The ‘Monday is Okay’ Mix: The Comet Is Coming

 
Music

Repent ye sinners, for The Comet Is Coming! Not an apocalyptic proclamation, in fact, but the name of a new psychedelic outfit made up of three members who've played in Melt Yourself Down, Sons Of Kemet, Soccer96 and Polar Bear.

Our end times saviours declare themselves as Danalogue The Conqueror, Betamax Killer and King Shabaka. I'm not sure that those are the names on their passports. Anyway, their stellar debut EP 'Prophecy' is out now on Leaf. You should probably go and grab it now before molten rock starts hailing down from the sky. Before that, you can listen to the mix they've kindly made us, and read a Q&A with Danalogue The Conqueror below:

Please introduce yourself…

Who are you?

Danalogue (The Conqueror)

Where are you?

Planet Earth

What are you?

Human 

Tell us about the Monday mixtape you’ve put together for us. 

These are all tracks that take me out to space.

If it were to be drawn what would it look like? 

Interconnected orbiting galactic bodies, beaming light through the darkness of the cosmos.

If it were a food what would it be? 

Hmmmmmm… an excellent question.

What would be the ideal setting to listen to the mix?

Get comfy, put on headphones or decent speakers, listen at night.

What should we be wearing?

Spacesuit. A comfy one.

Where was it recorded?

The Total Refreshment Centre Studio in Dalston.

Are you on the same wavelength as The Boomtown Rats or do you actually like Mondays?

Even if a day is difficult, you have to love the oscillation of the game, it's all cycles so a bad day is a guarantee of a good day later (or earlier).

Who got you hooked on electronic music?

Jean-Michel Jarre.

Who would you say are your biggest influences and what are you hoping to achieve with your music?

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Alan Watts, Terence McKenna, Manly P Hall.

To achieve something seems to give an end point or a goal, I don't want to achieve anything in particular. Music is not teleological, it is an expression of the moment, a transient thing to dance to or to exist within for a period of time. This colours your emotions and outlook for that period of time. Music can encode messages and ideas making a mark of what the culture and humanity was feeling at that particular time from your viewpoint. In that way we make music for the same reason that birds sing or the sun shines, because we feel it.

How does your brain work when making music? How does it work when you aren't? 

I guess the brain works in terms of pattern finding and subconscious intuition in both scenarios, however when language is taken out if the equation with instrumental music, thought can cease to be linear, that is to say I don't have to go in a direction  to make a point, like this one. It all happens at the same time so experience of music can be analogous to say our non rational experience of our senses, in combination in any moment.

What were your original aspirations as musicians and how do you think you're shaping up?

To make records and play shows – check out the 'Prophecy' EP on Leaf and come to see The Comet Is Coming at Birthdays in Dalston on 9th Dec and let us know…

Some self-help questions for a Monday: 

Am I excited to dive into the challenges that I have lined up for the week?

We are playing in France this week at Transmusicale festival – this is exciting, we are working on our set today so can't wait to get in the room with King Shabaka and Betamax Killer.

Am I looking forward to engaging with the people I am meeting or working with?

Always. 

Am I going to my dream job?

In the moment, playing music is like being in a dream state, and similarly difficult to remember exactly what happened afterwards!

Am I being compensated fairly for the value I bring to my job?

Trying to evaluate my own value is like trying to bite my own teeth.

Do I feel energised, rested, and confident?

I slept on the floor of a studio last night, owing to the fact we were up all night making music, which perhaps counterintuitively creates more energy for sure.

You just had a fight with the person you are closest to. Do you not speak to them until they apologise… or do you apologise first?

Every situation is different.

If you were trapped on a desert island with one other person, who would you choose? How long would it be before you eat them?

My girl… and seriously? We would survive from drinking water out of the air in meditation before cannibalism.

Your doctor says you need more exercise… what do you take up for exercise?

Ultimate Frisbee.

If you could travel in time… where in time would you go? Why? 

1982 so I could watch Socrates captain Brazil in the World Cup.

What was the first electronic record you heard and how did it make you feel?

Jean-Michel Jarre – I was a kid and we had it on cassette in the car, driving at night I felt like it was from a futuristic dystopia, and carried a warning that we were about to be enslaved by gigantic robot overlords firing lasers from arm-mounted canons, setting the world ablaze. I guess if you look at the current global political situation, we aren't far from that actually. 

How does your brain work when making music? How does it work when you aren’t?

I guess the brain works in terms of

What were the first and last records you bought?

1st – Blur – Parklife

Last – U – We Decide Who Comes In

What are you obsessed with at the moment?

Jeremy Corbyn's integrity.

What's your answer to everything?

One day nothing was here and one day everything will be gone again.

The Comet Is Coming. At least when the apocalypse is near we now know what album is the soundtrack. Our album. In the face of impending doom do you cry and wither or do you stand up, dance and celebrate life? 

Anything else we need to discuss?

We are honoured to be represented by Leaf Label on the year of their 20th Anniversary. We are also blessed to work with photographer Fabrice Bourgelle on our artwork, and Jordan Copeland on our music videos. 


You can buy the 'Prophecy' EP over at Bandcamp. The Comet Is Coming play Winter Traum @ Birthdays on 9 Dec.