Interview: Semantron
It’s very reflective and pensive music, and I think it activates a feeling of groundedness that many people seem to identify with.
Secrets of a Krummholz Heart, the first album from Semantron, which is the solo project from Dave French has recently come out, and it is an extremely vast sounding journey through sound in the most sublime way. Gavin Brown caught up with Dave to get the lowdown on Semantron and Secrets of a Krummholz Heart as well as discussing his other work with Yob, Steven Von Till’s Harvestman and Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth.
E&D: Your debut album as Semantron, Secrets of a Krummholz Heart, has recently come out. What has the reaction to it been like so far?
Dave: Yeah, the reaction has been really positive. I had no idea how it would be received, so I’m happy that it seems to be resonating with people. Most of the feedback I receive directly tells me that it’s reaching a deeper place for many people. It’s very reflective and pensive music, and I think it activates a feeling of groundedness that many people seem to identify with. It’s a deeply personal and introspective record, and, rather unexpectedly, I think it opens up a window into the self for a lot of people.
E&D: Is the album the soundtrack to a journey for you?
Dave: You could say that, yeah. it’s something like a cross between a soundtrack of a portion of my journey and a self portrait of sorts. But it’s also an homage and an offering of thanks to the universe that has granted me this journey. For the life, time and the friendships that make everything possible for all of us.
E&D: Have you wanted to make this record for a long time?
Dave: Yes. It’s been a long time in the making, as well. The finished album as it is now, was actually something that I started recording much earlier, but as I was very busy on the road and recording in the breaks between tours, I actually started recording these songs (some of them were even complete versions), and had to go out on tour before they were finished. For a short tour, that can be fine, but it so happened that I went out on subsequent tours sometimes lasting months, and by the time I got back I was unable to find my way back into the heart of what I’d recorded, so I scrapped it all and started over. That’s part of the reason I rented the cabin at the beginning of the recording process that became the record. I knew I needed to be without distraction for some time to find the atmosphere that suited the songs and to make the progress I needed to finally get it done.
E&D: You played all the instruments on the album, and did all the layout and artwork was that a freeing experience for you?
Dave: Finding my way to the sounds I had in my mind took some time and experimentation, but the “vision” I had for the sound of these pieces was quite clear and specific from the very beginning. While I love to work with others, I feel like asking someone else to find a sound that only I had access to (as it was in my mind) would be like trying to paint a picture by describing the image to someone else who was holding the brush. In the end, the songs sound very much like I’d wanted them to, and that result is definitely freeing. If through working with others, they had turned out different than I’d imagined, I would probably still be thinking of them as incomplete instead of feeling free to move onto playing them live and working on new songs, as I have.
E&D: Can you tell us a bit more about the creation of the record?
Dave: It was quite a long process, actually. The songs are part of a collection of pieces written largely while on tour. Each piece has an origin in one geographic location and was further developed and finished in another (or a few others). The song ‘Piha’, for instance, initially came to me in New Zealand while on tour with Soundgarden. It was further developed in Iceland and the final piece of the puzzle came to me in Montpellier, in the South of France. After collecting about 15 songs worth of material, I took the project to the off-grid cabin in the mountains I mentioned earlier. The cabin was at the foot of a volcano in Washington State and was isolated enough that I had very few distractions (aside from a feral kitten who was in need of a friend who knew how to use a can opener). The cabin would eventually be covered in eight feet of snow, and I had to snowshoe in and out of there, which made it difficult enough to leave that I was able to stay focussed and get a good start on the recording process. All of the acoustic guitar parts, as well as some of the electrics and a lot of the bass were recorded there. After six months in the cabin, the record had largely taken shape and I moved back to Portland where I recorded the drums in the Yob rehearsal space. The finishing touches, including the vocals, were recorded at my home studio there (which is just a spare bedroom). When the recording process was complete, I took it to my friend Nathan Yaccino for mixing and eventually Tad for mastering.
E&D: With Tad Doyle mastering the album, and having played with him in Brothers In The Sonic Cloth, was this an easy choice for you to have him involved?
