Interview with The Black Plague Doctors

I came away from DYNAMITE! (Audio Cinema) feeling like I had experienced something closer to a film. The Black Plague Doctors use lo-fi hip-hop as a foundation, while the project constantly stretches beyond genre through live instrumentation and a narrative shaped around the Hero's Journey.

"Birds Aren't Real" stands out as the emotional and political centerpiece, pairing an infectious groove with sharp observations about materialism, misinformation, violence, and social division. The duo cleverly mirrors the distractions they critique, encouraging us to look beneath the surface. Fearless experimentation can transform a homemade recording into an immersive piece of audio cinema.

Interview with The Black Plague Doctors

You describe DYNAMITE! (Audio Cinema) as an "audio short film" rather than a traditional album. What inspired you to approach the project as a cinematic narrative?

It was something we wanted to do for a while. We always want to be creative and come from a place of artistic credibility in everything we do. We never want to just release a handful of songs and call it an album. Music is an art form. The music industry has pushed so much "product" on us, as consumers, that we all forget that sometimes. So anything that everybody else does- we want to do the opposite; as far as trends and things like that go.. Not to TRY to be weird or contrary. If you want to listen to a certain artist, wouldn't you rather actually listen to them instead of somebody trying to be them? We just want to focus on our own lane.

The Hero's Journey provides the framework for the album. Why did that storytelling structure feel like the right vehicle for these themes?

It's basically analogous to any trials or hardships in life. We might not all have lived the same lives or had the same experiences. A bad day to you may mean something totally different to me. One thing is constant: things that traumatize us or threaten to break our spirit are the things we likely weren't prepared for. We see how sometimes these things destroy people. They weren't weak or unintelligent. They just didn't survive that thing; whatever it may have been. When you survive those things, it makes you stronger. You may carry the scars, but you know you survived; and you know many, many people did not.. Some people lose their lives, some people lose their minds, some people lose their will to go on or their motivation. These are the monsters and the trials in the real life Hero's Journey. Sometimes you're slaying dragons and giants; sometimes it's some scammers and haters...

The project draws parallels between prize fighters and people battling everyday struggles. What connection were you hoping listeners would make between those experiences?

We aren't naive or presumptuous enough to believe that everyone directly relates to our literal subject matter, but the parallel we were hoping they would draw was between their own story and the prize fighter. Right now, especially in the America that people WE know are living in, EVERYBODY is fighting. Everybody is a fighter right now. We don't have to get specific in this interview, but people who listen to our music kinda know what's up with us politically.. Beyond that, we're all sort of on our own Hero's Journey when you think about it.

"Birds Aren't Real" tackles subjects like materialism, disinformation, and social division. How do you balance making a statement without losing the musical experience?

That song wrote itself. I actually did that beat mostly on the mpc before I ran it through the 404. The lyrics were so absurd, but like...hard as fuck lol. "I got conflict diamonds (that) cost an arm and a leg, literally". We nod our head to stuff like that but when you think about it, it's crazy.. Songs like that I think about like Outkast's "Rosa Parks", "Paper Planes" by M.I.A, Foster The People- "Pumped up Kicks" , Kendrick Lamar with "Swimming Pools", even way back to Billie Holliday's "Strange Fruit".. Subversion or subliminal messaging has always been a part of the legacy of songwriting. It's important. Why do you think we have national anthems? Even today people are afraid of subliminal messages in music. They framed it as the Satanic Panic back in the day, just like they say the Illuminati or whatever today.. Most of the time, they really just don't want people to think critically, in my opinion..

Your DIY recording process embraces imperfection rather than chasing flawless production. Why is preserving that human element so central to your sound?

Because everything is so overly "polished", and especially with AI becoming more sophisticated, we fear that element is being rapidly lost in music. It's the human element that makes it art. A lot of times rappers will strum out some power chords and call it rock or rock artist will put a lazy rapper or rap verse on a song. In both scenarios, it sounds objectively bad most of the time. We don't do rock per se' but we play these instruments. We want people to know theres a human being touching this shit. The same way you hear us breathe on a track maintaining breath control while we rap- we want you to hear "O it's not just computer work. They missed a note there, that was the wrong note, he fat-fingered an extra key, that was slightly off or off tempo" etc. We don't do it to be lazy. We want people to feel like they can do this shit too. We aren't chasing perfection. We're making music, just like in a jam session setting; but complete thought out ideas.

