Arch Deacon

This month sees Baltimore-based electro experimentalist Dan Deacon bring his unique brand of sonic derangement to the Electric Picnic. Deacon earned considerable critical acclaim last year for his album Spiderman Of The Rings, and has recently been toiling on the eagerly anticipated follow-up record, Bromst. What can we expect from Deacon’s new opus?
“I think it’s pretty different, but still of the same nature,” he replies. “It’s less poppy and light, and a lot more intense. It’s the first studio record I’ve worked on that’s mainly live instrumentation, and it’s very percussion-focused. I’m really excited about it.”
Deacon commenced work on Bromst before Spiderman Of The Rings had even been released, and indeed he has been remarkably productive throughout his short recording career. Would it be fair to say that he doesn’t find it that difficult to generate new material?
“Writing music is my favourite thing to do,” he enthuses. “Bromst has been in the works for a long time, but only a few of the tracks I originally wrote for it are going to make it on to the album. I’ll most likely release the other tracks as free online downloads or as an EP, or both.”
Was Deacon surprised at the level of acclaim afforded Spiderman Of The Rings?
“I had never gotten any press before that album, so it was pretty crazy to see how much it can change things. For a dance music record that’s not really dance music, I was really surprised how well it was received. I was pumped.”
There seems to be a movement in electronic music at the moment towards using older equipment, resulting in genres such as 8-bit, Casiocore, etc. Does Deacon feel he fits into that category and is he a fan of, say, Crystal Castles?
“I think those sounds and instruments were really important in shaping the aural mindset of a lot of today’s musicians,” he considers. “While I use a Casio with my vocoder and some aspects of the sounds I use could be called ‘8-bit’, I wouldn’t say I’m part of that category. Especially the stuff I’ve been working on lately.”
Deacon is a part of the Wham City arts collective in Baltimore, although he is decidedly evasive when questioned on the group’s origins.
“We got started as simple thieves,” he states, probably untruthfully. “But now we have really nice haircuts. We are great at hiding bodies and burning money.”
Deacon is more forthcoming when discussing fellow Wham City member Ed Schrader, whose piss-take talk show – available for viewing on YouTube – has a certain kind of twisted comedic genius.
“Ed is great,” enthuses Deacon. “He is a close friend and a really unique person. I think in the next few years he’ll be one of the main artists associated with Baltimore. He’s really sincere and too crazy to ‘play the game’.”
Notable shows for Deacon this year include a performance at the Whitney Museum in New York, and a support slot alongside Tom Tom Club and Devo at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn. How did the gigs go?
“The Whitney show was awesome,” he reflects. “It was really surreal. So many people from throughout my life were there and it was really overwhelming. With the Tom Tom Club and Devo gig, it was the first show I had opened up in years so it was a real challenge. Plus, knowing that actual heroes were about to go on after me made me really nervous.”
Finally what would Deacon – an alumnus of the Conservatory of Music at New York’s Purchase College – say he gained through the formal study of his craft?
“A respect for counterpoint.”