Interview
Back in Black
It's been a year since Athena Rigby announced her departure from the band 'Scarlet Martyr' to pursue her solo project. Now, with a new album on the horizon, she reveals how Athena Black has helped her unveil her hidden dark side.
As a storm of new rockers sweeps the nation one name seems to stand out above any others. For Athena Rigby, the year has been crazy; not only the drama filled divide in the hugely successful psychobilly band 'Scarlet Martyr', mixing elements of punk rock, rock and roll, rockabilly, and rhythm and blues, creating the perfect harmony of the species of rock, but now the collaboration with many rock icons including Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Quinn Allman (Ex-The Used), Gerard Way, Mikey Way (Electric Century), Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds of Summer), Juliet Simms, Joel and Benji Madden (Good Charlotte), Rian Dawson (All Time Low) and Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides). This is what Rigby describes to be occurring in her new project, with the name of the upcoming album being released as 'Calamities of Our Own Misfortune and the Fortune of Others' and a parallel persona of Athena Black emerging.
This will be Rigby's fourth released album, the previous two with her old band reaching platinum, both selling 300,000 copies in under 3 months. In addition to this, the welcoming of the band's world wide tour suggests opportunity for Rigby, with her participation in the gigs being widely discussed across social media. Due to the band already starting on the fifth album in early 2015, supported by the legendary producer John Feldmann (The Used, All Time Low), the split was definitely a shock, with no solid explanation given the fans were devastated. However, the band carried on making music, with some alterations and the rise of Athena Black, crowds will face no disappointment. With all this going on, you would assume that Rigby would take time out of work, with her excessive earnings warranting her a lengthy holiday.
Athena, however, had other ideas. Lounging in her studio apartment, overlooking the financial district in London and the River Thames, chatting to *magazine name* during a break from the studio over the new year, she expresses that there's much more to come; namely the production of this upcoming album and the doors which it opens for her as Athena Black. First announced last year, the album has been shielded from the public eye, with only the name of the album being uncovered. Athena Black's first single, A Scar Of What They've Done, was released shortly after this, destroying the accusations of the icon not possessing the creative strength to wow the world like she did. Later, the public made the discovery of Rigby would not stand unsupported in the album, with various high-profile collaborations explaining Rigby's unusual exertion of social engagement on her social media, her attitude of being the most punk rock person in the world usually discouraging the interaction. This alone proves the appealing and talented nature of Athena Black and her music, along with her seemingly uncharacteristic pleasantness which she presented apon *magazine name* meeting her. Now, Athena wants to talk about the project...
'It's been interesting,' she says. 'The process of losing my band, my branding and recreating myself entirely differently with a more accurate representation of myself coming through in the music has definitely been a journey. The difficulty is that I had to find a consistent style to the music, a singular sound; I was initially concerned that I would be so focused on trying to find out what I was trying to do that I would forget the importance of sonic cohesivity, the last thing I wanted to do was end up being the sad, diet version of my old band! I found what I was looking for more easily that I had expected, I think once I was able to have full creative freedom I just thought 'Fuck it!' And so I jumped in and now I have a single out and am on my way to completing an album all in my new name.'
And so we asked her about the album...
Q – What's it like going solo for this album?
A - 'I think that the experience is entirely different, in every way. My entire career has shifted and the experience is completely surreal. The part which is the most odd is that it was no longer a collaborative effort,, there was no longer a precedent to making a record. As I said, my branding had gone, I no longer had that style which was expected of me, and with the fifth album in progress the band was just creating songs which were exactly the same, as if they were using with a cookie cutter. The odd thing about a solo career is that you lose the expectation to stay the same.'
Q – How is the album sounding?
A - 'I think that my approach with the music was to deliver the most accurate representation of myself as possible, not to say that I went in the opposite way of the music which I previously produced because I loved making music with Scarlet Martyr but I feel like I stopped trying to be so revolutionary with the style. I reverted to my roots quite a lot, played what I used to listen to while I was growing up and going in a more Classic Rock direction while also keeping my aesthetic and punk persona present in the music. That's the only way I can explain the sound superficially, I mean it's more Led Zeppelin than Slipknot if that helps at all.
