Name: Nate Scheible

Nationality: American

Occupation: Sound artist, composer
Current Release: Nate Scheible's or valleys and is out via Outside Time.
Recommendations: Landscape Suicide - James Benning; Song of the Lark – Willa Cather

If you enjoyed this Nate Scheible interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Soundcloud, and bandcamp.
 


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

The impulse to create is always there. Other forms of art, other artists, etc. are certainly a source of inspiration or influence (consciously or unconsciously), but what leads me to act on that impulse is almost always rooted in process.

Politics, personal relationships, the state of the world, and the many other outside factors that exist ... I think they find their way into the work regardless. But I don’t actively say “I’m going to write a piece about this.”

I’m more interested in seeing what happens if I run a bunch of tape loops through a pasta machine or use crystallographic data as a graphic score or ask a group of artists to musically interpret the taste of raw licorice and Sichuan peppercorns.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Most of my ideas straddle the line between concrete and abstract. I enjoy starting down a path and seeing where it leads. And then shaping a work based on that journey. I never have the sense of a finished work when I start out.

The exploration of a particular concept, experimenting with new gear, creative assignments from friends, responses to proposals for work, the potential of new collaborators. These are all starting points that help me zero in on something that could then be developed into a song, a record, a performance, an exhibit, a band, a zine, etc.

To that end, I rely heavily on chance. I don’t like to have total control. Part of that is because I utilize a lot of processes, and in some cases instruments, that I have limited control over. I’m also an improvisor at heart, which has always been a means for me to stretch and employ certain techniques to find sounds to best suit a given situation- especially in collaborative situations.

Unpredictability is cool.

What do you start with? And, to quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

It varies … I might be watching a film or reading a book and think, I want to write a musical piece that follows a similar structure as this.

Or, what would happen if I remade the Meat Puppets “In a Car” EP, but it was, like, an ambient record? Or, maybe I can use the soundtrack to my mom’s favorite film as the sole sound source for a piece. One thing leads to another.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

In terms of the creative process, I would say that this is an inevitability. And probably the reason I involve myself in anything creative to begin with. This is the fun part. Seeing where it goes and discovering something new that I hadn’t anticipated.

Having such a rigid idea or strict sense of a finished product from the onset is foreign to me. It’s like playing a solo in a jazz or free improv context. It’s not all planned out. And it also goes beyond the notes. It’s the interaction with the other players, the venue, the audience, etc.

I’m certainly not dismissive of artists who have a very clear idea of what they want to accomplish and convey, and then execute on it. Honestly, I would be interested in experiencing this. It’s probably very satisfying - or deeply frustrating if that vision doesn’t materialize. But I don’t see that in the cards for me. Just not how I work.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

At minimum, satisfying and reaffirming. At its height, bordering on cathartic- typically when playing drums, live, in a free improv setting. But that feeling is extremely rare.

There is no element of spirituality to what I do.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

The way I work involves a lot of editing and mixing and manipulating and collage. I don’t do much live recording of full pieces. And I also work in fits and spurts of an hour or two at a time.

In doing so, it’s easy to get hung up on small moments and lose the context of the overall piece. And the danger of that is ending up with a series of disparate moments that don’t add up to something greater. Or maybe it feels rushed and doesn’t have room to breathe … So, yes, it’s helpful to let it sit for a moment before making any final decisions on whether a piece is in a state of completion …

As an experiment, I tried to exploit the pitfalls of this workflow for my record Plume from 2023. There was a disjointed feel to it that stood in contrast to some of my previous releases, which was fun to explore.



In terms of knowing when I’m satisfied with a piece? Ultimately, it sometimes comes down to more than an aesthetic / artistic decision. Am I tired of working on it? Do I want to do something else? Am I still creatively inspired by it? Is it developing in a way that runs contrary to some of the other pieces that might comprise a record?

You can second guess yourself to death. But I’d rather be disappointed in a record that took a year to make than be disappointed by a record that took 10 years to make.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally?

It’s kind of at the heart of everything I do. Which is more in the realm of composition than something like writing songs.

I was also an engineer at a studio for a few years so am pretty accustomed to using the studio as an instrument, so to speak. And that doesn’t necessarily have to involve anything extravagant. The types of mics you use, the placement of them, location of people / instruments in a room, etc., it all makes a difference in what may seem like the most simplistic of setups.

Even thought I do a lot of work in the box, I try to dial in sounds using physical means as much as possible. I don’t like to go overboard with digital effects and manipulation. Mostly because it just gets too overwhelming for me. Limitations are good.

I used to have a bit of an aversion to mastering for whatever reason, but I’ve grown to really appreciate it as a final step. I think of it in terms of checks and balances. Like, if I’ve personally recorded / mixed something, or I’ve worked with an engineer on a record, chances are we’ve listened to it over and over. And, in my case, in speakers in a room that aren’t exactly fit for the job.

Passing it off to a mastering engineer I really trust allows them to hear it with fresh ears, and maybe address some sonic aspects of the final mix that may not even register for me by the end.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Not really. Good riddance. On to the next project …

I like to be able to close something out, put it on a shelf, and recalibrate. I know that I’m going to continue making things regardless, so even if there is a void, it will be filled relatively quickly after a project ends.