Stoneburner Interview: ‘It was finally time to write the Industrial record I have been promising myself’
Stoneburner
American artist Steven Archer has been involved in numerous musical projects, of which Ego Likeness is undoubtedly the best known. In 2012, he launched Stoneburner, a project that initially blended Tribal elements with Industrial music. Over the years, many compelling albums were released within this framework, yet a clear evolution gradually emerged in both influence and musical approach. The latest album, “Post.Industrial.Occult”, released on COP International, stands as the ultimate proof of this transformation. The Tribal influences have largely been left behind in favor of wailing Industrial guitars supported by hard, underlying Electronic structures. With Stoneburner taking a distinctly different direction, I remain fascinated by the project’s Tribal phase, but must admit that this new approach sounds equally successful and exciting. I spoke with Steven Archer about this evolution, as well as his side projects. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: You’ve been active in both music and visual art for many years. Where does the Stoneburner project fit within that creative spectrum, and what does it represent for you today?
Steven: Really, it’s all the same thing, just different languages or tools. It’s easier for me to express more focused emotional content in song form than in paintings. In paintings anytime I try to do that it feels obvious or trite. Words and sound allow for more nuance and subtleties.
Q: The sound and influences within Stoneburner have undergone quite a metamorphosis in recent years. How do you explain this evolution, and how did it come about musically?
Steven: When I started it, I wanted an answer to the question ‘what would music on Arrakis (Dune) sound like’? I explored that for a decent number of years and releases.
Eventually I felt like I had explored that as much as possible. So I decided it was finally time to write the Industrial record I have been promising myself I would write for years. Which I am still finding new ways to explore.
Incidentally I have released a new record of old-school Stoneburner material under the name Crysknife on my personal label Wolfcore Records.
Q: Your latest Stoneburner album, “Post.Industrial.Occult,” carries an intriguing title. What is its deeper meaning?
Steven: The more recent incarnation of Stoneburner has always been a response to what I see as a kind of ‘dumbing down’ of the genre. I think it’s unfortunate that a style of music that allows you to use anything to create sound has been distilled down to writing dance floor hits. The songs are often boring, redundant and often contain lowest common denominator lyrics. They don’t push the audience or try to talk about anything with any actual content. Stoneburner is an attempt to push back against that.
Q: There seems to be a strong sense of ritual and symbolism running through this Stoneburner album. Could you elaborate on that? How did the connection between the conceptual content and the music develop, and how did you approach shaping that interaction?
Steven: Creating any sort of art is a kind of magic. But I don’t just mean ‘occult’ in that sense. I also mean it by its root definition ‘hidden from view’.
As to the process, for me each record is about discovering something hidden. Which means starting with a bunch of random samples and seeing how they inform the creative process. My goal is to remove ‘self’ from the process as much as possible. Let the work tell me what it wants to be and then try to bring that into the world.
Q: What were the greatest challenges and/or difficulties you encountered while creating this album? And what emotions or mental states were most present for you during the process of making this opus?
Steven: Stoneburner songs come to me relatively easily. The biggest struggle is trying to not fall into habits or let the work get redundant. Anytime I catch myself going too far in any one direction I try to conceptualize what the furthest opposite is and try to get there.
I wrote the songs on this record to be played live, and in order to do that well one has to be present. I made it a point of trying to write lyrics that I have an emotional investment in. Even if the songs are from a characters point of view.
Q: The title “Post.Industrial.Occult” naturally evokes associations with the Industrial and Post-Industrial genres. What does this kind of music mean to you personally, and what influence—direct or indirect—did it have on the creation of the album?
Steven: I more or less answered this above. But the genre itself has been part of my life since the mid 80s. Though if you count The Art Of Noise and Tangerine Dream as kinda my precursors to it (along with a good helping of Punk) I have been listening to it since I was ten. Point being I deeply love the genre and all of the things that can be done with it.
Q: You’re currently completing a major U.S. tour. Looking back, how has the experience been so far, and how have the new songs been received by the audience? Is there still room for the older, more Tribal material in your setlist, and how do you integrate those pieces with the new work in a live context?
Steven: I think they went over pretty well. I certainly enjoyed performing them. The show itself is a whole multimedia thing with three large video screens and other projectors being used as lighting on myself and my drummer Nathan.
I didn’t do any of the Tribal stuff this time around. Last tour I worked in a kind of cameo of one of the tunes. This tour I had a lot of new material I wanted to get through.
Maybe at some point I will do a Crysknife tour and do that stuff. Who knows. It periodically shows up in the live broadcasts I do from my studio.
Q: What are your artistic plans for 2026, and how do you envision the further evolution of Stoneburner?
Steven: That’s a good question. I’m putting together a live concert video of the last tour, and I have a handful of new unreleased mostly finished Stoneburner tunes. Though currently the plan is for Donna and I to focus on new Ego Likeness material.
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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