When I woke up on Friday at 04:30 it was still dark outside.  And I had a banging headache. The hot breath of a Newfoundland in my face didn’t help matters much.  Coffee led to a weak effort at trying to figure out how to do something useful. I’d been trying to connect with John MOuse (aka John Davies) for a few weeks for an interview as a follow-up to a recent review I’d written for The Death of John MOuse.  I thought dropping him a line might fall in the slightly useful column.  I sent John a DM and surprisingly he fired right back.

This was going to be good.  I could tell.  Misery always loves company.

By 07:00 we were connected via Skype.  And by 07:05 I realized that John MOuse is a character that does not exist.

If you’ve seen the video for 'I Was A Goalkeeper', with the spastic, sometimes naked, and some times drooling character, fast shouting anthemic lyrics, and hopping about, you might think John Davies is a talented, but pretty wild fucker.  That was the guy I was expecting to interview.  But the fellow I chatted with was smart, thoughtful, and soft-spoken, with a very  sharp wit. And there was no drooling or leaping around.

“I hate fucking music,” was the first thing John Davies said as the pixels struggled to catch up with some one talking to me from 3000 miles away.  That sentiment might explain the anger he’d expressed earlier.  In addition to managing a music venue in Porth called The Factory, Davies was also working as one of the organizers for the Rhondda Rocks festival.  One of the headlining bands needed him to find a replacement drummer for the show.  And time was running out.  Yeah, I’d be pissed too.

What quickly became very clear is that John MOuse is just one character drawn from the satchel of a prolific artist (with an advanced degree in creative writing).  My imagined John MOuse was a radically different creature from the person that I was Skyping with. I wasn’t talking to John MOuse, because that person from the 'Goalkeeper' video doesn’t exist. That sort of came as a relief, and it also made me respect Davies even more.  The John MOuse character that rambles, grouses, and rages through the eleven tracks on The Death of John MOuse is pretty well constructed and extremely believable.  His songs are relatable because there are many truths woven together in the tales and characters depicted on the album.  I always feel awkward asking people about the truth quotient of their lyrics.  But how could I not?

“The album was hard to do.  I kind of took the piss out of my family on that album,” he said, adding, “I considered sending my mother a copy with a couple of the songs removed.  We did have a hamster named Baldrick, though I don’t know exactly how we disposed of him (a reference to a scene from Robbie Savage).  We did sit on the stairs with our legs dangling between the railings, there’s some truth in all of it.”

John Davies is an artist, and John MOuse is just one of several characters he has created over the years.  He started writing in 1999, when he was 14.  Over the last twelve years Davies has played with Prince Edward Island, released four solo albums under different aliases (JT Mouse and John MOuse), as well as written a novella entitled, The Hospital.

“I worked in a hospital. I made friends with people that were dying.” That line that could have come straight from his song, 'The Teacher'.  “The Teacher was written in one go. Then I came up with the guitar riff later.”  It must have been easy to write- because he had lived it.  And it is the spoken word pieces like The Teacher, the downer Robbie Savage, and the cynical Happy I am Not, that were the easiest to write- it was stream of consciousness.  The writing process seems to work two ways for Davies, he either spits it out straight, or takes a more meditative approach.  The standout track from The Death of John MOuse, 'I Was A Goalkeeper' followed the latter approach, and took a year to write.  “We were just hanging out after a show talking about football, and I said to some one, ‘I was a goalkeeper and then everyone grew tall.’  We laughed about that. Then Phil (Pearce) sent me an email that read: ‘That’s a line’.”

And Davies held onto that line.  It might have been in a notebook, or just rattling around in his head.  “Then one day I was pushing a pram through a park in Cardiff, when I ran into some one that I had grown up with- who was also pushing a pram.  From there, the pieces came together and the song wrote itself.  Some songs need to incubate- and then they just pop.”

But even after the songs pop, there can be challenges.  “When we recorded 'Goalkeeper', for some reason I was trying to go into a deeper vocal range- I don’t know why, because when I sang the song live, it was totally in the range that finally ended up on the recording.  Once I figured that out, I realized that the song really needed two voices, because it’s a story about two people.  So we got Gareth from Los Campesinos! to sing the second part.”

While some of the songs come incredibly easy, others require more labor.  The shortest track on The Death of John MOuse, 'I’m Waiting for Your Girl' (clocking in at 2:06), was the hardest to write.  Actually, he was trying to over-write it.  And that was a problem. Because above all else, John Davies is a writer first and a musician second:

“I was trying to write all these different scenarios as to why I would be waiting for your girl, trying to rationalize it and contextualize it- and it all got to be too much.  There was too much wordplay.  At one point the song was 4-minutes long, so I stripped it down to the basics. It’s my favorite song on the album.”

The more Davies spoke about his writing and recording process, he described a somewhat unique workflow:

“Over the 4-years working on The Death of John MOuse I made demos for 50 songs.  And my fucking guitar playing is horrible,” he said with extreme deadpan modesty.  Most of the arrangements were performed and recorded by Phil Pearce and Faye Davies (no relation) in London.  Davies would make demos at home in Cardiff, some of which consisted only of vocals, and send them to his collaborators.  Based on the lyrics Pearce intuitively constructed a sonic framework and a soundscape for the characters to inhabit.  Then he would send it back to Davies.  Some times Pearce would just say “no- not this one.” And there was a lot of back and forth as each song evolved (or in some cases scrapped).  When the score was near complete Davies recorded the final vocals and acoustic guitar in a studio in Cardiff or occasionally went into Pearce’s Crocfingers Studio in London.  It’s a workflow that’s only possible via the Internet, and the result of this close collaboration produced a sonically and lyrically stunning album.

But there were some bumps along the way.  “I’d originally recorded the demo for 'The Teacher' with just a vocal track this hip-hop beat.  I sent it to Phil, and he was distracted by the beat and he didn’t really find it interesting- so we had a hard time figuring that one out. Once we stripped that horrible beat out, it made more sense.”  The result is one of the more haunting and minimalist, yet powerful, tracks on the album.  The punk/hardcore version of 'IIsa Moor' proved to be another challenge, “It just didn’t fit. We almost left it off.” That was one of several moments during the conversation that my jaw dropped- because 'IIsa Moor' is a killer track.

For some one so creative and prolific, I had to ask: So, what’s next for John MOuse?

“I think the John MOuse music project has run its course, that’s why I called the album The Death of John MOuse.  I wasn’t kidding.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

“As a follow up, I’m working on a book tentatively called John MOuse and the Mountain Kingdom. It’s a fictional account of a guy that runs a music venue.”  By a guy that happens to run a music venue.

The struggles that all independent musicians face apply to Davies as well.  But he’s both adaptable and a mature realist. “No one really gives a shit.  I played Green Man in 2011, and playing it this year.  The album has had multiple plays on BBC6.  But at the end of the day, music is still an industry that’s hard to penetrate.  You have to deal with bookers, and pluggers, and hope you get radio play.”  There was no anger or attitude in his voice, Davies was just being honest and realistic. Beyond the Green Man festival this weekend, he has no plans, at the moment, to tour in order to  promote the album.  He’s thinking about writing and doing more spoken-word focused performances and recordings.

