The Milwaukee-based band gNatiform is a progressive punk force that is all about pushing their musical ability within a high-energy setting, embodying the genre's ideals rather than its traditional sound. The band’s complex music is a cohesive blend of the members' diverse backgrounds: Aaron’s intricate bass lines, guitarist Ashleigh’s technical metal riffs, and Marc’s contribution on drums and electric wizardry. The band incorporates unique sounds and samples, contributing to a massive soundscape that defies the regimented sound often found in modern progressive music, opting instead for a more authentic feel.

gNatiform deliberately balances their musical complexity with a notably less-than-serious aesthetic rooted in non-musical inspirations. A central inspiration is the LitRPG genre, which informs their creative output and led them to bond with the community. Their commitment to irreverence is perfectly captured by their name, gNatiform (read on), which they use as a counterbalance to their progressive sound. Following their renewed vigor in 2024, the band is focused on planning their first tour to support their latest EP, Soundtrack to a System Apocalypse, with an emphasis on high-energy live shows that prioritize the exchange of energy between the band and the audience.

Welcome! Your music is described as a "progressive punk force." How do you personally define the "progressive punk" label in the context of gNatiform's sound?

Aaron (bass): Hola! Thanks for taking the time to talk to a little band from Milwaukee! To us progressive punk is about pushing our ability in a generally high energy environment. We definitely don't have a traditional punk rock sound but we try to embody the ideals of the genre in our own way. The influences are wide-ranging (Isis, Primus, Opeth, Dead Kennedys, LitRpg).

How do you manage to cohesively weave all those diverse elements into a single track?

Aaron: I don't think we really sound like our influences really, it's about what we grew up on that shaped our taste and individual styles. Those are the things that inspire us to play! So like Ash comes from a way more technical metal background whereas I have always played kinda weird hard music or punk and Marc is just plain good at music so gNatiform ends up as a nice combination of our styles.

What prompted the return and "renewed vigor" for gNatiform in 2024 after the initial 2017 formation?

Aaron: We had been trying to add keys/ samples for quite a while before we found someone who fit and understood where we were coming from with this project. That's when Rob (drums 2017-2025) suggested Marc, who joined us initially to fill that role. Due to life in general Rob had to step down and Marc being an extremely talented drummer stepped in and rapidly gained the most power in the band by filling two slots.

Beyond the musical influences, what are some of the non-musical inspirations—perhaps in art, literature, or real life—that inform the band's creative output?

Aaron: For me so much of the inspiration for this band is found outside of music. My kids are always saying ridiculous things that inspire songs. Unicorn Dad Robot is something our older child said to me years ago randomly that stuck with me. But I would say almost 100% of this band is, for me, inspired by literature. It sounds classy when it's said like that but yeah books. I love the LitRPG genre and that has been steadily serving me motivation for years. I don't see that changing soon.

What does the name "gNatiform" mean, and how does it reflect the band's identity or music?

Aaron: We decided on a vague butt theme early on: natiform means "In the shape of or resembling buttocks". That was taken by a synth band from Australia so we slapped a lil’ “g” on there. It also fits us as people. Decidedly unserious until it's time not to be like a butt.

Ashleigh, as the guitarist, how do you balance the ethereal expanses of post-rock with the raw searing intensity of post-metal in your riffs and textures?

Ash (guitar): I usually just start with listening to whatever bass lines Aaron comes up with and start hearing melodies in my head. My biggest influence is probably Chuck Schuldiner (Death). I dig a lot of technical metal (Necrophagist, Atheist, Cynic...) and came up listening to tons of 80s thrash and of course the metalcore of the early 2000s, so it just comes out naturally and I try my best to fit it in to compliment whatever Aaron is playing. It just kind of works out that way due to what I grew up listening to vs what we play in gNatiform. I think that's the balance--our biggest influences; not competing with each other, it's more collaborative. Pretty sure no one hears those influences, but they're there.

Aaron, your bass lines are described as "intricate." What techniques or philosophies do you employ to ensure the bass is a central melodic or structural element rather than just a foundational one?

Aaron: My only real philosophy writing is that I need to be able to nod my head to what I'm playing. It's bass so a head nod is required. I also want to play the little brain worms that stick with me so when you combine the two, it starts to become a gNatiform tune. I can't really help what I write if I'm being honest, my hands just kinda do their own thing.

Marc, your role includes "percussion and electric wizardry." Can you elaborate on the "electric wizardry" aspect? What kind of unique sounds or effects do you contribute?

Marc (guitar): A lot of my musical background relates to percussion and drumming, but as an electrical engineer I've always been fascinated by synthesizers both in hardware and software form. Nowadays it feels like we're living in the golden age of synthesis where almost anything is possible with respect to sounds you can craft. I try and take inspiration from odd sounds and challenge myself to incorporate them in unique ways. Our most recent record features a lot of sounds crafted in Arturia's Pigments synthesizer, but I also have a few niche synths, like MNTRA Instruments MNDALA 2 synth that kicks off Inheritor of Eternal Ash with pure ominous feeling, that got the chance to shine on this. The final piece of the puzzle involves taking and utilizing samples where and when we can for some songs to throw in references to some of our favorite media as sort of Easter eggs. We're pretty big nerds and love wearing that proudly on our sleeve through our music. Sometimes the references are as simple as taking a direct sample from something (we are big fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl and worked with the narrators of the series to get their permission to use elements of their audio books). Other times it involves sampling the audio and then running it through granular synthesis to "play" the sample as an instrument (the most notable use of this is the back half of Princess Posse).