Q – What was it like getting so much high-profile help for these songs?
A – I was so lucky to be able to work with some of my friends, some who helped Scarlet Martyr at the start, supporting and working with me throughout my career. With a solo album coming out, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with some of them, an opportunity which was not as appropriate when working with a band as well I was able to explore my own style singularly and with a somewhat band of people who's music and personalities I adore. Basically, my band for this album was an all-star cast of artists who I wanted to collaborate with.
Q – You say you are exploring new areas of music, are you also doing this lyrically?
A – I'm able to portray more personal emotions through my music now, definitely. The issue with attempting to do this in a band is that it is not as intimate as you are sharing the song, all conveying it and the emotions intended in it. Singularly, I am able to use personal situations, explore emotional themes and things which have happened to me in the last year. At the end of 2015 my center had completely shifted to the end of 2014, this was difficult and ultimately I went through so much shit to get to this point. I lost my friends and faced falling out of music completely, I mean could you imagine me working in an office? This was difficult for me and, as stupid as it sounds, I think that I used this album and the music production as therapy kind of; I kept myself grounded. Lyrically, I explored this in the new album.
Q – Can you tell us about any of the songs
A – Well, Dangerous Liaisons is kinda tongue-in-cheek. People dramatize the departure of me from Scarlet Martyr, make it seem as though me and the members had a huge fight, ending in me screaming that I was leaving to take the world by storm and that I didn’t need them. That's not how it happened. I loved working with the boys but upon a time where I was beginning to have new ideas about our content, relating to the stuff I said about their cookie cutter approach earlier, it was clear that me and them were going in different directions. Also not to mention the boys liking the appeal of having an all male rock band, and to be honest they weren't wrong. I mean we're not Paramore, times have changed and the media has changed; if they wanted to go off and become a boy-band come rock-group then good on them. It'll probably do them a lot of favors in the long run and being a female solo artist has definitely benefited me so I'm completely content with the decision. However, as I said, people take things out of proportion and stir things up; this song takes the piss out of all of that.
Q – What about the darker material?
A – As I said, there's a lot of emotional content in the new album. There are songs about heartbreak – not necessarily romantically but just through obstacles in life; but overall I want the songs to be open to interpretation so I will leave it there.
Q – Talk to us about the album name?
A - 'Calamities of Our Own Misfortune and the Fortune of Others'. It’s a slightly altered quote from The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. The book is very satire and I liked the idea of it. Nothing I do is serious, I'm always taking the piss and if I'm not then I'm waiting for opportunity to take the piss. I liked this quote because at the point where I was first imagining the album, there was an article released calling me a narcissist, saying that I think I'm better than everyone else and I found it hilarious because I realized that I do think that im cooler than everyone and everything. Ultimately I named my album this because I wanted to ridicule the media, because obviously I'm better than them and I don’t need to listen to what they say.
Here's what we've learnt about Athena Black so far, as of yet, there is no set release date for the album (although it is estimated that a single will be released in early 2016 and then the album will be released around spring of this year)and there's no complete track list of titles. Athena isn't worried though 'the structure and the titles will come together in the end,' she says. 'I have an album title, I don’t want to have everything set in stone too early, that’s a mistake that we made in the band. I just want to let this one fly a bit more, not letting it get too out of hand but ultimately forming and taking its own shape'.
Exciting times are ahead for Athena Black, leaving Rigby behind and going in her own direction. The year ahead certainly entails a lot of work for the artist, but, with the exciting new solo project and possible tour to follow already taking shape, it seems taking a holiday will be well deserved by this time next year.
'I'm so excited about where this will take me. I've been working with music since I was a teenager and to have made such a comeback after the possibility of losing everything, I feel so lucky. The reality of having this as a full time job and flying all over the world, working on records and promoting my name is beyond enjoyable and it's incredibly humbling. I love it, but at the end of the day, I'm still a narcissistic bitch.'