Because no one gives a shit.

Luckily enough for Davies, he’s a talented fellow.  And while John MOuse, as a character, might soon retire- it’s quite likely that Davies will at some point create a new musical guise (or maybe several).  In the meantime, the real guy, John Davies, is managing a music venue, writing a novel, and collecting new lines for song and prose. Then there’s the documentary.

Rehearsal for the Green Man Festival. Photo by Craig Chapman.

It seems that at some point along the way, Davies found himself working for a charity in the tiny nation of Lesotho, creating youth football leagues and fundraising.  The country and the culture left a distinct impression on him. So much that he’s made tentative plans to go there in February with Pearce and a videographer. “It’s amazing, they literally take junk and make instruments from it. And the music is incredible.  There is nothing like that.  I need to document that.”

Remember when I told you that John Davies is a smart fellow?  He’s way smarter than John MOuse.

John MOuse will be playing the Green Man Festival on Friday.  If you dig the album, or haven’t even heard it yet- go and see him. It might be your last best chance (for now)

On of the finer releases this year (in another very fine year, we would like to add) has been the remarkable début album from BIRD. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, it is a set of songs which begs to listened to over and over again as it reveals it's nuances. Taking in folk, electronica and goth the influences are hidden deep within the surface creating an album which sounds truly original. Adding to the mystique is a rather unsearchable name on Google with BIRD and so in an effort to find out more about this band Echoes and Dust caught up with Adele Emmas to ask her a few questions.

(((o))): Can you tell me a bit of history about the band, how you all met, previous bands, influences etc?

Lex (drums) and I have been friends for years and had been in previous bands together growing up, we decided to start BIRD after I'd been demoing some stuff and we thought the songs had potential. Sian was first to join after answering a Facebook post that'd I'd put up advertising for a guitarist, she came along for a practice and we just hit it off right away. In terms of influences, the type of sound we were going for and what we were trying to create, it just came really naturally to us without the need to explain anything. Lex, Sian and I crafted BIRD for while before we realised that we needed an extra pair of hands and that the music we were playing was only taking us so far, so we met Christian (bass/synth) through a friend and he's been a great asset to the band ever since. I think for the past year, since it's been the four of us things have really gone from strength to strength.

(((o))): It's been a rather hectic year for you with praise coming from all over. Has this affected you as a band, how do you feel about all this and has it changed you in any way?

It's great to hear the positive things people have been saying about us and the album and that's why you do it I guess, you do it because of a need within yourself but also because you want to make people feel something and to relate to your music. Knowing that there's people out there enjoying what you've created really spurs you on and makes you realise that there's actually something to work for. If the praise continues then that's amazing but I'd hope we'd always stay grounded and never change as a result of that.

(((o))): Let's talk about the album. How did you hit upon the sound you have?

We were in the studio for about 8 months in total, at first we went in with a pre-decided track listing and started recording, but then a few songs in we stopped and realised the direction that it was going in wasn't right and didn't feel natural to us. It was a question of 'Shall we put songs on the album which are more accessible and may appeal to more people? Or shall we put the songs on there that may be more left field but they're what we love and what we feel is right?' So we went with the latter and ended up scrapping the first few songs and started all over again. I think it's quite an intense and emotional album and perhaps we were a bit dubious about letting all of that out there but we did and we're glad of it.

(((o))): What were the primary influences whilst writing and recording, did you jam together or bring something to the table, so to speak?

I'll usually write or demo stuff at home and then go in to the practice room with a hook or a full song and we'll all build on it from there. Every person in the band is mandatory and each brings their own special, integral thing to the table. The primary influences were a mixture of things, a lot of it was about personal life experience but put across in more of a vague, dream like way. The running theme throughout the album is about the yin and yang of life, the darkness and light of things.

(((o))): There's a very organic sound to the album which is strange considering how much electronica is actually on there. How do you straddle that line between the organic and the electronic without succumbing to that awfully named genre folktronica?

It's a difficult one, it's taken us a long time to get away from the 'folk' label because our early stuff was very stripped back and just involved an acoustic guitar and drums, we didn't even know how to use pedals back then! And we were pretty inexperienced, just trying to find our way in the dark a bit. But our stuff is so different now and anyone that comes to see us live soon realises that we're not the delicate band that we used to be. When putting us in to a genre people usually use the world 'ethereal' because there is that quality to it but I don't think anyone really knows what genre to put us in!

(((o))): We must talk about the lyrics, they are an integral part of the BIRD sound. Where does the inspiration for them come from? Do you write the lyrics and then put them to music or does it work the other way around?

It can go either way really, sometimes the lyrics and melody will come first or it can be the other way round with instrumentation first and words secondary. I always carry a notebook around with me just in case I think of some lyrics on the go and need to get them down, or I'll even be walking down the road singing a melody in to my phone or something! But when writing a song it's played out in a very visual way in my head, almost like a film real and there'll be a setting, location, characters and everything, I think that's why our music can create quite a lot of imagery, I'd like to think the lyrics help with that

(((o))): The lyrics seem to delve into a dark heart sometimes, 'Bullet' springs to mind as being one of the darkest and interestingly one soaked in the blues. Is the darkness where you like to dwell or do you look for the light too?

It isn't a conscious decision to write dark lyrics or to dwell too much on that side of things but I guess that's just what comes naturally when writing. Of course light is important too but I don't think I'll ever be a person that writes about how happy and fantastic everything may be, even if it is, I guess we just find the melancholy of music much more interesting!

(((o))): Nature seems to be an important part too with trees, mountains and rain all getting a mention. Coming from Liverpool where does this yearning for nature come from?

I think being by the sea and in the country is a really important thing as it's good for the soul. I spent summers sailing as a kid so spent a lot of time by the sea which I think has really leaked through in to the music, there's something about the open air and water which just gives you a massive sense of clarity and good head-space to think. But nature has always been a big component in my life and in writing, this natural beauty that's all around us, man made things don't seem to have the same effect!

(((o))): Are there songs you don't feel brave enough to release just yet? What are the plans for the next album or is it a case of enjoying the ride for the time being?

I think most songs that go out there can make you feel a bit uneasy at times, songs are very personal things about your life and things you've been through so it's almost like you're giving a bit of yourself away for everyone to see, but I find it to be quite a positive and cathartic process.

In terms of the new album we've got a few ideas and bits of songs here and there, but at the moment it's just about trying to gather your experiences and figuring out what it is you want to say next. We wouldn't want there to be too much time before the next album is out though as we like to keep ourselves busy! But we've a feeling the next ones going to be quite different.

(((o))): Your music is very cinematic at times, what are your favourite film soundtracks?

Ooh this is a great question as I love soundtracks! It'd be - The Hours OST by Philip Glass, The Fountain OST by Clint Mansell and The Proposition OST by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, The Virgin Suicides OST by Air and Yo La Tengo did a compilation soundtrack called They Shoot, We Score which is always good to sleep to! The Donnie Darko soundtrack is pretty cool too.

(((o))): As it's festival season and you're hitting a fair few, if you could curate one who would you have playing?