Dave: It was an easy choice and an easy process as well. Tad was my first choice and I think the treatment he gave the record is incredible. His first pass was all it took. I had no notes and asked for no revisions. The digital version is fat and warm and clear, and the vinyl master sounds like 1976 to my ear. I think it’s perfect.
E&D: What does the title of the title refer to and is it in direct relation to the songs on the album?
Dave: A krummholz is a type of tree found in the high mountain ridges, at the treeline. They could be any species of tree, but are twisted and deformed by the harsh conditions of their environment, but are still strong, resilient and beautiful in a highly individual way. The Krummholz Heart is a metaphor for the heart of a person who overcame less-than-favorable conditions to become uniquely expressive, strong, resilient and beautiful like the krummholz.
E&D: How did the album release show for Secrets of a Krummholz Heart go?
Dave: It went well, and was a great bit of fun with some amazing musician/dear friends who joined with me in presenting them live. We had a blast rehearsing for the show as well as at the show itself. Speaking of Tad, he opened up the night with his first ever solo performance. He played some combination of bits from his recent film soundtracks and pure improvisation. It was fantastic to see him blowing minds (including my own) with his dark-symphonic synth and vocal-based witchery.
E&D: Do the songs from the album take on a different form in a live environment?
Dave: Our objective was to play the songs as close to the way they sound on the record as possible, but I think we may have played them just a bit on the heavier side, which I’m actually quite happy with. A little bit of grime can do a lot for a bunch of pretty songs in a live setting. I’m also playing a solo live set of these songs, and for that set I made different versions of each piece to facilitate playing percussions on a sampler and using my feet to play synth and make loops. Rather than just pushing “play” and playing over sounds from the record, I wanted to make the solo set a special and unique experience. The instrumentation is different from the album, but I feel like the vibe and atmosphere remain intact and offer a fresh listen for those who are already familiar with the record.
E&D: Did you play the album in its entirety?
Dave: Yes, and in the order of the album as well.
E&D: Did you use the visuals for album track ‘At The Feet Of Friendship’ when you played live?
Dave: We didn’t use any visuals. Just stage lights. Had I had more time to do so, I may have worked something out in that respect. I have some more solo shows later in the year and I am working on a visual concept, but it’s not clear yet what that will end up being. I’m leaning more towards some kind of stage prop than I am a “projection” style visual, but in venues with a decent led wall, it may be a combination of the two.
E&D: Who plays with you when you play live?
Dave: For that release show, I had Mark Basset on rhythm guitar, Stuart Dahlquist on bass, David Lutz on synths and Jedd Lygre on drums.
E&D: Will you be doing any more live shows as Semantron?
Dave: I will, indeed. I have some unannounced solo shows scheduled for later in the year in the UK (watch for more on that soon) and maybe a show or two in Portland and Seattle as well.
E&D: How did the recent Yob show at Fire in the Mountains festival go?
Dave: Fire in the Mountains festival was nothing short of incredible. That festival, along with its association with the Firekeeper Alliance has something special that I’ve never really experienced at another festival.
E&D: What other shows have Yob got coming up?
Dave: We do have a series of shows in Seattle, Portland and Eugene in December, as well as a show at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, which is where the interior scenes from the movie The Shining were filmed, in January. That Stanley Hotel show is part of a festival put on by the good folks at Fire in the Mountains as well.
E&D: What is the status of a potential new Yob album?
Dave: We are working on it. I don’t have any specifics to share, but it is most definitely in the works and we can’t wait to share it when the time comes.
E&D: What have been some of the other highlights being in the band so far?
Dave: Playing in Yob is just highlight after highlight. I truly mean it when I say that each and every show is like a dream come true. I love the music, the fans, the bands we get to play with, the places we get to visit, the venues that welcome us, and most of all the fact that I get to experience all of this with two of my very favorite people.
E&D: How have your recent shows with Steven Von Till’s Harvestman gone?
