Interview: Catching Up with Dean Mason of Bleeding Raven/Gnostic Gorilla

It’s been a while since we checked in on Dean Mason, the artist behind the Bleeding Raven and Gnostic Gorilla, so in this interview, we see what they’ve been up to since we last spoke.

1. Hello! Welcome back. It’s been a little while, so first things first, how are you and have there been any significant changes since we last spoke?

Hello! I’m happy to ‘return’ and do an interview with you. I searched for my last interview with you and it was in 2019. I shared about the hearing loss and that the album “Darkness Consumed” would be my last. It wasn’t but that’s a long story. Yes…lots of changes on many fronts.

2. So, what’s new? What’s keeping you busy this time around? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

So, there are quite a few ‘new’ releases since the last interview. I DID attempt some new recording as Bleeding Raven and Cleopatra records released “Shaman Rave” which is with my Gnostic Gorilla project. I’m quite proud of that album and all of it was recorded before the hearing loss. There are some new (ish) videos since the last time we connected and a British Label released “Hide The Ghost” on Vinyl along with some really neat singles. This is all still “Gnostic Gorilla” stuff.

So, at present I’m coming out of years of more or less doing nothing. Many changes in life—some of it related to career (music isn’t my career—I’d starve to death if it was) and also moving and losing my father and on and on.

So, here I am, a few years later and I have a ton of material that is out there but was never promoted. I more or less gave up on the music stuff. But recently, after years of one of my friends telling me that it’s a shame I let it all go and that Bleeding Raven/Gnostic Gorilla were projects that were cathartic and in a sense therapeutic.

So, I’m in the very early part of returning to this and I honestly can’t say I am 100% certain how this will all go. Will I rebrand or repackage or rerelease—combine the two projects? (Bleeding Gnostic?)…I don’t know. But I have so much material to promote and I have to start doing that. I don’t believe I’ve got some sort of hi-fi mega stardom in the works but I can at least get a bit more exposure. So let’s see what happens.

3. Describe what fans/listeners can expect.

Obviously, that will depend on what releases we are talking about. One of my best albums, now that I look at it, is “St. Basil’s Asylum” which is a Gnostic Gorilla release. It’s the very first Cleopatra Records release. Honestly, it’s sad that I never promoted this better but it wasn’t really possible for me after 2019. Along with that, there is “Hide The Ghost” with Geishab0y Records (UK) that also, in my opinion is a very strong album. The vinyl albums and singles are brilliant! I’m so grateful to Rich from Global Citizen for having released those. I owe that guy a ton of gratitude. He also is technically the one that inspired me to consider getting into some recording. I was inspired by his own work—truly amazing stuff!

Then there is also “Shaman Rave” which is a Gnostic Gorilla release that got more or less—zero promotion save for an amazing promo video that was created by William Westwater of Fear Incorporated (Scotland). William is an amazing artist himself—a legend in his own right!

With the Bleeding Raven releases, I eventually did continue to experiment with some dark ambient type material but also recorded VERRTRANDT which has a video made by William Westwater. That song is in a category of its own. Violet Plague is another recording as Bleeding Raven and honestly, that track is kick ass.

So, more or less—people can expect anything from Gothic to Industrial to Dark Tech and Aggrotech and even Black Metal like ambient. All of it is dark and bizarre.

4. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you to see it come to fruition?

It’s been a few years as it turns out since I recorded my last piece of noisy dungeon trash (lol) but I can say, it was done during the lockdowns mostly. I felt like a mad scientist in a lab.

5. Sum up what this latest development says about you and where you find yourself at this moment in time?

So, most of these recordings deal a lot with the current state of affairs and at the time—the pandemic. But I was writing a lot about the seemingly dark times we found ourselves in, like after the January 6th attack on the US capital. I was seeing there and then that the movement with Trump and his right wing supporters had a dark and dangerous future. We are seeing this now in ways I didn’t even imagine. Human rights are being tossed out of the window and hate is the main item on the menu. In “Darkness Consumed”, my one track “Salem Vigil” speaks of not just the Salem Witch Hunts but that sort of strange ‘spirit’ that is alive and well and inspires people to hate and even kill others they don’t agree with. “Morphine Fascist” is another track that addresses certain realities. I could go on but, when I wrote those songs and others like them, I had an idea that things could get dark in the future with dictator wannabes but I didn’t think it would get this crazy this fast since the political landscaped changed in January.

6. Has the time since we last spoke been a mostly positive period and has there been any one thing that stands out as being good?

Since we last spoke, life has seen many twists and turns personally and professionally but I must say that I am blessed to have the family and friends that I have in my life. There have been crisis moments of course but also triumphs. I guess it’s about never giving up.

7. How about something that has challenged you since we last spoke? Has there been any particular thing that tested you, and if so, how did you overcome it?

My father passed away just before Christmas and that was quite difficult. The struggle with Alzheimer’s can be absolutely brutal for the individual and the family. We celebrate his life with so much gratitude for all the memories. There have been other realities that have been a challenge but I’m here chatting with you and looking ahead so, we will go with that. Honestly, one day at a time is key and always be kind! So much hate in this era right now. We need to snap out of this madness.

8. What is a realistic goal you’d like to achieve over the next 12 months?

I hope to have been able to promote my work and finally get a bit more exposure. Thanks mate!

Links

Bleeding Raven – Bandcamp | Gnostic Gorilla – Bandcamp