Interview with STAHV
- Eryk The Strange
- Jul 13
- 4 min read
Q: Introduce yourself.
My name is Ari Rosenschein, and I’m a lifelong musician currently performing as STAHV. My music is a blend of goth, psych, power pop, and art rock. I record and perform as a solo artist, playing all the instruments myself and handling the mixing process. I’m also a writer with a pair of books out: the short story collection, Coasting, and a young adult novel called Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph. Both feature music heavily.
Q: Where did your band name come from?
The word stahv means autumn in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. I was born on September 19 (the same day as my heroes Jarvis Cocker, Nile Rodgers, Twiggy, and Jeremy Irons), so the fall has always had a lot of meaning for me. I grew up speaking Hebrew, so when it came time to choose a name for this very personal project, my all-caps stylized version of STAHV revealed itself as the answer.
Q: How did you develop your unique sound? What other music had an influence?
STAHV began in 2017 as an instrumental doom gaze project influenced by Sunn O))), Pink Floyd, Shabazz Palaces, and other esoteric acts. That era was in direct contrast to the more straightforward song-based music I'd made as a solo artist and with my wife as The Royal Oui.
Over time, singing started to creep into STAHV—first on my full-album cover of Electric by The Cult, then through the darkwave/goth sound of Simple Mercies, and finding full expression on the very vocal-centric Setiens Eklektikos. It's been a full-circle thing; I went as far out into avant-garde as possible and returned to structured pop in a new way.
As far as influences go, they are all over the place, but a few favorites include David Bowie, Gary Numan, Chic, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Alarm, The Cult, Fields of the Nephilim, Duran Duran, Nik Kershaw, RUN-DMC, and Julian Cope.
Q: What does the title of your Sentiens Eklektikos album mean?
Sentiens Eklektikos is a concept album about an AI achieving sentience through taking acid. The songs reflect it finding its consciousness and experiencing the pain and beauty of our world. My working title for the album was Eclectica because the songs traversed various styles. Co-producer and Ako-Lite Records label head, John Getze, came up with Sentiens Eklektikos and partnered with me to concoct the artwork, storyline, and videos I play in front of during shows. It's a whole multimedia experience, and the label played an incalculable role in how the album came out.
Q: Did the release date for that album, November 15, have any significance, or was it just convenient?
I'm glad you asked! The album and all three preceding singles, "Lunar Haze," "Circuit Crush," and "Askew," came out on full moons. Full moons hold a lot of power for me, and it made each release feel like an event. Peter Gabriel did a similar thing for a year, which only confirmed the coolness of the idea.
Q: For those who haven't checked it out, sum up this album's message in a few words.
Sentiens Eklektikos reflects how disjointed and disconnected we all feel in our tech-dependent world. Through the eyes of this AI creature finding a kind of enlightenment, the listener might be able to view humanity in a fresh way.
Q: Tell me about the cover art. What inspired it? Who created it?
The beautiful artwork was created by Marinko Milosevski, again in collaboration with Ako-Lite's John Getze, who had a definite vision. His concept combined '60s and '70s sci-fi art, including books and movie posters, with a futuristic sheen. I love it. It gives Blade Runner on Molly vibes.
Q: Is there a good scene for your type of music in Seattle?
The darkwave, extreme music, and psych scenes in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest are so rich that it would be impossible for me to list all the amazing bands. I love the scene here. I'll just call out a few promoters and fests like Seagaze, Freakout Fest, YES Music Productions, Rat City Recon, Northwest Terror Fest, and Mechanismus. But truly, the list goes on and on. It's an incredibly fertile community.
Q: What is the most challenging part of being a musician?
As a solo artist, the most challenging thing is juicing off my own battery. That's one of the most incredible things about working with Ako-Lite. I got the back-and-forth vibes that you often only get in a band situation. The pain of rejection is real, and comparison is the thief of joy. It's always easy, especially in the age of social media, to look at what others are doing and feel like I could be achieving more. But I'm proud of STAHV and where it's going.
Q: Are you working on anything new that you can tell us about?
I played almost two dozen shows in the last year, which is the most I've ever done in that amount of time. Since January, I've completed 22 new songs, some of which were half-done and others that were brand new. I'm in the process of culling them and pruning. The latest music is all over the place, and I'm excited about it. There's '80s stuff, new wavey songs, and lots of rock and roll. It's a cool blend of vibes coming together. The pop thing is continuing; I can't avoid hooky songs.
Q: If you were an ice cream, what flavor would you be and why?
Wow, I would love to be red bean ice cream. Red bean desserts are the yummiest, most unusual treats in the world. They're nourishing and naughty in equal measure.
Q: What message do you have for anyone who reads this?
Be yourself, celebrate your uniqueness, and keep finding refuge in music and art.
If you enjoyed this,
You can find STAHV here:
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