Name: Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen aka Rural Tapes

Nationality: Norwegian
Occupation: Composer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist
Current release: The new Rural Tapes album Contact is out February 23rd 2024 via Smuggler.
Recommendations: I think everybody with a slight interest in alternative music should be exposed to Raymond Scott’s experimental side. The album Three Willow Park is an album that has given me a lot of inspiration over the last years.
Steve Reich – "It’s Gonna Rain, Pt. 1" (1965)

If you enjoyed this interview with Rural Tapes and would like to stay up to date with his work, visit him on Instagram, and Facebook.
 


Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in production and technology?

Not really. I gained interest in production quite late. I was fortunate to experience some success as a musician in my early twenties, but around that time, the band I played in spent time rehearsing and writing music more than experimenting with production.

After recording and releasing a couple of albums we got more interested in experimenting with production, and now, my way of writing music is all about experimenting. I use my whole studio as an instrument for creating music.

Were/are you interested in the history of production and recording? If so, which events, albums, artists, or insights stand out for you?

I find quite a lot of inspiration digging into the life and work of musicians, composers and producers that I admire. But I don't have much interest in getting to know exactly what their set up is or was. It’s more like I listen to their work and find inspiration in how their music sounds.

I want to find my own approach to make something that can relate to their sound and, along the way, I make something that ends up being my own sound. But if I should name a few examples that stand out for me soundwise, I think that The Flaming Lips`albums from the late 90s / early 2000s ...



… Steve Reich's tape experiments from the late 60s …



... and Joe Meeks recordings from the 60s all have been important for me.

Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness and how do you still draw surprises from tools, approaches, and musical forms you may be very familiar with?

Music is still all about playfulness and discovery for me. I retain this by challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone now and then. Working with people and units that can surprise and take my music in a direction I wouldn’t be able to do by myself is good.

Buying new instruments is always good. Old, crappy tape machines tend to live their own lives, and those have been my favourite units while working on Contact.

For your own creativity, what is the balance and relative importance between what you learned from teachers, tutorials and other producers on the one hand – and what you discovered, understood, and achieved yourself? What are examples for both of these?

I’ve drawn inspiration from a lot of the people I've worked with over the years, for sure. But when it comes to producing music, I think I’m kind of self-taught.

I can’t stand going through manuals to learn about how things work. I just start twisting knobs and find my own way to use stuff on my own.

I probably use a lot of my gear in an unorthodox way, but like it that way, and I really believe that helps me create something unique. I bring home new stuff all the time, and I always have something in my studio to explore. All I do is use my ears and imagination.

It’s the same about instruments. I’ve collected instruments from all over the world for 15 years, and have a dozen synthesizers, a gamelan orchestra, brass instruments for a half marching band, all kinds of string instruments and so on. I really think that if you have a certain level of musicality, you can create something nice on whatever instrument or technical unit you come across.

How and for what reasons has your music set-up evolved over the years and what are currently some of the most important pieces of gear and software for you?

My studio in the barn is not connected to the internet, so I still use a ProTools version I installed 10 years ago. I haven't upgraded since, and love it that way, since I only use the computer for tracking and editing.

While working on Contact, I delved into the world of tapes deeper than ever. Especially old reel to reel recorders and cassette recorders or dictaphones. The wobblier, the better. With these units I can create textures that are so full of character you can almost touch them. I use them for colouring the tracks.

During mixing, I always put the different layers through hardware and tape units instead of using plugins.

Have there been technologies which have profoundly influenced, changed or questioned the way you make music?

I would say, choosing to work with these tape machines have changed the way I make music. It’s a slower process, but I definitely think my music falls more into place.

However, working slower doesn`t really matter to me either, I take my time.

Already as a little kid, I was drawn to all aspects of electronic/electric music but I've never quite been able to put a finger on why this is. What's your own relationship to electronic sounds, rhythms, productions like – what, if any, are fundamental differences with “acoustic“ music and tools?

I don’t prefer electronic or electric music more than acoustic music, I mix both together a lot. But I prefer music that sounds warm and grounded in a way, electronic or acoustic.

Old drum machines, tape delays, spring reverbs and so on, that`s what I’m drawn to the most.

Late producer SOPHIE said: “You have the possibility with electronic music to generate any texture, and any sound. So why would any musician want to limit themselves?” What's your take on that and the relevance of limitations in your set-up and process?

I can relate to that for sure. Although I hardly use plugins or work “in the box” digitally anymore, I`ve gone back to work on hardware and stuff that I can be hands on with. You know, analog synthesizers and effect units with knobs and buttons. So, I don’t feel like I embrace all the new technology that`s around at the time.

But I wouldn't be surprised if I find my way to more modern technology at some other point.

From the earliest sketches to the finished piece, what does your current production workflow/process look like?

It changes all the time. I can start and finish a track in a couple of hours, or I can find an old sketch I put away years ago and finally find something there worth working on again.

What is pretty common for me is that I go in and out of different projects and recordings, work with bridges, outros, intros and compose an album as a whole. An outro can suddenly give me ideas for an intro for the next track and so on. I often compose music with a full album in mind, and the different tracks definitely affect each other.

In relation to sound, one often reads words like “material”, “sculpting”, and “design”. How does your own way of working with sound look like? Do you find using presets lazy?

Not at all, I don’t find using presets lazy if that’s what the music needs. That really depends on the track and what you’re searching for.

But for the most part, I think I’m sculpting sounds and I work a lot with layering. If I use four different presets to create the right texture for a melody, I don't find that lazy as long as I’m happy with how it sounds. 

What, to you, are the respective benefits of solo work and collaborations and do you often feel lonely in the studio? Can machines act as collaborators to you?

I enjoy working alone, and I enjoy collaborations. On my first two albums, I collaborated with musicians I hadn't worked that much with earlier, and that brought my music to new directions.

On this album, my collaborators, for the most part, are these unstable tape recorders, and they sometimes surprise me as much as a musician can do and give me the resistance I need to really get myself going.

It’s been a blast working like this.

To some, the advent of AI and 'intelligent' composing tools offers potential for machines to contribute to the creative process. What are your hopes, fears, expectations and possible concrete plans in this regard?

At this point, AI doesn't tempt me at all. Of course I don't have any issues about the world creating new technology and going further, and I’m sure AI will be used to create both loads of fantastic music and loads of dull music. Like we’ve done without AI, right?

But it doesn't engage me where I am now.