Part 2
From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?
Super loud to super quiet is something I’ve always enjoyed and I think it’s the dynamic I use most myself. It’s that tension build n’ release thing, like horror movie jump scares, or wondering if it’s the right moment to make out with someone. It’s an adrenaline rush. I also enjoy suddenly dropping into very staccato percussion or melodies. There’s something about that erratic ping pong sound that gives me a lot of energy.
From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?
I like to keep things simple most of the time. I change it up if the mood takes me. But usually structure wise, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle eight, chorus, done, is grand. Although I’d like to think from time to time those sections themselves are fairly unconventional. But I’m a less is more kind of a guy. I like knowing where a song is going, I like hearing a song and feeling like it’s been put together in a way that just makes sense. If you see a good opportunity to go off piste though, go for it. But there’s nothing wrong with sticking to the path.
Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?
My fourth album, Hot Garbage, was written during the pandemic. Up until that point I’d always written about myself. But there was nothing happening to me at that time. So I was thinking about something Jack White said, that ‘if you don’t have a song inside of you, you gotta make one up.’
So I did that and found I was writing songs that I related to a lot more and were more cathartic in a way cause they gave me more freedom of expression and led me to things that I could relate to in a number of ways. I was immediately happier with what I was writing, and it allowed me to create narrative, not only in each song but gave my music, the project as a whole, more direction and narrative, more depth and character. It got me started down that path and it’s been like that ever since. So, I’m pretty fond of that album, and grateful to Jack White for having said that.
Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?
Not really. I definitely experiment, I imagine most creatives do, but it’s definitely not a science and I often have trouble replicating the results. I don’t know anything about music theory, I wish I did. As soon as things start to get technical and science, though I have a real hard time taking it in, but I try and I am getting better I hope. I used to be one of those guys that thinks knowing theory ruins creativity but that’s a bullshit way to think. The more you know the better. And art is art. Being clever isn’t gonna make you worse. But I’m always open to learning and I try and learn as much as I can. I’m often looking up/researching various recording techniques, playing styles, writing styles, the ways different countries and cultures interpret music. And I try and learn as much as I can from people around me. And always let anyone else know what I know, what little I have. It’s important to share this stuff, and we live in a time where there’s a wealth of knowledge out there.
How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?
I try and write a lot about very ubiquitous human emotions. Things that connect us all. So I try and think about that a lot, not just in songwriting but generally. I try and think about other people and their stories. It’s very important to ask ourselves why we do the things we do, and more importantly try to understand why other people do the things that they do. There’s a lot of emphasis at the moment on people looking inward, being introspective, looking out for no.1 and as much as that’s important, there’s a balance to be struck. I think you can learn lot more about yourself by trying to understand other people and by trying to be selfless. We’ll all learn a lot more about ourselves from how easy we find it to be selfless and empathetic.
The golden rule is interesting: ‘do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.’ I think the phrasing is interesting. It’s not: ‘do unto others as you DO unto yourself’ but ‘as you would HAVE done unto yourself.’ A cycle of selflessness. What goes around comes around, simple as, good karma. It’s humanity that keeps us all going, looking out for each other, community spirit and all that. It’s not a novel concept or anything but it is true. Everyone looking out for themselves puts us all in a very dark and lonely world.
Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?
Music inherently has feeling attributed to it. It doesn’t require lyrics, a subject matter, a story to still get across, a feeling. Yet you still have lyrics, subject matter and story as well as the inherent feeling based on the major/minor, melodies, dynamics, tonality of the music itself. So, it paints a very broad picture and is therefore a very emotive art form. I think film is the only thing that superseded music in its ability to convey a broad range of emotion because film is also visual, it appeals to more of our senses. But film usually also contains music so it’s kind of riding on music’s back a little to get a better leg up.
Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?
‘Wet-Ass Mornin’ by Tonstartssbandht is one of my all-time favourite songs. No idea what the lyrics are for most of the song and the whole second half of the song is backwards, so you interpret the backwards lyrics as whole new words but you know they’re not even saying real words. But it still gets me, maybe because of its ambiguity but such strong tonalities, and super raw, DIY recording style, it feels very personal and so I’ve attributed my own feelings to the song and therefore it gets me feeling a way for no reason other than the feeling I’ve decided it gives me. But I love it and I find it deeply moving even tho objectively I know it probably isn’t to any else, or probably wasn’t intended to be. But that’s what music is for, once it’s out there in the world its whatever people wanna make of it. It’s not yours anymore, and equally every song is entirely your own based on how you feel about it.
If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?
To be honest I just wanna see people more focused on songwriting again. I think there are so many artists at the moment, across all genres and styles that are very much based around their visual style or the general vibe or ethos they carry as artists, but in terms of songs there’s not a lot to sink your teeth into. It’s got a lot to do with social media and the way artists have to market themselves as a consumable product from day 1. So, I suppose my wish is for social media and the self-marketing that’s been brought into the artistic equation to go away a bit and give artist more freedom to focus on the art itself again. Because marketing yourself as a creative involves a lot of creativity in itself and that’s very draining.
