PipemanRadio Chats with Conjurer About New Album Unself

0:04 Hi, you have done to censure? W wow for you young. Whatd y. Yo? Which is pipe Man here on the Adventure of pipe Man W four C Y Radio and I'm bringing on. I guess that have some badass new music. H I hope they take it as a compliment, but to me, it's kind of like if Pink Floyd went metal. So we'll see if that's a compliment or not. I think it's a compliment. So let's welcome to the show, Danny from Conjuror how are you?

0:59 Yeah, I'm good man, thank you. Yeah, I've been listening to tons of Pink Floyd today, so. Well, there you go, see, because that was for me vibe I got from it, especially the way like it just takes you through a journey, you know. Yeah, yeah, I mean the Wall especially has been a huge influence on me since I heard it like what twelve years ago or something like that, And it was definitely an influence on this album in terms of like the songs being about the bricks in the wall that kind of shut you off from society and jit. So yeah, absolutely, and so I also I loved the story of the album, so I'd rather hear it in your words tell the listeners what unself is all about.

1:48 Okay, So it all kind of came about from I started a journey with an autism assessment like five years ago, and through that journey realized I was non binary and all this stuff. And even though it was a kind of realization of who I was and why I am, how I am and all that kind of stuff, a lot of negative feelings towards like it feels weird to say, past life, but like the first twenty eight years or so of my life, there was a lot of feelings about that and like why things happened the way they did, why I was treated the way I was treated, why I kind of just ended up in the position I was in. Really, it was very much looking back everything that had gone on in my life and then all the things now that we're all living through, like capitalist society and stuff like that, and how all of that can affect your sense of self being a marginalized person, being neurodivergent, being kind of part of a world that doesn't make you feel very welcome. Yeah, it can just really leave you in a horrible, horrible mindset. And all

3:22 of that went into the album. It's all about kind of feeling detached from oneself, feeling a lack of a sense of self. But also a description of the word on self is to remove oneself from something. In this case, we didn't want to write an album that's all me, me, me, all the stuff that happened to me. It's more about reaching out and connecting to all the people that feel the same, all the people that don't feel seen, don't feel understood, that live in the margins and are constantly kind of beaten down by society and the world around them. So, yeah, that's the concept in a nutshell.

4:06 And you would think after thousands of years of society, we would maybe get it already. Yeah, you don't, You don't, you know? And so, and that's why I love about this, because I think music is therapy for the artists and for the fan. And you know, there's a lot of people out there. I've been saying this a lot lately, because it's been happening a lot lately that say, oh, musicians, artists, they shouldn't like use their pulpit to spread their beliefs, blah blah blah. And I say that is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Those are exactly the people that should be, you know, because everybody's different anyway, even as a musician. So if you have a way to express it through art, why wouldn't.

4:57 You Yeah, one hundred percent. I really you don't understand this kind of like keep politics out of music. It's just like, okay, so what about like all the protests songs that have I mean, okay, so you're going to tell Neil Young not to write Ohio, Like, well, that's the same. It's ridiculous. I mean, look at rage against the machine, like you. Think of every generation. I mean, come on, like yeah, like the the fifties they were protesting even though it wasn't like today, it just kind of evolved, you know, and all the way through each decade there was music was the message. Yeah, it's a reflection of the world around you. I mean, of course, musicians can write about whatever they want. They can write about fantastical things dungeons and dragons and all that, but ultimately, like so much music, it is that artist's reflection of the world around them and how they view the world and how they interpret the world and all that kind of stuff. So the idea that it shouldn't be allowed to comment on the political leanings of everything going on around you. I just I don't understand it.

6:10 I think it's dumb. I mean, like you would talk about music exactly. That's all I was thinking, Like that was the that was the purpose of punk, that was purpose of the hippie music in the sixties. Like it's just and you hit the nail right on the head. A musician and artists should be able to write about whatever they want to write. And if you don't want to listen to it, you don't. But there's people that do, like so you know, everybody has their place to express themselves. So did you always feel that you were on the spectrum and people told you weren't or didn't want to admit it, not you meaning them, or was this like something that was like an aha moment.

7:02 So it's a really it's a strange kind of journey that I went on. Like when I was eighteen, a friend of mine whose mum worked with autistic children ADHD children and all that, he suspected that I may be on the spectrum. And one night I was driving him home and he asked me to pull over and he mentioned that he reckons I may be on the spectrum, and I knew nothing about autism or neurodivergence anything like that at the time, so I didn't know how to take the news, so I just kind of carried on as I was, like, I asked friends about it, and the thing is, at the time and unfortunately still now, people kind of see it as a disease or something that, you know, it's a terrible thing to have. So at the time there were some friends that are like, I'm not sure that you know that person should say those kinds of things to you. But I'm so glad that he did, because he was the first person in my life that brought it up, that broached the subject with me.