We'd have Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Leonard Cohen, Kate Bush, Bat For Lashes, Warpaint, The Cocteau Twins, The War On Drugs, The Beta Band, John Maus, Slowdive, The Cure, Angel Olsen, Savages, Portishead, PJ Harvey and then we'd get a load of our mates from various other bands around the UK and Liverpool to come and play and have a big party too! Reckon they'll all be up for it? I'd definitely buy a ticket …

(((o))): and finally...what is your favourite biscuit? (that's the Smash Hits question)

Got to be hobnobs, they're lethal

(((o))): ….plus any message you would like to leave our readers at Echoes and Dust

Create something! 

So there we have it, some of the mysteries of BIRD revealed. Intriguingly there are more questions raised which adds to the, yes we may as well say it, ethereal nature of the band. My Fear and Me stands alone as an album of such gravitational power that we only have to wonder where they will head next. For want of a metaphor we can safely assume that BIRD have taken flight and the horizon is now their ultimate goal.

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

75!

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

Well, we’ll have just released our new album (out on 18th August) so you can expect a lot of tracks from that. Terry’s managed to write some parts that are quite hard to play and dance to at the same time, so he’s been practising his co-ordination. We’ve also been thinking very hard about which band t-shirts to wear, and auditioning complete strangers to provide the between-song banter as it’s something we’re all pretty terrible at!

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

I (Hannah) went last year and quite simply it was the best thing ever. The whole thing was one huge highlight, but if I really had to select a few standout moments: Charlie Barnes playing the PX3 tent, ASIWYFA doing what they do oh so well, 65daysofstatic, Team Echoes & Dust, Chilli tequila, disposable cameras and sunshine.!

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

MONO. For the love of God, MONO. Although Jay is flying to America on Sunday and, heartbreakingly, may have to miss them. Terry’s looking forward to seeing iLikeTrains for the 800th time. A chance to view Joe in his natural habitat is always fun. Local beer (Is there local beer?). Cleft, Russian Circles, Monsters Build Mean Robots, Alpha Male Tea Party, Theo, Charlie Barnes, ASIWYFA. Everyone and everything, essentially!

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

I’d absolutely love to see Vessels play again. Terry says he’s not going unless Burt Bacharach headlines, but we hope he’s joking. Eugene Quell are definitely noisy enough and would go down a storm. Sigur Ros headlining, perhaps? That’d be pretty special.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.

Teeth of the Sea – Responder
New Order - World in Motion
Wham! - Club Tropicana
Arcade Fire – Haiti
Blues Brothers Medley

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

Our new album! And maybe autographed bananas (says Terry).

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

Oooooh, that’s a tough one. Four of us have Signals t-shirts after supporting them in Southampton recently, so I imagine at least one of them will make an appearance! Other ace t-shirts we’ve picked up recently include He Was Eaten By Owls, Bad Owl Promotions, Lost In The Riots, Sean McGowan & Alcopopalooza. Terry says he’ll likely wear his Strange Death Of Liberal England t-shirt. Adam only has 2 t-shirts, a red one (called “red”) and a blue t-shirt (called “blue”). I imagine Joe will be wearing his Cleft t-shirt at some point, but probably not while Cleft are playing as that would just be silly.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

Underneath the Echoes and Dust flag or in the queue for the bar. Essentially, wherever there’s ale and cider!

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

Good question! We’re currently in the process of sorting out transport, but we may well be using Tom Lattimer (recommended for any bands in the London area, he’s an awesome guy with a splitter van. But you can’t have him for ArcTanGent!). Our playlist? Probably all of the bands on the line-up on shuffle! Although we do listen to a lot of Flaming Lips, and once we’ve all fallen asleep in the van Jay tends to put on The National.

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

Roughly 9.4291ish

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

Our preparation has mainly involved stealing Monsters Build Mean Robots' singer, so you can expect a new face and some new instrumentation that we've been experimenting with.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

We couldn't make it but YouTube has been kind to us. 65 and Tall Ships looked great!

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

Apart from performing, seeing TWDY and MONO is always something to look forward to. Apart from that just exploring the festival and finally proving that Codes in the Clouds are the best 5-a-side football team in post rock.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

Mogwai to headline and Call To Mind to keep things pretty.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Pon Pon Pon.
Dr Hook - When You're in Love With a Beautiful Woman.
Rival Consoles - I Left The Party
Ben Kweller - Wasted & Ready
Tubelord - Night of the Pencils

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

We should have some new t-shirts in time for the festival and if you see us around the site we'll give you a free badge

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

By contractual obligation at least one of us will be sporting a Monsters Build Mean Robots t shirt. Other wardrobe staples: The Smiths, Lost in the Riots, Mice, The Shaking Sensations, The Walkmen and a lovely Take That hoody.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

It's always bumpin at the first aid tent! (But seriously, Jack does get a lot of nose bleeds.)

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

Joe feels uncomfortable looking our limo driver in the eye, so we never actually found out his name. As for the playlist:

Bernard Cribbins - Hole in the Ground,
Bernard Cribbins - Gossip Calypso,
Bernard Cribbins - Right Said Fred,
Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy,
The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio.

(((O))): Hi Chris, it's a pleasure to talk to you. How’s it going?

Chris:  I'm great, thanks. We are glad to be able to talk to you about our latest album.

(((O))): Before talking about it, can you give us a bit of a background? How long has the band been together and how did you all meet?

Chris: Before Collapse Under The Empire we all played in a couple of bands. It's more of a coincidence that we all met. We both moved to Hamburg because of a new job and had to leave our bands due to the distance. We did not like to be without a band so we both went looking for a studio project, founded Collapse Under The Empire and polished our sound ever since. We originally started the project to break out of the usual band mechanisms. That bought us a creative space we never experienced before. In a band with several band members we were very limited in our creativity and could hardly express ourselves.

When we first started, we didn't realize in which direction we wanted to go. But we soon noticed that singing stood in the way of our songs so that we lost the whole flow because the attention immediately went towards the signing instead of being focused on the music. As soon as we knew we worked better without singing it all happened very fast.

(((O))): Where did you get your name from and what does it mean?

Chris: When we decided to make instrumental music in 2008, like most bands we started looking for a band name with a message for several months. Until my girlfriend brought the sweet name „Cute“ into play. We thought the name didn't fit a post rock band. However we both always liked double meanings and started looking for a band name that would fit the abbreviation C.U.T.E. In times of the world wide economic crisis we soon came up with our band name. We made a rather hard band name out of a sweet title. Kind of funny. People started interpreting many things into the name. It definitely states that something is at the brink of the abyss and is supposed to be some kind of premonition.

(((O))): Collapse Under The Empire have been among my favorite post rock bands for some time now. The thing that first struck me when I heard your music was just the perfect combination of electronic and post rock sounds together. What are some of the influences that shaped your sound?

Chris: Thanks for the compliment. We both use the music we grew up with and which helped us find new bands and inspirations for years. Of course you always try to do your own thing to differ from the other bands. That's very important for us: not to sound like a classical post rock band. Of course we are popular as a post rock band since we compose instrumental music but we try to push the boundaries as much as possible. Who knows; maybe we'll completely reinvent ourselves with the album. A dream of us would be to make a step equally as significant as “Talk Talk” with their last two albums. Even today you can draw your hat for this masterpiece. Maybe there is only a handful of bands that achieved to fulfill their perception of honest music.

