Frank's Corner #8: In Conversation With Blood Estate.
Embracing rough edges, dream venues, and contributions bigger than music.
Slowcore meets yet another maker at the hands of Blood Estate. Where folks in this realm of this gazy, wispy, at times metal-forward sound stray to resources beyond the control of their own hands, Blood Estate champions the DIY-ness of it all. As such, his projects curate an atmosphere, each of which consequences of personal feelings, situations, or sudden intuitions.
From his beginnings in 2019, he would embrace the imperfections of his sound, ultimately capitalizing upon them as a product of practice, repetitions, self-evaluation, and raw trust in the work that would eventually put his name in big, bold letters on the map of his fellow gazers, droners, and ambient aficionados.
His newest EP “A Soul” leans even further into the ambient roots he has already cemented himself into. This time, however, there is a new, notable emphasis—songwriting. The melodies sing with a new intention that go beyond sound design and dig into sentiments, each of which a testament to various specific situations in his steadily growing presence as an artist.
I had the opportunity to chat with Julius of Blood Estate about the new EP, performing in dream venues, and music existing both as art and policy. Great chat with a personal favorite of mine, hope you dig it as much as I did.
I did a quick re-listen to “Floodgate,” which was my first impression of your music before hopping on here. How has that project established a push for growth or maybe consistency in your music today?
That was the first album I released that actually felt like an album, and had some of the atmosphere and ideas that I wanted from my music. It is hard to put into words because making it and releasing it definitely changed my life, and it has led me to always push for growth and consistency, while remaining ambitious sound-wise. However, I do also feel like expectation can be super damaging for creating stuff, and I definitely had to learn that evolving my music didn’t necessarily mean making Floodgate 2. The reason I am so proud of that album was that it was fresh new ideas for me, and that is something I always want to aim for with whatever project I am working on.
Do you listen back to your older music fondly? Do you look to draw aspects from your older work into newer projects, or look to take a new route each go-around?
My relationship to my music used to be a lot different, and I feel like I made music differently, so I definitely look back on some of my older music fondly, but not completely idealistically. Some of the decisions I made with some songs are funny to me because it’s not what I would do now.
I try to never delete music, though, and have been very good at pushing myself to release a lot of music and sort of view my discography as just a record and progression of what I’ve experimented with over the years, both good and bad. Sometimes I listen to an old song I haven’t in a while, and it almost eerily relates to a current situation I am in, even if it felt meaningless when I originally made the song. On the other hand, some songs I do not like listening to or thinking about at all because there's a minor aspect to the song that I can’t get over. It is also weird that you can make a song at just one point in time, and years down the line, it doesn’t reflect how you feel as a person at all. I definitely think about past songs, though, sometimes when doing similar stuff, and try and draw from that for inspiration or elements, while still keeping it fresh.
Can you give me a rundown on the “Blood Estate” moniker? What’s the story there?
I had been making music for a bit, but it had mostly completely sucked because I was experimenting and learning, and I had a long way to go. I was starting to sorta understand what I wanted to experiment with more, though, and wanted a name that felt right and that I could grow with. Kind of to mark the actual start of my music career. I came up with a list of names, and most of the rest were awkward-sounding combinations of words, and that was part of it.
What I really liked about the name “Blood Estate,” more than the fact that it worked, was that it felt like a name that wouldn’t be tied to one genre or category. It felt like something that could change over time with me, and also had a certain ambiguity that I felt could be intriguing to people who discovered it. I also just thought it sounded cool, though.
How have the live shows been? I remember chatting with you a month ago and you mentioning Baby’s was a dream venue of yours. What was that like?
Honestly, it has been an amazing journey. I am so grateful to my friends Justin and Ray for playing with me, learning with me, and growing with me. When I started making music, I didn’t ever really think I would play shows. I really wanted to write songs, but I didn’t think I had the performance aspect in me, sorta, or that the music would be interesting enough for it. I owe it all to them for pushing me to do shows, transforming the songs and playing them with me, and being there for each win and loss along the way, because I would never have had the confidence to do it without them. Playing live has shown me a whole new kind of musical experience that I never woulda have experienced only online, and made me feel the songs in completely different ways.
Do you find yourself creating with the intent to perform songs live? Is it ever difficult to adapt tracks of yours into a live rendition for sets like these? Is there any difference at all?
Since we started playing more shows, I feel like I have definitely been trying to write some songs with more energy, or at least discernible lines, so it would be easier to translate some of the time. I do feel like the ambient leaning recordings and the dynamic live set are different things, though, and separated a bit, so for solo recordings, live still isn't the main focus.
