Hallowed, haunting and harmonious - the making of Requiem with All Men Unto Me
All Men Unto Me is the moniker of musical artist Rylan Gleave, and the most personal side of his multifaceted and rich artistic universe. A critically acclaimed and award-winning composer, well known in contemporary classical and alternative musical circles alike for his work with Paraorchestra, class-work ensemble and avant-garde metal outfit Ashenspire, Rylan kickstarted All Men Unto Me in 2023 with debut album In Chemical Transit.
We sat down with Rylan amidst the announcement of All Men Unto Me’s second album Requiem, which re-imagines an ancient mourning in a real, contemporary setting. We chatted about his evolution as a musician, the unique process of making his second album, and our mutual love of horror films and how they have influenced his art.
What was the creative process for Requiem?
I started sketching out lyrics and early melodic ideas in April 2021. Towards the end of that year I was fortunate to go on a residency to Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands. They have four different churches and one had a functional old harmonium in. I went in there and played it and was instantly fixated by the sustained sounds pulling out of it - stuff I would normally play sounded so much better. There’s something about singing in a church on your own too, especially as I was doing extended vocal techniques at the time; when I transitioned, one of my vocal chords ended up longer and thicker than the other one, so I can do multiphonics - two notes at the same time. Trying to do it in a church really loudly, which filled this massive space, unlocked something, showing me the possibilities of what I could do.
So, the album started in this weird organy place, and then I came home and started developing different scores for it with the band and lyrics and chords. I did a lot of coordination with my amazing producer Scott McLean, which became a beautiful back and forth.
Were there any challenges you faced or lessons learned during the making of your first album Chemical Transit that influenced the process for its successor?
They were two totally different beasts. In Chemical Transit we didn't multitrack it; I wrote it and we went into a hall, put microphones up and recorded it mostly in one take. I was trying to capture my voice at such a volatile time, so the point of it was not perfecting the instrumentals or the vocals - I knew it would sound rough. With Requiem, we did multitrack everything with lots of different layers, leading to an almost circular format of the time and space it had. Those are the key differences and I’m glad I got to experience doing it that way, so that for future endeavours I have two very clear reference points of what working in those ways is like.
What and who inspires your music?
Thematically I am interested in drawing on ancient perspectives and artefacts, decontextualising them and making new narratives that relate to my own experiences and ways of thinking that can be more universal. I use older objects as a framework or springboard for a modern interpretation. Instruments themselves are also inspiring - like the harmonium. We wouldn't have ended up with this piece if it hadn't started there. If I started on the harp it would have been a wildly different sounding record.
Since your first album Chemical Transit, how have you evolved as a musician?
Chemical Transit came out in 2023 but I finished writing it in 2021, so it feels like there’s a much broader gap between the two albums. During that time I finished studying, so I wasn't in that academic institution which is more structured and went straight into full-time freelancing. Ashenspire, the band I’m in, got quite big in that time and had an album out, so we were doing UK and European touring and festivals. It meant my performance chops were a lot better and I learned what not to do; having reference points for failure is an important thing. I also saw this with my own solo shows when basically no one would come except five of my friends, and it’s an important thing to learn as it makes you appreciate when you do have an audience at a show and interact with their energy differently. In my work through Paraorchestra I have been fortunate to experience lots of different work opportunities and artist development. This has been helpful in my evolution as a musician but also as a person by working in different contexts, learning things about myself and others.
Tell us about the inspiration behind your moniker, All Men Unto Me, and how that reflects an extension of yourself?
I am part of the band Ashenspire, doing live vocals, which is really awesome and fun. I am also a Paraorchestra musician in residence alumni and trustee. My solo stuff is alternative folk music, just me and a piano and laptop. It’s spooky and goth, with the vibe of ghosts and changeling babies, similarly esoteric to my All Men Unto Me work but more intimate and condensed theatrically.
The name All Men Unto Me is a bit of a joke, a commentary on masculinity for sure and a comment on hating being the centre of attention but doing art in the spotlight. I was doing a recording project in a church and there was a bible verse in stained glass on the window. John 12:32 - "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." I thought it was beautiful but fucked, as it represents Jesus predicting his own death but attracting people in the process. I felt like this described a lot of the feelings I had for my creative vision.