Live instrumentation plays a major role in your music despite working within a lo-fi hip-hop framework. What does that combination allow you to express creatively?

I think it's sort of a unique sound for one thing. It really comes down to the variety of music we listen to, respectively. We aren't always going to sample what every other hip-hop producer samples; we aren't always going to use the traditional sounds. Alongside that, as musicians, we incorporate hip-hop sensibilities where they don't traditionally go. Not that we consider ourselves on their level, but we partially come from a lineage like The Roots or Robert Glasper. What we do doesn't sound corny like someone using an instrument aesthetically or adding hip-hop elements for some kinda clout, because we really are students of the craft. We listen to so much and we learned how to do it the hard way, so it sounds as natural as it is. Genres exist to give definition to sounds that people needed to categorize. Our brains oftentimes require that level of order. We need to make sense of things, but it's really just about the feel of it all. The combination you're asking about grants us a greater freedom of expression.

Your philosophy is to "let creativity happen" without overthinking it. Has trusting instinct ever taken a song somewhere completely unexpected?

All the time. I can't really go into every instance, but we've definitely learned to trust the process.

The album explores emotions ranging from love and hope to fear and rage. Which of those emotions was the most challenging to capture honestly?

The thing is, when you're being honest you don't have to try. You just are. We know what all those things feel like. We know what it is to be human. We aren't doing something artificial. We know the stories and experiences that helped cultivate those songs. We just tap into that feeling.

As a creative duo, how do Jo-Fi and St. Gabe complement each other's strengths throughout the writing and production process?

We bounce a lot of ideas between each other and get on each other's nerves lol. We keep each other grounded and we are honest with each other because we want to make good music. We don't always go over all of our parts together, but we trust in each other's abilities. I prefer to have my shit worked out a certain way, but I'll tell St, "We gotta record this shit this day" trying to reach deadlines or whatever.. The day comes up and (now I'm used to it), I'll be like "You got your verses" he'll say "Naw. I have some ideas tho..". "You got a bass line for this?", "Kinda. I'll figure it out". He'll get the verse on his second or third attempt if he doesn't outright one-take it. And he does the bass pretty much the same. We delegate certain things to each other like he mostly handles anything we post or whatever, and I end up doing stuff like this lol "you got it" type shit..

Many artists separate concept from production, but on this project the two seem inseparable. How closely do the sonic textures serve the story you're telling?

Like a hand in a glove. For instance, when you listen to a song like "Smoke F.E.A.R" it sounds ominous. We added a lot of sound effects and interesting textures and layers throughout this project to compliment the story, but we still wanted it to be an album, album. Not just like some music snob pretentiousness.

The title Audio Cinema suggests listeners should experience the album from beginning to end. Was creating an immersive, uninterrupted journey a priority from the start?

Absolutely. You don't have to listen to it from start to finish, but that's definitely how you get the most out of it.

Lo-fi music often celebrates imperfections. Do you think audiences are increasingly looking for authenticity over technical perfection?

I hope so. There's an imbalance these days. Too much of the "business" side of the music business. Not enough music and creativity. The imperfections are like a signature. Sometimes you can mess up, but make it work; like a good accident. I think people want authenticity, as long as you aren't authentically trash lol. I feel like other musicians are moreso impressed by technical perfection than the average music consumer. We joke sometimes that we like considering ourselves to be the gateway drug to the REALLY good musicians.

If someone experiences DYNAMITE! without any context, what do you hope stays with them after the final track ends?

If nothing else I hope they feel like "Damn... That was different. That was good."

The Black Plague Doctors have developed a distinctive identity through independent creation. How important is creative freedom to everything you produce?

That's the most important thing.

Looking ahead, has DYNAMITE! (Audio Cinema) changed the way you want to tell stories through music in the future?

We aren't really sure about that yet. Maybe. We'll just have to see...

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out The Black Plague Doctors on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist