On this latest episode of Whatever Comes Next I talk with Pej Mon, until recently a powerful and versatile drummer who made a major decision prior to the creation of his latest project Sätyäsenä. Pej decided he didn’t want to just be the drummer, he wanted to be the main creative force and songwriter.
The issue? Pej operates within the varied permutations of guitar-driven rock music (of the dark, psychedelic, sometimes avantgarde variety), but had zero guitar training.
The solution? Well, Pej learned guitar from scratch and at the same time created the debut self-titled record of Sätyäsenä.
As you’ll hear this is far from simple three-chord punk-rock; this is complex, multi-faceted rock music with shifting time signatures and melodies often derived from Persian or Arabian scales. And that’s just the technical side.
Creating Sätyäsenä has also been a journey of self-discovery and realisation, tied into his own spiritual practice.
We get into all of that in the interview, Pej’s musical background, adapting to life as a frontman and plenty more.
Sätyäsenä (the album) is a powerful, otherworldly beast of interweaving rhythms and mysterious visions, available on the 26th of January from Sympatry records (here via bandcamp).
Also check out the Every Album Ever With Mick & Alex podcast episode (coming out later today on YouTube and Spotify) where the guys discuss the album in detail.
Enjoy the interview.
