By all critical accounts, Emil Amos is a mythical beast of a musician, the biggest legend you’ve never heard of. Under the monicker Holy Sons, he’s released more than a dozen lo-fi albums that have been labeled “ground-breaking,” “experimental” and “genre-bending.” He’s been a drummer for post-rock band Grails and doom-metalists Om, as well.

In Holy Sons’ newest album, In The Garden, Amos focuses on melody, building upon wave upon wave of sound via jangly guitars, pop hooks and “whoo-hoo-hoos” into lo-fi gems that are both beautifully unfinished and perfectly arranged by one guy. Amos says, “In The Garden is essentially [producer] John Agnello and I … carving out the sound of a classic 70’s record if it had been made by a band with all its players being very focused in the hey-day of their career… but we ‘faked’ that vibe using one player. That’s basically what I learned 4-tracking in the '90s… how to replicate live-sounding recordings where a band is reacting and playing off of each other in real-time.” He talks to Myspace about growing up in North Carolina, his 20-year-career and living in Brooklyn.

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC

Homebase: Brooklyn, NYC

You’ve had a long, storied career as an artist. How did it all start? How did you know you wanted to be a musician?

One of my earliest memories of obsessing over songs was on long car rides that my mother and I would take from North Carolina to Georgia as a small kid. She'd buy me these Gas Station cassette compilations to pass the time and I became really curious about songs like "Runaway", "Wine me Up" and "Tell Laura I love her."

Why call yourself Holy Sons instead of your real name?

Early on I struggled with different ways to try and be anonymous. ...and eventually relented to using a moniker because it really didn't seem to matter and there was a lot of music that needed to be released. But I initially didn't want to have to play live or promote myself in the beginning. Over time I had to find more comfortable ways to approach the situation.

How do you describe your music to people who haven't heard it before?

Usually when I'm asked by a bank teller or someone next to me on a plane I say something like "It's like Pink Floyd." That answer can't really go wrong because you have the loose, experimental/psych side of that band and then their lyrical dimension is extremely heavy and philosophical.

What's your songwriting process?

I like to write lyrics first to make sure they're focused... usually while I'm on the subway here. But a chorus will usually come to me with words and the melody intact when a particular insight about the crux of a situation hits my mind.

Think about the first song vs. the last song you ever wrote ... Do they tell an accurate story of your evolution as a musician?

I think the early songs are definitely all tied and related to the new songs inherently. Every new record usually has a couple ancient melodic phrases I've had since the '90s and I often just re-word a verse or two.

So what is In the Garden inspired by?

I went to a church service with my mother last year in a tiny, backwoods town in Georgia and was mesmerized by the hymns they were singing. It occurred to me, as the choir was singing the old hymn "In the Garden," that life hasn't really changed at all since the story of Adam & Eve in the garden of Eden. We're still wandering around in this lush biosphere on Earth, speculating on the nature of reality with no guidance or answers.

Who are your musical heroes?

There are more obscure ones... but my major breakthroughs came early on from people like Paul McCartney (in realizing that one person could play every instrument on a recording), Syd Barrett (his style of impressionism and music as painting) and Lou Barlow (extremely raw honesty and home-made music as therapy).

You’re from North Carolina, lived in Portland and are now based in Brooklyn. Does where you live influence your music at all?

I don't think it does really. I'm generally dealing with the same internal things wherever I am and write songs as a sort of healing function. I don't really talk to people or go out much here and I love the anonymity and the energy that's never really revolving around you here. I basically just had to leave Portland, OR because I'd been there 13 years and it was time to get back to the east coast to change up my daily scenery.