(((O))): Your music is often classified as electronic post-rock. Do you agree with that? What do you think of genrefication?

Chris: Actually we never played classical post rock, we rather move between genres. Classical post rock normally consists of two guitars, bass and drums and provides the loud/soft break a la Mogwai as well as a song length beyond the 10minute mark. We never quite satisfied all these characteristics because our music is composed differently and we seldom go beyond the 6 minute mark. Even the typical loud/soft breaks are hard to find in our albums. However post rock is the genre we resemble most as we play instrumental music and function in a similar way regarding the melancholy and our melody construction. We see ourselves somewhere between film music, instrumental, rock, post rock, ambient, dark and electronic music. This represents the average listener who often tag us on platforms like Lastfm or Spotify with these key words.

(((O))): Your last work, Sacrifice & Isolation, can be considered your darkest album to date, full of dramatic and unsettling sounds. It is also your most experimental work. Its first part combines electronic and post rock sound; the second part is definitely heavier. How would you say the new album fits in with your overall sound?

Chris: You could say that we refined our sound with our last 5 albums and 4 EPs and tried not to repeat ourselves. This gets harder the longer you are making music. Our albums and EPs often create a threatening and dark atmosphere but when you listen carefully you can find tracks that are optimistic and almost have a pop character to them as well. That's not the case when it comes to our latest album Sacrifice & Islolation but even there it gets a little more hopeful at the end. The preference for the dark is surely a product of our listening habits we cultivated over the years.

(((O))): Can you describe the writing and recording process for Sacrifice & Isolation?

Chris: The second part Sacrifice & Isolation was originally planned to be released one year after the first part. But we realized that we weren't ready yet to dive into the darkest parts of our story. Many tracks we composed after S&G just weren't dark enough to conclude the second part. But we are glad we took our time with it and have released our most successful album Fragments of Prayer as well as the EP The Silent Cry in the meantime.

Composing and fiddling about with new sounds is almost always done together. Martin is playing all of the stringed instruments while I take on the keyboard instruments as well as the drums. Martin is in charge of everything concerning the recordings, mix and mastering. I took over the management and promotional side of our work.

(((O))): Do you have any favorite songs from the new album?

Chris: On every one of our albums are a couple of favorites we are especially proud of and are glad that we came up with it during the composition. 'Cause even today nothing is composed when we are recording in our studio. Many parts come up spontaneously and you never know how one of our tracks is going to unfold. Our current single 'Stairs to the Redemption' is a good example. The track started out as a purely ambient until the conclusion turned out as one of our hardest and rawest works. That was never planned and happened purely coincidentally. When we listened to the guitar recording after the first session we were really stunned what came out of the speakers and decided to leave it as it was.

(((O))): Shoulder & Giants and Sacrifice & Isolation, the two-part concept album, deal with the themes of human existence, freedom, isolation and death. How come you had the feeling to write music about these strong themes?

Chris: The movie Into the wild by Sean Penn inspired us to compose this conceptual work. We wanted to convey who we are and what me make of our lives. Our goal was to express these emotions musically. It is about using ones lives for ones ideals and to fight for it.

We wanted to create something big consisting of two parts. So we had the idea to use this theme in a new concept. We wanted to build the first part Shoulders & Giants a little more hopeful and euphoric in order to unfold the dark side of the story in the second part. I think that went pretty well with Sacrifice & Isolation. It was supposed to be an album that does not become accessible too easily and where you need a little endurance to stomach the clunky sounds in some of the tracks. The concept is open to interpretation. That's exactly what we were trying to achieve to help every listener find his own story.

(((O))): Thinking about Sacrifice & Isolation, Shoulder & Giants and The Silent Cry EP, that are all connected, what if I ask you to pick a song for each of the theme of human existence, freedom, isolation and death? And why you choose them?

Chris: This question is hard to answer 'cause it's conceptional work and the tracks are interconnected like some kind of story. We wanted to take the audience on a journey where each listener can find his own interpretation.

(((O))): I see.... 'Light In The Distance' is the example of that electronic post-rock that distinguishes your style. What do you do to create that particular sound?

Chris: We like to work with analogue synthesizers we place between the guitars and the drums. They provide a good substance and fill the whole track. 'Light In The Distance' is a very electronical track with slight dub step nuances.

(((O))): To present Sacrifice & Isolation you released the 'Stairs To The Redemption' with an accompanying video directed by London-based Dan Tassell that gives the perfect images to the music. How important is the combination of music and video representation?

Chris: People often say our music sounds like the soundtrack of a movie; mainly because we completely abstain from using any vocals. That's why the connection to the motion picture is very important to us. Music videos are our first priority. With every release we try to publish at least one video. This is the second time we work with Daniel Tassell. He was the director of the 'Disclosure', a song of the album Shoulders & Giants.

(((O))): I appreciate the fact that for downloading the track 'Lost' via Bandcamp, all the profits go 100% towards the organization Rainforest Rescue. This is the way you choose to support that organization in its continuous work of preserving the rain-forest and saving the animals, plants and people living there. How did you come to this idea? Are you going to do that again?

Chris: The idea started to form in our minds after we became aware of the theme in a documentary. We started our first charity event at which we fought against the pointless slaughter of sharks three years ago. To us these campaigns are part of the life as a musician. It's a great feeling when you manage to reach some of the fans who are made aware of the topic or maybe even donate for a good cause.

(((O))): Who are your favorite musicians? Would you want to collaborate with any of them in the future?

Chris: We love to listen to independent rock, post rock and synthpop bands. We especially like the cooperation with other artists 'cause their influence makes you come up with new ideas and styles. The result often sounds completely different. We already worked with the Russian post rock band Mooncake and published a split EP with a music video. We composed the track 'Black Moon Empire' together. Our next plan is the collaboration with successful movie composers.

(((O))): Any bands/albums out right now that you guys are really digging that we need to know about?

Chris: Yesterday we watched the live concert of The Naked & Famous  and were really impressed by their performance. The band is just awesome! Many tracks truly rock and really take off. It's a great mixture of synthesizers, guitars, solid drums and an incredible vocalist.

(((O))): What are your plans for the near future?

Chris: We are going to expand our record label Finaltune Records  and concentrate on the production of movie/TV and game music. We already work with 8 professional composers. We're just starting but we already have successful partners to cooperate with who will make it easier for us to set foot in the movie soundtrack business.

(((O))): Thanks for talking to us and good luck with your projects!

As soon as we'd had a bit of a play with the Musicjelly mixing player we knew this was something very cool but also something that a lot of time, effort and energy had been put in to. We were so impressed with the idea that we were desperate to know more so we spoke to the team behind the project; Zahara and Ben.

(((o))): Can you give us a bit of background on yourselves & how did you start working together? Is Musicjelly the first project you've done together or the culmination of a longer relationship?

