So you had no plans, going into Cherish The Light Years, to really sing?
Well, I wanted to, but I never tried it until I was in the vocal booth. I had the melodies and the lyrics in my head, and I thought it would come out one way, but then when we started recording it just sounded totally different. It didn’t work the way I had in my head so I just sang much louder. I wanted to emote a little more…. I remember two years ago I was making these sketches on a Casio, and I didn’t know what I was doing or how far it could go in only a couple years. I think I was just impressed [the music] had come that far, and I wanted to see what could happen with the songs.

I wanted to ask about the imagery of your albums. Why put a portrait on every cover?
From the beginning, I kind of wanted to protect the idea of Cold Cave. That’s why the vocals were obscured, pitch-shifted, or whatever. But, now I realize that’s not important because that’s just not genuine to the music. I wanted to stand behind it and own it more. For this album, it was important for me to put myself on the cover because I haven’t really done that before. In the past I left pretty minimal information in the records. There were never credits, and I initially did that because I wanted the records to be judged for the music itself, and for the content and its aesthetic, instead of me, who was making the music, or whom these people were — every review needs to talk about, “Oh weird, this person was in a hardcore band.” And I get that, but, I was also a nineteen-year-old kid, and I’m 32 now. I feel like every two years of my life has been a reinvention of sorts. I can’t even think that far back, in a way.

Since you’re putting yourself out there so much more, did you feel any differently going into the release of this album?
I try not to pay attention to that because I find it can knock you off course of what you’re trying to do. I guess I lived with the record for so long since we were done recording that I haven’t really had much need to listen to it and wonder how other people would receive it.

You’re not worried about that at all?
My only concern is that it appeals to people who were already into my music, or things I have written in the past, [because] I haven’t ever really strayed thematically. I just hope that’s apparent, if anything.