Signals From The Sun is the debut album for American duo, Craig Douglas and Michael Goldberg, collectively known as Sonum Unum, a dreampop project. You know they have to be something incredible when they have been signed to the Negative Gain label on the strength of the first track, but also having the mastering done by Rob Robinson of Kervorkian Death Cycle fame. With that in mind, we thought it was time to speak to Craig Douglas for the low down on Sonum Unum.
Welcome to Onyx Sonum Unum, where we are hungry like the wolf for music.
First of all, what does the band name, Sonum Unum mean, if anything at all?
Craig: It means “One Sound” in Latin.
The band is made up of you, Craig Douglas and Michael Goldberg, with both of you being multi-instrumentalists. Has this been a long term friendship and have you created music together previously?
Craig: Mike and I met via a Craigslist ad in 2023 so this is all very new for us.
Where are you both based and what music projects have you been involved in?
Craig: I live in western, MA and I have been in a number of projects that range in style throughout the years. I currently have a solo project where I record and play shows under the moniker “Neonach” doing experimental vocal ambient drone and improv. I also recorded two albums under that name that are sort of ethereal and progressive rock formulated.
Both of you were swapping computer files over the winter of 22/23. Did this just start out as a clear idea of a band you wanted to create or did it just seem to evolve into something that just really worked?
Craig: The original intention was to make ambient music with super ethereal vocals. We wrote one track “Holding On Forever” which is the last song on the album. We were aiming for that type of sound but things evolved and got more dynamic as we wrote more tracks.
Who does what on the album?
Craig: We both contributed heavily to the music and arrangements, whether it was Mike writing something musically and sending it to me to arrange and add things or me sending him some synth structures to write instrumentation around. I am the vocalist on the album but Mike does sing lead on two tracks, “Snow Days” & “Know It All”.
The end result is the synthpop, ten track album “Signals From The Sun,” yet there actually isn’t a track on the album with that name. Is the name a reference to the idea that there is something bigger than us out there or something else?
Craig: I sort of had a concept for the artwork before we had a title. These sort of triangular waves beaming out from the sun. Our first track “Rescue” has a lyric that goes, “The lost will follow signals from the sun” so putting the visual element of that and the art together it seemed like a fitting title.
There is a lot of harmonization on the tracks, giving them a very warm feel. Was this a conscious thing and do you think it was influenced by the cold weather?
Craig: I appreciate the perspective of associating it with cold weather…but no… it has always been ingrained in me as a singer to incorporate vocal harmonies in all of the songs I’ve written. I always found harmony makes a song more interesting and keeps listeners a bit more engaged. I don’t think you will ever hear a track I sing on without some type of harmony.
Do you have a favourite track off the album, and if so which one and why?
Craig: I like them all but if I had to choose I think I would pick “Misinteraction”. It was the quickest song we wrote together and I am quite proud of the results.
You both are producers, and in fact, both of you produced “Signals From The Sun”, so how hard was it to agree on the production values?
Craig: I found working with Mike has been incredibly easy. Like most bands there are disagreements or opinions that clash. We had a few of those probably but overall we tend to work well together. I trust Mike entirely with mixing our material because I think he is a much more proficient producer than I am in that regard. I am more into the arrangement side of producing.
The mastering was done by Rob Robinson of Kervorkian Death Cycle, which is beautifully done. How did you get Robinson involved?
Craig: Big thanks to Micah and Roger from our label Negative Gain for getting Rob connected with us. Rob is an incredibly sweet guy and was so easy to work with. I agree he did a beautiful job.
Your debut has been released on the mighty Negative Gain label. What has that been like?
Craig: It’s been incredible. Micah and Roger heard one demo we uploaded to Bandcamp and they immediately reached out telling us they wanted to hear more from us. They were there following us every step of the way through the creation of this album and I am so grateful for that because I think that motivation helped us. We are so appreciative of them and their support for us. I’ve always wanted that from a label and Negative Gain absolutely delivers.
What are the bands/acts that brought you into the music fold?
Craig: My early days bands like Voivod, Fates Warning and Vangelis. My later years The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Radiohead, Sigur Ros.
What or who do you currently listen to that you find inspiration from?
Craig: From a vocal standpoint Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins for sure. Early Nine Inch Nails when Trent would incorporate tons of dynamics with his vocals. Peter Gabriel too. I know I sound nothing like any of them.
What is next for Somun Unum?
Craig: We want to play gigs for people. We already have some new material in the works so recording will be a thing too.
Thank you so much!
Signals From The Sun | Sonum Unum (bandcamp.com)
INSTAGRAM: @SONUMUNUM
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