6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Light Asylum went dark for years. Now it's time to ‘get back to work.'
Light Asylum appeared at the beginning of the 2010s, beating down the door with pneumatic beats and slithering into the scene with the icy synthesizers of its goth forebears. But what separated the act from other leather-encased musicians in the depeche mode was Shannon Funchess, whose low and lush vocals added a fathoms-deep dimension to the project.
But after releasing a well-received self-titled album in 2012, the band disappeared, as if returning into the fog from which it emerged. And while Funchess would go on to collaborate with underground favorites such as LCD Soundsystem, the Knife and Yves Tumor, fans were left wondering: What happened to Light Asylum?
The story, according to Funchess, is an unfortunately familiar one, especially to listeners who grew up watching VH1's 'Behind the Music.' Light Asylum — which Funchess had founded in 2007 before collaborating with keyboardist Bruno Coviello — was stuck on a 10-year deal with label Mexican Summer that didn't end until 2021. Plus, Coviello had left the band shortly after the release of the duo's album, leaving Funchess to navigate a legal landscape and pick up the pieces of her project.
In the intervening years, Funchess stayed busy with musical collaborations, artist residencies and projects that spanned film and dance. But she wasn't able to devote the time, resources or energy to Light Asylum until relatively recently because of a cascade of personal, professional and political issues, including being in Portland, Oregon — an epicenter for Black Lives Matter protests — and working to feel safe as a queer Black woman during Donald Trump's presidential administrations.
'I had to take some time to exist, to process what was happening — or what is happening all the time, but came to a head around that time,' she says over Zoom. 'And here we are again. But now, I found the energy and the wherewithal to get back to work.'
With the freedom to release new music under the Light Asylum moniker, Funchess is working through material she's built up over the years. She plans to self-release singles this year and find a label partner to put out physical releases (but isn't looking to get locked into any more 10-year deals). And while listeners shouldn't expect new Light Asylum music to sound exactly as it did over a decade ago, it will always come from her.
'It's not the same album by any means. I never wanted to make album number one again,' she says.
As for how Light Asylum will meet a different world than the one it faced in 2012, Funchess — inspired by the likes of Nina Simone, Björk and Anohni Hegarty — maintains that the artist's duty is to reflect what's happening in the world through their work.
'Everybody's playing a role in this theater of insanity and can contribute. … I'll use my platform for good and to encourage people to not give up on humanity,' she says. 'Notice, I didn't say anything about hope.' July 22 at 8 p.m. at Pie Shop. $15/$20.
