By Keith Walsh
Theater has always been a factor in popular music. In the case of Dread Persephone, gothic, horror and sci fi lyrics and visuals meet Greek Mythology. The project of Erin Braswell, DP’s new song and video ‘Hologram’ is an excellent example, with its minimalist grooves, haunting vocals, and spooky nighttime imagery. I had the chance to ask Erin about her approach to music, her connection with the Greek goddess Persephone, and her musical equipment.

Synthbeat:  Your music is minimalist for the most part. What about the minimalism style is ideal for your message and the mood you want to convey?
Erin Braswell: I don’t think I was specifically going for minimalism really, but over the last couple of years I’ve put a lot of work into changing my thinking, simplifying my life and clearing out the clutter in my mind to get at what it is I really value in life. I think that process just happened to reflect itself as minimalism in my music. I also think there is a lot to say about what you can create within the constraints of limitation. It can foster creativity if one can approach it from the perspective of making it a fun challenge, though I understand that sometimes that may be easier said than done.

Synthbeat: Persephone’s myth seems to have a kind of Goth appeal. What’s your connection to Greek Mythology, and if you’re a fan of any social philosophers that inform your message, please tell me!

Erin Braswell: I’ve had this newfound fascination with Greek mythology and learning about it has given me a clearer sense of the dynamic nature of spirituality, storytelling and myth, and how those things evolve with the collective psyche. I felt connected to Persephone’s myth because by the end of the story she is of both worlds, the above and the below, and because I feel we go through many “births” and “deaths” in a lifetime. I also connected with the transformation she goes through, from being “the maiden” to the “dread queen” of the underworld.

Those themes have been present in my music since I started writing, and when I chose the name of my project I was in the throes of some very big and difficult changes in my life. Learning about Carl Jung’s ideas around archetypes and how they play out in the individual and collective psyche really helped me connect with the processes of my own inner world, and appreciate storytelling more. I also feel the work of Marie Louise Van Franz makes Jung’s ideas much more digestible. I find myself going back to her a lot when I want to unpack some of the symbolism that pops into my awareness. 

Synthbeat: Your music has some amazing distortion that creates interesting harmonics. Was this analog gear, analog distortion?
Erin Braswell: Thank you! All the effects in my music are actually digital right now. Though I am beginning to experiment more with analog sounds, I got the sounds you’re referring to by just playing with the stock effects in Logic and layering the heck out of them.

Synthbeat: Do you use any analog synths or is it all the MC and VSTs?
Erin Braswell: I’ve mostly been using VSTs when I’m writing, but I am becoming more and more curious about analog. I do have a Deepmind, which is a hybrid analog/digital and have used it in some of my work. I also enjoy breadboarding DIY synth circuits as a hobby and plan on incorporating some of that into my sound down the road (and maybe in live performance as well). The MC I primarily use for creative exploration and performing certain songs that I haven’t committed to recording yet. 

Synthbeat: What are some tricks to harnessing extreme distortion and still making it melodic?
Erin Braswell: I don’t really have a specific technique (that I’m aware of at least). A lot of the sounds I get are from experimenting and a lot of trial and error. I think I am still developing in a lot of ways, especially on the technical side. So I guess right now my only trick is approaching sound with a sense of curiosity and open-mindedness, and honestly I hope that’s something I can maintain as I gain more experience.

Synthbeat: Live you said you use a Roland MC and your laptop.
Erin Braswell: I have a bit more in my studio than in my live setup right now. At home I have my MC 307 and 505, a Deepmind 6, Arturia Keylab, a couple of reverb/delay pedals, and a new Microcosm pedal (which is probably going to wind up in my live set very soon) and my laptop. Also have whatever I have checked out from the Fem Synth Library (which right now is a Mother 32). By the way, they are a great resource! They make a lot of gear very accessible to marginalized genders and I highly recommend checking them out (and supporting their cause!) 

Synthbeat: What’s your favorite synth, DAW, drum machine and effect?
Erin Braswell: Ohh my favorite synth right now (that I have played) is probably my Deepmind. It was my first synth and it has such a wide range of things that it can do and sounds that it can make. My favorite DAW is Logic, I love the drum feature that it has and I’ve even used it to make strange rhythmic synth lines. My favorite drum machine is my MC-307 : nd my new favorite effect is anything that comes out of the microcosm pedal. I just got that thing and it’s very inspiring, especially if you’re into dreamy ambient soundscapes.

Synthbeat:  Grooveboxes like the MC-307 take a lot of patience, programming step by step and menu diving. Don’t you ever get frustrated with all of this and don’t you prefer to play a keyboard?
Erin Braswell: At first my live setup consisted of me only using my laptop for backing tracks and that was it. I included the 307 in my live set as an experiment of sorts because I want to incorporate more instruments on stage. I chose that over my deep mind because I had already had some songs preprogrammed in there that I want to try out live. Plus I have so much fun with the 307! I can see what you’re saying about the menu diving, but for my live set I pre-program everything so there isn’t much menu diving in that sense. That being said, it is quite old and can be a tad bit squirrelly on stage, so I will likely phase it out down the road in favor of something more like a Juno DS and/or a sampler. But I think I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for that thing. It was my first “toy” and my inner child still loves to play with it.

Dread Persephone On Soundcloud
Dread Persophone On Bandcamp
Dread Persephone On YouTube
Dread Persephone On Instagram
Fem Synth Lending Library

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