Angel-Maker’s Chris Nelson on the evolution of the band
Photo Credit: Rachel Schwebach
Angel-Maker’s music explores desolation and internal conflict using coldwave, post-punk and minimal synthwave soundscapes. The band, started by Chris Nelson takes on dark themes like isolation and layers them over thrashing rhythms. Alongside Kenton Caldwell (KC) and Andrew Laszlo, the 3-piece band has been growing their fan base within the local Indianapolis scene. “Angel-Maker is the first project I've done that's explored this genre. I've always been a fan of this kind of music from an early age, but had only ever played in aggressive punk and hardcore groups before starting Angel-Maker,” Nelson explains.
The project has put out a number of releases over the past four years. Their 2018 collection of demos, simply titled demo, brought together four lo-fi post-punk and darkwave tracks. Two years later, we got A-M IV, a collection of ten tracks, which continued to combine atmospheric noise and stabbing rhythms. The track “Rental,” for example, sits somewhere between minimal synthwave and electrocash. Across their tracks, Nelson’s subdued vocals, beneath layers of synths, electronic drums and guitars, often bring our focus to the soundscapes. On “Cold Night,” the bright bells add a mysterious layer to the gloomy track. The song “Refrain,” off of the Spring EP starts off with pounding drums, before the guitar riff conjures up the sounds of early New Order. Angel-Maker makes the kind of music you can get lost in.
Their most recent EP Winter, released in October, is the latest in a set of a series. “Initially it wasn't planned to be so but by the time Autumn was released, the idea of the full collection was solidified,” Nelson writes. “There are thematic links between them all and lyrically they reflect my personal journeys the past year. We're playing with the idea of re-releasing them as a full collection on a different medium but for now they only exist on the limited double cassettes.”
“Every release has been an evolution from the last, even within the Seasons EP series,” Nelson writes. “Starting out, the dark, dirty and lofi sound of the demo was a stylistic choice that I leaned into heavily but now we're starting to clean the mixes up much more. When writing a song it's hard to say how that could start in production, those processes have varied since the inception of A-M. They often start by picking up the gear, whether it be a guitar, bass, synth or drum machine, and something interesting happens that inspires more elements to be added. Alternatively, some songs like ‘Sickle’ & ‘Icecircle’ started in my head and I had to figure out how to create what I was imagining,” he writes.
On “Heat,” off of the Summer EP, Nelson sings, “you said this place is hell, you said this place home.” He explains, “That particular line is not one of my own creation to be honest. I was given those lyrics to use on the song as a sort of collaboration with my former partner. I did connect to that line when reading it though. I felt that disconnect growing up in my rural home town, not quite feeling like I fit, but it was still home. I love my home and community in Indianapolis now, but there were definitely times years ago when I did not feel so fond of it or the people in it either.” This theme of isolation is present across many Angel-Maker tracks.
Photo Credit: Max Denari
The band’s songwriting process has changed over the years. On the EP Spring, released over the summer, Nelson wrote lyrics and music alongside Andrew Laszlo. Laszlo had previously played guitars and done sound design on Angel-Maker’s Autumn EP. “Having Andy join the mix, both live and in a creative context, has been great. Each song did call for different types of collaboration between us, so I'd have a song like "Refrain" that would maybe need just a guitar part added to it and his contribution to that song made it perfect,” Nelson writes. “We also did a song, ‘Evening Sun,’ that he wrote and recorded entirely on his own aside from my vocals. That was the most different approach to writing for the band. As soon as I heard his demos for that song, I immediately loved it and knew it would fit into the A-M canon as a whole and fit the themes of Winter. For me personally, I've enjoyed the change of pace in writing, new challenges and processes keep it exciting.”
Late last year, the band performed at the Indianpolis Loud As Fuck Fest. Discussing their live sets Nelson writes, “Having the three piece band has improved the live experience immensely. The combination of Andy joining on guitar and streamlining the gear I use has helped me focus more on my performance personally. Having KC and Andy playing alongside me just adds so much to the show in both practical and intangible ways. With the MPC Live being the backbone of the songs, the percussion and synths are very much that robotic recreation of those parts on the record, but their playing on bass and guitar imparts each of their own styles and personalities on stage.” He continues, “ultimately the goal of the live show is to provide a unique experience, reflecting the recorded material, but bringing songs to life in color, and I think we do that much better now than ever before. We also set the stage with our own lighting and fog now to create an immersive experience, we want to invite dancing, connection, escapism, all of the most extreme reactions to the music. I'm very happy with these improvements to the live show but we're still looking at new ideas and ways to make it even better.”
The band's latest cassettes have been released by the Indianpolis-based Jinglhaus Records. Discussing the band’s release strategy, Nelson writes,”I think streaming is great for exposing music to a larger audience. Our first demo was shared with a lot of people because someone uploaded it to their Youtube channel and this continues to be a common practice in goth and post-punk circles. Streaming is a great form of marketing I suppose, that's how I view Spotify and Youtube. Bandcamp has been especially great for us to develop more of a relationship with people though.” Nelson explains further, “This seems to be where most of our folks really engage with us. The physical copies are available there for the people who have heard the songs, like the band and want a piece of the full experience to hold in their hands. The tapes are a more personal piece of the band as well, you might've bought one directly from us at a show and had a conversation, or you found us online and received your copy wrapped in my recycled paper grocery bags haha. There's a piece of us in the physical copies that's now in your collection in a different way than our song on your playlist,” he writes.
The aesthetic that the band presents through the music, flyers and cover art is also carefully considered. “Modernism and Minimalism have been particularly what inspire me the most and translating that to music helps kind of reel myself in when I keep throwing too many elements into a song,” Nelson explains. “Creating something that lasts because of its design and function is an appealing concept to me that I strive to achieve with some, but not all material. Impermanence, as the other side of that coin, is a concept I like elements of my art to reflect as well. The live show is an example of that, you can only have that specific night once.”
The band plans on releasing more music soon. Nelson writes, “We plan to release a couple very different singles in the new year and steadily release some others in the following months. We will be focusing heavily on playing more shows in more cities. We plan to do a weekend run of three shows each month in 2023 so we can play in as many new places as possible throughout the year instead of doing a large tour all at once. If anyone wants to host us in your city, send an email, we'll make it happen!”
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