Anyone who has been following the career of Iglooghost (aka Seamus Malliagh) might know a few things about him: he was signed to Brainfeeder at age 18, all of his releases follow an outlandish narrative about miniature celestials on a distant planet, and that he hails from Ireland. Well, we can dispel that last one right away.
"That's a weird thing on the world wide web that I can't ever escape," Malliagh tells Exclaim!. "I was born on a hill in England. I'm a tiny bit Irish. I reckon one day I'm gonna get my head kicked in in Dublin or something for fake repping. I cannot escape this rumour."
Okay, so what about those batshit stories that each of his records are supposedly based on? According to Malliagh, Chinese Nü Yr, from 2015, is about a gelatinous worm-shaped creature being blasted through space; last year's Neō Wax Bloom follows a couple of giant eyeballs that crash into the misty world of Mamu; and his latest offering, a pair of EPs titled Clear Tamei and Steel Mogu, go something like this:
"Essentially, these two EPs are about a big battle between Mogu and Tamei," says Malliagh. "Mogu is a Xao, which are these weird shadowy, little beings that are born when Iglooghosts are created. That whole cycle is governed by the Grid Göd, and Mogu wants it all to stop, 'cuz being a Xao sucks. He travels back in time with his fleet and shoots lasers at Tamei (cos he's the baby Grid Göd). Then some cool stuff happens that I don't wanna spoil. It's that simple."
When asked how he creates all these characters, Malliagh replies, "Nah, they're real. I know loads of tiny gods. They keep telling me that there are way more than I could ever imagine, but I don't believe them. When I was making the new record, a god with a big round nose kept sneaking into my house and I kept falling asleep while I was working on songs."
One has to wonder whether these stories have any real bearing on the music itself, whether they relate to his releases in any way whatsoever, but according to Malliagh they absolutely do. "All the songs are about the stories, but I want people to make up their own if they reckon they got better ideas," he says. "I think it's sick to have a lil prompt, but I obviously want people to be able to fuck with this stuff, even if they don't know about these dumb backstories. I know exactly what every second of each song is about, but I think it's more fun to only give people a tiny glimpse into what it is."
Our guess is that these narratives are a punnet of complete nonsense, adding a splash more colour to music that's already pretty damn radiant as it is. Truly, if there's ever music that speaks for itself, it's Iglooghost's. Still, for anyone looking to connect the dots, there may be some answers in Malliagh's upcoming comic, which will be published with the help of some yet-to-be-determined people.
"I'm talking with some people, 'cuz I don't have a big lad-scale printer, but other than that, I do my emails, the washing up, eat my vegetables, and make all the pictures," says Malliagh. "I made it in my room. It's coming out real soon on the world wide web, and I'm gonna get it printed in the real world too, with some bonus treats."
With pictures that look oddly musical and music that sounds incredibly colourful, you could be forgiven for jumping to the conclusion that Malliagh has synaesthesia, a neurological trait that results in a merging of the senses. It's a condition that many would dream of having, but for Malliagh it's just another dull light in the universe.
"Synaesthesia is well boring if I do have it, 'cuz I for sure see hi-hats as big, thin, spiky poles and bass as flat and wide, but it's not even that tight," says Malliagh. "I feel like everyone's talking shit about synaesthesia when they try and pretend it's some cartoon, iTunes visualizer-ass DMT trip. It's shit!"
Both Clear Tamei and Steel Mogu are out on August 8 independently.
Check out the video for "Clear Tamei" below.
"That's a weird thing on the world wide web that I can't ever escape," Malliagh tells Exclaim!. "I was born on a hill in England. I'm a tiny bit Irish. I reckon one day I'm gonna get my head kicked in in Dublin or something for fake repping. I cannot escape this rumour."
Okay, so what about those batshit stories that each of his records are supposedly based on? According to Malliagh, Chinese Nü Yr, from 2015, is about a gelatinous worm-shaped creature being blasted through space; last year's Neō Wax Bloom follows a couple of giant eyeballs that crash into the misty world of Mamu; and his latest offering, a pair of EPs titled Clear Tamei and Steel Mogu, go something like this:
"Essentially, these two EPs are about a big battle between Mogu and Tamei," says Malliagh. "Mogu is a Xao, which are these weird shadowy, little beings that are born when Iglooghosts are created. That whole cycle is governed by the Grid Göd, and Mogu wants it all to stop, 'cuz being a Xao sucks. He travels back in time with his fleet and shoots lasers at Tamei (cos he's the baby Grid Göd). Then some cool stuff happens that I don't wanna spoil. It's that simple."
When asked how he creates all these characters, Malliagh replies, "Nah, they're real. I know loads of tiny gods. They keep telling me that there are way more than I could ever imagine, but I don't believe them. When I was making the new record, a god with a big round nose kept sneaking into my house and I kept falling asleep while I was working on songs."
One has to wonder whether these stories have any real bearing on the music itself, whether they relate to his releases in any way whatsoever, but according to Malliagh they absolutely do. "All the songs are about the stories, but I want people to make up their own if they reckon they got better ideas," he says. "I think it's sick to have a lil prompt, but I obviously want people to be able to fuck with this stuff, even if they don't know about these dumb backstories. I know exactly what every second of each song is about, but I think it's more fun to only give people a tiny glimpse into what it is."
Our guess is that these narratives are a punnet of complete nonsense, adding a splash more colour to music that's already pretty damn radiant as it is. Truly, if there's ever music that speaks for itself, it's Iglooghost's. Still, for anyone looking to connect the dots, there may be some answers in Malliagh's upcoming comic, which will be published with the help of some yet-to-be-determined people.
"I'm talking with some people, 'cuz I don't have a big lad-scale printer, but other than that, I do my emails, the washing up, eat my vegetables, and make all the pictures," says Malliagh. "I made it in my room. It's coming out real soon on the world wide web, and I'm gonna get it printed in the real world too, with some bonus treats."
With pictures that look oddly musical and music that sounds incredibly colourful, you could be forgiven for jumping to the conclusion that Malliagh has synaesthesia, a neurological trait that results in a merging of the senses. It's a condition that many would dream of having, but for Malliagh it's just another dull light in the universe.
"Synaesthesia is well boring if I do have it, 'cuz I for sure see hi-hats as big, thin, spiky poles and bass as flat and wide, but it's not even that tight," says Malliagh. "I feel like everyone's talking shit about synaesthesia when they try and pretend it's some cartoon, iTunes visualizer-ass DMT trip. It's shit!"
Both Clear Tamei and Steel Mogu are out on August 8 independently.
Check out the video for "Clear Tamei" below.