Rob DeAngelis is featured on drums for gNatiform. How does his style and contributions shape the rhythmic backbone and overall feel of the tracks?

Ash: I can't really speak for Rob, but I'm pretty sure he just kind of interpreted Aaron's bass lines and tried to add something to complement what Aaron way playing without taking away from the intricacy. He worked a lot with Aaron to get the rhythm elements all hammered out. Sometimes Aaron plays things that aren't initially intuitive, so it takes a special person to be able to really riff on that and lay the foundation for the rest of us (me and Marc) to add in our flavor on top of that.

Can you describe the typical songwriting process for gNatiform? Does a riff, a rhythm, or perhaps a concept usually come first?

Aaron: I'll intentionally hold a phrase or idea in my head as I start writing and let that inform the writing process. For me holding that idea while writing shapes what my hands end up doing along with the feel and tone of whatever I'm playing. Whatever nonsense comes I'll bring to practice and let the better musicians make something worthwhile out of it.

We've heard the band has an obsession with butts." How does this obsession manifest in your lyrics, album art, or stage presence?

Ash: Whelp, no lyrics, so that's an easy one! The guys really enjoy twerking it out at practice though. It's highly entertaining. We're all into butts (who isn't, am I right!?), so it's just a fun way to get energized on stage. The audience seems to like butts too. We haven't offended anyone, yet.

Is the "butt obsession" a serious thematic element, a tongue-in-cheek counterbalance to your complex music, or something else entirely?

Aaron: We. Love. Butts.

We also don't take ourselves too seriously and the imagery does offset what we're doing musically. You hit it right on the head, it's about the juxtaposition. And booty. We're never going to be that group that takes themselves completely seriously, we just want to have fun and let the music mean to people whatever they need it to mean at the time.

Is there a particular song or story that best exemplifies the marriage of your complex progressive sound and the "butts" obsession?

Aaron: There is one song in particular, Shellybeans, that's (to me) a love song that involves Skittles and a very specific butt.

Hailing from Milwaukee, how has the local music scene influenced, supported, or challenged gNatiform?

Aaron: So I've been in bands in the Milwaukee area for like 20 years and I still don't quite understand the scene. There are some amazing and innovative bands here like Key of Evil, just fantastic musicians playing delightful music, but it's an extremely hard scene to break out of which is unfortunate because the overall level of talent here is astronomical. Hopefully people realize how good some of these groups are and start elevating them!

What is the greatest strength of the band's live show, and what can a first-time gNatiform audience member expect?

Aaron: I think our biggest strength live is our energy. We make every effort to make sure you remember seeing us and want to do it again. We try so hard to make sure our sets have a good flow and energy to promote that back and forth between us and the audience. That's what makes a performance truly memorable, not necessarily how well we played but how well we exchanged the energy in the room.

What are the band's feelings on and experience with the LitRpg genre? Are there specific books or concepts that inspire the music?

Aaron: LitRpg is something that we unexpectedly bonded over. I had been reading or listening to it since like 2013, a friend at work named Scott Randall put on an audiobook called Everyone Loves Large Chests and it was pure chaos that spoke to me immediately. I already loved TTRPGs but it's a tough thing to be able to get together and play as adults so this fit in that void nicely. There's actually a specific production company we would cite as a big inspiration, Soundbooth Theater. Those people have just elevated the whole genre along with audio books in general and I think are a big reason it has gained the traction it has. The production value, passion and talent are unbelievable. They are the ones who approved the samples for "Princess Posse" and "Kuchisabishii", from the book series Dungeon Crawler Carl and Everybody Loves Large Chests respectively.

The LitRPG community feels very punk to me as well!! It started with people just saying "Fuck it, I'll just do it myself" while being nice to the other members in the community.

We actually had the privilege of being able to close out the first night of the first ever LitRPG Con and I think that alone speaks volumes about the community. A tiny band from Milwaukee was able to play to an international crowd in Denver because of how warm and inclusive most everyone involved is.

With the your current recorded material, what is the plan for future recordings and the role of percussion in the band's evolution?

Ash: We're really stoked to start working on new material. We already have some songs in the works and I think that the percussive side of our sound is going to really pop and take up a bigger soundscape. Marc is such a solid drummer--he adds so much groove and really brings so many more dynamics into our music. Our current set has been transformed with what he's playing. He just hears things from a different perspective than us and instantly and intuitively knows what'll sound good. He and Aaron are just in sync with each other.

What's the biggest genre convention gNatiform feels they are actively "defying" right now?

Ash: I think--from a production standpoint--speaking to progressive music in general--there's a lot of digitization and perfectionism that's pretty popular right now. Not that it's not great (it truly is, I'm envious of a lot of those technical bands that just sound PHENOMENAL and have the perfect tones, perfect mix of everything, etc.), but it's missing an authenticity and a realness that makes the music more approachable. I'll hear something--like, lately I've been listening to a lot of Blood Incantation lately and it's just SO GOOD, but I'm thinking--"I could never produce something that sounds so well put together", and we're more approachable. I think--if that makes sense. From the punk perspective, we don't sound punk really at all--but the VIBE is there. We're all about the punk morals (anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian, DIY, anti-facist, etc.).

What is the immediate next goal for gNatiform (e.g., a new album, a specific tour, a music video), and what can fans look forward to in the next 12 months?

Aaron: With Marc taking over on drums our sound is bound to evolve, we're excited to see the direction writing goes and how his style impacts our current tracks.

We are also starting to plan for our first tour this year to support Soundtrack to a System Apocalypse, our EP from this year. We genuinely believe in this project and plan on seeing how far we can push it this year.

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