My Lover the Morning Star - ''Art is an aesthetic experience born of a human desire''

Cristina:’’ As with Of the Muses, and perhaps to an even deeper extent this time around, My Lover the Morning Star is once again a solo endeavour. I established it right after announcing the end of my previous project, already with the intention of doing something entirely removed and experimenting with different sounds.

‘’I would say, most of all, this  project was born out of a desire to make things easier for myself, by creating more freely, expressing myself in a way that is less explosive and more contemplative, and finally getting to experiment with influences and musical interests that were less prevalent and noticeable while black metal and rock music were being pushed to the forefront.

A sumptuous deeply personal celebration My Lover The Morning Star is the extension of Multi-instrumentalist Cristina Rombi. The debut Ep is a revelation of fragility and strength. Ethereal Soundscapes that are captivating and a display of both musical prowess and minimalism. My Lover The Morning Star reflects the transition and evolution of the artist and her art from her previous project from the Muses

Cristina: ‘’There was definitely a sharp transition between the two projects, almost a fracture. Among other things, MLTMS is also an attempt to explore different facets of my creative expression and therefore of myself; I feel like I have been making very "extroverted" music up to this point, if that makes sense.

‘’I know there's people who would associate black metal with extreme introversion and even misanthropy, but to me black metal is an extremely catharsis-oriented art form that answers to a visceral urge to get something out of your system, even if that something is telling people you want them to leave you alone. Speaking for myself at least, I was playing black metal music because I felt the need to externalize something. It was a very primal and communicative kind of process. Of the Muses’ sophomore release was even more open and explicit, on both a lyrical and musical level. I do enjoy writing that kind of music, but it can be draining too, especially as a solo artist. You're pouring all of yourself inside of it every single time, there's many instruments to write for and fit inside the mix, and personally I was challenging myself a lot in the vocal department striving to improve as a singer and to sound more powerful and precise than ever. It got to a point where I was not enjoying the journey anymore; it was bringing out my crazy, obsessive side a little too much, in a sense that I was also obsessed with controlling the outcome, because of how invested I was. Which is never good.

‘’But because I cannot really live without music being an integral part of my existence, I had to completely alter and adapt my attitude and my creative process in such a way that allowed me to keep doing this without losing my sanity. This is part of the reason why I've been writing more stripped down, spacious material compared to what I was doing with Of the Muses.

The effort and emotion required to start over again? Of the Muses ended quite abruptly?

Cristina:’’ Right after Underheavens came out, I had a few months where I almost couldn't bear listening to music, let alone writing it. It was like a hangover of sorts. I naturally had to get past that phase and realize that I needed to revise my MO and learn how to loosen up. The whole thing required a lot of adaptability, self-trust and perseverance. In this sense, it was good to just wake up one morning and act on my intuition to "disband" Of the Muses so I could start anew. While working on Underheavens, I had many moments where I should have acted on my intuition to do or not do something, and I always ended up suppressing my gut feeling, which, in hindsight, I very much regret. So, when the feeling began to sneak up on me, it was pretty much a no-brainer, and I honoured it right away. It was just the right thing to do in order to start the next chapter without attachments or pressure.

The creative inspiration for My Lover The Morning Star

Cristina: ‘’The answer to this question has also changed considerably. I realized I was fixating a bit too much on writing entire albums "about something", making them as internally cohesive as possible, all songs dealing with the same, extremely specific subject. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it was definitely limiting me and adding to the (mostly self-imposed) pressure.

‘’It was also making the creative process unnecessarily strict, meaning that I felt that I had to be in a specific frame of mind, to feel "inspired", in order to write something good. As a result, I almost entirely stopped writing, and, whenever I did, it was horrible because I was constantly chasing that feeling and never quite managing to capture it.

‘’With My Lover the Morning Star I completely overhauled those beliefs and made it a point to find inspiration in a multitude of things. Love is among them, for sure, but so are other emotions and topics that appeal to me and that don't necessarily warrant a concept album or even extremely specific lyrics. Inspiration now comes from glimmers, dreams, stuff that grips me on a strange instinctual subconscious level eliciting nuanced emotions and can be turned into something equally as vague because I am no longer obsessed with people understanding the message. Because there is no message in the first place.  It's a more fluid, surrealistic/dadaist approach.