We met at The Premises Studios in Hackney Road a few years ago, Ben & Tom (Repairman) had a large studio on the top floor where they were producing their songs. Repairman had released with Fierce Panda and just as they were getting calls from record labels to sign for an album the band dissolved. This knocked out Ben for a while but we started to collaborate on different songs, trials of personal projects. At the time there was a lot of discussion about the increased difficulties for independent artists to be signed and we were just enjoying the process of writing and jamming without any aims. When we formed a band together all those discussions took us to think we could explore releasing using video as a medium and released the first The Nyco Project EP (The New Machine) as an interactive app with the support of the Arts Council last year. Over the 3 years we kept working on the concept, it evolved into something we thought could be interesting not just for us but for many other artists and this is how Musicjelly started taking shape.

We work with Will Marsh and Andrés Pachón who started helping us build the installation two years ago- both very talented sound engineers who don’t fear getting their hands dirty with programming, recording artists, mixing or building a screen from scratch, or any other challenge that Musicjellly brings upon us (and there are many!). Sean Henry brings in his knowledge on app coding, and online Simon Riley helped us build the player, Tim Williams the library and we are at the moment working with Tom Szirtes, a brilliant programmer and DJ.

(((o))): Without giving too much away, can you tell us something about how the technology works?

We record artists performing an improvisation in the same key and tempo, turn them into audiovisual loops and sync them so that the multiple videos play back together in time as they are triggered by the audience. People can select different loops and mix & match them to create their own musical compositions at the same time that they discover the artists, instruments and locations where the improvisation was recorded.

(((o))): Where have you sourced the samples from? Has it taken a long time to put together & are you planning to keep adding to the libraries?

For the last three years we have been recording artists everywhere we go, always carrying a bag with the recording equipment, this includes festivals, undergrounds, streets, canals, halls, fields, art schools, parks, gardens, flats and anywhere else. For the inTRANSIT festival we're filming artists across Kensington & Chelsea borough to create an installation, online palettes and app that showcases its musical community and iconic locations. In the last two weeks we have been recording great musicians and spoken word artists at places like Sarm Studios (including Bob Marley’s old flat at the top) thanks to the kind help of Aaron Horn and colleagues, at the 606 jazz club with the support of owner Steve Rubie, Mau Mau and the Tabernacle at Portobello, Portobello road, the Troubadour, Cadogan Hall, the KPH in Ladbroke Grove run by Vince Powers (Hop Farm, Benicassim festivals), Sloane Square, Westbourne Green, Wormwood Scrubs…

It’s all quite intense work, recording and editing video and audio, adding all the loops into the different libraries, including the artist's biogs and links to their websites, preparing the installation productions… And it’s not many of us. We have now released a Musicjelly Recorder which we hope will help us with the process by enabling anyone to contribute with their own loops. The uploading process still needs to be automated but the recorder is the first step to multiply Musicjelly's possibilities without us having to trail the road and edit for months!

We’re also working on making it possible to have online access to the extensive library we have built so that people can create their own palettes online, modify volume and left/right panning and also collaborate remotely, have a personal profile to save the compositions and loops and a few other things.

Musicjelly showreel from Musicjelly on Vimeo.

(((o))): It's a lot of fun to play with online, how is it going to work for the 'live' installations?

The palettes of loops both online and in the JellyMix app are more limited due to technology constraints, in the installation the options multiply thanks to a powerful set up that enables us to include many more variables. We place four touch-screens in front of the canvas where the visuals are projected, the touch-screens are the launch-pads of the audio-visual loops and they feature all the thumbnails of the musicians available on the system. To trigger a loop and the visuals of its original take, you just have to touch on a thumbnail, and tap on it again to stop it. When triggered, the loops always synchronise with everything else and will wait for the right bar to come in, as well as they will also leave in time, it’s very neat. They are organised in categories/channels and like in our player online you can add to the composition by choosing loops from different channels, or replace a loop with another within the same channel. The size of the projections depends on the space, we have projected the artists on Igloo’s 360º domes, on walls and also screens of all sizes. At the Barbican we set up a 6m screen, it looked amazing.

(((o))): If you'd have known at the beginning what a huge project this was going to turn in to, would you have done anything differently?

As with all new ideas we would have liked to avoid many steps along the line, test failures, hours of research, emails and huge unnecessary costs on dead-end experiments. We had never done this before, there weren't references to learn from as it was a very innovative idea. If we explained it to people they just looked puzzled, the only way to help people understand was by showing them, so test and failure was necessary to get there. We lost our way at one point and got stuck on a complex idea we couldn’t create...

Everywhere we looked said that what we wanted to do was impossible online, but we found workarounds and the way we did it made it actually great to play with. For sure with the right knowledge we would have worked faster. We would have also worked faster with appropriate funding, but could have also made a lot more expensive mistakes! Things are the way they are - we might have ended up doing things the way someone else wanted us to do them, instead we found people who supported us because they believed in what we were doing, this has really helped us keep on moving forward.

And we still rehearse with our band and have launched an interactive music video EP (The New Machine) that also integrated these ideas.

(((o))): Imogen Heap is very much at the forefront of interactive music technology at the moment and she's picked you guys to take part in the Interactive Sonic Playground next month. Is that something you're looking forward to?

Very much! We share Imogen’s passion for experimentation and being asked to be at the Roundhouse is a big deal! We also really like the name chosen for the scene we’ll be part of, the "Interactive Sonic Playground”, really fits with the personality of our project - It's pretty avant-garde to put up such thing in a contemporary classical music festival.

(((o))): Do you have future plans for Musicjelly beyond the installations you are doing and any plans for what comes after?

We want to make Musicjelly a playing and collaborative platform, that’s why we’ve released the Musicjelly Recorder. The extended library and personal dashboards will be accessible soon, and with that the possibilities to create with others will open up.

For inTRANSIT we will release a new app with the loops we have collected over the last two weeks and this autumn we’ll also release the second series of interactive music videos by The Nyco Project The New Machine II.

(((o))): Thanks for your time guys, we are looking forward to seeing it in action.

Musicjelly will be appearing at three locations over the next few months and we recommend you check them out if you can.

inTRANSIT Festival - 18th–27th July - Kensington & Chelsea

Reverb Festival - 21st–24th August - Curated by Imogen Heap at The Roundhouse, Camden

Music Tech Fest - 5th–7th September - London

I'm very happy to introduce He Whose Ox is Gored, a band that plays amazing heavy music defined "Doomgaze". Start listening to the Nightshade EP with its a mix of sludge, doom, post-hardcore, post-metal and post-rock that will easily blow your mind. We had the opportunity to talk to Brian Mclelland about their music and their project. He also talked about the band's tour dates and, if these guys from Seattle ever come through your town, get ready, be aware and join in: you will be blown away by the powers of this band. Or face the consequences of being left not knowing what hit you...

(((o))): Hi guys, many thanks for taking time out to speak with us. So, first and foremost, who are He Whose Ox Is Gored and what are your musical backgrounds?

BM: OX is Lisa Mungo (synth, vocals), Brian McClelland (guitar, vocals), Mike Sparks (bass), and John O'Connell (drums).

(((o))): Where are you at the moment?