Dave: They went really well. It was a pleasure to dive back into those pieces and that sound. It’s dense and slow emotional music… easy for me to lose myself in. Plus, it’s always a pleasure to spend time with Steve. In addition to playing in Steve’s band, I also opened the night with my solo Semantron set on four of those dates. Before that, I had never played solo before, so I was fortunate to get to watch Ben Chasny (Six Organs) play one amazing solo set after another on that tour. Though our sets are quite different from one another, his was very inspiring and he was encouraging as well.
E&D: What have been some of the highlights of playing live and recording with Steven and Harvestman?
Dave: Well, they’re all highlights, really. Some of the standouts for me have been the last couple of European/UK tours where we focused on playing sacred spaces rather than typical music venues. We played the king’s chambers in a castle that was built in the 12th century, we played several old churches, which lend a certain gravity of atmosphere, but also, with the slow pace and sonic density of Steve’s music, add some special sauce to the sound as well. Also Steve’s residency at Roadburn, where we played, both an SVT and a Harvestman set… that was pretty epic. Recording the stocktank percussion part for Harvestman’s ‘Galvanized’ and ‘Torn Open’ is something I’ll always remember. We rolled a stocktank that Steve had damaged with his snowplow into his shop and set it on end with a bunch of microphones placed around the 8 foot wide tank and played it like a multi-voiced drum. It was summertime and as we were checking the mic’s and finding the different sounds we could make with the tank and things we found around the shop like a thick chain and some deer antlers, we had the shop door opened. The sound of crickets from the bush outside leaked into the mic’s and I found myself playing a beat to their rhythm, and we ended up recording it that way for the record.
E&D: How was the experience of being a member of Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth and what were some of the highlights of being in the band?
Dave: Brothers of the Sonic Cloth is still a big part of my life, as Tad and Peggy are family to me. I don’t get much time with them today as I live a few hours away from Seattle, but each time I get up that way, I stop in for a visit with two of the world’s biggest hearts. So many great times with them on the road and in the studio… One standout show for me was the Sub Pop 25th anniversary show where we were joined by Gary Thorstenson of Tad and we played a few Tad songs along with our BotSC set. It was an outdoor show in Seattle and I don’t think the festival was prepared for the city’s reaction to us playing Tad songs. There was room for something like 2,000 people, but that filled up super fast, and soon the gates got rushed and security had to step aside and watch. The cops closed the road and even the freeway overpass above the show was blocked by hundreds of people watching the set. Big fun.
E&D: Who are your biggest influences as a drummer?
Dave: That’s a tough one. There are so many greats, and certainly, my favourites have had considerable influence on me, but I don’t consciously take things from other drummers and add them to my sound, so I don’t really know who has influenced me most. Just a few of my favorites are; Neil Peart, John Bonham, Bill Ward, Mitch Mitchell (these are the classics, right?!), as well as Jason Roeder, Alex Hernandez, Dale Crover, Marian Sarine (of Deaf Kids)… this list could go on and on as there are so many amazing drummers in rock, metal, jazz, latin music, etc.
E&D: What have been your favourite albums that have been released this year so far?
Dave: Speaking of Deaf Kids, their new record, Cicatrizes Do Futuro is incredible, as is Breaking the Catatonic State by Belgian powerhouse Crouch (their drummer Wim Coppers is a fackin’ beast… add him to my list of favourites). The new Neurosis record is my most recent favourite.
E&D: Can you tell us about the production work you have done and do you plan to do more of that?
Dave: You know, I don’t think I’m really interested in recording bands on any kind of regular basis, if at all, these days. “Studio flow” is a thing. It’s a rhythm, a kind of a way of life. It’s also a long process, whereas working on the road, as tech or an engineer, you show up somewhere new every day, have a different crew of local people to work with, put all your heads together to make a great show, watch people get their minds blown, and then boom! Mission accomplished. Pack up and do it again tomorrow..
E&D: Are you constantly working on new music and do you find it a challenge to fit everything in?
Dave: No, I’m not constantly working on new music, but I play every day and I always have my net in the water in case something new happens to be swimming by, under the surface. Right now, I’m mostly working on dialing-in the solo live set, but I’ve also started the recording of the follow-up to Secrets of a Krummholz Heart.
