Fortunately, we managed to unearth this interview, which had almost fallen into oblivion by chance circumstances. We conducted it with Chris Samuels of Ritual Howls and Kirill Slavin, the minds behind the dimly lit curtains of the Detroit-based project Mission To The Sun, just a few months after the release of “Sophia Oscillations,” the excellent follow-up to their debut “Cleansed by Fire.” It’s truly an immersive journey into the darkest recesses of post-industrial music, reminiscent of some listening experiences adorned (or marred) by the likes of Coil, Cabaret Voltaire, Suicide, Drew McDowall, Moin, The Legendary Pink Dots, Wolf Eyes, Throbbing Gristle, etc. Released as their debut by Felte on July 14, 2023, I feel confident in recommending it without fear of leading astray those who have pleasantly crossed paths with some of the most prominent names in the scene mentioned earlier.
Chain D.L.K.: Hi there! How are you doing?
Mission to the Sun (Chris) Well, thank you.
(Kirill) As good as one can be, doing while living in the world of shadows.
Chain D.L.K.: In the so-called civilized Western world (so excluding megalopolis in Asia or South America), Detroit is a kind of terrace with a view to post-industrial decadence, according to many people. You come from that interesting city. How did Detroit mark your artistic souls?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) Detroit is such a melting pot of artistic output. It’s always been a place with so many things going on at once. It’s that exact nuance that makes one feel they can do anything they want.
(Kirill) Living in Detroit, there is a lot of room to create because there are not a lot of events going on all the time. So if you get past the soul-crushing grayness of winter and just get into your work, there is a lot that can get done.
Chain D.L.K.: Seeds of decadence were maybe already blossoming, to say so, in Detroit’s techno. Would you say that so-called subculture or underground culture just fostered dystopian visions that got gradually more and more concrete, or would you say they were already concrete? How do you remember those years?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) By the time I was conscious enough to enjoy techno, it was already on a decline. I started going to raves and parties in the late 90s. Things were firmly established and concrete. It was only a couple of years later that techno was being used in TV commercials. For me, what techno represented was an obvious entry into music production. Just like Punk before it, it seemed like anybody could pick up some gear or computer and start making techno. And we did.
(Kirill) Dystopian reality is ever present in Detroit, after the ’67 riots the city became a ghost of itself (lots of great material written about that history, please google) and only now some areas are starting to come back. That first wave of Detroit techno seemed to echo that reality back in the 80s, definitely an inspirational/inspired period. When I was first checking out Detroit elektro/techno it seemed that there was a hidden message of spiritual transcendence via our connection with technology, an appealing alternative to the dystopian world that surrounded us. The human-tech connection is a strong theme in Detroit in general, where a lot of jobs are in the car industry or related to it.
Chain D.L.K.: I still remember the amazing “Cleansed by Fire”; the first album by yours when reached my ears. I appreciated it. Potentially, reviewers or you in interviews for radio or zines already said many things about that. But I’d like to ask about perhaps a minor detail on the lyrics of the opening song “Take Me Back”… whom, or what were you referring to when saying ‘star crossed sinners’?
Mission to the Sun: (Kirill) Thanks for the kind words, glad you liked the album. I guess in general, Take Me Back is a traditional love song wrapped in experimental sounds and a bit of the cut-up method.
Chain D.L.K.: There’s a strong sense of inevitability in your songs. The blurred portraits (musically within oozing vintage charms) often evoke unfinished entities. Are there any biographical elements in your songs?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) For sure. This music is more personal than any other music I’ve ever created. It’s stark, nakedness is a direct reference to the evolution of my artistic expression. It’s taken years of exploration to become comfortable with these sounds.
(Kirill) Definitely, lots of biographical elements, but more in terms of states of mind that have been time-stamped onto me by some key experiences in my life.
Chain D.L.K.: How did you decide to start Mission to the Sun? Any event of listening you experienced that worked as a sparkle for this project?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) As I mentioned, it’s taken me several years to allow this type of music to mature in my mind. I’m sure the same goes for Kirill. The music is a reflection of that picture of Detroit you so perfectly painted. Anything goes, and any sound can be used.