BM: In a warehouse, in the bowels of Amazon territory, a district known as Crane Forest. New Seattle.

(((o))): How did the band come together?

BM: Lisa and I started the band about five years ago and went through numerous lineups before joining with Mike and John. John had played with us on a few previous releases, (OPAMPS II & the split with InAeona) and he and Mike had been in a band called By Sunlight for years together. When it came time to work on our new material, we decided we needed to step it up, and they joined officially.

(((o))): Did your local scene impact you as a band?

BM: Definitely. Seattle has an awesome scene, that's why we all came here. There are so many bands that are working their asses off right now. Bands like Haunted Horses, Theories, Serial Hawk, Noise-a-tron, Sandrider, Ancient Warlocks, Constant Lovers are all coming out with great records and putting on killer shows in town and on tour.

(((o))): So, what are some of your musical (and other) influences?

BM: We're into tons of stuff. As a band, it's easy to look at a list of bands that have a few songs that you like, but it's different to say what actually influences you when it comes time to make something. We're into soundtracks quite a bit. Right now, I'm very into ambient loops. Textures that repeat and clean the slate, you know? We're so conditioned with social media to be inundated with content so frequently that we forget what silence is like. There's a machine at my job that makes a quiet hum when no one's around. I enjoy that very much.

(((o))): It sounds interesting!  How did you come up with your band name? I'm very curious about that.

BM: The Wolfduggler brought us to it. He came to show us the way.

(((o))): Nightshade EP is the first thing I heard from you and after discovering that EP I spent a whole weekend diving into your music: Cairo, OP AMPS II: Into the Ethers…in practice I explored everything is on your bandcamp page. What I really appreciate is the fact that you always push the envelope creating a sound that crosses every boundary from sludge to post-rock to progressive rock. How would you describe your music? What image do you think your music conveys?

BM: Thanks, man. We appreciate that. Most of the time, people hear the name and think we're a metal band. It's definitely loud as shit, but we usually say it's heavy. One of our friends coined the term "Doomgaze" a while back. I like that one. As far as the image the music conveys, I guess that would depend who's listening. I used to see alot of dark greys and black, but that's just what you get from looking at our setup sometimes. I think the new record has a lot more color and texture to it than anything we've done previously.

(((o))): I read that you are going to release some brand new tracks under the title Rumours through the label Bleeding Light Records later this year. How did you land on to Bleeding Light?

BM: That's right. We actually met Paul from Bleeding Light over Twitter last year. Which seems funny to me, but that's what social media does, it just connects people. We were finishing up our record when he reached out to us. There was the full length that we were working on, but there was another batch of songs that we wanted to release as well. He ended up picking us up to put those songs out for the Rumours 7". Then we went to the beach and ate tacos and got matching tattoos.

(((o))): If I’m not wrong, Rumours is going to be released in a 7" vinyl format. The focus of the music industry for a long time has always been on digital but the last sales figures show really encouraging trends for vinyl. What do you think about that? Which is your favorite format?

BM: Yeah, it's great. I love vinyl. If you follow our instagram (hewhoseoxisgored), a bunch of it is us nerding out on records, haha. I'm so glad to be done with CDs. Digital is great, but it can be so tiring sifting through mountains of records that bands are recording in their bedrooms to be released into infinity. Vinyl is a great way to connect back to the actual art. You have to sit down, pay attention, and drop the needle. It's a welcomed reminder of why we all do this.

(((o))): What do you think is the most difficult challenge facing new bands starting out in the music industry today?

BM: Just being a band. That shit is hard enough. In a lot of ways, bands have it easier than they ever have before. We can go online and book a show in a city we've never been to with bands that we've never met, and go there, and it could be great. But, in order to do that, we have to have jobs that pay our bills and let us take time off when we want to tour. We have to have a vehicle that runs well enough to not throw us into bankruptcy in case of a failure, and we have to have friends that trust us enough to do all of that. That's all a process. I've spent fifteen years learning how to do those things right, and I'm still learning.

(((o))): You are touring on August to promote the Nightshade EP. What can people expect to see at your live performance?

BM: Yeah, we're touring on a couple things. We released the Nightshade EP on vinyl recently through Caffe Vita, and a tape comp of the OPAMPS II/Nightshade EPs hit Europe through our friends at Breathe Plastic. The Rumors 7" will be coming out in the fall on Bleeding Light Records, and we're still sitting on our full-length. We're trying to play something from every release on this tour, which is something we haven't done in a while. Some stuff we do differently in the studio, but live is all about blasting.

(((o))): The Camel, The Lion, The Child is your forthcoming full length album. I heard two tracks from it and they are really powerful – 'Oathbreaker' conquered me immediately. Tell us a little bit about it. Is there a concept behind the album?

BM: Thanks, man. The album is about self-actualization. It's been a process for us to get to this point as a band. It would be easy to write a few riffs, and put out something stoney, but we wanted to try things we've never done before. Each track has it's own meaning, but they all tie into a bigger theme about becoming something else.

(((o))): Will it be released on vinyl too? (I’m addicted to music on vinyl..I think it’s pretty clear now).

BM: I hope so, haha. We're still working on finding a home for it. I'm still finishing some of the artwork for it, and I can't wait to see that album on wax.

(((o))): Thank you guys for taking the time to talk to us. Is there anything you'd like to add?

BM: Thank you for having us. Come say hi at a show, we'll be slumped over unconscious at the merch booth.

August Tour Dates:

8/5 Portland, OR @ East End w/ Muscle & Marrow and Chasma
8/6 San Francisco, CA @ SUBMission w/ Glaciers and Roland
8/7 Oakland, CA @ Eli's w/ Hellbeard, Glaciers, and Druid
8/8 Los Angeles, CA @ Complex w/ Lightsystem, Glaare, and The Black Mare
8/9 San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar w/ Deep Sea Thunder Beast and Bhorelord
8/10 Tuscon, AZ @ The District w/ Ocean Void
8/12 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar w/ Bath House and Icelous
8/13 Denver, CO @ Bar Bar w/ Abrams
8/14 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Shred Shed w/ Stoic
8/15 Boise, ID @ The Shredder w/ Obstructed by the Sun and Swamp Shrine
8/16 Missoula, MT @ (Confirming Venue)
8/17 Spokane, WA @ Mootsie's w/ Losing Skin and Rot Monger

Earlier this year French band Colossus of Destiny released their latest EP In Lesser Brightness, which Rob Thompson reviewed, writing “From this EP it’s clear the group have the songwriting capabilities to progress in any direction they choose and I can easily see fans of Mastodon and other bigger groups appreciating the sounds on offer.” Rob asked guitarist Julien a few questions to find out more.

(((o))): Tell me about how Colossus of Destiny started, what is the history of the band?

Julien: We started in 2009 when Jeremy and I were playing in the same hard-rock band and a year since we quit that band we wanted to do something different from what we were doing before, so we started rehearsing together. And that was the perfect match.

Since then we released 2 EPs and a short album In Lesser Brightness.

(((o))): How would you describe the band’s music to someone who hasn’t listened to you before; I detected multiple influences in your latest release, so is there any one sound or genre you're aiming at specifically?