It is at times dreamy and ethereal, at others almost a love letter to the originators of darkwave.

Cristina:’’ Totally! I don't know the extent to which it translates into the sound of the Ep, but I wrote those songs in the midst of a deep dive into post-punk, gothic rock, and darkwave. From a purely functional standpoint, exploring the ethos of punk, post-punk and even NYC no-wave really pushed my brain's reset button. Punk musicians believed you didn't need to be a skilled player or singer in order to make music, and post-punk, proto-industrial and no-wave artists took that to the extreme, claiming that you don't even need to play a proper instrument in order to be in a band. This naturally seeped into goth and darkwave's DYI sentiment with bands just attempting to create the most unique, scary music possible. It felt so liberating to embrace their teachings, I think those bands cured my perfectionism and self-flagellating tendencies forever. 

The lush keyboard beauty of’’ la fleur de sa peau’’.

Cristina: I wanted the synths on la fleur de sa peau to have an analogue feel about them (even though I ran them through an analogue synth VST), and to ebb and flow in and out of the song to create movement and some kind of emotional dynamic within the track. I think that, ultimately, my love for Boards of Canada is very much on display there. (Really thrilled to hear new music from them for the first time in 13 years!)

At times the vocals are sparse, another instrument in the composition.

Cristina: That is another variable I wanted to experiment with! My vocals were pretty much always in-your-face, whether I was screaming or clean singing. I love singing and I plan on keep taking voice lessons for as long as I can, because singing brings me so much joy. But this time around, I wanted to use my voice as an instrument, creating ambiance and space rather than being the main character. I'm also a fan of shoegaze and dreampop and always loved the stacked vocal harmonies thing, but I never got to do it in my previous project. So, I am definitely moving in this direction now, having the vocals blend in with the other instruments to create something atmospheric and ethereal. No longer shouting at people hoping to be heard and listened to, but rather, luring them in, if that makes sense. And whether or not they accept the invitation, it's their prerogative.

‘’Armure Doree’’. A new suit of armour to take on the world?

Cristina: armure dorée is a love song, maybe even a torch song, and the golden armor of the title is a veiled reference to the body hair of the person I was in a relationship with at the time this song was being written. They have very fair skin and beautiful blond hair, and I was always enchanted with the way the sun hitting their arms or hands or legs made their body hair glisten against their pale skin. There's a lot of hope in the lyrics along with the bittersweet awareness of the love we had for each other not being enough to bridge the physical and emotional distance.

Is it a project that deals with hope and overcoming?

Cristina: Sure, that too. Even back when I was writing more violent and abrasive material, I always felt compelled to ditch the nihilism and cynicism that are so embedded within the culture of extreme metal and black metal specifically. Which is why it used to weird me out when people used the words "depressive black metal" to describe Of the Muses’ first album. If those people knew me personally, they would know I am the least likely person to play that genre! I might occasionally get inspired by experiences that are objectively sad as with armure dorée, but I never want to make a definitive statement out of it. Giving up is very tempting and, as someone who spent their entire life dealing with depression and is currently in therapy for it, I do often feel like giving up as well, but it's not an idea I want to promote. I find the idea of fighting a lot more noble and appealing.

The many styles that are within the music.

Cristina: I certainly evaluate the sound and direction of a track on a case-by-case basis, but also, as I explained, I am trying to steer clear of concepts and just go with whatever bits and pieces of personal experience, of dreams, of historical accounts, of  art made by other people, of folkloric tales, of places I may or may not have visited in my waking life, I feel some kind of emotional and spiritual resonance with. I try to make sure the lyrical content of the song matches the instrumental part, unless I want to create contrast and make it jarring on purpose. Let's say it's something I am enjoying playing around with.

How would you describe your creative DNA?

Cristina: At this point I would say my creative DNA is 95% British! I just cannot escape the hold British (and Irish) bands from the 70's, 80's, 90's and early 00's have on me. It's been like that my whole life. The remaining 5% is a combination of all the other styles of music I enjoy, which include black metal as well as R&B, house (and occasionally techno) music, reggaeton, electronic music, ambient, and pop. But even though I love borrowing from all of those diverse influences, I believe my sense of melody is quintessentially British and it's my guiding light throughout the chaos of creation.

