In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up & coming stars on the planet.   

This time we investigate the riddle (wrapped in an enigma) that is The Comet Is Coming.

Originally conceived in a series of off-the-cuff and unassuming improv sessions, The Comet Is Coming now exists as the ascendant future-jazz project of Maxwell Hallett (aka Betamax Killer), Shabaka Hutchings (aka King Shabaka) and Dan Leavers (aka Danalogue The Conqueror), using drums, synths and saxophones to explore both the extremities of sound and the higher mind.

While clearly indebted to the enduring legacy of preeminent astral explorer, Sun-Ra, The Comet Is Coming have created a visceral and freeform music all their own, characterised by dizzying repetition and a ferociously raw, almost punk rock, approach. This is aptly exemplified by their impressive debut EP Prophecy, but it is on their stargazing, trance-inducing LP Channel The Spirits that this East London trio truly shine.

The band’s visual aesthetic too reflects this otherworldliness, engaging strongly with ideas of both the cosmos and the catastrophic. In a sense, this is music for the apocalypse… should the end of the world somehow manifest as an unbridled celebration of life.

We caught up with drummer, Betamax Killer, to learn a little more about the (at once) exuberant and terrifying sounds of The Comet Is Coming…

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TMR: For those who don't know, how did the band come to be?

Betamax Killer: Me and Dan were performing in our other duo incarnation Soccer96, when Shabaka started coming to our shows and bringing his sax. We started doing this routine where he would get on stage for the last couple tracks and just blow sax over the top. The energy was immense and really took the sound into another place. We quickly booked a studio thinking we could just capture the vibe and make a little experiment. After the first day it started to become clear that this was more than a mere collaboration, this was a whole new project - a new band, a new way of thinking about music for us.

TMR: There seems to be a lot of apocalyptic imagery involved in The Comet Is Coming’s aesthetic, but at the same time there’s a great sense of celebration in your music. How do you view the apocalypse and why is this imagery so fruitful for you?

Betamax Killer: There is an inherent connection between creation and destruction. In Buddhist teaching it is understood that everything is impermanent, always in a state of becoming. In Hinduism, Shiva is the world’s creator and destroyer, often depicted as a dancer. It is the joy of dance, and music that expresses the meaning of why the world was created. Shiva is basically creating and destroying because he’s dancing and that’s what happens. There is no reason for dance but the instant gratification. This is also true of music and life itself. There is something innately gratifying about destruction, when nature destroys something there is no forgiveness, no holding back. It is a dance of destruction and creation, a back and forth, swaying. Wiping the slate clean is sowing the seed for the next forms to emerge.



TMR: Pseudonyms, Imagery, and Mythology seem an intrinsic part of The Comet Is Coming. Why is this the case?

Betamax Killer: In order to fully attempt to reflect ideas about the world, we had to suspend ourselves in a mythology; a creative leap into an unknown time and space. When we are in this space everything sounds new, you have to reimagine the contexts, the significance of the sounds. Our hands explore our instruments with a freedom having left behind all the cultural references on another world. Of course there are a lot of cultural references that come out anyway but when they appear, they have changed, reimagined through a wormhole. They are moments of familiarity that permeate a landscape of new ideas.

TMR: You’ve spoken about the organic, fully improvisational manner in which Prophecy was recorded - you invited friends and guests round for a 3-day recording session at the Total Refreshment Centre and just let the tape run. Was Channel The Spirits recorded in the same freeform way? What were some of the experiences of recording this album?

Betamax Killer: Both records were actually recorded as part of one project. We made so many tracks - recorded on lots of tapes, and then were thinking “oh gosh this is loads of music to mix”. Eventually we cut it all down into an EP and an LP, still we had some good tracks that never made it out. But I think it was helpful to have lots of material to work from.



TMR: The Comet Is Coming seems to be a particularly visceral project – raw and immediate. Could you ever imagine sitting down to write music in a more meticulous manner?

Betamax Killer: There are plenty of meticulous mannerisms that happen when me and Dan mix and produce the recordings, we like to experiment with the sounds and putting lazer overdubs and fine tuning the drum sound. We put down the odd choice overdub parts. It really feels like composing as you have to look at the larger structures of stuff and make it all work as an album. But yeah it always seems to work best when we are working with something that has the raw live energy, this is something that is really hard to fake or manufacture. Not to say we haven’t attempted some more composed things but there is always an element of freedom.

TMR: How was the experience of being nominated for the Mercury Award and the heightened attention since? I can’t imagine it was something you considered while making the album…

Betamax Killer: We certainly didn’t think about that when making the album, we were really hoping to get it out on a record label, and so we went in really deep trying to make it good enough to play to someone at a label, as we thought we would probably only get one chance. But yeah it has been nuts to be nominated, and I’m glad it happened with a record where we were just having lots of fun making it. It’s been great exposure for the project and has helped us get more gigs - which has been great as our live show is getting really exciting to play. We’re planning gigs in USA and Australia next year!



TMR: What would be the ideal environment to experience your music?

Betamax Killer: A friend of ours said he took psychedelic cactus in Peru and then listened our album with his friends. From the looks on their faces I’d say they may have found the ideal environment.

TMR: Does The Comet Is Coming have an ultimate purpose, message or goal?

Betamax Killer: The Comet Is Coming is really an expression of sound for the sake of gratification, I guess that feeling of gratification is valued highly within the band. But I also think that gratification is, in a way, a feeling of belonging; you are understanding something indescribable. These moments can stay with you for a long time and offer strength.

TMR: We’re a blog specializing in new music so are there any up-and-coming bands you’re really enjoying lately? 

Betamax Killer: Monopoly Star Child Searchers.

TMR: What does the rest of 2016/2017 hold for The Comet Is Coming? 

Betamax Killer: We have a sold out London show at XOYO in November and lots of European dates throughout the rest of the year. It’s great to be getting really deep with the live show, it’s always changing.



Channel The Spirits is out now via The Leaf Label and catch The Comet Is Coming on tour.

-Karl Jawara