Some songs, we have completely transformed for the live set, while some are more true to the recording. I feel it has a lot more to do with the actual material to work with in the recorded song than the vibe of the recording, as some either wouldn’t be worth transforming or translating due to a lack of material to work with for our band's format. I also just want to record stuff with the band with a more live feel and fully commit to it, rather than try to approach that in my old format, which will inherently sound more ambient.
Our drummer, Ray, is gonna have a space soon where we will be able to record fully as a live band, and I want to focus on that a lot more in the future when we are able, both as collaborative stuff in completely new directions, and stuff building off the past music.
While gaining a pretty notable listenership as a DIY shoegazer, do temptations creep in to build a team to make a more consistent stream of income off your work? Is independence something you’ll always aim to champion?
I mean, everyone who gets anywhere has a team of some sort of people who support them and help them and push them and get them to a place, wherever that is, but as a DIY shoegaze/ambient artist, I am not very tempted to sign for something more, at least for what I want personally from the process of making music. The music has gotta come first, always, and I’m not too worried about trying to make more from it right now by changing my workflow or trading my independence.
Independence and authenticity are definitely something I will always champion, though, over consistent income, and for that reason, I don’t think I will ever want to partner completely with a label or adjacent force, especially for my older, already released music. I also don’t want to have to conform to industry release standards or feel forced to make certain sounds, and I have doubts about the long-term benefits of that type of stuff anyway. I’ve thought about it though, and my stance has kinda been like; if I collaborate with someone or its a specific project or something and their stuff releases through labels, thats chill, I know thats how a lot of the industry works, and maybe I’d try out something for a one off future project if it felt right, but I would never sell my back catalog or give someone control over releasing stuff. I respect everyone’s choice regarding that type of stuff, though. We are all on different paths.
Is slowcore something you hope will bleed into the mainstream? Has it? Does it belong underground? How can people support their local droners and gazers?
I feel it definitely has at this point. Duster and Salvia Palth and many others have had a huge impact, and many people listen to them who don’t listen to slowcore. Ethel Cain’s latest album is definitely way more ambient slowcore than her last one, and we are seeing other larger artists incorporate some aspects of slowcore, be it the raw lo-fi authentic ethos or subdued meditative energy. There were not this many slowcore songs getting millions of streams 5 years ago.
I do think stuff always starts in the underground, and then either blows up or gets incorporated by the mainstream, but it doesn’t necessarily belong anywhere. The avant-garde and mass culture have always existed in relation and conversation with the other, and I always kinda saw slowcore as just a particular format or landing place that could be arrived at organically in many ways, from many offshoots, rather than a singular monolithic genre. I don’t think it should be tied to a specific sound, but rather to an ethos, and I hope the ideas that lead people to slowcore & adjacent music spread more.
You’re part of an upcoming compilation with Platphorm Recordings, where all proceeds will go to Amnesty International against nationwide immigration crackdowns. How, to you, does music serve as resistance in modern contexts like these?
Yeah! It is always really great to contribute to something like that, especially for a very urgent cause. I have learned a lot from doing similar stuff in the past. Artistic communities already transcend all walks of life, at least I hope, and so I think that in such a bigoted society, solidarity in itself, and authentic expression outside of the system serve as resistance to imperialist regimes.
I am always happy to be a part of something like that, and take part in efforts to fight injustice, and I think it can be a particularly powerful method, because music is something that everyone can partake in and transcends boundaries. It is beautiful that you can take part and have a direct impact with a single action, but also how inclusive those types of compilations can be, and to see artists from every genre and part of the globe take a stance together as one. I am planning and hope to be involved in a lot more in the future, both in similar music-related acts of resistance and new ones, as I am always learning better ways.
Also, in an age where ideas are currency, I do think just making the type of art you want to make and fighting conformity is a revolutionary act in itself! I will always push and try to inspire my fellow artists to express themselves without compromising that. That being said, I have also been trying to figure out how to incorporate more overtly revolutionary and political material into my sound.
Do you find that apolitical music/musicians are easily discernible? To you, does it show itself in the way one’s music sounds/one’s image is upheld?
All real art is political or counter-cultural or whatever you want to call it, because it engages with real life. You definitely can hear at least somewhat in someone's music if it’s engaging with capitalism and industry, but I don’t know if you can accurately gauge to what extent, or if I could be the judge at that. I think I am guilty of that as well.
I also think image can play a role, but aesthetics can be sanitized or performed for several reasons nowadays, and I also think you can’t accurately read artists like a book cover anyway. I will always champion art for art's sake, but I feel stuff is very confusing right now for artists, and I also do think plenty of people just make and release what they’re comfortable with, and it’s not that deep. And it is incredibly hard to make a living at it, at least to an extent that justifies or enables you to spend almost all of your time on music, which is many musicians' goal. I don’t think money should control art, though, and I do think if you are an artist, you have a certain duty to be politicized. Or at the very least, not aligned with the evil overlord's interests.
