Exclusive single premiere of ‘Scarlet Misquote’ by Scorpion Tea, taken from the upcoming self-titled album, out October 27th via Give/Take.

The hidden realms of Edley ODowd’s (Psychic TV, Toilet Boys) latest project Scorpion Tea are being unveiled. ‘Scarlet Misquote’ is the first single from the band’s upcoming self-titled album.

The song’s construction proves to be the perfect introduction to the Scorpion Tea: from the top of the song, ODowd’s tight snare roll rushes the listener into Fern Puma’s poshly-distorted bass. Seconds later, Christian Cruz’s barbed guitar cuts in like a hot knife. Soon vocalist Anthony Diaz chimes in with his declamatory lyrics and it’s apparent that Scorpion Tea is a special blend of death rock intoxication.

Also accompanying the single is a new music video. “During our time in LA, recording the album, Edley introduced us to the whimsical, yet dead serious routines of the legendary choreographer Bob Fosse.” explains the video’s director, Scorpion Tea vocalist Anthony Diaz. The music video explores what happens when a single baleful missive causes one’s entire understanding to unravel. Diaz continues, talking about the dark aesthetic of Fosse’s work that resonated with the band, “The dancers in the piece seemed mesmerized, their strings pulled by an unseen force. I wanted to incorporate this idea with the hypnotic quality and longing breathlessness of ‘Scarlet Misquote,’ while still drawing on Scorpion Tea’s style of brightside-facing hilarity.”

‘Scarlet Misquote’, releasing June 16th, is the introductory glimpse into Scorpion Tea’s full-length debut, due October 27th from the visionary label Give/Take. Including the propulsive and raucous bonus ‘Drag on the Night’ mix from labelmates DEATHDANCE — you can own, stream and share ‘Scarlet Misquote’ now.

The exquisite, scarlet glitter-lined casket with pull-out card drawer, accented by Edley ODowd’s black on mirror filigree artwork and Sam Norton-designed download card, is your key to tons of the blackest dirt and skeletons the band has in their closets.

Loaded with new content regularly (most unavailable anywhere else), Scorpion Tea’s ‘Dig Your Own Grave’ pass is the ultimate limited edition collector’s item for the fortunate few.

“The luxury of endless experimentation”

‘F(OUR)-WARD’ seems to be a new chapter in your career, how much effort was invested in the making of the record? What was the initial concept behind it and are you happy how it turned out? Please share some more about the recording and producing process?

Edley ODowd: At the beginning of the Covid pandemic, my longtime collaborator Genesis P-Orridge passed away after a several year long struggle with cancer. After taking some time to grieve, I was encouraged by a label I was working with at the time to try something new, without actively relying on anyone else to contribute. I had created soundscapes before, in particular with my work with Genesis, but to create something WITHOUT them in mind was an entirely new task for me. The pandemic afforded all of us with the gift of time, which afforded me the focus to learn some new technologies and the luxury of endless experimentation.

I worked on ‘F(OUR)-WARD’ during the Winter of ‘21. It was released as a cassette and then expanded onto CD and streaming this past February. The additional tracks were created last Fall. The source material is very varied: processed stems from previous recording sessions, field recordings I’ve made over the years as well as live recordings I’ve made. The result is a very rich aural mix of ideas and approaches.

Additionally, I produced several short videos to give a visual to the sound. These experiments and short sound clips remain my favorite elements from this project. Another new technology I had the pleasure of learning more about in the past few years.

So it’s been a focus of mine for over a year now and it has led to quite a number of new sound experiments that I plan to release in the future.

I am very pleased with the final results on ‘F(OUR)-WARD’. Matthew Samways’ mastering very much enhanced the recordings greatly as well as the expanded artwork, which I am proud of. The stable of design elements I have been working with has been so expansive and seems to lend itself to posters, shirts and the like.

<a href="https://edleyodowd.bandcamp.com/album/f-our-ward">F(OUR)-WARD by Edley ODowd</a>

You also have a new death rock band Scorpion Tea, how did that come about?

At the same time ‘F(OUR)-WARD’ was in progress, I received a call from my old friend, multi-instrumentalist Chris Cruz who lives between the US and South America. He said that he had just finished recording an album and wanted me to perform all of the drum parts.

I had so many reasons to say yes, and did just that. The trip not only turned out to be a success for our goals, but created some new ones. Chris played me some demos he and a friend had worked on a decade ago. My mind was completely blown because what I was hearing was what I’ve been wanting to do for some time: make interesting rock music with an experimental edge…sound familiar? Haha.

I left Colombia and 2 months later, Chris arrived in New York to start pre production on the Scorpion Tea album. We rehearsed for just 5 weeks and then headed out to Studio 22 in Los Angeles to put it all down on tape. Chris enlisted his longtime collaborator Anthony Diaz to write lyrics and perform vocals, while I enlisted my son Fern Puma to play bass.

The results of the studio sessions were profound. Thomas Dolas of the Osees was at the mixing desk and did an outstanding job. I can only describe this album as “a band of monsters playing broken instruments.” It’s an absolute dream come true for me and I can’t wait to perform the material live. The 10 track debit album will be released on Give/Take Recordings on Halloween this year, with several singles dropping along the way starting in June. Our first single ‘Scarlet Misquote’ is a total “banger” as they say.

Another aspect of Scorpion Tea that I very much appreciate is our rich cultural mix. Chris was born in Colombia, Fern was born in Ecuador. Anthony is Puerto Rican and Italian and my background is primarily Eastern European. As much as Scorpion tea is ironically steeped in death-rock, I feel we bridge this vibe with many other genres, not to mention some tremendous Latin influences…merging into what I consider to be something very unique. Even more, I adore the vibes each of us bring to the collective whole. Anthony’s clever lyrics and delivery never cease to amaze me, I’ve been a fan and supporter of Chris’ work already for many years and Fern being my son means we already have a great track record of playing music together. I couldn’t be happier.

What are some future plans?

Future plans include the debut album and several singles from Scorpion Tea (1st single drops in June while the full album comes out in October, We have some live appearances in the US this year as well and plan on performing in other territories starting in 2024. Expect new solo and collab releases from me personally as well.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Listing my favorite albums is always so difficult for me because I have so many!

Currently spinning around the clock at my house this past week are:
Oh Sees – ‘Orc’
The Mary Veils – ‘Esoteric Hex’
The Velvet Underground – ‘White Light/White Heat’
Princess Tinymeat – ‘Herstory, A Compilation’
The Freaks – ‘Insensurround’
Can – ‘The Lost Tapes’

Klemen Breznikar

Edley ODowd Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
Scorpion Tea Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
Give/Take Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp