Pitchfork: On this song, you sing, “I’m my own man, built by my own hands.” In addition to Converge, you run a record label and have a solo project. Does it feel like you’ve been able to build your professional life in your own reflection?

Bannon: That’s the intent of being a self-sufficient artist who subscribes to [a DIY] ethic, but I don’t think any artist or musician is ever completely fulfilled. It’s a quest that never ends. You’re always trying to realize a vision that you might not be able to attain. There’s always a restlessness in any artist.

It’s funny, I was talking with a friend about how a lot of the things that you’re working through into your middle age are the same issues that affected you when you were a kid. They don’t necessarily resolve themselves. You still have that same pain and complexity and gray area. You might have come to a better understanding of those things, but the cause and effect is still there.

Pitchfork: This song is addressed to “you.” How much do you think about pronouns when writing?

Bannon: There’s always an “I” and a “you,” a push and pull. That’s just the nature of writing these big, open letters to the world about whatever I happen to be dealing with at that particular time. It’s always me talking in first person; I don’t think I’m ever writing a character. That’s one of the major flaws I have in art, where it’s too personal for me. But it’s just the way I like to write. I’m always vulnerable when I write. I don’t write just to throw together a bunch of things that sound cool.

I had a conversation with a guy in a band a bunch of years ago, and he was like, “What are your songs about?” I was like, “Oh, they’re about all these moments and interactions in my life.” I asked him, “What are your songs about?” He said, “Nothing.” He was being a little self-deprecating, but at the same time, he was like, “I kind of put things together that sound good. I just evoke a mood.” There’s a lot of that out there.

ARKHIPOV CALM 

Pitchfork: Vasili Arkhipov is a Russian naval officer credited with stopping the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating in 1962 by talking down a more eager superior from firing nuclear torpedos. How did you find out about him?

Bannon: I’m not a bookworm but I read all the time. I fall down wormholes of articles. I’m always fascinated by wars and world history and the complexities of all those things. Aren’t we all? Just how broken the world has always been. One of the things that blows my mind when it comes to people who are in power and doing these incredibly insane, historic things that can change the world in a heartbeat is that they’re just people. They’re just like you and I. People aren’t inherently good or bad, they’re just human beings.

Arkhipov’s story really affected me and showed how somebody calm of character could change the world. There’s been lots of instances in my life where I’ve felt like I was being tested by whatever situation I was in. It could be something as simple as losing your cool in public over something, and there’s a resilience that you have to find—a, dare I say, maturity that you have to hold onto to navigate those waters. When I was a kid, if something affected me I would have a much more reactionary response. I wasn’t a particularly violent guy, but you would have that explosion. I’ve been working really hard over the last decade or more to be super self-aware of what that kind of energy does to the world and to the people around you.