Name: TV CULT
Members: Martin Hughes, Marco Natale, Florian Stadtfeld, Michael Zeininger,
Interviewee: Martin Hughes, Marco Natale
Nationality: British (Martin), German (rest of the band)
Current Release: TV CULT's new album Industry is out October 10th 2025 via Flight13. Order the digital album from bandcamp, and the LP via Flight 13.
Recommendation for Cologne, Germany:
Marco: There’s actually quite a lot to see in Cologne besides the famous cathedral (which obviously is the number one tourist spot). From ancient Roman relics scattered all over the city to contemporary art museums or traditional Kölsch breweries and a bunch of great live music venues. So it’s rather hard to recommend just one thing.
Martin: Habibi Shawarma
Topic I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about:
Martin: Southampton Football Club. Nobody cares about second division English football in Germany.

If you enjoyed this TV CULT interview and would like to know more about the band and their music, visit them on Instagram, Facebook, and bandcamp.



When was the first time you noticed you were drawn to darker themes and moods in music, literature or the movies?

Martin: Probably after watching Labyrinth with David Bowie for the first time as a young child.

Marco: People probably have an instinctive fascination with the dark and frightening, whether it be real dangers or fictional ones in literature or audiovisual media. It is simply part of our nature. For some, it may just be a little more pronounced than for others.

And the bitter reality is that, unfortunately, we are inevitably living in dark times when we look at the state of the world today.

“Darkness” is, of course, not strictly speaking a term related to sound. What constitutes darkness to you, especially in instrumental terms?

Martin: Playing in the key of E in standard tuning, Baritone guitars and Drop D tuning!

How would you describe the physical sensation and possible attraction of being exposed to darkness in music?

Martin: I find it strangely therapeutic and calming.

It can be meditative and I think our single “Overpressure” sounds at times a bit like a mantra, the guitars at least.

Does your interest in darker musical themes extend into extra-musical fields such as fashion, or politics?

Marco: We're generally speaking probably one of the least fashionable bands around. The occasional black t-shirts and/or pants obviously don't qualify us as a goth band either, I guess.

The political events of the world though, with all their dark abysses, naturally find their way into our songwriting.

Martin: Not so much in fashion but maybe I’ve become a political nihilist.

Who/what are currently artists, labels or even genres which draw you in because of their darker approaches, aesthetics and sound(s)?  

Marco: There's been some exciting stuff coming from France lately, like the 'Cold Oi' movement with bands like Syndrome 81 or Rancoeur.



Martin: The Horrors and also Chappel Roan. I love how she’s one of the biggest stars in the world right now whilst channelling goth themes and Cocteau Twins effortlessly.



What were some of the first performances or releases when you became active in exploring truly dark places in your music yourself?

Martin: Hearing “Dominion” by Sisters of Mercy on the radio in my mum’s car as a kid pretty much set the course for me.



I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you're performing a piece with a darker energy, does it tend to fill you with the same energy or feeling – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

Martin: Did your parents play a lot of death metal when you were in the womb? Apparently genres we hear whilst in the womb can be calming later in life.

But yeh, I definitely find the darker stuff calming, it helps me manage anxiety.

Tell me, if applicable, about the concrete lyrical themes that you felt drawn to for your current release.

Martin: Death, Religion and it’s symbology of death, and the lack of meaning and values in anything nowadays.

We kind of introduce all those themes in the opening track, “Communion.”

When it comes to exploring darker themes, what's your approach to writing lyrics? What makes lyrics good in this regard?  

Martin: For me lyrics are quite an organic train of thought process, I try to just find something that comes to mind without over thinking, and naturally, I always tend to steer towards dark topics.

Oftentimes, I’ll just start with a phrase such as “Crack the Whip” which stuck in my mind after reading The Polar Express to my son, and then I’ll build a song around it. Other times I’ll just wake up with a verse stuck in my head.

It’s all quite random but I try to be organic otherwise I find if I over think lyrics, they can sound quite jarring.

Tell me about the creative process for your current release, please.

Martin: Most of the time I will write a demo in my basement, we’ll jam it as a band and if everyone forgets it by the next rehearsal, we tend to drop the song idea!

However, if people bring it up again at the next rehearsal then we’ll develop the song further and everyone in the band will add a few bits and pieces to it.

Apart from ‘Symbols of Death’ though, that came to me in a dream. The music behind ‘Crack the Whip’ came to me in the shower haha

For your most recent release, how did you realise your goals in terms of the production, including effects for your current release?

Martin: Definitely, we really strived to produce a higher quality record at least in terms of the recording and production quality and I feel we achieved those goals this time.

It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with Misha Hering, who mixed the record and really brought some personality to the record. Also Brad Boatright, our mastering engineer, pushed things to the next level which we were so happy with.

In the end, I really just had to trust them both as at the beginning of the year I had a gnarly ear infection and went partially deaf for several weeks immediately prior to our production deadline so couldn’t hear the final product anyways.

Exploring darker themes in the music often goes hand in hand with the accompanying artwork. Tell me a bit about this relating to your new release.

Martin: We were super privileged to get to work with such a fantastic photographer, Boris Becker, on the artwork. We went through Boris Becker’s portfolio with him and we all aligned on the one picture of a bridge head under construction.

The angular and oppressive shapes in the photo, we felt, really matched the tone of the record.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your darker songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

Martin: Although our songs were written with specific meanings and themes in mind, we do encourage listeners to glean their own insights from our songs and want people to take free reign when it comes to interpreting our lyrics.

To paraphrase Bryan Ferry, I want to make people feel something when listening to our records rather than communicate something super specific.

Throughout the history of art, there have been artists who did not want to exorcise their demons, afraid they might lose their creative spark. What's your take on that?
 
Martin: Maybe practising art is the exorcism?