XANDER CROWLEY is a genre defying underground vocalist and songwriter. Through heavy metaphors and gloomy lyricism, he paints a profound picture of the deepest corners of his mind and his experience, making it accessible to an audience who, despite maybe not having gone through the exact same experiences, can relate to the music and take some comfort in knowing they're not alone.
You delve into several genres like Trap Metal, Metal and Witchouse only to name a few. Are there any particular untouched genres you want to experiment with at some point?
"I aim to create in every genre that interests me. Right now I am really into Industrial and Dark Wave so I will eventually make something in that vein at some point."
I think that will turn out super interesting considering the versatility in your sound, not only within your solo tracks but also in your collab projects like with dxrko, with whom you created a collective called SHADOW PRAISE and which was recently joined by Seramonies. What's the vision behind it?
The idea behind Shadow Praise is to create a sense of community, belonging, for our listeners and even ourselves. We each make such diverse music but I believe we carry a certain energy with us in our craft. That energy is what not only attracts but keeps together our supporters and to some that may feel like home. We are so niche as of now but I aim to evolve our sound and create something entirely new that we can call our own.
Does it ever happen that working with other people limits your freedom to do things the way you want sometimes, or does a collaboration allow you to see new perspectives? And which do you prefer, collabs or solo projects?
Working with other people is my favorite thing to do. Not only does it challenge me and push my limits as an artist but it allows me the grace of picking another's mind. I do find solace and a more personal feeling when writing solo songs but the excitement of pushing the boundaries creatively with another artist is definitely my preference as of now.
What would be your dream collab?
I have so many dream collabs, but if I had to chose just one I would have to say the band Loathe. The love, attention to detail, and care they pour into their craft is so inspiring to me.
I think it's not farfetched to say that your sound is, among other things, marked by your unique and unconventional recording style and your vocals tend to be layered and heavily edited. Was this a challenge when you started performing life, like example with Kamiyada+?
Honestly no. I found some songs to actually sound and feel a lot better live. All of my music has been recorded in my bedroom, I am learning as I go and developing as an artist day by day so a lot of my older songs in my opinion feel way better live.
What's definitely on par with your skill when it comes to recording is your writing. Your lyrics can be very cryptic and symbolic, do you think your listeners always understand the picture? Should an artist care about how their work is perceived?
I intentionally try to bury what I'm saying in cryptic lyrics to provoke thought from my listeners. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter what I am personally going through it matters what the listener takes away from what they are hearing, reading, feeling. I can be talking about the loss of a loved one but someone else can interpret it as a loss of one’s self or romantic partner ect. I don't see the fun in creating something obvious if that makes sense. Often times I do use a lot of symbolism to say more with literally saying less. For example, my lyric "Morning Star guide my heart" is a pretty short line and is very simple. What I am actually saying with that line however is that I am desperately searching for guidance so I look towards the brightest star in the sky, the morning star, but in the bible Lucifer's name is morning star thus leaving me, my heart, misguided as he is seen as a negative deity. I add "my heart" because in my love life i felt as if I was being misguided by my lust, need of comfort, ect. (lust being a sin) I can go on and on about one liners I write that are saturated with substance but I'll leave it up to the listener for now.
Does exposing your deepest thoughts and feelings like that to a bigger audience take a toll on you sometimes? Is there even a "too far" when it comes to artistic expression in your opinion?
Yes, Some songs take a huge toll on me. Often times I can not listen to a song after I drop because of how fresh the wound is. I write a lot of songs out of pain and being so vulnerable, especially to an audience, is scary. I haven't reached a point to where it has gotten "too far" but I think it's important to make these songs because I know it helps some people feel seen and understood. So to me the fear of vulnerability and anguish it takes to create these songs is worth it.
You mentioned that two songs of yours, AMNESTY and DOGMA (which are my two of my personal favourites) are to be seen as part of one project. Can we expect them on your upcoming album?
AMNESTY and DOGMA were two parts of a three part project, however in making the third part I was inspired to create an entire album out of the concept AMNESTY had laid out. These songs will loosely tell a story with this project, still being personal and authentic to who I am but still carrying a theme that if you follow tells a story. Part three will be the last song of the project if any listeners want to hear the original trilogy, but the album is essentially a fleshed out version of those three tracks. After the project is released I will explain the story in full either in a video format on my youtube or in text format on my Instagram.
That's for sure something to look forward to, super excited to see how the whole thing turns out! Thanks a lot for taking the time, immensely appreciate it. Is there anything you still want to share?
I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that has supported me and my craft. I have so much left to explore sonically, this is just the beginning of our journey.
Bless
Find XANDER CROWLEY HERE:
Bless