Cults make great fodder for movies, iconic imagery, disturbing news stories and in the case of Telepathe, intriguing music too. Made up of Busy Gangnes and Melissa Livaudais, Telepathe navigates a terrain of throbbing synths and electronic rhythms for a sound that's almost supernatural. Their new album Destroyer pulls from a myriad of inspirations from California cults to science fiction and beyond. While the ten-song collection only just came out in early August, its gestation was a multi-year arc somewhat akin to being cryogenic frozen and then resurrected. After the duo decamped to LA to record the followup to their debut album, Dance Mother, behind the scenes label politics kept it from the general public for three years. Together, the pair took the reins to control their fate, making new mixes and forming their own label BZML is order to release it. We spoke with Livaudais about the ups and downs, switching between coasts and the realities of science fiction.

Hometown/Homebase: LA/NY

Destroyer was recorded in 2012. Did you make any changes in between then and now?

We made new mixes of the songs last winter and changed some of the vocals, but otherwise it's pretty similar to how we originally made it a few years ago. 

How would you describe the connection you feel to the record given it was created long ago and the delays you experienced? Has the connection changed over time?

I actually feel more connected to the album now than I did a year ago. I started to feel like it was becoming stagnant. But the themes feel very relevant to my life right now. And because we weren't following any musical trends while we were making it...I think it stands on it's own despite that.

Did you ever expect the delays? Did you ever accept them? What did you learn about yourself through the process?

No, actually, we didn't expect delays. We submitted it to our label at the time and they originally planned to release it. But then it seemed to be put on a back burner for them and we realized we should find another label. Then the same thing happened with the next label and before we knew it, three years had passed. At that point we considered not releasing it at all. But this album is important to us so we decided to release it ourselves last fall ,and it's just now coming out.  Having a break from touring and the industry forced me to reassess my priorities. I had to figure out other work. In a way, it was nice to not be constantly touring and traveling though and have a more stable lifestyle. 

What's it been like to form your own label? How do you envision its future in terms of your own future releases and/or output from other artists?

It feels empowering to have our own label. We don't have to worry for one second what our label thinks about the album response, reviews, shows. No one is shaping us in any way. I would love to support other artists' music, it might take a while to get that organized however. 

What was the transition for you like between LA and NY? The cities have a lot of back and forth between creatives lately.

Yes, it seems like 75% of the people I knew in New York have moved here recently. It feels nice to run into familiar faces. Even my favorite Brooklyn bar, Zebulon, relocated here...I grew up in Los Angeles though and even when I lived in NY I often visited LA and would check out LA bands. 

Some of the record was inspired through the research of California cults. Which cult piqued your interest the most? What about it?

LA has a long history of occult and culty groups. I read some general history of the area. Basically, we both got into the book City Of Quartz and then we took even further to research all kinds of wild LA stuff. Mainly, City of Quartz was our inspiration. Jack Parsons and L Ron Hubbard early Pasadena days...real Eyes Wide Shut stuff.

What's your favorite science fiction theory or invention that has now become reality?

New developments in artificial intelligence/androids/droids. I would say this is my favorite invention though, computers and AI with its own consciousness is pretty exciting, and humans becoming cyborgs is even more exciting.