(Kirill) Chris and I have been collaborating for years beforehand, but this project came about when we started sharing an art/music studio in 2014. We had all the gear set up in one space from all these different projects that we are involved and in between all those sessions me and him would work on the side on what eventually became “Cleansed by Fire”
Chain D.L.K.: Let’s finally focus on “Sophia Oscillations”. Is there any connection to the previously mentioned “Cleansed by Fire”? If yes, besides the stylistic one, is such a connection a sort of sequel to some kind of plot you started or sketched in your previous album?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) Yes, a continuation for sure. The narrative set by Kirill’s lyrics is extremely important to how the songs are chosen. We have a somewhat prolific writing output, creating almost 100 songs to date. How we chose to release them into the world depends greatly on the narrative we set.
(Kirill) Sophia is definitely meant as a sequel, the concept was that the songs on the album are transmissions from a spaceship that is floating further and further into uncharted outer space.
Chain D.L.K.: The title track seems to describe the experience of forced confinement and its consequences. Is that inspired by some real happening?
Mission to the Sun: (Kirill) Just some Gnostic mythologies, glad you related to it.
Chain D.L.K.: You can’t but expect a question on the related clip. I read it was made by Socpens’ Midnite Factory. Any word on it?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) Yes, great creative mind. And it’s not just his aesthetics that we’re drawn too. He seems to be a couple of steps ahead. His concept for Sophia Oscillations is layered in meaning and complexity that even Kirill and I were unaware of some of its significance until some time after it was released.
(Kirill) Socpens is a monster of a videographer, always excited to work with him. We were decidedly vague in describing what we wanted from that video and just gave him some occult texts to read and this is what he came up with.
Chain D.L.K.: What state of mind or which kind of character were you going to render on the awesome “Censor Sickness”?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) I wanted the music to reflect Kirill’s lyrical approach. As if it were being transmitted from some distant location and being reassembled as best as it could be, considering the quantum limitations in the immense distance.
(Kirill) Censor Sickness lyrics are a direct result of experiments with San Pedro Cactus, they pretty much just flowed out of me in a state of deep introspection. I always aspire to remove myself from my writing, and in this one instance, I was more or less successful in my attempt to do so.
Chain D.L.K.: Another awesome sonic/lyrical portrait is the one you did on “Unborn”. Does it relate to any real character?
Mission to the Sun: (Kirill) Unborn is not about any one person, but more so about ideas being stifled by a Stasi-like state of things being born out of the ubiquitous proliferation of cell phone mic/camera technology
Chain D.L.K.: One of the more hermetic (to me at least) songs is “No Foundation”, as there are some lyrics whose meaning is not clear to me… can you shed some light on it?
Mission to the Sun: (Kirill) I would start with the Dead Sea scrolls, and we can discuss the meaning over a drink sometime.
Chain D.L.K.: I enjoyed the piercing sound of “Attrition” and the hypnotic hook of its lyrics. Any word on it? Any “hidden” tribute to David Bowles, whose Attrition sounds like the most kindred band for some aspects of the industrial age on this side of the ocean?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) I agree. Attrition is a stand-out for me. I’m particularly happy with the blending of sonic elements and how the song came together as a whole.
(Kirill) Chris sampled his dishwasher door opening and closing and laid this song out. I thought it sounded good, a kind of organic synth generation. Reminds me very much of TG. So no hidden tributes, just some synchronicity. Lyrics are about talking with your eyes and transmitting the darkness from one person to another. I’m not sure how it works in real life, maybe some kind of light frequency modulation.
Chain D.L.K.: Any chance to see you perform somewhere in Europe?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) Yes. That’s my number one goal for 2024. We’ve been making considerable efforts to tour the EU, but without an agent, it’s been difficult. Message us!
(Kirill) Yes, we are working on it. I finally got my passport, so watch out world.
Chain D.L.K.: Any work in progress?
Mission to the Sun: (Chris) Always and forever. We’ll be releasing something special in the next couple of months.
(Kirill) work is always in progress!
Visit Mission to the Sun on the web:
https://missiontothesun.bandcamp.com/