The Sirens of Titan: Lost Kingdom

The increasingly celebrated London-based art-rock outfit The Sirens of Titan are fronted by the enigmatic editor, author and songwriter John-Paul Pryor, and their latest album Lost Kingdom confirms them as one of the most interesting musical projects of recent times. The ambitious record from the literary inspired rockers explores some very big dystopian themes, such as technological oblivion and the potentiality of apocalypse, and marries melancholic introspection with an almost archetypal rock’n’roll aesthetic – one that tips a nod to the likes of Pink Floyd, Scott Walker and The Velvet Underground.

The effortlessly stylish Pryor is a cryptic wordsmith, and the Eno-esque production talents of his musical partner Jez Leather brilliantly complement the surreal and emotive poetry at the heart of Lost Kingdom – wrapping thought-provoking lyricism in a swirling sonic reverie. Always challengingly visual in approach, the title track comes replete with a short film, which is a re-edit and resurrection of the award-winning short film, Butterfly (dir. Bonnie Foster). We caught up with the inscrutable singer songwriter to discuss tortured angels, the art of successful creative collaboration, and the importance of maintaining hope in an era of high capitalism.

Your lyrics have been described as poetic – where does your inspiration come from and what are you trying to say in The Sirens of Titan?

There is always an internal push and pull in creative endeavour – at least there is for me. I can’t really explain my lyrics as they are just transmissions from my dreaming mind, and they often transform once we start building the songs with the band from the raw material. Once a song is written then being in the studio with the musicians evolving the vision is my happy place. I love the immediacy of improvisation, and my writing partner Jez Leather is constantly inspiring in his musical vision. People have often asked why we don’t play live more often or appear in the films we have made. I guess, I feel quite separated from the era we are living in, so it’s kind of anathema to me to self-promote. When we do play live, I love it, but it tends to be low key and stripped back, more of an intimate and poetry-led thing, and less bombastic than the records.

The imagery on Lost Kingdom is rich and compelling, what kind of thing would you say the album explores?

There were a lot of things that went into Lost Kingdom conceptually. I was reading a lot of esoteric religious stuff like The Book of Enoch, which is just such a wild ancient text full of tortured angels and strange evocations of heaven, and I feel like some of that imagery wound up in there. And, of course, there is your film Butterfly, which served as a beautiful backbone of story floating amidst the surreal imagery. In terms of the sonic atmosphere, I guess our songs always have a foundation in classic blues-rock. We are not a hugely popular band, by any stretch of the imagination, but we have some pretty committed fans now that seem to treat us almost like a cult underground thing and that is kind of cool.

The title track “Lost Kingdom” has been compared to the work of Pink Floyd. It’s very haunting and cinematic. What is it about?

Well, I sometimes think we are in the final stages of high capitalism, the moment before it all collapses Cormac McCarthy style. I guess in the song ‘Lost Kingdom’ I am trying to express something about that sense we all have of impending doom – a kind of melancholic nostalgia for a species on the edge of tech oblivion. I think the song also represents a kind of apex of the talent Jez has for atmospheric production, and it has kind of signposted the next step in our trajectory into cinematic soundscapes – it is our ambition to soundtrack some great movies, so watch this space.

There are lots of religious references on the record, would you say you are a very spiritual person?

I don’t strive to be spiritual, just awake and aware, if that makes sense? I try as much as possible to give attention to the moment at hand and not get too lost in inner narratives of my own making. I wrote a lyric on the first album in the song ‘The Devils’ that says, “You got lost inside a room, it’s all it takes to break a man.” I think that is something that generally holds true. Our minds can be like a spider’s web or labyrinth if we allow our thoughts to run wild in isolation. It’s best to try not to think too much, and that approach is core to my way of being. I am attracted to Taoism and also to the ‘right thought, right action’ tenet in Buddhism, but, culturally, I guess I would say I am a Christian, so there is kind of a blend of all these things at work in me and in my writing.

What is a highpoint on Lost Kingdom for you?

I think ‘Maybe The Sun’ is a particular high point on the record for me. It’s about impermanence and the acceptance of that. I love Marco’s drums on that song. Another track that has very strong resonance for me would have to be ‘On The Night of The Hunted’ which, for me, is about hope, love and friendship. I think the record on the whole marks an arrival for The Sirens of Titan project at the place we were always aiming for, and I feel like the music we are making now is our most accomplished. It’s not easy to be creative. There is no real money in making music unless you are established or have a huge marketing budget behind you, so our music is made very much for the sake of love above anything else, and hopefully that authenticity comes through on Lost Kingdom.

Lost Kingdom is out now on Atlantic Curve Records