Terra Twin frontman and The Rings Of Power star Maxim Baldry has spoken to NME about his band’s “muscular, trashy” new EP ‘Static Separation’ and balancing music with his acting life.
Baldry, who plays Númenórean warrior Isildur in The Rings Of Power, formed Terra Twin from his bedroom in New Zealand, whilst shooting season one of the Amazon Prime Video fantasy epic back in 2020. The London-based indie quartet (completed by guitarist Lewis Spear, bassist Jonny Thwaites and drummer Alex Wadstein) have today (September 5) shared the EP’s jagged, thumping lead single ‘The Recogniser’ – their first via Leeds-based label Dance To The Radio.
“We wanted to elevate our sound and make it a bit more muscular”, Baldry told NME of ‘Static Separation’, which is due out in February 2025. “We’re still keeping true to our Americana and country influences, but we wanted to make it muscular, loud and a bit more trashy.
“It’s definitely a shift from everything we’ve done before, which was a little bit more Big Thief-y. We’re going into a space that feels authentic to us, but a bit more crunched.”
Describing producer James Dring [Gorillaz, Jamie T] as a “dreamboat to work with”, Baldry elaborated on the production behind the EP. “He did a few records with Courting, who had this compressed, trashy sound on ‘Guitar Music.’ We naturally gravitate towards quite melodic stuff, and I wanted to juxtapose that with some loud, distorted guitars. James totally understood what we were trying to do… he [brought] out the authenticity in what we were doing.”
Check out our full interview below, where Baldry spoke to NME about the themes underpinning the EP, his formative London gig experiences and what Isildur might think of Terra Twin.
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NME: Hello Maxim. How did you initially get the ball rolling with Terra Twin?
Maxim Baldry: “It was a bedroom project, and then I just sent the tracks to the boys – guys I grew up with at school. We got the live show together [in London], playing The Shacklewell Arms, The Sebright Arms, The Old Blue Last – that circuit. We were inspired by these earthy, grounded records. MJ Lenderman and Deerhunter were artists that we looked up to. Deerhunter’s bizarre outfits, when they distill a little bit of existentialism into a song. That’s what resonates with me.”
Growing up, did you go to many gigs across that London circuit?
“I was always going to The Windmill in Brixton. They have an amazing, eclectic mix of people that play music there, and that was quite inspiring for me. You can have a cello on stage, and then there’s a heavy metal band afterwards – it felt like anything is possible. But I love The Shacklewell Arms – I’m so sad I didn’t see The Horrors there the other day.”
What are your standout memories from The Windmill?
“Black Midi. I loved Lazarus Kane. Alien Chicks, who I saw recently, that was really heavy.”
Are you sad that Black Midi have split up?
“A bit, but I think it’s important for [bands] to feel good when they work together. I don’t think it’s worth staying together if the working relationship is breaking down. We forget, as artists, to talk about the mental health of touring, there’s so much pressure. It’s important to be compassionate to one another, especially [because] we’re all trying to build a community. It’s important to look after one another.”
Have you experienced burnout from juggling an acting career with Terra Twin?
“I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to do both at the same time.’ I remember doing night shoots with Rings, finishing at 4am on a Saturday morning, and having to get into prosthetics at 7.30am to film our first music video with Glenn Kitson. I had a panic attack. I think it’s important to ground myself, and not overstimulate my body.
“As artists, it’s not an office job. You put all your fucking energy and soul into whatever you do. I know it sounds cringy to say, but it is about moderation… not over-indulging at a gig and getting fucked up, because I just don’t think that’s sustainable. When you break into the industry and you have to go on these incredibly long tours, I can see how it’s easy [for emerging artists] to fall into bad habits of self-medicating, and doing things for temporary fulfillment. At the end of the day, your mental health is more important than the band.”
Does the way you act influence your songwriting, and vice versa?
“It’s all about being as honest and truthful as possible. Performance, it’s still an honest expression. [Music] may be more personal to me than acting, but when I’m acting, I put my own personal life experience into the role. I think [they’ve both] made me more hungry to be challenged. Challenge is such an amazing thing for anyone creative, because it does make you step up. You’re still finding the truth, and you’re mining for it. It’s a constant mine for that nugget of truth, and that’s what keeps you marching onwards.”
Lyrically, what themes are you exploring on ‘Static Separation?’
“I wanted this alternate universe where everything is post-apocalyptic; the cycle of life has happened. ‘Static Separation’ is about getting stuck in this loop of sentimentality, which is almost like a sickness that leads to fatal consequences. ‘The Recogniser’ was the first song that we recorded for it.”
How does that noisy, muscular guitar sound fit into this world?
“It’s a sense of not being able to escape your feelings, being stuck in a pattern of wanting to leave something… [whether it’s] yourself, a person or a place. Noise was a really good way of expressing that frustration and lack of clarity. I really wanted it to be angular rather than soft and well-rounded, to juxtapose those feelings of longing and nostalgia with that really fucking loud noise.
“There’s a scream [in ‘The Recogniser’], that pent-up frustration which I felt was really important to convey. Lewis, our guitarist, writes the most beautiful melodic guitar parts, and it’s so easy to lean into that and make things pretty – but I wanted it to be fucking ugly. I was always thinking about things burning; people running away from what they’re searching for. It just felt authentic.”
How did you go about arranging together the EP? ‘Crooked’ is a slow burner, compared to the driving rhythm of ‘The Recogniser’…
“We kept thinking about the concept of the name. ‘Static Separation’… that juxtaposition of whether we want the light to pour in, or the darkness to take over. It’s a balancing act, it’s full of contradictory things. Some days, ‘Crooked’ makes me feel this overwhelming, destructive element, yet on other days… there’s that intricate beauty in the melody of the guitar. We were also listening to a lot of heavy metal – I think Slipknot have bled into what we’re doing, in some way!”
What is it you love about Slipknot?
“The overdrive, the fuzz. [We were] inspired by some of their imagery, I guess, in terms of what they were saying about being born into this world. Where do you find yourself – where do you place yourself? It feels foreign and scary. I’ve always been a Slipknot kind of guy. It feels very cathartic listening to them.”
What would Isildur think of Terra Twin? He hasn’t had the easiest ride, so far, in season two of Rings…
“I think he’d say, ‘Can you make it a little bit more heavy metal, and a bit more screamy?’ There’s only one scream in ‘The Recogniser’, but I think he’d want some more. He’s definitely a goth kid, 100 per cent. Yeah, he listens to Slipknot – daily.”
‘The Recogniser’ and episode four of Rings are both out today – how should fans spend their evening?
“I think you should start at the pub, have a drink of your preference – preferably a Guinness. As you walk from the pub to your house, you should go on Spotify and listen to ‘The Recogniser’, it’ll get you really pumped up. What’s going to happen to Isildur – is he going to make it in episode four? Your phone’s about to die, you better put that away. Walk into your flat, pop on the telly and Bob’s your uncle: episode four of Rings. Doesn’t that sound ideal?”
Terra Twin’s new EP ‘Static Separation’ is due out February 6 via Dance To The Radio. New single ‘The Recogniser’ is out now. Check out Terra Twin’s forthcoming live dates below. Visit here for tickets and more information.
SEPTEMBER
13 – London, Omen Festival
OCTOBER
31 – London, Islington Assembly Hall (supporting No Cigar)
NOVEMBER
16 – Leeds, Live At Leeds In The City
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