In response to opinions made on social media:
This is not something I have ever felt comfortable saying to more than a close circle of people. Uncomfortable as this is, I believe it is the right thing to do.
My response in that 2014 interview can be seen here http://www.nofearofpop.net/…/interview-amen-dunes-on-confin… in full. I realize without giving context, my answer was not phrased well. At that time I did not feel it appropriate, nor was I healed enough, to explain my... reason in detail.
What I meant by my response was I did not feel comfortable having a woman in the band, at that time, and my reason is as follows:
Two different adult women sexually abused me throughout my adolescence, from about 9 until I was 18. When I finally reached an age where I gained enough courage to begin to acknowledge what happened to me, Amen Dunes became a form of my own therapy. It was the one safe space I had to explore the feelings and the trauma from childhood, and to start to try and reclaim my identity and sexuality as a man.
Recovery from this kind of trauma is slow, and required, in the beginning, creating a neutral space for the work to be made in, where I could redefine my own personal sense of masculinity with honesty, vulnerability, and self-inquiry. At the time of that interview I did not feel comfortable collaborating with a woman as I was still in the early stages of this process.
Damon