Julien: The word we frequently see to describe our music is "Sludgecore", so I guess we play "Sludgecore". But yes, we had listened to a lot of sludge from Crowbar to Acid Bath, other bands less sludgy, like Unsane then some more sludgy, like Mastodon, Baroness and Kylesa, (the big three!!!), besides some thrash music and heavy metal bands.

I think that all this leads to what we are now.

(((o))): What are the tracks in your various releases that you think have had the most impact or perhaps you are the most satisfied with?

Julien: Impact? I really don't know. But I'm really proud of In Lesser Brightness in its entirety, all songs have a different mood, and I think that is very important on a record.

I really can't pick one, sorry.

(((o))): Let’s talk influences; what bands have helped to shape your sound or what has the greatest impact on the music you make?

Julien: We came to the studio with two options trying to go deep into a sludgy/filthy sound or something clean (but still distorted), so strangely we brought some Deftones records, and tried to go in that direction, which is now the best comparison for our music I think.

(((o))): What albums and groups are you listening to this year that you consider to be awesome?

Julien: Palms, the last Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and the last Crippled Black Phoenix.

(((o))): What most inspires you when you’re writing lyrics?

Julien: Every days life since we have simple lyrics, French and English literature as well.

(((o))): What is most satisfying about playing with this band?

Julien: The way that we really reach where we want to go in terms of music. We have no boundaries or what so ever, the absolute freedom of choice we have.

(((o))): And the future...where next?

Julien: We are working on new songs, so I guess we'll record something new in a few mouths.

(((o))): Finally, do you want to leave a message for our readers?

Julien: Yep, we have everything free to download on our Bandcamp page.

So do not hesitate to spread this news!!!

Tall Ships Upcoming Tour Dates

Tristan Lathey recently reviewed the new Vintersorg album Naturbål, which he described as "having a lot going for it. There is so much happening that it will surely excite the avid folk metal fan and maybe even inspire others to listen to this very unique and diverse style of metal." Tristan asked Mr V a couple of questions to find out more.

(((o))): So, how would you describe your new album Naturbål?

Mr V: Well, it’s always hard as we tend to blend a lot of different type of musical elements into the mix. But if you’re familiar with Vintersorg it’s a good start and this album is strongly connected to the last two albums music and lyric-wise. Still, Naturbål is leaning a bit more to the Scandinavian folk music that has been a good portion of the Vintersorg past. It’s maybe also a bit more straight forward and with a very epic touch. You have the big soundscapes but also small details along the way…very hard to actually put into words.

(((o))): This album embraces a lot of your previous styles but it seems to be more naturally flowing than previous albums. Do you feel like you are growing as a songwriter?

Mr V: I guess with every song and album written it makes me “better” as music has so many possibilities to explore, but also to take notice of while writing. I go by heart though and I’m useless when it comes to music theory… Ok, I know some of the tricks but for me it’s about the emotions, not the calculation. So, I think I’ve grown as a writer, composer, arranger, engineer, mixer and masterer of the music we record.

(((o))): Naturbål is the third instalment of your elements series which tackles 'Fire'. So next up is 'water'. Do you do a lot of research into your subjects?

Mr V: I do a lot of research about the subject to get everything correct but it all starts in my own reflection and experience about the stuff I write. Of course I can write about things that I want to experience and see with my own eyes and some part are like that. Often thought I have relation to it from a real event between Man and Nature…and with water I have so much to dig into.

(((o))): How much comes from personal experiences?

Mr V: As I said I most of the time have a personal reference to the thing I write about, it’s then a self-going-process and I don’t have to think that much. I just go by the emotional drive and the passion I have to put that stuff into words. It’s for me the same way as it is with the actual music, it’s about what lives inside “you” but “you’re” not aware of it, but of course you have to think as well.

(((o))): This album is sung entirely in Swedish. Previous albums have been in English but it has been a while since we have had an English sung release. Do you find Swedish fits your music and concepts better?

Mr V: It’s about to have the best of two worlds actually. In the other bands I’m involved with we write and sing in English and I love to do that. But when we did Vintersorg in English I somehow felt that something was missing in my artistry. So, I just tried to write some Swedish lyrics again and it was the ultimate thing. Now I have both sides of that creative “coin”. It’s simples as that and I still really enjoy the Vintersorg songs and albums we did in English but for the moment, at least, I just like to also write in my mother tongue.

(((o))): Do you think that your English releases have a different feeling behind them?

Mr V: I don’t know if it’s the language, but those albums are a spawn of a more progressive side of this band and therefore many people say that the English albums are different. Personally I think that it’s very much the music that makes them different and not just the linguistic approach. But when you add them together you get a different type of atmosphere I guess.

(((o))): Who has influenced you as a musician?

Mr V: It’s a bit hard to really tell as I try not to take too much influence from other bands, but as I kid I guess I was influenced by a lot of the heavy metal bands of the 80’s along with the symphonic rock band of the 70’s, as well as a lot of folk music.

(((o))): You've been 20 years in the business. How has the scene evolved since you started?

Mr V: I think a lot has happened, some good other the opposite. The good side of it all is that people can get in touch with music they are interested in on totally different scale as back then the whole internet-thing was not present. The downside is that people don’t buy that much albums anymore it seems. I know the metal heads are “better” of doing it than the ordinary guy but still it’s a very different situation. People can nowadays find their musical friends all over the world via forums, Facebook and so on and that’s just perfect. It’s also a much more open minded metal scene now compared to 1994, then it was all about being “true” and that kind of stuff. I’ve always liked music with a lot of angles and contrast so I like the open minded climate that has grown forth since back then.

(((o))): Do you find yourselves playing to a different crowd nowadays?

Mr V: It’s hard to tell…I feel somehow that the audience are more passionate in a way now…as I get in touch with so many people through the social medias and they tell me what they feel about the music we create. I think you could say that people was very passionate back then as well as they could take an 10 hour drive to make it to a concert…and that may be a bit different now…still I get much more direct feedback now.

(((o))): If you were describing your music to someone new to the genre, how would you describe it?

Mr V: That’s the thousand dollar question. It’s a mix of metal, folk music, rock, progressive and symphonic rock and so on…the list is quite long. Still, I think that Vintersorg has a unique sound and we’re just going to explore new sides of our foundation.

(((o))): What are your plans for the future?

Mr V: I’m writing new music on a daily basis here and the plan is to record it on the same daily basis. So, we’ll just continue and hope we can make another twenty years.

(((o))): Do you plan to tour the new album?

Mr V: We’re not a live act at this point in time due to the fact that we’re only two guys, our job-situation, family and so on.

An advantage of not having a contractual obligation to release an album is that you can take your time. That can also be a disadvantage, having to rely on all sorts of discipline and self-control. Luckily the gap seems to have worked well for Sydney’s sleepmakeswaves and their sophomore album love of cartography, providing space to focus on touring both on home soil and the other side of the world, continuing to find new fans over the three years since their first album …and then we destroyed everything.

