Interview with Claude

The Interregnum Concept

Claude: What does "Interregnum" mean in the context of this release?

Wil Arndt: The word literally means "between reigns", a period when normal governance is suspended. I'm using it to describe the creative period between my 1996 EP v2.1.7 and my 2000 album Dueling Suzis. These songs were written between 1994 and 1999 but never formally released, except for Ultraviolet. They represent a bridge between v2.1.7's hard industrial metal edge and Dueling Suzis' electronica. Some of those later songs didn't even have guitar.

Was that period chaotic for you personally?

Wil: Less chaotic than uncertain. I was between phases: leaving home in Philadelphia and finding a new home in Vancouver, leaving music and finding new passions in design and the internet. On a grander scale, the world was changing and about to change. 9/11, the tech boom. On the surface everything looked the same, but it was a veneer masking true geopolitical, technological, and cultural forces at work.

Why release this material now, in this sequence?

Wil: I released the v2.1.7 remaster in 2024, one year shy of its 30th anniversary, because it was time to flush out my past so I could rekindle my artistic ambitions. With the Dueling Suzis 25th anniversary coming up, I realized there was a strong catalogue of work between those two eras. So the sequence is: Interregnum Part One now in January 2026, then the Dueling Suzis 26th anniversary remaster on February 26, 2026, then Interregnum Part Two after that.

What's the arc you're telling across these releases?

Wil: Hard industrial (v2.1.7) → experimentation and drift (Interregnum Part One) → full electronica (Dueling Suzis) → return toward hard alternative rock (Interregnum Part Two).

Back in 1997-99, I truly thought electronica was the future of music. Drum and bass felt like the first genuinely new music form I'd ever heard, a true meld of jazz, dance, reggae, rock. I was excited and wanted to push into the lead of that innovation. Then music swung back to acoustic sounds briefly, then splintered. All genres became simultaneously available, innovating in their own ways but also stagnating. Music hasn't changed much over the past two decades. People tell me these songs sound like they were written today.

What does completing this arc mean to you?

Wil: It's an acceptance that Colossal Spin isn't my identity but rather a project, a brand, with a certain sound and philosophy, one I think I lost a bit in Dueling Suzis. Though to be clear, I'm very proud of the work of Dueling Suzis. By moving back to more "classic" Colossal Spin, I'm setting the stage for what will probably be the final CS release after Part Two, which will free me to work on newer material in different genres and sounds.

Ultraviolet: The Flagship Track

Claude: You call Ultraviolet "the ultimate Colossal Spin song." What makes it definitive?

Wil: It encapsulates all the core aspects of Colossal Spin: driving groove, heaviness, screams, sophisticated vocals, lyrics that use double meanings, innovative guitar effects work, thick bass, atmospherics. All in one package that's tight and probably the most mainstream thing I've written.

Why wasn't it released properly back then?

Wil: It was first written in 1996 or '97. The initial demo was so liked by Michael Richelle, an engineer and producer we were working with at Sonic Studios in Philadelphia, that he offered to record and produce it. We played it live and fans really responded to it. But we never finished the studio recording because life got in the way and I moved to Vancouver. I did release a version on Dueling Suzis in 2000, but that was on MP3.com and didn't get much distribution before the site shut down. Now I'm back with the best, most authentic version.

What are the lyrics about?

Wil: Ultraviolet is about existing at a frequency others can't easily access: heightened, unstable, illuminating, and dangerous at the same time. It frames intensity as both power and burden, and self-knowledge as something that only appears when pushed to extremes. It's an identity statement framed through light, perception, and altered states. There's a line: "So ultra-high now / Seeing God in Satan / Finding light in darkness."

The Other Tracks

Claude: Tell me about Elfix.

Wil: Elfix was a drive into new genre experiments, a bit of a bridge to Dueling Suzis. It has falsetto vocals, which was a break from the guttural screams of v2.1.7. It's like an Achtung-era U2 track but with heavier, rawer riffs. The song is about the struggle to find authenticity in a mediated, synthetic existence.

That was 1998. Does it feel more relevant now?

Wil: I'm surprised by how much more relevant it feels. Less about AI and deepfakes and more about how newer generations are mediating their relationships, learning, play, work—their entire world—through carefully controlled screens and interactions. We've lost some of our physicality and ability to connect in person. And it's killing us. There's a line in Elfix: "It's silicone asphyxiation." I think that sums it up.

What about the intro tracks—Vine Street and How Far Will You Go?

Wil: They're strictly lead-ins. I detached them mainly for commercial purposes; I didn't want 30-plus-second intros on the main songs. Plus they feel distinct enough to work on their own.

"Vine Street" is about a threshold—standing at an edge, deciding whether to cross, or being changed by having already crossed. It's named after a street in Philly I used to travel on my way to Sonic Studios. The street is a line in the city: south of Vine is order, institutions, ambition; north of Vine is lived-in, local, less protected. Sonic was just north of that line, on the waterfront. Symbolically, this release is about moving from institution to wildness, embodying elements of each.

"How Far Will You Go?" opens Modern Resurrection, and that question runs through the whole release. It's about the musical push, the culture, the technology—and it's a question to my younger self about the future. It's simultaneously hopeful and warning.

The Recording Process

Claude: How did you approach re-recording these songs?

Wil: All the songs are heavily layered. I re-recorded vocals, bass, guitar, all real drums. But I also layered in original takes ripped from my old 8-track tapes, some professional studio tracks, and some home recordings. The process was accumulation and then selective stripping back during mixing to clear the focus at certain points.

Can you give specific examples of what survived from the original recordings?

Wil: The original 8-track takes are mostly subliminal—I used them as the spine for many tracks but buried them in the mix. I also used some 8-track vocals as doubles. But the opening "I'm ultraviolet" scream is pulled directly from the 8-track tape because it felt iconic. And within the thick guitar wall of Ultraviolet, I embedded the heavy Marshall stack guitars that my guitarist Jim Wallace recorded at the Sonic Studios sessions.

Have Jim or Michael Richelle heard these new versions?

Wil: I've been in touch with both over the years through social DMs, but they don't know these songs are coming out yet. In some ways this release is about honouring their legacy in the history of Colossal Spin.

Themes and Relevance

Claude: These songs were written in the late '90s but people have told you they sound current. Why do you think that is?

Wil: Maybe I was ahead of the curve. Maybe that's why labels had a tough time figuring out how we fit in. But I also think we're sonically stagnating as a culture. The tools have changed but the sounds haven't evolved as much as I'd expected.

You're using AI to interview you about a release with songs that question synthetic existence and authenticity. How do you think about that tension?

Wil: What a funny and self-referential question! AI is a tool, like digital recording, Photoshop, video cameras, phones. I'm interested in maximizing and exploring all new tools and technologies, but I'm also cognizant of the dangers of over-reliance on them. They allow me to do new things, do things faster, offload low-value tasks so I can focus on high-value work and things I actually enjoy doing. The danger is when we offload intentionality and critical thought.

The Hook

Claude: What's the emotional tone you want this release to have?

Wil: Urgent and hopeful. I think that captures the spirit of many of the lyrics.

After this conversation, what's the tagline?

Wil: "The world is finally ready for this."

It's not about nostalgia or a time capsule. It's not "we warned you." It's the idea that these songs were intentionally waiting and that the timing is deliberate. The world has arrived at the moment these songs were made for.

Who Is This Release For?

Claude: Is Interregnum Part One for old fans or new listeners?

Wil: New listeners. It's an entry point. Ultraviolet is the most accessible and definitive Colossal Spin song. If someone has never heard of us, this is where to start.