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Terra Relicta web magazine has teamed up with real robots this time! Actually with the experimental black/death robot metal act Electromancy for an exclusive premiere of the video for the cover of Darkthrone's legendary track "Transylvanian Hunger". All the instruments are played by DIY hacked together robot instruments made by Satyra. The track is from Electromancy's upcoming EP Robot Black Metal, which will be self-released on 30 April. Composed by a human, played by physical robots.
In 2018 Satyra was diagnosed with Lyme disease and quickly became too disabled to play instruments anymore. Instead of giving up, he spent the next two years slowly building robots to play instruments. The result is Electromancy, the robot metal band. Guitars and drums are played by Satyra’s own DIY robotic designs; their bandmates are manikins, cut up into LED fueled light shows.
"After two slow years of building robot instruments in the face of severe chronic illness, I am so grateful to make it to the point where I am releasing music from my robots", Satyra adds. I hope people enjoy this cover and especially enjoy the music video. Keep your eyes out for a ton of original music to follow shortly, and follow along with the crazy story of disability and robot metal."
Electromancy’s music is primarily black metal with bits of death metal and experimentalism. The robots aren’t a gimmick, they are core to the sound, allowing textures, patterns, and compositions that are not natural to and sometimes not possible for a human musician. Some of these compositional eccentricities include phasing multiple rhythmic melodies on a single instrument and simply extremely fast and chaotic composition. In addition to the robots, Satyra fills the bass frequencies with a drone horn made from a modified PVC pipe (the resulting instrument is similar to but not quite the same as a didgeridoo). This full, enveloping bass sound creates a grounded floor for the otherwise chaotic music.
Electromancy’s lyrical themes largely revolve around Satyra’s struggle with a physical disability, the uncertainty of their lifespan with chronic illness, and the spiritual experiences brought on from facing human fragility and mortality so directly (often with surprisingly uplifting conclusions). These musical themes paired with the robotic instrumentation and the story of why this all came to be creates a profoundly raw and unique experience. Watch now the video and listen to Electromancy's version of the black metal kvlt "Transylvanian Hunger".
Electromancy links: Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram
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