8:17 And then over the next ten years, other people would kind of pop up, like whether I was on tour or visiting friends somewhere or dating people, and they would ask like, are you on the spectrum at all? And I'd be like, I don't know, and I'd recall this story to them and they'd be like, oh, maybe maybe it's worth getting checked out, and I go, oh, yeah, maybe, And just eventually it got to like maybe half a dozen people or more saying these things to me, and it got to twenty twenty obviously the pandemic hit, everything was on lockdown. Just had a lot more time to think about this stuff. And I'd had some bad situations with friends. I felt like my relationships with people were falling apart because of how I was, but I didn't know what was wrong with me. So yeah, I just started researching, looking into everything, and everything made sense. Everything started falling into place, all the puzzle pieces were coming together, and yeah, it just it was It was a trip.

9:33 It was a real trip to kind of realize, oh my god, like this is what this answers everything, and it completely flipped my world upside down, like mostly for the better. Like I was so relieved to finally understand myself and realize, you know, oh so that happened because of this, and I'm like this because of that, Like you know, it was kind of like a Pepe Sylvia moment, like all the bits of string like tying together. So yeah, it was more of an aha moment, and yeah, it it changed everything. And I can't express how how big of a deal that was for me, to the point where realizing I was non binary, that was just kind of a bonus. That was there's a word for this kind of gender issue that I'm feeling right now. Okay, cool, there we go. But yeah, the getting diagnosed and going through that whole journey like that did way more for me in terms of like self actualization.

10:39 And I would assume that also makes you a better artist because now you're like you can use it as a strength instead of pushing it away or ignoring it. Yeah, one hundred percent. I mean, looking back at our last album now, I see it very much as in terms of the I wrote anyway and what some of the songs are about. It was very much a case of I was floundering. I was, you know. I mean, the first album is just for people to get in together and going, yeah, we love riffs, and then the second album was a lot more internal and kind of it was all psychological and like it was a very unwelcoming album because I felt very unwelcome in the world.

11:28 It was very kind of get the hell away from me kind of thing. And looking back now, it makes so much sense because at that period when we were writing and recording that album, I was kind of at my wits end, Like I didn't this was like right before going on that assessment journey and all that, So all the lyrics and stuff, it's very like I feel this way. I don't know why I hate this, Like I don't understand what's going on. And yeah, it was just very kind of impenetrable. It was a very impenetrable album. And this time around, it's like, Okay, I know who I am now, I know what my deal is. I know how to take care of myself more like I know what kind of accommodations I need. I have people around me that understand me now, like I mean, bless my bandmates, like they they often didn't know how to kind of help me back in the day, back before all this stuff happened, and I didn't know how to help myself because none of us knew what was going on.

12:41 And now that we all do, it's just a lot more positive. Everything is a lot more kind of there's a lot more empathy, there's a lot more I guess confidence. I feel so much more confident in myself as a musician and an artist. The band all together feels so much more confident. Yeah, it was. Yeah, it's been a huge, huge thing, and I feel even more excited about being in a band and writing and recording material and playing it to people now that it's kind of like, you know, I feel like I've kind of come out of my shell now and it's just like here I am like it just yeah.

13:29 It's kind of like when they when you become a butterfly. Yeah, genuinely. Yeah, right, And I think it's way cool that your bandmates like nothing has changed except for the better, because you never know how people are going to react, you know, so it just goes to show that you guys picked the right bandmates together to be together, because now you're just an even stronger force. Yeah, one hundred percent. Like I I love those guys so much, like they're not just bandmates to me, they're my best friends and they've been with me throughout this whole journey, and I'm often surprised at how kind of understanding and empathetic they are because so often, like you, you feel like the odd one out, Like those guys are so normal, like painfully normal, and I kind of I do sometimes feel like I'm the odd one out.

14:37 But then I've spoken to Brady at times and he says he feels like the odd one out. He feels like us three like me, Connor and Noah, we have this special bond that he's not a part of, and it's just like, no, dude, as soon as you're gone, I don't know what to do. Yeah, it's kind of that's kind of how it always is, too right, everybody. Nobody really says anything, but a lot of people really think like they're the odd man out, and it's it's good to have these conversations because then you find out you're not. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They've been so so sweet and so supportive and so understanding and like none of it's ever needed to be a big deal. Like there's been times where I mean when I realized, Okay, I think I can start calling myself autistic even though I hadn't had the diagnosis yet. I wrote out this big document and I sat everyone down and I talked about like this whole journey that I was going on, and it's one of those things where they're kind of like, yeah, we figured I love it, and like they you know, they they may not have known, Okay, you are autistic with ADHD trace. They may have not known the specifics, but they knew that there was something different about me and that I beha in these ways and it's kind of confusing for them at times. But like as Brady said, he said to me the other day, like it took

16:09 me realizing who I was and you know what my deal was for everyone else to understand fully. And so now like I find myself being kind of surprised when you know, they'll they'll be able to sense that something's going on with me, and they'll they'll jump in and they'll help me out with something. And I'm, yeah, I'm sometimes in awe of it because I've been so used to for the first like thirty years of my life feeling the way I'm feeling and reacting to things the way I react to them, and people just being like, why are you so weird? Why are you being like that?

