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By: Chad Murray
Following on from his review of Chime Hours, Chad Murray employed his technological mastery of e-mail to quiz Memotone on composing, producing and the necessity of musical expression.
(((o))): Memotone, your album was a mind boggling bricolage of music showing versatility across a colossal generic board. As a composer, did you plan on using this album to show people the wider scale of your musical strengths or do you feel as though the diversity of musical scores is simply something that plays to your innate musical disposition?
I’m not sure what ‘colossal generic board’ implies, but thank you? When I start a piece of music I don’t always know where it’s going to lead, and I try not to inhibit the natural eanderings of an idea. I like creating music that is somewhat ambiguous, that sometimes asks questions of the listener rather than giving them answers. I’ve found the easiest way to do that is to create music that doesn’t have one direction but can lead to many different places dependent on the individual and that can change with each listen. You have to pay attention otherwise the music doesn’t make sense. Having said that, there are a few more immediate tracks on the album which have strong direction, but it can’t all be psychoacoustic exploration can it!
(((o))): On the subject of versatility, I feel as though your music not only spans genre but, almost spans locations. Were the international signifiers on the album intentional? Did you for example, create a track and think “ah, a Berlin synth would be nice here” or maybe start off wanting to create a raga?
Other than the more obvious roots in English folklore, the geographical ties were unconsidered.
(((o))): One thing I was particularly interested in was the medieval sounding segments was that intended as almost a narrative within the album to create a feeling of transient temporal and spacial relations?
Absolutely. There were two strong themes running together throughout the writing process and I wanted to explore them both. I feel like the more apocalyptic side to the album, while being enjoyable to make, hasn’t got as significant a role as the middle age influence. In the end I tried to weave them into each other, creating a world where we had reverted back to the middle ages, post apocalypse. And a more overall comment on the cyclical nature of life in general. Tying the past to our future in an endless feedback loop.
I feel like the track ‘She Is a Killer’ is the most directly related to the album title. Folklore states, if you were born during the Chime Hours you could see ghosts and other things beyond our realm. When I was writing ‘She Is A Killer’ I was imagining someone being stalked by a ghost that only they could see.
(((o))): What do you think might be some of the most obvious and surprising influences on the album?
Other than science fiction and traditional English folklore, I’d say the state of our environmental affairs has an overall effect on me and therefore any music (willingly or unwillingly) I create. Especially music I’m trying to communicate through. Also general sociological/psychological themes. Mental illness. All the books and films I enjoyed and of course,
All the music that inspires me.
(((o))): As an ambient/electronic musician and composer myself, I find that I tend to create a lot of music and learn skills and then when I actually have some inspiration I transfer what I’ve taught myself over and the practise blends with the emotion or new source to create something compelling. Then I’ll over time whittle down the best tracks of for example, a year and start working to sequence an album together. However, I’ve also tried to use other tracks I have for composition and tried to see if scores I made could perhaps work on an album.
Was Chime Hours constructed solely as an album or is it for example a compilation of music from a stretch of time or perhaps featuring music for projects that didn’t get used?
CHIME HOURS was created within about 9 weeks for the most part. Each track being specific to the album. The only two tracks that weren’t written for the album but inspired me to write the album (and so became part of it) were ‘Abbots Bromley Horn Dance’- which was first released on a tape compilation of experimental music called Life Between Screens by WotNot Records – and ‘She Is A Killer’, which was written before I knew I was writing an album. Both tracks being catalysts for the final album. There are a couple of tracks I wrote during those 9 weeks that didn’t make the final cut for one reason or another too. One of which (the vocal version of Poison Arrow) is perhaps my favourite track to come out of the whole process. So will no doubt see the light of day a little further down the line.
(((o))): What is your typical process of creating a track?
I’m not sure I have a typical process.. Depending on the track/idea my approach changes quite radically. I can start by writing an the entire part of one instrument and then building the piece around that, or I can work through a track section by section, building as I go. I’d say that was increasingly the more common situation actually. Often I get an idea for how I want to main part of the track to sound and so have to build the musical bridge to get to that ‘main section’ point in a track. Only, in the process of building the bridge (the intro) I often get pushed in a new direction, and the bridge ends up crossing onto a new and unexpected ‘main section’. I’m not particularly precious about my work or ideas, so either is good.
(((o))): Do you find it difficult to choose what to release or be concise with releasing new music or are you for example, more focused on completing one project at a time?
I’m not too concerned about creating a universally cohesive back-catalogue as I feel like that would only be a limitation implemented for superficial means. I like seeing the evolution of other musicians and being able to observe changes in their direction. I think most good musicians have an unavoidable signature that ties all there work together no matter how far ranging their ideas and stylistic shifts may be. I just hope I’m one of them!
(((o))): Why do you make music? Do you feel as though it is compulsive or expressive? Do you feel as though music is your profession or do you think it is more of a passion or a release?
I think it’s all those things. It is my profession and my passion. I don’t know if I could really answer the question ‘Why do you make music?’ with any integrity as to be honest, I don’t know. Only that I can, and love to. And feel disconnected from myself if I don’t. To me, making music is as essential as dreaming and can be viewed as having a similar function in my life.
(((o))): How would you describe yourself or your music in a sentence?
Unafraid to ask questions that challenge preconceptions. I’d say that relates more to me and less to my music though. As my music isn’t nearly as confidently anarchistic. I’ve got a way to go before I break any real barriers with my music. As far as my limited intellect will allow anyway.
(((o))): Can you tell us what’s next for Memotone?
I have another album coming out on cassette with the label Bastakiya Tapes (sister of BEDOUIN). The official date hasn’t been set, but potentially towards the end of May/early June. It’s a more experimental/contemporary classical collection. In this instance in fact, it is a collection of works that span a few years, but which each track of which I approached with the same feeling and the same inspiration. Ideas on people.
