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Envelop yourself in the pounding synth-wave of Disintegration, the Cleveland supergroup of sorts that clarifies their jet black post-punk to a sparkle. Led by the siren-call of Haley Himiko (Pleasure Leftists, Donkey Bugs), the band is filled with talents like bassist Christopher Brow (Cloud Nothings, Swindlella, Total Babes), guitarist-vocalist Noah Anthony (Deuce Avenue, Night Burger, Profligate), and their newly minted live drummer David Maccluskie, giving their sonic world a tangible kick. Their full-length debut Shiver in a Weak Light, came out earlier in October on the ever-trustworthy Feel It Records (Class, Artificial Go, The Drin). We caught up with the band to learn more about the album and the technical intricacies of their sound, always catering to the reading pleasure of all you synthesized gearheads out there.
What have you been up to lately? What have you been listening to, reading, or spending a lot of time doing?
Haley Himiko: The band has been working on some videos lately which has been really fun leading up to the record coming out. I've been spending most of my time right now working on a buildout of a giant vintage shop space in Cleveland set to open on October 5th that I own with a friend. Interior design and art installation are things I really love doing so it's been great expressing a lot of new ideas there. I've been listening to a lot of favorites on rotation like Pet Shop Boys, Bjork, Bananarama and Geneva Jacuzzi, Paris Hilton & Charli XCX’s new albums.
Christopher Brown: Running a lot, listening to Callahan & Witscher's new record Think Differently.
Noah Anthony: Just working on band stuff for me, shows, video, etc. I love that EDM band Snow Strippers.
What insight can you share about your your new album Shiver in a Weak Light and how exactly did it all come together? Where was it recorded?
HH: The album is a culmination of ideas we've been working on since our EP Time Moves For Me came out and before. We recorded some of it in Noah's basement and also with our friend Drew [Veres] in a studio at Cuyahoga Community College.
NA: This album is the best of a large chunk of music we've been working on since we recorded the first EP. We've been playing most of them at gigs for a while, so they've had some time to get dialed in. I'm happy with how they've evolved.
HH: I'm also personally excited to share this fully formed progression of songs we've worked very hard on and put a lot of time and thought into. It's the most complex music I've participated in making so far and I really love it. I'm excited because it's different than our EP and is just going deeper into whatever it is we are.
CB: How much we have developed as a band since the first release. Every aspect has been honed and enhanced and it really comes through on this record.
How was the approach to recording an LP different from the debut EP Time Moves for Me from last year?
NA: We just spent a lot more time on it. The first EP happened quite quickly and it was written and recorded in a few months. We've basically been working on this since then, so that's well over a year or so.
Haley, your voice is so strong and resonant throughout the entire album, how do you keep it in condition to sing so fully on each take?
HH: Thanks very much! It's a secret.
What kind of gear did you use? Tell us about synths, effects, pedals, etc.
HH: I play with a Korg Opsix and use a Boss vocal pedal.
CB: Most of the stuff I use is pretty run-of-the-mill, except for an Interfax harmonic percolator and the boss slicer pedal, which provides the very extreme tremolo you hear on the bass.
NA: I switched to an electric 12-string a while ago for some songs, and I usually keep it slightly out of tune so it's got this extra level of dissonance on top of my setup. Most of the synth I'm using for bass and guitar processing is an Arp Odyssey, but for gigs, I've switched to the newer Pro-1 clone because it's so compact. I try to incorporate radio sounds on every song. Just sampling from radio, it's usually a rhythmic element. I also use an extremely rowdy pedal a friend made for me, it's a clone of the DOD Buzz Box which was this weird octave distortion pedal from the '90s.
Diving into some of the songs here, how did "Hideaway" come about?
HH: It started as a demo Noah was working on and had an idea for the vocal melody. He had a chorus already going lyrically and in a day I wrote the verses.
NA: I just felt like the album needed a "pop single" kind of song, similar to "Make a Wish." So we threw that together.
I also love the vintage VHS feel of the music video, how did that come together?
HH: We had worked on the previous "Make a Wish Video" with our friend Adam [Klopp] who works predominantly with a VHS camera. We also used some Hi8 cameras. We shot it in the Dungeness, circa 1890s basement of my new shop space actually with these great brick walls and arches. We had a nice evening shooting in the back of my pickup truck also, but most of that footage will live in the archives.
What can you tell me about "Shot By Both Sides"?
NA: That was the second demo I made for the idea of the band, the first was "Hit the Face" from the debut EP. I can hear the Chrome inspiration, and it's got more of a synth-punk sound than other songs. Really fun to play live.
"Abandon" is the album's first foray into slower tempos. What's your approach to this different element of your sound?
NA: Another really old one actually. We played it out a few times early on, but it never came together until I revisited it and rearranged it. It's more of a minimal synth track that has its own vibe for sure.
"In Your Diary" was teased early on from your EP of remixes. What can you tell us more about that one?
CB: It was a song I had kicking around for a long time, we finally just fleshed it out. I think the first demo I have of it is from 2017.
HH: "In Your Diary" started as a demo that Chris had dreamt up and shared with us. I played around with it for a while, words, melody.
"A Thousand Clouds of Static" is my favorite song from the album for its heavy grooves and sharp production, what was making this one like?
HH: We've been playing TCS for a while now also. It's one of my favorite songs to play live! I feel like it has taken a few different forms and has just gotten better with each version.
CB: I wanted to do a lot of upstrokes on the bass on that one.
NA: That's kind of a nod to the great Killing Joke. I like it when me and Haley layer our vocals a bit and definitely want to do that more in the future.
You played your first show as Disintegration in 2022. How do you think your work as a live outfit has developed since then?
HH: Our setup has changed a lot since we first started playing. We used to have a folding table covered with gear and wires. Noah's made huge strides simplifying how it all works which has left us with a lot less on stage and more efficient. David joined us a year in with live drums. So much has changed! We'll be playing some local Cleveland shows throughout October and November and hopefully venturing out beyond in December.
NA: Like Haley said, we're much more dialed in now! I'm really happy where we're at right now as a band. We're playing some East Coast dates in December, so stay tuned for that!
Shiver in a Weak Light is out now on Feel It Records.