16:49 You just get on with it, like deal with it sort of thing. But now it's like they understand and they're on top of it, sometimes more so than me. Like they'll be able to tell when something's happening with me, like if I'm starting to stress out or have a meltdown or something like, they'll jump on it and they'll ask if I'm okay, they will do what needs to be done to make me comfortable, and like it feels so strange, like it's lovely. Of course it's lovely, like and I'm super appreciative of it, but it's so kind of weird now that everything's flipped on its head. Now people aren't being judgy and they're not misinterpreting me or misunderstanding me. They're like they want to understand, and it's it's it's wonderful, like it's really really nice.

17:39 Because that's when you find out who you're real people are basically you know, and there's when people find out more about themselves and maybe, you know, do things differently because now they're more aware. Sometimes the people that are in your life they don't want you to change. It's kind of like the fans of a band that's a garage band and the band gets big and then it's like, uh, like I did it. I was at Metallica's first show ever, and then when the Black album came out, me and the twenty five of us that used to go see them at the club were like, posers sell out blah blah blah, bullshit, and that's what happened. Sometimes, Like you want to hold on to that, you know, that nostalgia or whatever you want to call it, But I bet it's actually also easier on your bandmates now because now they know how to handle it, whereas before they wouldn't because you didn't know how to handle it.

18:38 Yeah, I really hope that things are easier for them, Like it would break my heart if it was the opposite and things were more difficult now. But I don't think it is, Like I'm not very totally easier. Yeah, like I'm not confident in many things, but I am confident that the band has gotten better. And that's not to be like, oh because of me, but like I think that it's Yeah, it's just easier for them to understand. They don't. I get the feeling they don't get stressed out as much. Like, right, there are times when I need to just kind of disappear, and I can imagine, you know, back in the day, it's just like what the hell's up with Dan, Like where have they gone?

19:25 Sort of thing, right, But now it's like I have the confidence and the vocabulary to say this is happening right now, I just need to go and do this. I just need some time for myself, and they're like, yeah, cool, don't worry about it. So yeah, I think it has gotten a lot easier. There may still be things that they may not understand because I mean we have completely different brains, you know, completely different brain chemistry, but that that's the same with anyone. That's what I was going to say. It's like I don't think it ever really complete understand anybody out there because you don't Also see I always talk about it's like most people don't know the you inside your head.

20:09 They know the you that you show the world or in certain things, like even even as a musician, like your fans, they may not know you. They know you as the artist. M Yeah. And it's with this album really, like the reason it's so kind of you know, we we wear our hearts on our sleeves, like people know our kind of political leanings and just just our views on the world around us. Like the reason we want to do that is because it's like that in this world, there's there's no point in kind of cowering away and just kind of, you know, sheltering yourself. And it's kind of what the last album felt like. It was kind of yes, it was talking about oh these things that have happened to us and bloody, bloody blah, but it was in more of a state of confusion. It was a state of frustration, whereas even those songs on this album, they are frustrated with the world around us. It's not all internal, it's not all kind of beating yourself up and being like why am I like this? It's kind of oh, I know who I am Now this world sucks, you know.

21:31 And it's not to you know, completely point the finger at everything else as if like we're completely you know, we're golden or anything like that. But it is the systems that this world upholds, and the views that this world upholds, and the just the awful, awful things that are going on and are being kind of just accepted, like no one's stopping these things. It's just like there's so often people feel like there's nothing they can do, and to a big degree that's true. But that's why singing about these things and screaming from the rooftops about these things is so important. It's just like this album feels very much like a plant in our flag, like this is who we are, this is where we stand, whereas before it was like I think we were just we were still trying to figure ourselves out, Like yeah, We did not expect to get to the level that we're at at all. We thought we would record one album and that some of our friends would like it and that would be that. And it's just kept going and going and going. And yeah, I see why why people call the second album the difficult album, because it is like, you know, you're a band now, like keep the ball roll, and it's just like, Okay, we didn't expect this. Nice.

22:56 Well, the good news is we have on Off now and that is the prize right there, coming out October twenty fourth via Nuclear Blast Records. And tell everybody how they can reach out to you guys on socials and the web and check out everything your tour daid. So I know you've got some tour dates coming up, so give them all that info. Yes, so we're on all the social media platforms, so Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, X whatever. I'd never want to call it X, I don't want to give I'm with you, I'm with them on that one man. But you can order the album through our website, you can order it through Nuclear Blast Records, our band camp, all that kind of stuff. And then yeah, we've got a tour I believe it starts October twenty eighth.

23:49 It's only Europe and the UK. Unfortunately we haven't got anything in the US just yet, but we're working on it nice well. We look forward to it and we look forward to this album drop because I'm here to tell all the listeners it is badass. It's really great musicianship and really get great to escape the world in it, like because that's that's why I feel music should be. And that's why I said the Pink Floyd thing right in the beginning, because you listen to something like dark Side, you just get lost in it, and all the world's issues you're not even thinking about because you're lost in And that's the feeling that I got with this. So love it.

24:31 And thanks for making us great music now that you are enlightened and have so much more to give us. And thanks for being on the Adventures of the pipein. Awesome, my pleasure, min This has been great. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipeline on w for CUI Radio.