DICHRO

Hello and thanks for answering the interview for our blog today. We usually like to start off by asking for a brief background for the readers that might not be familiar with a particular band. Would you kindly do so?

Peter: Of course, here is a short bio: In April 2020, amidst the chaos of a world in flux, Peter Guellard, renowned bassist of Pittsburgh's industrial rock legends Venus in Furs and former member of Mace and The Electric Hellfire Club, embarked on a unique musical experiment. Bringing together a cadre of local musicians, Guellard orchestrated an online cover of the iconic but "industrialized" folk classic "Man of Constant Sorrow," infusing it with an electronic edge that left listeners electrified and from this virtual collaboration emerged Dichro, a dynamic quartet poised to redefine the boundaries of darker types of music. August 2020 marked their official debut with a mesmerizing cover and accompanying music video of Dead Can Dance's "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove," a bewitching rendition that captivated audiences with its exotic allure. Guellard is joined by guitarist Dirk Miller (Rusted Root, Uprooted), drummer and an established percussionist Tracey Whorton (Venus In Furs, Jenn Wertz Band), and singer/songwriter/dancer/actress Charmaine Freemonk, back in the Pittsburgh area after several years spent touring with the Amazing Acro Cats and moving from Austin to New Orleans to Atlanta. She most often performs outside the band as a solo artist or as a professional stilt-walker and fire/LED flow artist and who appeared in the Netflix series "Cat People”. In May 2024, an Indonesian guitarist Adrian Adioetomo joins Dichro and brings with him an unique, very dark delta-bluesy sound.

You have an album coming up in a couple of months on Distortion Productions. What can you tell us about that and how the genesis of the songs came about?

Peter: The very beginning of the concept for our sound, and simultaneously for the band, started with recording and creating the video for "The Man of Constant Sorrow." This was the moment when the four of us realized that we had something special. During the pandemic, when not much was happening, it was a great time to make music, art, or videos. The world had slowed down and became quite surreal.

It was during this period that Charmaine brought in a tune she wrote, titled "One Lane Bridge." I took her vocal track from a demo session she recorded at home and shared with me. From there, I started building the music around it—first the beat, then some samples and bass, eventually adding punk rock guitars and hard EDM synths. This became the very first Dichro song. Naturally, we had to include it on "Stained Glass."

Charmaine: The writing process for “One Lane Bridge” definitely showed us that we have a good writing workflow in place just with how Peter’s production skills balance out my currently sparse writing style. As far as where these songs came from - each definitely has a story; many of them are largely based on things that I was experiencing or that we were experiencing as a band through the pandemic; there’s a lot of philosophy, metaphysics, and socio-political outrage in there. Some of the tunes are currently relevant and I hope they won’t be in a decade or sooner. Some, like “Scratch,” or “Shiva’s Son,” I hope will be timeless. One track in particular, “Exhale” is over 20 years old and has been played out in many ways and styles but I think has found its final incarnation. Two of the songs were written by Pete and received a makeover because like “Exhale,” we liked them and felt that they were a good fit for the project. Moving forward, we’re aiming to write all new stuff, maybe re-imagine a couple more covers.

Do you think that you’ll adopt a release plan that is perhaps less full-length albums and more singles, remixes and Eps?

Peter: We signed a two-album deal, so we need to come up with another album to fulfill it. As for remixes, we certainly plan to include them. Our first single, "Mercy," features the bombastic Psycho-Brutalist remix by Psychotribe (my remixer name). The next single, "Scratch," will include a piece by the Polish remix guru Kromproom, titled the "Trance Rock Kromproom Machine Mix.”

Charmaine: Just building on what Pete said, I am a big fan of remix-heavy singles and would love to do an EP down the line. Probably for the next album? When we have a more time to plan things out; it all happened very quickly for us once we were signed, ‘since the album itself was basically done.

Scenario: You are stranded on some island but you had the capability to put a flash drive with three of your most important songs into a sealed bottle and send it out to the the world. These are songs that mean the most to you and best represent your legacy. What are they and why did you choose them?

Peter:

1. This Mortal Coil: "Song To The Siren" - Even though this is Tim Buckley's song, the way Elizabeth Fraser sings it is hauntingly beautiful and sad. I grew up with this song. Of course, I want it on my flash drive.

2. Nine Inch Nails: "Head Like A Hole" - This classic still gives me a kick in the ass after so many years and made me incredibly inspired. No compromise on this one! Hahaha.

3. The Police's "Synchronicity" exudes incredible energy. I've always admired Sting; he's a genius. I wish I could compose melodies like he does. Jung believed in a grand pattern to life, not mere chaos. I personally believe in parallel connections that may seem symbolic rather than logical. My life has shown me unexpected connections that defy expectations. This song symbolizes the importance of these unexpected elements that were put together for me.

