Justin K. Broadrick was 19 years old when his band, Godflesh, released their ultra-seminal full-length, Streetcleaner, in 1989. Born and raised in Birmingham, England, he’d been a founding member of grind pioneers Napalm Death as they got their start, and left to pursue divergent musical interests — which, as anyone who’s ever sat and put Napalm Death and Godflesh side by side knows, he did. Streetcleaner was a new breed of extremity in music, something as emotionally weighted as it was inhumanly heavy, and though in their initial run, Godflesh would be lumped into various genres — industrial, metal, etc. — and would play into those designations at different points of their discography, the fact is that what might be their most pivotal and expressive work existed almost completely outside of classifiable genre in its day, and was all the more powerful for it.

Broadrick began Jesu (the band named for the final track on Godflesh‘s last album) with a limited issue of the Heart Ache EP via UK imprint Dry Run in 2004. Since then, he’s filled much the same role he played in Godflesh as the driving creative force behind the band’s output, overseeing massively well-received full-lengths like 2005’s Jesu and 2007’s Conqueror through Hydra Head while also unleashing a barrage of EPs and splits, among them the highlights Opiate Sun (2009) and 2007’s split with Battle of Mice. The latest Jesu offering follows a 2010 re-release of Heart Ache that coupled it with the previously unreleased Dethroned EP and is called, appropriately enough, Ascension.

Constructed with many of the same kinds of dense harmonic washes as Jesu‘s prior output, Ascension marks its progression in Broadrick‘s increased use of acoustic guitars and offsetting organic and synthesized elements from each other. As someone continually fascinated with pop music, he’s grown over time (and with much practice) into a formidable songwriter, able to keep an experimental feel to songs like “Broken Home” and “Small Wonder” while also playing off classic melodicism and structural foundations. Still, no matter how you choose to categorize his work — and it’s often that an artist will hear nothing in his or her own material beyond their influences — Jesu sounds like nothing else. The more Broadrick‘s creative development plays out over time, the more that remains true.

Having just borne witness to Godflesh‘s landmark Streetcleaner reunion set at Roadburn, it was a pleasure to (after screwing up international dialing for an embarrassing 437th time) ring up Broadrick and discuss some of the differences between Jesu and Godflesh, the self-indulgent nature of art, the possibility of a new Godflesh studio record, playing live with Jesu, how the imperfection is part of the charm, and more. It had been more than half a decade since I’d last interviewed him, but I found him this time to be just as open and honest as I remembered.

Complete 4,500-word Q&A and pics from Roadburn are after the jump. Please enjoy.

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