INTERVIEW: Erotic Secrets of Pompeii on science, theatre and conversing with the occult
For EROTIC SECRETS OF POMPEII, music has never been confined to what happens between the first and last note of a song. Drawing from film, theatre, literature and surrealism, the Bristol-based band have built an artistic identity that extends beyond their sound, creating a world where the grotesque, the theatrical and the dreamlike exist together. Their music videos feel like fragments of something larger, while their live performances invite audiences into an experience that is as much about imagination as it is about the music itself.
Their latest album, Pitchfork Libra, continues this approach, weaving the life and ideas of rocket scientist and occultist Jack Parsons into a loosely connected collection of songs. Speaking while on tour, the band reflect on the creative process behind their distinctive identity, the influences that shape their visual storytelling and their desire to create something that extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of a rock band.
From the beginning, the band wanted to create something that felt like more than just a musical project. Drawing on their shared interests in film, theatre, short stories and poetry, they began developing an identity that could connect their music with the visuals surrounding it.
"We wanted a visual identity that would be something authentic but kind of theatrical, and work live as well, with an interplay between the music, the visuals, the live shows, the videos and the artwork," Thomas Hawkins explains. The result is what they describe as a "grotesque sub-reality", drawing from gothic and Victorian aesthetics, historical influences, science fiction, sexuality and surrealism. Death and birth sit alongside one another, creating a world that embraces contradiction rather than attempting to make everything fit neatly together.
For the band, this world-building is as important as the music itself. With an interest in creative writing among its members, the idea of constructing an immersive environment came naturally. They want audiences to step into this world while leaving enough ambiguity for people to interpret it in their own way.
"We're really focused on making the band a world that people can hopefully find sanctuary intellectually and creatively within," Tom Hackwelli says.
That creative freedom is reflected in their influences, with Salvador Dali and David Lynch helping shape the dreamlike quality of their work. Rather than explaining every detail, they allow their imagery to suggest emotional ideas and multiple meanings. For the band, one of the greatest compliments is hearing that their work has inspired someone else to create something of their own.
This approach carries into Pitchfork Libra, an album shaped in part by the extraordinary life of Jack Parsons. A scientist involved in developing solid rocket fuel, Parsons was also deeply interested in ritual magic and the occult, making his life a natural fit for the band's fascination with the strange and contradictory.
The album's connection to Parsons began with an idea that had been sitting with the band's vocalist for years. "I got quite obsessed with him, and for years I wanted to write a musical about him," Thomas explained. "But sitting on your own, trying to write a musical is very hard. So you've got a band, and I've got all these lyrics and things sitting around. I brought it to the band and we worked it in."
Rather than following Parsons' life from beginning to end, the album allows his story to weave through its songs. His outsider status, scientific achievements and involvement in the occult provided a wealth of material, particularly in the contrast between his scientific ambitions and his interest in the supernatural.
The music itself developed through a more collaborative process. Instrumental demos often came first, with the lyrics gradually fitted around the existing arrangements. The vocalist would bring together loose ideas, phrases and rhymes, finding melodies and rhythms that worked with the music. The result is a loose concept album in which Parsons' influence is felt most strongly through the writing rather than a rigid narrative.
That same balance between thematic connection and creative freedom extends to the band's music videos. Each one is approached as an opportunity to explore a different visual idea, with the band actively avoiding repeating themselves. "We have a mad idea and then we figure out how little money we've got, and then we try to work out how to do it," Tom explains.
Working with a small group of collaborators, they look for ways to connect each video's imagery to a song's themes without making the relationship too obvious. Their videos have incorporated animation, surrealist filmmaking, dance and puppetry, with collaborators bringing their own creative practices into the band's world.
For one project, they worked with Bristol-based artist C F Cherrat, who created animation for Moving Sideways Into Lightning, while the band took on much of the practical work themselves, including green-screening and editing.
More recently, their collaboration with performer MORBID MERRIMENTS brought elaborate puppets and masks into their visual world. Working alongside performer ESTHER CS, Merriments helped create a video centred on the body, transformation and the boundary between life and death. Filmed at an old fort on Brean Down, the project brought together unusual imagery and physical performance, allowing the band's surrealist influences to take shape in a new way.
Their live performances are another extension of this creative identity. The band are careful to ensure their recordings can be recreated on stage, avoiding excessive layering in favour of music that retains its energy in a live setting. Costumes and theatricality add another dimension, but the performances remain rooted in the intensity of a punk show.
"We're not a band that will layer up 50 different parts on a song and then be unable to perform it," Tom explains.
For the band, playing live is ultimately about bringing people together. They describe their shows as a place where people from different backgrounds can connect through music, with the opportunity to speak to audiences after performances being one of the most rewarding parts of touring.
Looking towards the future, EROTIC SECRETS OF POMPEII are keen to expand that experience. Larger stages, more elaborate lighting, projections and dancers are among the possibilities they would like to explore, although the practicalities of touring in just a couple of cars currently limit what they can bring with them.
Beyond the stage, they acknowledge that reaching new audiences remains one of the biggest challenges for a band today. With so much competition for people's attention, they hope their distinctive visual identity will help their music stand out.
Through their combination of music, filmmaking and surrealist world-building, EROTIC SECRETS OF POMPEII continue to create something that invites listeners to engage with their work on their own terms. Whether through the loosely connected mythology of Pitchfork Libra, the unsettling imagery of their videos or the theatrical energy of their live shows, the band are building a world that extends beyond the music itself, leaving audiences free to explore it in their own way.
Words: Con Macadam
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