"a boring performance has never made me think"
An Interview with Zachary Graves of Hex Cassette
On a lazy evening in late January, I was browsing Instagram when I scrolled to a friend's profile (@trans.exile). They were going to be playing at a local Albuquerque record store named "Longhair Records" at 8pm along with three other bands: Fleshdance, Ethereal Moon (who did not perform, unfortunately), and Hex Cassette. I had never heard of any of them before (excepting Trans Exile), but was eager to hear what the rest had to offer, and with the ad promising genres I also hadn't personally heard of like "satanic synthpop", "seductive dream goth", and "kvlt industrial", I was beyond excited.
I am always excited to hear new music, especially in very specific genres like these, but synthpop and industrial music had long been favorites of mine since I was a kid, so I was especially excited to hear Hex Cassette and my friend, Trans Exile.
The performances
Concerts are tricky things to get right. The performers are placing their innermost emotional worlds on display, no matter what form that takes. The audience can feel intimidating, especially when you're sharing such personal art, and each had their own way of responding to the audience. For Fleshdance, this takes the form of a dreamy, effects-laden guitar on waves of earthy drums suspended by a steady bass strum. For Trans Exile, this was through the lens of bitcrushed samples, catastrophically beautiful destructive drums and soul-scarring, intensely textural vocal screams.
For Hex Cassette (also known as Zachary Graves), this would be performing grungy and dance-worthy synthpop with two large red inverted crosses on his cheeks, under a flame of wild, almost glowing blonde-white hair. Bold, confident, and with enough energy for two performers, Graves kicks and skips across the stage effortlessly, microphone clutched in fist as he mouths breathy, bassy legato lyrics to granular, bubbly, multilayered synths. I am enchanted. His energy is hypnotic and raw, full of life for that particular moment. His lanky fingers effortlessly glide from key to key perfectly as he spins dials, filter cutoffs filling the speakers with grungy, warm electronic bliss carried on waves of aching, emotionally resonant vocals which belied intensely passionate lyrics.
What Does Confidence in Your Own Vision Sound like?
After Hex's set, I just had to meet this man. He seemed to exude pure confidence in his craft, and his warm smile after leaving stage revealed the kind, generous person underneath the veneer of a satanic synthesizer wizard. I introduced myself and told him how much I personally adored his sound, comparing him to my own favorite synth wizards like Kraftwerk and Joy Electric.
A week after the concert, I was still thinking about it while streaming Grave's music on Spotify. I couldn't get the performance out of my head.
Coincidentally, as part of an assignment for a class at the University of NM, I was asked to find professionals to interview as part of my development as an artist. As a musician, I wanted to interview other musicians, and Hex Cassette was on the shortlist of candidates. I emailed Mr. Graves, not expecting a response due to his ongoing national tour. As I understood it, he was in New Orleans for a show, so I kept my expectations on the simmer. After all, the man is busy with a national tour.
However, he responded and warmly agreed to an interview via email! I had so many questions I wanted to ask him, but had to narrow my questions to emotionally resonant ones: feeling, being, and identity. How did he come to be? How does he continue his craft? How does his musical identity guide his future?
Q: The advertisement for the concert at Longhair Records referred to your music as “satanic synthpop” and your Facebook page describes your music as “TRVE CVLT SYNTH POP”. How did you get interested in making “cvlt” synthpop?
GRAVES: The idea of 'trve cvlt synth pop' came from a desire to mix two of my all-time favorite genres and inspirations: the aesthetics and energy of metal with the sound palette of eighties synth pop and darkwave. I was obsessed with death and black metal in high school, and then eventually became more enamored with bands like The Cure, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Japan (as well as contemporary acts like TR/ST and Black Marble). I played drums in punk bands throughout my life, but when I first started making my own music, I knew that was the kind of music I wanted to make.
"Hopefully help them forget for a few minutes...the fact that our world is fucking doomed..."
Q: Could you tell me a little about the inspirations for Hex Cassette and your recent novel Promicide?
GRAVES: I touched on my inspirations musically in the last answer, but the live performance is influenced much more by metal concerts, as well as performance art from the likes of Andy Kaufman. I've always struggled with depression and overthinking everything, and I found the place where I was the most "present" and engaged with the world around me growing up were concerts; it's hard to worry about what you're going to do with your life when you're in the midst of a mosh pit or screaming lyrics in people's faces. The goal of Hex Cassette shows is to get people into the here and now, hopefully help them forget for a few minutes (or half an hour) about their own life problems and the fact that our world is fucking doomed, and have a good time.
GRAVES: Being a writer was my first dream in life, and my love of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books had me writing short horror stories from the time I was six or seven years old. I had let that dream die for a long time, but during the pandemic, after reading Stephen King's On Writing, I decided to get back into it. Promicide is based on a first draft of an abandoned novel I had written in college entitled The Murderous Killer -- I re-read it in 2021, decided it was more salvageable than I thought, and spent the next couple years re-drafting and revising it until it is what it is now. I've always loved those trashy '80s mass market paperback horrors with grisly cover art, but found too many of those novels don't deliver the goods once you open them. Promicide is my attempt at changing that.
Q: Synthpop is LITERALLY my favorite music genre on planet earth, however (in my own opinion, tell me what you think) it appears to be becoming less popular today than in its heyday in the 80s and 90s, and I think most people will just look at you strangely if you use the word “synthpop” with them. What kind of advice would you give to help someone find venues that are appreciative of these kinds of genres and willing to let you perform?
