Interview: Daygraves

Contemplative atmosphere is an essential element to quality blackgaze music, which is what makes it blackgaze and not straight black metal. The fine balance of melody, mood, and blackened metal is one that is not always achieved by aspiring blackgaze artists. Those who do it extremely well (MØL, early Deafheaven, Unreqvited) are masters of balancing their craft to tell a story through the music.

Photo by Daygraves

Enter Daygraves 2020.

The first time I heard Silver by Daygraves was shortly after its release during the pandemic. The music absolutely carried me away the first time I listened, similar to my first impression of Unreqvited. Daygraves has a knack for inserting contemplation and mysticism within harsh, extreme blackened influences. A few EPs and splits under his belt since 2020, Daygraves has tasted some success in the underworld of blackgaze, but he’s only just beginning to establish himself as a new mainstay in the subgenre. His most recent split with Breaths and Wounds of Recollection, Funeral Flowers, is a masterpiece collaboration with two other upcoming blackgaze acts.

Blacforje caught up with Daygraves to speak about their music, what drives their creativity, and more.

Thanks for joining Blacforje for an interview!  You’re in Austin, TX, correct? Can you tell us a little about yourself, where you’re from, and how you got into blackgaze and black metal?

I’m Travis from Texas. I like making niche music and putting it on the internet. When I’m not listening to music but need background noise, I typically play Bluey or shows about food. I love olives and root beer (although not together), and I think a good corn dog is underrated. 

I discovered blackgaze because I was looking for new shoegaze and I came across Nothing’s Guilty of Everything and Alcest’s Le Secret. This inspired me to Google “bands like Alcest but heavier” or something. Once I fell down that rabbit hole, it took me a few months to listen to anything else. 

You recently released a split with two other blackgaze artists, Wounds of Recollection and Breaths, titled Funeral Flowers. What inspired you all to come together to make the record?

We all connected through Instagram. We were and are fans of each other's work. Breaths reached out to me about doing a split, and we decided to bring in Wounds of Recollection. Other than that, there wasn’t much direction. Wounds of Recollection drafted up some album art, and we just picked the one we liked best. Then we just trusted that everyone was making great songs. It just so happens that they work together cohesively, which was fortunate. Both Breaths and Wounds of Recollection are really cool guys, so putting it together was much easier than it could have been.

As of now, you have three EPs released, as well as two splits. Do you have new music on the horizon anytime soon?

I have been working on new music, although I’m unsure it will be released as a Daygraves project. I needed to take a break from all the blast beats for a while. It all started to feel a little stale, creatively. I’m making it a point to shy away from all the usual things I’d do.

I’m leaning into my love for other music. I’ve been a big fan of bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure for most of my life. I’m exploring those influences at the moment. I’m still unsure what the final result will be but figuring that out is half the fun. What is becoming clear to me is that, when this batch of songs is finished, I’ll have a bigger bag of tricks to bring into Daygraves. I want to release a Daygraves full-length when I can. It’s on my “to-do” list. I just don't know when that will happen. 

Your most recent EP, Imperishable, was absolutely fantastic. What inspired you in the creation of the music both lyrically and sonically?

A few years ago, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. It’s supposed to be one of those things where the symptoms come and go. Mine showed up but still haven’t left. It hospitalized me a few times. The last time I was in the hospital I had the music recorded for all the songs except Imperishable. That one was just an incomplete idea. I spent a week in the hospital, and I could only watch so much Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I wrote all the lyrics in that bed as I tried to figure out what was happening to me and what my response should be. Then, when I got back home, I rearranged Imperishable to mimic how it feels to be slowly wheeled down a hospital hallway, surrounded by cold, other sick people and the sounds of beeping machines. 

What artists and bands have influenced you the most? 

For Daygraves, Show Me A Dinosaur, MØL, Asunojokei, and Dodsrit. When it comes to music in general, it would be Radiohead, The Cure, Nothing, The Twilight Sad, My Epic, Cult of Luna, and Björk.

Tell us a little bit about your philosophy as a human being. Are you spiritual and does that play into your music?

Woah. “Philosophy” has such big implications. I feel like I’m supposed to have big motivational goals or something. But I don’t have anything like that anymore. I’m tired of big. Small is the new goal. Maybe that’s my philosophy. “Big is boring.”

I want to be the husband my wife deserves. I want my daughter to grow up knowing my love for her is unshakable. I want my friends and family to feel valued when I’m around. I want to be friends - like - BEST friends with Jesus. And in-between all that, I want to make music that entertains me.  I am not good at any of these things, but I have learned that all of it requires putting “big” aside. 

I don’t consciously inject spirituality into my music. It’s just a part of my life and so it’s a part of my music. My spirituality is the lens that I view every single thing through, so it’s impossible for me to escape and it seems dishonest to purposely hide it.

Last question: what is your favorite thing to do outside of music?
Between all the people in my life, trying to stay healthy, and music, there’s not much time for anything else, honestly. But I’m okay with that. I’d rather spend more time with those things than starting something new - except maybe sleeping. I need more sleep.  

You can follow Daygraves on Bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.