Talk to me a bit about the new four-song EP you’ve got on the way. What do these songs reveal about where you are in your journey/career as a musician?
This EP, in particular, I feel is really a snapshot of where I am currently at, and where I’m aiming to go with my sound, and I definitely was thinking about that with releasing it. I felt trapped in a box of my own creation for a while, and was pushing myself to evolve, but wasn’t really sure how to evolve. With this EP, I’ve been incorporating a lot of new, more ambient elements, while also trying to push my songwriting ahead, and also just use more interesting lines and progressions. For the longest time, I was just trying to figure out how to make different sounds work, and then I sorta had a couple of different sounds that felt were different ideas that I kept building off of, and now I am trying to incorporate it all together, and make something that feels fresh to me.
But also, I feel like it is in part just pushing for more ethereal but also more balanced sound, with more interesting guitar lines and textures, incorporating way more strings/textures, and more dynamic drums and sounds paired with the ambience that used to be my main focus. The EP is sorta supposed to be the first taste of the sound before I end up finishing the album that’s in this direction, because I’m trying not to rush it for once. I am excited for the future with music and future collaboration, but taking my time with it, and trying to live more life and have that inform the music. I think it’s working.
I read in an old interview how collectives like They Are Gutting a Body of Water, and Katie Jane Garside inspires an urge to be both an esoteric yet community-driven brand. Do you strive for something similar? If so, how do you foster this notion either with or outside the music?
The fact that they constantly experiment and evolve, and are not really interested in conformity, has definitely been inspiring to me, and I definitely do hope my music embodies that as well. I like it when music resonates with people because it is real, and not just because it’s a lot like something else. I’m not really trying to be a brand though at this point, more just I want to show people that they can do music without compromising aspects of themself. It means the world when people support the music, but that isn’t even my main goal, honestly. I make a lot of different stuff, and I don't expect everyone to like every half-baked idea. While I don’t want a mainstream fanbase, I also just am trying to stay happy with making stuff for as long as possible and expressing myself authentically, and seeing what resonates with that along the way. I hate how algorithms have taken over everything, and how everyone, myself included, allows this over-classification of music. I want my music to exist in a community contextually, but I don’t need it centered. I view pursuing music a lot differently than I used to, at least for me personally, but in this day and age, it is most definitely a balancing act of sorts.
What type of music did you grow up on? Did these sounds inspire your work today, or do you feel like you’ve taken a path away from the sounds that brought you up to establish a unique brand for yourself?
I listened to a lot of 60’s and 70’s psych rock, protopunk, and classic rock, but also just whatever songs were in parkour and skate videos. I really liked music with a wall of sound, like The Velvet Underground, Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Hendrix. I really liked the raw authenticity of The White Stripes as well. I definitely started down the path of making guitar music because of that, and knew I wanted to make something with those ideas. I definitely have just found what works for me and what I like doing over the years, though, and have been inspired by a lot of music along the way. I have always felt that if you really like a type of music or art, you shouldn’t copy or aim for the result, but their approach if anything. I feel my sound is the result of a very natural development.
Who are some artists you’re tapped into currently that you think more people should get on?
Super underrated, but Prince, hah. I’ve been listening to a lot of Chanel Beads recently. I like how they balance the sound collage and ambience, and dynamics. Ghost Orchard is also sick, and Rew. Eric's Trip is already seeing a resurgence, as an older band with notable members involved in other projects, and has been a recent inspiration. My friends Reverend Reverend & W1sh dropped one of the best slowcore albums of the year, too, and I feel it's a very fresh sound.
My bandmate Xenoch is about to release an album that definitely is gonna change the way I view music once again, but he’s been gatekeeping the demos recently. And my other bandmate, Soul Online, is doing some really cool mixtures of dynamics and sounds as well, with live, sampled, and electronic sounds, and I am really eager to see that evolve more, too. Thankfully, he gatekeeps less.
After this last string of shows, what’s next for Blood Estate?
Hopefully, some sleep, and then keep growing. I have a lot of musical ideas I want to explore, and I am super hype to record stuff with the band soon as well. I think that will push us as a group and me as an individual, and I am super excited to see that sound finally fully realized. I want to become better as a musician myself, but also flow better with collaboration and aim for new and fresh sounds as always. I want to partner more with other artists and do more multimedia stuff as well, outside of the normal categories of how I’ve been doing music. We shot something really cool over the past couple of months with a super talented filmmaker that I am super excited to release soon, but I’m gonna wait to talk about that more. The horizon is broad, and it really feels like this is the beginning in many ways.
Listen to “A Soul” out now on Spotify. Support Platphorm Recordings initiative for Amnesty International here.
Loved having this conversation, thank you for putting everything together and such insightful questions !!