GRAVES: I hadn't really thought about this. I think "synthpop," "goth" and "darkwave" were pretty out-of-fashion when I first started this project (under a different name) back in 2016, but it seems to me interest is swinging back in its direction these days. I would suggest to anyone, no matter what genre, to start performing at DIY venues or house shows instead of bars or small venues. When I first started performing, local Denver places such as Seventh Circle Music Collective and Nude City Relief Center (RIP) were the only places that would book me, and they allowed me to hone my edge and become better at my craft. You're also generally performing to audiences that aren't just there to get plastered, as well as people who are appreciative and understanding of mistakes and musical weirdness.
"don't let yourself become what you're fearing"
Q: On the aesthetics of Hex Cassette: I have been a fan of satanic imagery my entire life ever since I played DOOM to death on my 386, but society has not been so kind to people who have anything to do with Satanism, such as the constant harassment Anton LeVey endured his whole life from religious groups or mass paranoia events like the “Satanic Panic”. Have you ever had someone berate or insult you for the satanic or violent aesthetics of your art? If so, how did you handle it?
GRAVES: Recently, at my show in Austin, one of the supporting bands was telling me that a friend of theirs refused to come to the show that night because of my Satanic imagery, but moments like that are the closest I've gotten to being "berated" or "insulted" due to my aesthetics. I actually had a job offer rescinded once after the would-be employer discovered my music, which led to me putting up more of a barrier between my "musical life" and my "career life." I use Satanic imagery in the same way the Satanic Temple uses that imagery; I am not a literal Satanist but instead use the imagery to position myself against the horrors of organized Judeo-Christian religion. I'm not necessarily anti-religious, but I am against anyone who murders, oppresses, and bullies people in the name of their false idol, whether that idol is Jesus, an -ism, or the U.S. dollar. I believe when someone is insulted or antagonized by any imagery, they should look inside to see why they react that way, and if my music or aesthetics allow someone to do that, I'll view it as an accomplishment.
"Looking that fear in its face and telling it to go fuck itself"
Q: One personal issue I deal with constantly is feeling like “no one will ever like my music because it’s too weird”. I recently learned that this story moment is referred to as “the inmost cave” and it’s the moment where the hero doubts their journey before they face their fears and overcome the bad guy. In your own journey making music as Hex Cassette and later writing Promicide, did you ever have your own “inmost cave” moment where you felt like “this won’t work, no one is going to like this kind of art”? If so, how did you overcome those doubts?
GRAVES: It was honestly never "no one is going to like this kind of art" for me, instead more "I'm not good enough at this kind of art for anyone to enjoy it." My "inmost cave" is always self-doubt about my talent as a musician, songwriter, or producer. But, as you mentioned, the "inmost cave" always comes from a place of fear. A lot of the lyrics on Pomegranate Death are about looking that fear in its face and telling it to go fuck itself. I read a lot of philosophy and religious texts (mostly Eastern ones) and I would consider myself a strong existentialist. When I was younger, I cared a lot about what people thought about me, but as I've gotten older, I've come to realize that anyone trying to judge me or make fun of me is coming from a place of inner weakness, not a place of external power. I'm not sure I could pinpoint a moment where that change happened in me; it was instead hard work over years to get to the place where I am today (though there is still work to do! As I've been making my new album, I've had to face multiple times the inner voice that tells me this new album is not as good as it should be and that I'm not talented enough to make the swings I'm trying to make).
"Most people simply think they're 'right' when they're angry, offended, or miserable"
Q: The performance at Longhair Blew my mind not just because of the music, but also because I’ve never seen a musician interact with the audience as much as you did, mingling with them like that while you danced and sang. I instantly became more interested and more invested into the performance because of your interactions, but I can imagine not everyone reacts this way. Have you ever had a show where someone in the crowd had a negative reaction because of your interactions with them during a show? If so, what happened?
GRAVES: In Wichita, Kansas, I had a man stand up halfway through the set, shout "This man is the devil!" and walk out. One guy in Laramie, Wyoming I made fun of incessantly during my set for sitting down and looking like he was having a miserable time did not accept the apology I offered to him afterwards. In my early days, where the performances were more caustic and less humorous (a change I've made over the years), I've had people curse me out and threaten to fight me. They've never amounted to much. Generally, people who don't like it either stay near the back or keep their thoughts to themselves. Just like I wrote earlier, people who have such a visceral reaction should spend some time identifying why they react that way, but unfortunately, most people simply think they're "right" when they're angry, offended, or miserable. I would much rather give a performance that is memorable to someone in a negative way than simply boring, because a boring performance has never made me think.
More on Hex cassette and promicide
@hexcassette
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
@hexcassette
Bandcamp
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
@hexcassette
Stream Hex Cassette's latest album, Pomegranate Death, for free on Bandcamp!
Hex Cassette on Spotify
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
"Promocide" single now available on Spotify, based on the novel of the same name, now available on Amazon!
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
Promicide, for sale now on Amazon
1987. All the teens in the small town of Barbara Falls are ready to make their prom night an evening they'll never forget.
But this year, the prom will have an unexpected visitor. A man escaped from ten years in solitary confinement. A murderous killer whose lust for blood knows no bounds.
And that's not the only surprise awaiting them toni
1987. All the teens in the small town of Barbara Falls are ready to make their prom night an evening they'll never forget.
But this year, the prom will have an unexpected visitor. A man escaped from ten years in solitary confinement. A murderous killer whose lust for blood knows no bounds.
And that's not the only surprise awaiting them tonight. It will indeed be an unforgettable night... if anybody lives to see tomorrow.
There will be screams. There will be blood. There will be promicide.