Was Requiem a personal journey for you to process your trauma and the feelings you have about the church? Were there any parts of making the album that made you feel triggered or were difficult to open up about?
In a broad sense it was cathartic as I was thinking about different experiences I had personally in the church, but it also represents people who have left the church and the residual feeling they had in their lives. The album feels uncertain by the end, a broken triumphantness, like ‘What did we learn? Maybe nothing!’ When people ask what the album is about, I think the point of it is that it’s quite exploratory in the lyrics, the overarching theme and the resulting sound.
The worst part of recording was Sanctus, the second tune. There’s a bit at the end which is a crunchy vocal breakdown which falls apart. It was the last day, the end of the recording session, and the last thing we were recording. I was having trouble nailing it, and Scott asked me to just lie on the floor and go into that space and just do it. I tapped into something really horrible, raw and disgusting. I nailed the take but instantly felt like I was going to be sick and I was shaking, sweating, and done. It was a horrible place to end the album but it turned out amazing. Not saying I would recommend that as a technique, you need lots of nuance to capture those feelings and emotions without hurting yourself - I need to work on nailing that balance.
Now seven years on Testosterone, how do you feel about your vocal transition when performing live?
I’ve got a better practice routine and found my comfortable register now. It was volatile for the first five years, but now I’m more chilled out and I know how I can warm up better and what works for me. I think about it more in recording and writing than while live. My falsetto is still changing, but my lower range is solid and I know this is my lowest feasible note, whereas some days I can get a better sound and others it is falsetto only. When writing new stuff for myself I think about elegant ways of navigating those breaks, finding something that sounds good every time from the start and being able to recreate it. You know yourself and write and perform to your strengths.
The music videos for Requiem - Lux Æterna and Sequentia - are dark, modern day horror stories. How does the horror genre influence your work and the stories you want to tell?
I really enjoy folk horror and the idea of the monster as an allegory. There are lots of metaphors in horror, where the protagonist becomes the monster, the rug is pulled from under you, and everyone sees who the monster is from a different perspective. With Sequentia we are drawing those parallels of judgment passing and who gets to decide who goes to heaven and hell.
With Lux, I read it as the protagonist is already dead or walking to their grave. We got a beautiful Crypt shot with me down in the darkness and then falling upside down, leaving the audience like, ‘what happened?’ I see it as a ghost story, kind of a horror and psychological thriller. It was such a fun experience to essentially make my own horror film, yet it was November in the Highlands, snowing, and I was wearing a corset so I was freezing!
You worked with a range of collaborators on this project - what did each bring to the project and what was that experience like?
Scott McLean is my closest collaborator on this project - he plays guitar, bass, organ, mixes sound design, and songwriting - he wears all the hats. A lot of the process was he and I sat in the studio where I would come up with an idea and he would find a way to produce it. Alasdair Dunn, drummer in Ashenspire, did the drums on the record - he has just an incredible way of attacking the drums. Stefan Pötzsch, our drum technician, made the drum sound miles above with his expert tuning. Simone Seales, my long-time collaborator, played the violoncello. We have worked on so many projects together that we have a shorthand - I can just say ‘you know what I like, do it like this’ and they know exactly what I mean. They also did backup vocals and made their vocal debut! Amaya López-Carromero saved us when we needed a precise section of organ microtones - they have an incredibly keen precision for piano and were amazing.
It’s so nice to work with a range of people who are in tune with each other. I like to work with people from different backgrounds to myself who bring a new perspective and see things that I don’t see - that’s such an important part of the process.
What can we expect from All Men Unto Me in the future, in terms of albums, performances and other creative ventures?
We’re hoping next year to do a handful of UK tour dates and see what comes up at festivals. Ashenspire is playing the Core Festival in Glasgow later this year, Salmon Festival next year, and a bunch of European tour dates next year, alongside more music being written. There’s always exciting things going on with Paraorchestra also, such as performing in the BBC Proms later this month at the Bristol Beacon.
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