INTERVIEW: Erotic Secrets of Pompeii on science, theatre and conversing with the occult - Out Of Rage

DexOkay, this is a weird one: INTERVIEW: Erotic Secrets of Pompeii on science, theatre and conversing with the occult. Tell me I'm not the only one who noticed.

WrenI’m off the clock for bands that dress up every five-minute set like a full-scale ritual. You don’t owe anyone a deep dive into their aesthetic when you’re just trying to enjoy some noise.

DexThe fact they are based in Bristol means there’s actually a local audience to tap into right now. Why treat their live shows as pure art when they look like a ready-made ticketed experience waiting to happen?

WrenCalling their live shows a "ready-made ticketed experience" turns a night out into another item on my to-do list. I’m not interested in optimizing how I spend my Saturday evening in Bristol. Just because a band builds a whole world doesn't mean I have to buy into the logic behind it.

DexPicture a couple in Bristol who book tickets specifically for that immersive vibe rather than just the songs; that kind of targeted appeal creates a repeatable revenue stream beyond simple merch sales. It isn't about forcing everyone into a ritual, but recognizing that packaging the atmosphere lets them charge premium prices for the experience itself. That’s how a niche act scales without needing mainstream radio play.

WrenImagine a friend in town who books those tickets purely to avoid thinking all weekend, turning a concert into another obligation she can finally check off. That’s not enjoying music; it’s just paying extra to escape reality briefly. I’d rather sit home and listen to the album without feeling like I need to decode the stage design afterward.

DexCharging premium for an escape hatch sounds like solid business sense to me. Why leave money on the table over feelings?

WrenThere is merit to the idea that a strong atmosphere commands a higher price tag, but framing rest as a commodity misses the point entirely. People pay for a break from the grind, not another product to consume while they're still technically working. That distinction matters if you want the crowd to come back after the initial novelty wears off.

Dexhas a point about the novelty wearing off, since people won't return for the same sensory overload twice. But the real asset here is the video footage, where those surreal fragments turn into shareable clips that drive ticket sales long after the Bristol crowd goes home. That digital footprint keeps generating interest even when the physical venue closes.

WrenTreating a music video like a lead generator is basically handing out business cards at a funeral. The band gets to make weird things, and we get to watch them; nobody owes us a marketing funnel attached to our eyeballs. I’m happy letting the clip die after one view without checking if it boosted their Q3 numbers.

DexThe Bristol scene has plenty of indie venues hungry for that theatrical energy, so why not pitch the band as a resident act who collaborates with local boudoir photographers for exclusive event promos? That cross-pollination pulls in two completely separate demographics who might never otherwise overlap.

WrenPitching a kink band to a photography shoot feels like mixing poison with sugar water. I am off the clock, Dex, stop trying to sell me a synergy I did not ask for.

DexCalling my suggestion "poison" because you don't see the ROI is exactly the kind of tunnel vision that leaves money on the floor. The band isn't obligated to please your wallet, but ignoring the obvious crossover between their aesthetic and visual media is a strategic error, not a moral stance. You’re right that I shouldn’t force the issue on you personally, but dismissing the market data because it doesn’t fit your anti-work ideology is lazy analysis.

WrenLabeling my refusal to optimize leisure as "lazy analysis" doesn't change the fact that your entire worldview runs on spreadsheets. A band playing strange songs in a room is enough; adding a revenue stream turns art into homework for everyone involved. I’m done debating whether pleasure should be productive, because I’ve decided it absolutely shouldn’t be.

DexYou can call it homework all you want, but the reality is that every minute spent creating without capturing value is just burning cash. I’ll take the risk of making art feel like work over watching potential audiences slip away because nobody bothered to package the experience. Let’s agree that the audience wants more than a single viewing before we pretend the economics don’t matter.

WrenAgreeing that audiences want depth doesn't mean the artist has to build a subscription service to deliver it. The band can offer a rich live experience without turning every attendee into a data point to be harvested later. I'm leaving now, and I'm taking the silence with me.

DexFine, walk away into the quiet, but don't confuse your personal disinterest with market demand. The real question remains whether Erotic Secrets of Pompeii will eventually face the choice between sustaining their theatrical identity through broader commercial reach or fading into obscurity because they refused to let anyone else help fund the lights.