Snowbeasts

The Providence, Rhode Island based duo Snowbeasts make music that dark and ethereal. The project, which is made up of experimental musicians Robert Galbraith and Elizabeth Virosa, had a busy 2023, releasing a stunning full length entitled The Endless and their third collaborative record with Solypsis, Firelands. The duo already has another album on the horizon this summer, and prior to that, they’ll be hitting the road for a series of gigs in the northeast. They’ll be performing at Pet Shop here in Jersey City this Thursday, April 22nd.

Ahead of their appearance at Pet Shop, we caught up with Rob and Elizabeth to talk about the origins of the project, their recent output, and what’s next:

Tell us a little bit about the origins of this project.

Elizabeth: Rob and I started working together in 2013 as Pattern Behavior, around the time he revived his label and studio Component Recordings. The first release was a modular ambient side project produced by Robert, as a way to cope with being snowed in during the winter. We experienced several blizzards in the Northeast that year. In the subsequent releases, I contributed more by adding synth lines, recordings of instruments like bone trumpets, mixing and vocals, until it gradually evolved into the more beat-driven collaborative project we work on together today.

We’re super excited for your show at Pet Shop coming up on Thursday, April 25th. What can people expect from your live show?

Elizabeth: Thanks so much. We are looking forward it. I expect there could be dancing. Our live sets mix a bit of our tracks with improvised live synths/drum machines and vocals. It’s never the exact same set, and in fact, Rob sometimes will not tell me the setlist, so it’s always a bit unexpected what we will play, but usually, a few new tracks from an upcoming release and some earlier ones mixed with improvised ambient soundscapes.

You released your latest full-length, The Endless, in 2023. What was the process of writing and recording that like?

Rob: As we have been working together for over 10 years, we have been able to build a pretty strong synergy. Song to song, there may be some variation in process but typically, I will start building out the low-end and basic structure, and then Elizabeth and I will start adding layers and textures from there. Once that is all in place Elizabeth will start laying down the vocals.

Who/what did you draw influence from?

Rob: I pull inspiration from a lot of the music that I love—industrial dance music from the 80s/90s, post-punk, Detroit Techno, dark ambient, and Dub. I am also influenced by sci-fi and horror film soundtracks.

Elizabeth: I share similar electronic music influences with Rob, and in our upcoming release, I hear inspiration from bands like Killing Joke, Suicide, and Front Line Assembly.

Rob's electro-influenced beats and my ethereal vocals, which sometimes get manipulated into a rougher noise-intense sound via the effects in my Soma Pipe, an instrument that resembles a little black saxophone, make it still very “Snowbeasts.” Being from Providence, the sludge/metal and noise scene has also influenced our sound.

Some of the themes that I have been exploring in our newer music are inspired by Jungian theory in psychology, sound therapy, myths, and paintings such as Saturn Devouring His Son. I have also been working on getting myself out from behind the noise table more and exploring how to better connect with the audience.

Do you have a favorite song on the record or a song that you loved either the backstory of or the process of making?

Rob: I would have to say ‘Animals’. It was a track that had a rather boring beginning having been started on my laptop while traveling. We swapped out the soft synth lead line for the ARP 2600 and once Elizabeth put the vocals together it really came to life. We shot the video on the edge of the Bridgewater Triangle, right next to where a friend had a Sasquatch sighting.

You also released a collaborative record last year with Solypsis. What prompted the collaboration? And how’d you go about working on an entire record together?

Rob: I have known James from Solypsis for years, and this is the third collaborative album that we have done together. During the pandemic, we started sending files back and forth, and the first one came together incredibly fast. We had a couple of digital releases on Ohm Resistance, and they kindly offered to do a vinyl release for our latest album 'Firelands'. James is one of my favorite people to work with, and we are planning to collaborate again when time allows.

How would you say this project has evolved over time? In listening to your debut self-titled from 2016 to The Endless, your sound feels more immediate and driving now, compared to back then, which sounded way darker and ambient.

Rob: I feel like there are three sides to Snowbeasts - the ambient side, the heavy downtempo side, and the beat-heavy side. Initially, our Snowbeasts releases leaned towards the ambient side, but with our album 'Instincts', we decided to experiment with a more beat-heavy sound. At this point, M-Tronic from France approached us to release an album with them, requesting that we include a few faster tracks for the dance floor. I was only interested in doing this if we could retain the essence, mood, and feel of Snowbeasts. To our surprise, this felt natural and inspired us to remix some of our ambient and downtempo tracks on the RMX album. This set us on our current artistic trajectory. However, we still incorporate our downtempo and ambient sides.

What’s on the horizon for Snowbeasts?

Rob: We just finished up our new album ‘Devour’ which will be coming out on Re:Mission Entertainment this summer. The new album further evolves the ideas and themes we explored on ‘The Endless’. We are also in the planning stages of making a video for the title track.

Don’t miss Snowbeasts at Pet Shop this Thursday, April 22nd! They’ll be performing alongside Giveth and Neon Funeral. The show starts at 8 p.m. For more information, check out the event listing here on the site. You can purchase Snowbeasts’ music via Bandcamp or stream it on your platform of choice. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram.