Corbeau Hangs interview: ‘I like to call it tragic hope’
Corbeau Hangs
Corbeau Hangs is the brainchild of Manuel Perez, an American artist with Mexican roots based in Phoenix, Arizona. His music can best be described as Dark/Cold-Wave with a contemporary edge – a sound that embraces the genre’s classic melancholic atmosphere while subtly weaving in modern textures and production. Following the debut Corbeau Hangs album “Optograms”, released in 2024 via Young And Cold Records, Perez returned in late 2025 with the follow-up, “Archive State”, this time on Artoffact Records.
While the album may not immediately present itself as groundbreaking, it does not seek to replicate the past either. Instead, Corbeau Hangs carves out its own space within the scene — respectful of its influences yet driven by an individual vision. It is a project with clear potential and, in my view, one that may continue to surprise us in the years to come. I spoke with Manuel Perez about the evolution of Corbeau Hangs, the making of “Archive State”, and the path that lies ahead. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Corbeau Hangs interview
Q: Could you first tell us a bit about the musical background of Corbeau Hangs? What were the key moments, bands, and perhaps specific songs or albums that convinced you to start making music yourself?
Manuel:Rock Español really planted that seed from a very early age. Especially Caifanes’ “Mátenme Porque Me Muero”. That eventually transitioned into more Goth acts. In 2022, I went to my first Goth show to see She Past Away and became a huge inspiration to get this project off the ground. I started getting into Twin Tribes as well and other similar modern artists and their work became very important for our first album’s sound inspiration.
Q: In a relatively short period of time, you’ve already released several Corbeau Hangs singles and two albums over the past two years. Where do you draw all that creativity and those influences from? Have you noticed an evolution in style, approach, or technique during that time?
Manuel: I had been working with different styles of music my whole life and wasn’t ever totally happy or satisfied with what I would make. When I started making Dark-Wave, it really just lit that match in my creativity. I drew from my modern influences and tried to tie with my culture and 80s Electronic music specifically in Spanish. However, making these two albums did not come easy. I went through dry creative patches in between albums and I would say both albums were written in a span of maybe a week. I would try to knock out 1 or 2 songs a day and just try to polish them off as much as possible and not spend too much on them or else they would feel too overproduced and lose the essence of that initial spark and connection I had with the songs.
Usually the inspiration came from watching 80s horror movies and trying to tie in a narrative lyrically of how we live in those horrors in today’s world with a bit of a romantic take on it. My wife and family are my muse and main inspiration to just live in this life so I like to call it tragic hope.
Q: The Corbeau Hangs album “Archive State” was released about five months ago. How do you look back on the album’s composition now, and what were the different phases of the overall production process? What stands out most when you reflect on it?
Manuel: This album is really what I always wanted to sound like and I think I was able to convey sonically the initial tone I wanted to give with our debut album (which eventually took a different route). However, it did go through its fair changes. It was initially just an EP named “Contagion”, which was scrapped. Then it went into what is now. It was really quick and all came out very naturally after I set a deadline for myself as I was starting to procrastinate far too much.
I think what stands out the most is that very 80s tone it took with all my inspirations on full display and how quickly it could come about if you just let it take its shape at its own pace.
Q: The central theme of the new Corbeau Hangs album seems to evoke an X-Files-esque fascination with the darker ‘oddities’ of the 80s. What specific ideas or imagery were you drawn to? Do you also see a connection between those themes and the music being made at the time – music that clearly continues to influence you?
Manuel: I was drawn to the 80s both visually and sonically. A lot of John Carpenter, also movies like “Videodrome”, “Poltergeist”, “Halloween”, “Hellraiser”, “The Shining”, “Prince Of Darkness”. All of those classic horror movies had an impact on how I wanted this album to feel. With that I also wanted to invoke the seriousness of the themes of those movies. I wanted the lyrics (although repetitive) to be impactful and to be a narrative of the world we live in and how dark navigating life could be and sometimes you just have someone by your side to navigate these times. I think a lot of my musical influences also take this approach. I think sonically Psyche was a huge inspiration for this album.
I think our music, although a bit generalized, is very anti-capitalist, anti-fascist and overall pretty political as well and I think the 80s especially in music, artists were very outspoken and I also draw inspiration from that.
Q: Your music sounds like a blend of various ’80s influences filtered through a contemporary lens. Could you tell us more about how you define your sound, and how your personal perception of music feeds into the Corbeau Hangs project?
Manuel: I think it’s just simple, at the core it’s Dark-Wave. I try to draw from various subgenres in 80s Goth sounds from Goth-Rock to Post-Punk to Industrial/Techno to movie Soundtracks. I try to maintain that 80s feel while trying to recreate songs from my favorite albums and artists. I tend to pick up the details in songs that might not be super notable and try to incorporate them. I think trying to emulate different pieces of your favorite artists and molding it into a Frankenstein’s monster of your own will come out with a very unique personality. I hope that translates with our music.
Q: You’ve already played a number of live shows with Corbeau Hangs. How would you describe what Corbeau Hangs represents on stage at this point? And what are your plans for future performances – possibly outside the US as well?
Manuel: I think we try to represent what Corbeau Hangs is in and out of stage and that is tragic hope. We will always be outspoken about the current political climate and our ideals. We try to translate that into our live performances and showcase the passion we have for the project and for the issues we talk about in our music and with that we hope we sound good doing it haha
In more technical terms, we are also hoping to incorporate a light show and more live elements. We hope to go on a full East coast/West coast tour in the US and hit up every place where we have been requested to play (within reason haha). We are also currently working on putting together a Europe tour in the fall and also finally playing in Mexico which is a dream of mine I have had since the beginning of this project.
Q: Finally, is there anything you’d like to add or share with us that we haven’t touched on yet?
Manuel: Hopefully sooner rather than later we’ll have new stuff to bring to you. I also have a side project called Archivo Seis besides Corbeau Hangs and will be releasing an LP this year. My guitarist, Quinn, also has a project in the works called Deceiver. Check it out!
And most importantly I want to thank everyone who has listened to us throughout the last 2 years and we hope our music has meant something to you. Like I mentioned, we are very outspoken on issues we believe in so we hope people also resonate with those messages. Much love to all!
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
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