True Lust
The wait is over. Dillon Morton’s long-time anticipated True Lust debut album Night Voyeur is available now from Fading Perfume and we present an exclusive look, listen & candid conversation with the Portland based artist. Longtime readers/listeners/voyeurs will recall Dillon’s work from the 2011 beginnings as LUST, releasing via imprints/collectives such as Chill Mega Chill, Holy Underground & forever illustrating sensuous feelings & situations through well-arranged synth-pop symphonies. But never before has there been a True Lust release that is a cinematic feature unto itself, as Morton has constructed both a soundtrack & a screenplay that is wrapped around the following self-described plot & set-up:
Fear takes hold as a covetous serial killer tightens his grip on the City of Angels. With the police department struggling to solve the case, an unstable detective must work alongside the only surviving victim to bring down the Night Voyeur.
Enter into the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, a similar modern day dystopia as found in the film Drive and all other cult films that depict the southern California metropolis as a city of perpetual night. And it is exactly this sort of sordid allure that True Lust hinges Night Voyeur on where the classic cops versus bad guys setting gets started with the appropriately titled “Paranoia” that seethes out a kind of sinister atmosphere of smog spent from exhaust pipe smoke machines. Next up is the beloved single “Silk & Lace” ft. Outlands that offers up some of the finest collaborations & illustrations of Morton’s own adept attention to arrangement detail. The track echoes classic Raymond Chandler situations of femme fatales & strange double-crosses that further spurns the mystery into elusive motion. Following up is the vanishing point vistas of “Distant Eyes” where the 90 yard stare goes the distance in pursuit of an aloof adversary.
The worlds of sin & decadence from the underground & rising up to the surfaces of the nitty-gritty streets are heard on “Vices” (that is reminiscent of Cliff Martinez compositions, but with a deeper emotive arrangements & audio dimensions) where our protagonist follows the villain’s trail of destruction that leads us down moody & dangerous paths. Matters get even more tense on “Paralyzed” that instills a sense of paralysis while the key progressions make a for a very decisive atmosphere where action must be taken (despite the sound of incapacitation). Things get more serious on “Separate Ways” where dire straits & time constraints go different directions, as the title track “Night Voyeur” offers up something of a confrontation with the titular foe. And this is where the battle goes down, where the antagonist reveals itself from the whirling winds & the blur of darkness brought by the blackout blanketed curtains of the evening’s shade. Sinister settlements & reckoning with malevolent forces are dealt with on the outskirts of town as True Lust takes the action to the “City Limits” that simmers into the sinewy & epic finale “More Pleasure Than Guilt” that drives off into the infinite eternity of the tenebrous evening as the credits begin to roll.
Join us now for the following transcription of our latest interview with True Lust’s own multidisciplinary talent—Dillon Morton:
Tell us about what this long road has been like leading up to completing your debut album.
The album initially began taking shape after I started writing and piecing together some demos in 2012 to follow up the Dreams West split and the Dark Water EP. Robby Sands joined around that time, originally playing bass guitar for the live sets, but that grew into a more involved role of recording on the album in addition to mixing and mastering everything. After we finalized the album around 2015, I really wanted to expand on the narrative of the concept and a screenplay seemed like the perfect medium to bring that visual aspect forward. It was a first for me, but I really enjoyed the process and discovery involved. It feels great to have finally released it after all these years.
How did the whole disco-noir theme about an unstable detective setting out to solve an LA whodunnit come about with Night Voyeur, and how much of an influence did the infamous Night Stalker case have on the conceptual framework?
Since I originally started releasing music as LUST back in 2011, each song has been loosely tied to a narrative or theme involving passion, fear, and hedonistic vices. Once the screenplay began tying everything together, Bowman’s story seemed best set in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles with the imminent threat of a killer driven to the edge by desire. While there certainly is some overlap in the behavior of the Night Stalker and the Night Voyeur, it’s not intended to be directly related.
Describe the challenges in creating a soundtrack for a film that has hasn’t been made that contains those thematic feelings as if you were witnessing a cinematic thriller.
While writing the album, the project’s concept was still beginning to form, but each song seemed to focus around a moment, scene, or character, which really helped drive the emotion or sense of setting. The biggest challenge was bridging the themes and ideas while trying to bring various aspects of the plot forward.
What soundtracks & movies themselves shined insights on this album’s creation?
As far as movies go, I’d say the album and project’s concept was inspired by a handful of Italian giallo films, like A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, crime horror movies such as Manhunter, and police thrillers like To Live and Die in L.A., Cobra, Backtrack (Catchfire), and Body Double.
Artists that are currently exciting you?
Tuxedo Gleam’s new album, ‘Subtleties’, is great. I’ve also been really enjoying Cloak & Daggere’s Dìth Chealtair and Shriekback’s Oil & Gold.
Summer hopes?
Now that ‘Night Voyeur’ is released, I’m looking forward to writing and exploring some other music projects that have been gradually forming over the past few years. Having self released this album through Fading Perfume, the goal is to have a follow up cassette around fall.
Parting words of advice you care to share?
I recently had a fortune cookie that offered a well-timed reminder that all things have an end. To me, it made me realize the importance of enjoying the process in things.
True Lust’s Night Voyeur is available now from Fading Perfume with the screenplay available here.
