What started out as a married duo with Erica Burgner-Hannum (of Unlucky Atlas and vocalist on many Locrian songs) and Terence Hannum (core member of Locrian, has a number of solo records, creates 2D art with cassette tape, and as of a few weeks ago became a published author) but has now expanded to trio status to include Nathan Jurgenson (Silo Halo, Teething Veils, Washerwoman). These guys make a wonderfully lush & dreamy gloompop (gloomy dreampop?) and have a new tape coming out in July on Accidental Guest Recordings as well as recently released 7″ square lathe, super limited to 30 copies (only 7 left), on Terence’s Anathemata Editions.
I was able to get ahold of Erica & Terence to take part in my Q&A series. I’m very thankful for their participation and their responses are exceptional. You might notice a slight variation on the standard set of questions. I decided to reword one and replace another. Always changing. Always improving.
What is an ideal death?
Erica: Dying in my sleep after a long life.
Terence: Being cryogenically frozen so I can be revived centuries later.
What makes you happy?
Erica: Spending time with my kids and writing music.
Terence: Being with my family, making stuff in my studio be it visual art, music or writing.
How can you die happy?
Erica: Avoid negative people and negative situations and take some risks. Try not to always play it safe.
Terence: Knowing my kids are kind and compassionate and to know that something I made meant something to someone.
How close have you come to death?
Erica: I was in very bad car accident as a sophomore in college. Somehow, I walked away unharmed but my car was totaled.
Terence: I don’t recall any of this but when I was an infant I had a disease that was killing babies and the elderly with extreme dehydration and I supposedly barely made it.
How can you make your life better?
Erica: Let go of things that are doing harm to you, physically and emotionally. Take some risks every once in a while.
Terence: Be more organized. Seriously.
What does kindness mean to you?
Erica: Having empathy, being supportive, generosity.
Terence: Listening, I have a hard time listening because my head is always going but to me the kindest thing you can do is listen.
Where do you find love?
Erica: Terence is my soulmate, if such a thing exists. During a break-up early in our relationship, I quickly realized that I couldn’t imagine my future without him. Then I got to a place where I was content with myself and just wanted him to be happy. Shortly after, we got back together. That’s true love. I can’t live without you but if I have to I want your happiness.
Terence: With Erica and our kids. With old friends.
When were you most afraid?
Erica: I was told repeatedly that I would loose my pregnancy with my daughter. I didn’t sleep well while pregnant with her because of that.
Terence: Having kids, not just like when they were born, but almost daily.
How do you listen to music?
Erica: In the car on the commute to work or records and Bluetooth at home. We also stream a lot of music on YouTube because we really like the music videos.
Terence: At home a lot of LPs and on Bandcamp and YouTube. I listen mainly to cassettes in my car.