Charmaine:

1) “Englishman In New York” - I have always loved this song and its messaging, I think Sting hit a lot of important points in the lyrics and when I am out playing covers, I always play it.

2) Our Lady Peace - “Are You Sad”? Was a strangely comforting song - that whole album is beautiful and helped me find myself spiritually to a degree. Like finding kindred spirits through music. How I do my self-work and how they talk about healing and emotions on that album deeply resonate with one another.

3) “Mary Mary” by Chumbawamba - it’s just an amazing edgy tune that I felt was my anthem as a youth and still is. It’s about refusing to give up just cause you’re getting older, and being who you want to be despite any disapproval from society. (In my interpretation).

Could you give us some insight into your studio, your “tools of the trade” so to speak? How much is hardware/physical instruments and how much is based on softsynths and the like?

Peter: We both work in Logic, sending sessions back and forth. This is a very convenient and versatile tool for collaboration. Personally, I love virtual synths and am currently happily married to Arturia Pigments 5. Our live sound is 30-40% electronic, with everything else being live: drums, bass, and guitar. We play with a click track and also use Logic on stage to play the track with synths. The cool thing is that you can also run a video track and control the stage light show from it. Additionally, Charmaine's vocal effects are controlled via Logic. The entire live show can be coordinated with it. Who doesn't like toys?

Charmaine: What Peter said, though I think we might be bringing in more live instrumentation on the next album. We’re always evolving, which I love about this band.

Some artists often engage in certain rituals when composing in the certain studio or before performing. Ex: They may like to have certain items around, They may do certain pre-show preparation, They may do things like meditation. Are there any particular rituals you do before writing or performing?

Peter: I smoke cannabis before composing or mixing. It opens me up to the sound. I hear more. And it’s fun. I stay away from weed before playing live, it slows me down.

Charmaine: Before shows I just like quiet time, time to get my head on and review anything I need to solidify in my head before hitting the stage. I might have a beer to calm my guts lol. For recording, often I enjoy a toke, sometimes a brew, but mostly I like to be around my instruments and synths and computer so that I can get things down. On the fly though I jot things into my phone. I also write a decent amount of our tunes on an acoustic ukulele before ever opening logic… which might surprise people but it’s a super-handy tool. This also creates a base for when we build the acoustic versions of the songs.

Some artists have resorted to using AI for the likes of cover art and even videos. What’s your feeling on that? Do you think that it’s already gotten out of control and maybe is an excuse for lack of creativity? Or do you think people are still inserting a bit of human/organic quality into what’s being produced?

Peter: I envision that, because of human nature and our tendency to be lazy, AI art will eventually take over. For one, it will be impossible to distinguish from human-made art (it's already heading in this direction), and secondly, it will be as accessible as today's internet. We will live in a synthetic art world and we will love it. Most importantly, AI is constantly learning and improving without needing breaks or sleep. It will soon be better than humans, so buckle up for a ride!

A7) I am not interested in using AI at all and have yet to even talk with Chat GPT. I won’t. Maybe as a hat-tip to the fact that we do work with robots to produce our music…. or a one-off bit of art related to the music, or in a video for a scene, used as one would use a photoshop filter but beyond that, I think it is highly disingenuous to use it and say that it is “our” art. I don’t care if technically is it, it still represents laziness and lack of creativity to me.

My hope, with this AI influx, is that organic music made by actual humans with brains and hearts will become rare and prized again as the people who just want to crank things out happily crank out meaningless computer-generated content fodder. I am trying to comfort myself with the thought that live theater and Vaudeville did not go away when TV came around, they just became more rare, and those who continued to practice those arts got more proficient and are still respected and possibly even more sought-after (I know, I also work as a circus artist). In other words, live music won’t die, it just might actually start to suck less again because the people who care about the craft won’t give up, and the people who like real things and fine art will continue to seek it out and appreciate it more. AI use is definitely already out of control with people cranking out garbage to hit Spotify playlists and make a quick buck. It’s disgusting.

What do you anticipate for the coming months? Side projects, shows, more releases?

Peter: We are already thinking year 2025. Plans are to take this circus to Europe.

Charmaine: We’re working on a remix and video for “One Lane Bridge,” which is a heavy socio-political satire piece and the one song I most often see people in the audience singing along to. It’s also one that I hope is not relevant in ten years, ya know? We’ll have a couple more singles and videos at least off of this album in 2024, Europe like Peter said, and I would really love to start playing festivals here in the states. I think there are a lot of groups we’d resonate well with. My heart is also set on booking a few big shows in Pgh as well with some choice acts. We’ll see!

William ZIMMERMAN
01/10/2024