Amen Dunes

Love may be Damon McMahon’s fourth release as Amen Dunes, but it marks the first time he’s turned the page on his improvisational, solo affairs. Steeped in traditional song and recorded with help from Iceage’s Elias Bender-Ronnenfelt, Colin Stetson and members of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, it’s an album crafted with precision and purpose. We talked to Damon about the ultimate devotional love, punk mentality and Japanese aesthetics.

Interview by Anna Berkhof, Photos shot by Cait Oppermann in New York, USA

‘I think there’s a certain kind of love that is ultimate. A love of selflessness, devotion and self-sacrifice, like an empty cold force’

You put the lyrics of the first song of your new album on Facebook so that people can read along while listening. Why is that important to you?

Every little part of Amen Dunes to me is important. Even if the music sounds simple, the only reason it works is because I’m so careful with all the details. Lyrics for me tell you what the song means, and it’s a chance for people to get their own meaning out of it as well. So I wanted to make sure people read the lyrics.

The word in the title of your new album is used in so many different ways, it’s both kitschy and very serious. Despite being so boundless, the word hasn’t lost its meaning. What do you mean by it here?

Well, I picked it for a real reason and then I picked for a cheeky reason. The cheeky reason is that I’m on this label with all these kind of dark bands; everybody is trying to show that they’re more dark and more weird. I love the punk mentality, so I thought, What is the most punk thing I can do? The most punk thing I can do is to call it Love. It’s the least dark thing you can possibly say. So fuck all these people, I’m just gonna call it Love and see how it makes them uncomfortable. That’s why I chose it at first.

And the real reason?

I think the real reason is the music – and like you said, it’s a very serious word. This is a very serious album for me. So for me love is not about having a crush on a blonde girl; for me it’s the kind of love that happens when you extinguish yourself. That’s what I’m interested in. I think there’s a certain kind of love that is ultimate. A love of selflessness, devotion and self-sacrifice, like an empty cold force.

‘If I lived in Japan I would make really, really quiet music. Because everywhere around me there would be simplicity and elegence’

What are some of the things you love most?

I love to eat. And I love going somewhere else. I love to travel. When I’m travelling a lot I feel like I’m free of a lot of my old ways of thinking. I’m free of my normal self.

Speaking of travelling, have you ever been to Japan?

I’ve been several times. I used to live in China, and every time I went there I had to stop off in Japan, and I would take a few days to hang out there. I’m a big admirer of Japanese music and literature. Japanese people express that same idea of love I’m talking about. They have this devotional and selfless power in their art.

What kind of Japanese music and literature are you into?

In general I’m just really fond of the Japanese aesthetic sense. There’s this book that I love called In Praise of Shadows . You should check it out. It’s about the idea of negation or limitation of beauty to reveal true depth. The golden Buddha is placed in the corner of the monastery, where there’s no sunlight. Things like that. I take that same approach in my music. Also there’s one Japanese band in particular that I really like: Les Rallizes Dénudés. They make the most incredibly free and vicious music – cold, devotional and spiritual. Also they’re really loud.

Do you think living in Japan would change the kind of music you make? What would it sound like?

If I lived in Japan I would make really, really quiet music. Because everywhere around me there would be simplicity and elegance. In Japan there’s aesthetic elegance and there’s emotional elegance. There’s just grace to people. I think if I were in that environment I would learn to compose myself.

Amen Dunes headlines Wastelands Festival at 019, Ghent on 9 August alongside Mykki Blanco, Palmistry, patten and more. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members. More info here.