Name: Malcolm Pardon
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: Composer, producer
Recent release: Malcolm Pardon's The Abyss is out September 20th 2024 via The Leaf Label.

If you enjoyed this Malcolm Pardon interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, and twitter.

For a deeper dive, we recommend our earlier Malcolm Pardon interview.
 


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?

Eyes open. It enhances what's around me at the time. Like a film in real time.

I rarely stay in one place listening to music so it's more like I get a soundtrack to my current situation. It makes the bike ride to the studio a lot more exciting.
 
How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

Most of my listening I do my listening with headphones. This has turned out to be a bit of a problem as when in the studio I can’t mix stuff anymore "in the room". I have to go through my headphones to finalize.

I like the feeling of encapsulation, and that the outside world is disconnected.

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?

Musically I'm a sucker for strings and orchestras. I don’t know why, but there is something that just seems to grab me with that whole experience.
 
Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

I recommend just lying down in a park or wherever and listen to what's around. First you think there is not much there, but all of a sudden you hear car honking, a bird, the trees, an airplane flying over.

All of a sudden you start to realize there is a whole pallete of sounds, like an everyday orchestra going on.

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

I once played in an old warehouse at Norberg festival with Roll the Dice and there where these massive metal doors leading into the space.

At one point the sub bass made the doors vibrate and kind of created its own sound during our performance - which was pretty amazing.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

I think I like to record in an environment which feeels as little like a studio as possible. For me the recording studio is a bit of a dead enviroment. I prefer like a living room  or someplace outside - on the terrace or whatever.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

Not in a physical sense. But I'm still fascinated by the fact that when you create music, you shape something out of nothing. Like one day, the song is not there, and the next day or whatever when you are finished, you have something which will be there forever.

Like with my track “Patchwork,” where I started with a very static and monotonous bassline. I just wanted to see how this could develop and transform, while always keeping the bass going throughout.



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?

Maybe not a moving experience. But ever since I was a kid I’ve had the urge to make a beat whenever I'm in a car and the indicator lights go on. Can’t stop myself.

Drives my family crazy though.

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?   

Having a dog has definitely taught me how to communicate with sounds and movements that aren’t neccessarily spoken. I've  also learned how to minimize my output to become easier to understand.

This is of course something I can try to bring into my creative process. Less is more and all that.
   
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've had a constant ringing tone in my left ear, for like the past 5 years and although I've never seen a doctor I guess its tinnitus.

It's a mild one, but its interesting how when it started a few years ago it kind of freaked me out.The thought of it being there forever.

But then, as time goes by, I've learned to live with it. If I  think about it, it's there. But if I ignore it, it kind of disappears into to the background.
 
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?

I think we do surround ourselves with sound all the time whwther we want it or not.

Even silence is never really complete silence.But silence is good for clearing out the system.
 
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 wouldn’t want to exclude any of the senses. Sight without sound or the other way round would not be the full experience for me.

Going back to the film reference, when what you see and hear at the same time gives you that enhanced feeling, then it's complete in my opinion.