sokolski. How does the process of working with an artist unfold, where creative freedom is granted based on an initial concept? Can you shed light on the collaborative journey that brings the artist's unique style and your vision and music to life?

Alex: Kuba's done an amazing job hasn't he? We knew that we wanted to work with him again after his work on our previous album; we gave him very little guidance back then other than to let him hear the album and read the lyrics, and he came up with something absolutely jaw-dropping. This time round we asked him to work to a much more detailed brief, and he's delivered another banger. We decided on the colour scheme very early on (it's actually lifted straight from the Kate Bush album "The Kick Inside") and produced a basic sketch for him while we were in the middle of recording. We wanted to keep some elements of the "Last Knell..." cover design in there, along with a few particular motifs to represent the lyrics of "Grieve", most notably an eclipse for 'No Sun, No Moon' - as that song takes up half the album's runtime we wanted to be sure it got its place on the cover! Who are some of your musical idols or sources of inspiration that have influenced your artistic journey?

Adam: It's a cliche but between us we listen to a very wide range of genres, read a wide range of books, visit galleries, watch films and live our lives, all of which in some way influences our creative output. One of the best parts of being in this band is filtering a good idea through four dudes' minds and coming out the other side with something Tong-esque. Of course we take direct influence too; Boris, Nadja, Pink Floyd, Earth and Tryptykon all come to mind as artists that we probably would not exist in this form without. While writing "Grieve", Rob Calvert, Handel, Merzbow, Boards of Canada and Tame Impala all got in the mix, as well as a range of literary, historical and political influences in the lyrics. In your opinion, what albums do you consider to be the epitome of perfection? What specific elements make these albums stand out in your eyes? Is it the songwriting, production, thematic coherence, or a combination of different factors?

Adam: This is a hard one to answer, we struggled to agree between the four of us. Is perfection unattainable, and all art entirely subjective, or are we just crap at coming to a consensus? The closest we could get was "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" by Earth. It's absolutely beautiful, there isn't a wasted note on the entire album, and it hasn't gotten old even after listening to it non stop since 2008. It's as close to perfection as an album can be. Alex: Boris's "Feedbacker" and Celtic Frost's "Monothiest" also came up in that discussion. And "Back in Black". We don't all agree on these, but they have a few aspects in common: music that sticks with you, a consistent feel throughout, and production that absolutely fits the artistic vision - an album doesn't have to sound clean or 'big' to be perfect. When creating your own albums, do you strive to achieve a similar level of perfection as the ones you hold in high regard? How does the concept of a perfect album influence your creative process?

Alex: To the best of our ability (and budget), yes. We don't worry ourselves too much with comparisons to other works while creating our own music, but we have a clear vision each time round that we strive to get as close to as we know how. Lessons learned every time of course, and I'm sure we'll get even closer with the next one. After the pandemic, there is a general agreement that the music scene, particularly within the metal genre, has become considerably restrictive. How do you balance your personal lives with the demands of being in a band? What sacrifices have you made to pursue your music career?

Alex: For sure, it's a difficult time for any artistic endeavour at the moment. I think a lot of bands like us are feeling the effects; people don't have much spare cash to spend on records and promoters are less able to book artists that they're not totally sure will fill a venue. There are still loads of amazing gigs going on and great albums coming out, the dynamic is just slightly different now.

In terms of sacrifices, of course we give up a lot of our time (not to mention money) for all the writing, rehearsing, touring and day-to-day admin that the band needs, but that's something we've always been willing to do. There are things we miss out on yes, mostly just social events (although Lewis had to skip his own honeymoon to record "Grieve") but we're all passionate about doing this and the demands aren't threatening our day jobs just yet.

You guys are embarking on a 5 city tour of the UK in October. Do you have any plans to play to your fans beyond the UK?

Alex: In good time, yes we will play outside the UK again. Our focus right now is on playing to as much of our home audience as we can, and once the opportunity arises we'll absolutely be back to visit our friends in Europe!

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