And Inspiration? Something that is personal to you?

Cristina: Love, always. I love being in love and I love writing about it, it's an incredibly intoxicating, borderline religious feeling to me. On this project specifically, I strongly feel like my fascination for Medieval history and culture is coming through. Maybe it's not being openly displayed yet, but I think it will in the future. I would love to incorporate it more visibly in artworks and overall aesthetic. I also have this thing where I "sense" the energy of places and am immediately aware of the presence of particular spirits that are tied to the place itself. This is something I want to explore and write about in future MLTMS songs as well.

How do you define Art?  And the level of honesty and commitment it requires?

Cristina: This is an interesting question, and it has never been as relevant as it is now, with the rise of AI (I hate to call it that because it's not "intelligence" in the slightest, trained machines are not "smart"; but the fact that this is the idea that's being spoon fed to us says a lot) and LLM's. So let me get this out of the way: AI "art" is not art. Art cannot be made by water-guzzling plagiarism machines assembled by technofascist corporations. That's not art, that's slop.

''Art is human. Art is what human beings make for no other purpose than sharing and consuming it. Art is not functional (everyday tools can be made artistic and have an interesting design but they're not art). Art is an aesthetic experience born of a human desire to connect, and when I say aesthetic, I mean it in the sense of engaging the senses and meeting, or challenging, the audience's taste. As much as influences and inspiration can play a part in the creative process, human intellect is still at work in combining those influences into something unique and individual (again, a machine scraping the internet and being trained to steal someone else's work is not undertaking a creative process and it sure as hell is not making art).

''I am drawn to art that is emotionally and intellectually honest and that genuinely reflects the artist's experience, as this is the kind of art I love creating as well. But I don't believe it's a basic requirement; a lot of classical art that is highly regarded wasn't "honest" in that sense. You can also make art casually, maybe paint every once in 3 years, and you'd still be someone who is making art. You do have to be committed enough to honour your craft and take it seriously, like you're in a romantic relationship with it and striving to be the best partner you can be, and that's what makes you an artist.

Final Thoughts?

Cristina: There is just so much to say, I don't even know where to start. So, I will just say you don't need tons of money or influence to make a positive impact. Don't let your perceived sense of lack deter you from fighting injustice.

Top 6 favourite albums of all time?

Cristina: I love this question!! I will try to stop at only 6:

1. Epic Garden Music by Sad Lovers and Giants. Quite possibly my favourite post-punk album of all time. Not the most original, unique or daring post-punk album, but definitely the most dreamy, romantic and even uplifting.

2. Ooh Rap I Ya by George Clanton. I just love everything this man has done, but particularly this very nostalgic, very smooth and very well-produced album. I flew all the way to Czech Republic on my own to see him performing these songs, one of the best decisions of my life. The vibes were immaculate.

3. Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude by Nature and Organisation. A heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, unbearably beautiful neofolk album with violins, female vocals and visionary lyrics. I UGLY CRIED on my bathroom floor to this album. My eyes are welling up right now from barely thinking about the song My Black Diary. It's like a blade that cuts you in half. I'm not sure whether I want to recommend this album to you or spare you the agony.

4. Lost Souls by Doves. Simply one of the best albums to come out of the UK in the 00's. Killer melodies, sometimes melancholic, sometimes uplifting, stellar musicianship, no skips.

5. Eating the Sea by Soul Whirling Somewhere. My favourite album of all time. If I died tomorrow, I would still be immortal because this album exists and it has my soul in it.

6. Shards of Silver Fade by Midnight Odyssey. I worship Dis Pater; this is probably my favourite black metal project/ (one man) band. Cold, spacious, atmospheric, memorable melodies, interesting chord progressions, this is the pinnacle of black metal to me. I got to see him on tour and I was completely transfixed, I wish I could attend a Midnight Odyssey live show once a month.

Bandcamp page: https://myloverthemorningstar.bandcamp.com/

Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/myloverthemorningstar