Published
Name: Jeffrey Silverstein
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Jeffrey Silverstein's new album Doggone is out via Full Time Hobby.
If you enjoyed this Jeffrey Silverstein interview and would like to know more about his music and upcoming live dates, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, Substack, and bandcamp.
When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?
When I’m really listening, re: not doing anything else concurrently, I tend to listen with my eyes closed.
I find that my breathing slows, I drop my shoulders, and unclench my jaw.
How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?
Headphone listening is personal whereas I’m often listening to music with others when it’s being played through a stereosystem. Both can be impactful experiences.
I love when I get to hear music and also the natural world around me. The rustling of leaves or wind blowing through open windows while you’ve got a record on the turntable, or listening to music low enough on your headphones so you can still take in the birds or city sounds around you on a walk.
Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.
Vetiver - Tight Knit
Old Joy - OST (performed by Yo La Tengo)
Cotton Jones - Paranoid Coccoon
JJ Cale - Naturally
I love the world these albums create. They are round, warm, and both loose/locked at the same time. Every note matters, no overplaying, lots of restraint, timeless.
Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?
I live in an old house with my wife, dog, and cat. I think some of my favorite sounds are ‘home sounds’ – my wife quietly humming/singing a made up tune, my dog’s nails hitting the hardwood floor or hearing the door open to come back inside, or hearing my cat’s collar jingle.
They are immensely grounding and comforting.
Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?
More and more I am intrigued by the human voice. I love listening to interviews to hear what an artist sounds like when they are just speaking, and then how that translates when they are singing or performing.
I’m still on my own journey as a singer and feel like there is so much to be learned about a person from their voice.
Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?
I was recently invited to present/curate a selection of ‘cosmic country’ albums at Mono Space, a new hi-fi gallery/listening space her in Portland. The soundsystem in there was developed by ‘sound sculpton’ Devon Turnbull.
I’d been listening to these records for years, but got to hear them in a completely new way. Parts I didn’t know were there, notes I never made out. It was remarkable - a few tunes brought a tear to my eye.
What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?
I have made nearly all my albums at The Center for Sound, Light and Color Therapy here in Portland Oregon with Ryan Oxford at the helm.
It remains the most comfortable studio environment I’ve been in and that is largely in part to how Ryan approaches recording and collaboration. It’s brought a lot of songs out of me and into existence.
When I’m touring, I love having a wide array of spaces lined up where possible - club shows, house shows, farm shows, small towns, etc.
Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?
Yes, absolutely. There is still no better feeling that I am aware of than writing, arranging, and completing a song. It’s magic.
I do love the way even just holding a guitar feels and the vibration of being in the same room with other players trying to bring an idea to life.
How important is sound for our overall well-being and how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?
Noise pollution has a massive impact on our society and overall health of all beings, and yet it’s not something we acknowledge or speak of too often.
I do worry about the impacts of how we are listening / processing / experiencing live or recorded music currently but equally worry about our hesitation to ever be in silence (or close to it).
I highly reccomend this six part podcast series from Damon Krukowski (Galaxie 500) if you are interested in this topic.
Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?
My albums You Become the Mountain and Torii Gates were heavily influenced by time in nature.
“River Running By,” was inspired by the concept of “blue mind,” the meditative state we fall into when near, in or under water.
I wrote it during my summer break from teaching, spending the majority of my days sitting in solitude along the Washougal, Lewis, and Columbia here in the Pacific Northwest. I had nowhere to be, nothing to do, so I just sat.
I found comfort in the steady movement and momentum of the water. My goal was to translate this feeling into song.
Many animals communicate through sound. Based either on experience or intuition, do you feel as though interspecies communication is possible and important? Is there a creative element to it, would you say?
I do think it’s possible. I’m blown away by what my dog and I can understand/communicate to one another on the daily.
There is definitely a creative element to it - you have to be willing to listen and shift your perspective.
We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?
Silence is extremely important to my overall health and also my own creative process.
I need quiet to think, read, and process my thoughts/emotions. It is only then can I consider approaching creative endeavors.
Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?
I’m very fortunate to have my hearing largely intact. I’m just at a point now where if a venue is too loud for me, I will simply walk away. I’m not willing to sacrifice my ears just for that.
On stage, I also try to encourage the band to be cogniscent of stage volume.
Seth S. Horowitz called hearing the “universal sense” and emphasised that it was more precise and faster than any of our other senses, including vision. How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?
I’d like to imagine we’d have more compassion and empathy.