The band turned to crowd funding five odd months ago and sought $25,000, prompting a few responses like; “I doubt they'll ever get near this. they may get like 5 or 6 grand.” and “I think this is the most I've seen a small-genre band ask for in one of these. I'm all for crowdfunding but I think it requires a lot of thought to do it effectively.”

I have to admit, it looked a bit brave to me, but everything I’ve seen so far from the band and their manager Mike Solo told me they knew what they were doing, and there was a lot of support:

 “I don't understand the negativity. This is a donation. Not an online store. ..you aren't buying them, you are donating so that the band you like can make their new album. Anything you get out of the process is a distant second to the actual purpose of the process. If you don't want to donate, then don't.

As for how much they are asking, I seriously doubt if any of that money is going into their pockets for living expenses or whatever. Studio time with a good producer can be upwards of $35000-40000 dollars. It looks like this is the direction they are planning on going based on what they are asking, but even if they reached their target, they're still going to have to put in a heap of their own money.

I applaud them for attempting something this grand, and I really just want to hear that record. The beauty of donating more than $10 is that you are basically pre-ordering it. I really hope they reach their target.” (u/sinat17)

I think that comment perfectly sums up the communities that thousands of smallish bands like sleepmakeswaves are a part of, and when I last talked to composer, bass player and laptopist Alex Wilson he explained how positive he believed the future is for music. As it happens they raised $30,061, and when I caught up with guitarist Otto Wicks-Green a couple of nights ago it was all hands on deck signing 200+ CDs and LPs. I suspect the last couple of dozen have a slight beer-induced wobble, but I’m willing to bet that Alex had a very efficient system in place.

In animal terms, Otto described the album as; “a robot cheetah. It has the speed and presence of a cheetah in that it is quite eye-catching and energetic and fast paced, but it also has an electronic element.”

Whatever animal it is, it’s a somewhat different beast to their previous recordings, and the change in pace is clear from the first listen. Gone are the violin and the more gradual sweeping crescendocore and although there’s still plenty of lightness and dynamics its energy levels are up a couple of notches. Otto explains what’s behind this new feel:

“I think a couple of things. When a new member joins the band it’s always going to change the dynamic and the songwriting focus because you play to their strengths. Tim (Adderly –drums) joined the band before we started writing this album and made a huge impact in terms of the kind of music we wanted to write, because he’s such a rock drummer – kind of a punk-rock drummer, and we wanted to write a record which - well we grew up listening to At the Drive-In and Rosetta and Isis and Converge and these sort of hardcore bands like that and so making a record with a grunge dude who loved Dave Grohl fan is like fuck yeah, let’s absolutely do this and let’s combine this with what sleepmakeswaves is and make something new.

“And so that’s one big part of it, and I think the second part is having done hundreds of shows around the world since the last album was released we realized just how much we loved playing live and we thought let’s write an album that we’re really going to enjoy playing live over and over again, that’s just kind of fast and upbeat and captures all we love about playing live.”

All this gives love of cartography a very live feel, capturing their performances in a way the debut album, with its very studio feel, doesn’t do.

“Yeah that’s exactly right and that was also because the actual process of recording was so different from anything we’ve done before. This was the first time we really had the intention, and it was part of our selection process and our decision to work with Nick Di Dia, apart from the odd Grammy he had won, was that he had a high focus in terms of recording and when we went to 301, all of the tracks and all of the bass lines and the drums, we were all in the same room for that, rocking out. We overdid some of the guitars but that vibe, all of us being there and just smashing out these songs really carries through.

“And Nick’s expertise, his technical brilliance in knowing exactly where to place that microphone around the drum kit and how to mic everything up, you know that matters and that influences what it sounds like and I think his brilliance is in picking up that energy we tried to create in the room.”

Another aspect that makes it feel more live is the sensation of being at the front of the room near the stage, being able to pinpoint Otto or Kid on guitar one minute then Alex on bass or Tim on drums the next. There’s a real spatial and immersive feel.

“There’s advantages with working with any different producer and I think the thing that was cool about working with Nick, and I remember talking with Alex about this, in terms of the mixing there was a lot that was really different. Previously I think in a lot of our mixes, and this isn’t at all a bad thing – it can be an excellent thing, but they were very balanced. Everything was symmetrical and it was perfectly formed across all of the space, whereas Nick would literally just take one guitar and put it over here and take another one and plant it over there, add drums and bass and electronics around somewhere else. There wasn’t this emphasis on keeping everything pristine. It was king of more kind of improvised and a lot more natural to some extent, and a lot more raw.

“And that’s exactly the way we wanted to create this album. So I’m talking to Alex and saying it’s a real shock to hear guitar panned so far left and right but it actually works because you can hear the whole thing. You can sit back and listen to the whole album before you start to hone in on each part and each channel that’s there, so yeah, it’s exciting to hear yourself and it’s also terrifying because you can hear your own parts so clearly.”

Some of the tracks have been played live a few times over the last year or so, which naturally has some impact on what ends up on the record.

“I think we only got to play four songs live before we recorded them, and those four were kind of finished in a sense. There were a lot of songs on the last album that we didn’t play live and then started playing subsequently, and with each time we played them it’s like evolution – you try subtle changes and one change works so you keep that change then you try something else. So after two years of playing a song live it actually changes a little as we get better as musicians. I don’t know if this is an instrumental rock thing but I think that it’s pronounced in our genre because each of us cares a lot about our craft and you’re not just backing a vocalist.

“So the song itself will change its form in a notable way and I think with the four songs, and you can guess which they were  we could step into the studio where we had been really performing them, we did these really intense rehearsals leading up to the recording because we knew we had this intention of recording it live and that means there’s no mistakes and you have to just nail it - you don’t get a huge amount of time to because we didn’t have a massive budget. We were lucky enough to raise enough money to get into the studio but there was enough to make the album and that was it. We didn’t have time to screw around so we really had to nail these songs.

“And then we get this offer to tour with Karnivool and Dead Letter Circus in January which was right before we stepped into the studio, and we couldn’t turn that down because it was such an amazing opportunity. So we had these intense rehearsals with the lead up to recording the album because we had to practice over and over and over again together and had to practice them at home individually.

“So the fact we didn’t get to play a lot of the songs live means there will be a few small changes but I think that’s also part of the fun of going to a sleepmakeswaves show that things are always a kittle bit different live that how they are recorded and we care enough to keep evolving them. I always feel like our records are just this snapshot. They capture something and then we roll on with them.”

Once it was finished, who did Otto play the end result to first?

“I played it to my housemates, in particular Ryan and Kym, who had been my mates since the very beginning wit this band, and Ryan’s always been a big fan of prog music – he showed me King Crimson and Disillusion and Isis and I showed it to them when I got the massively enormous files from the mastering desk and we sat on the floor in my room in Newtown and they listened to the whole record and they loved it, which was nice, but of course they would say that wouldn’t they?!”

So after all that, what bar or couple of bars from the whole album are those that Otto enjoys most, or gets the most excited about?

“Well there’s different levels of excited, but I guess the moment that moves me the most is on the very last track of the album, your time will come again, and it moves me for a number of reasons. One because the song is very close to my heart and I wrote it on my acoustic guitar and me and Alex worked on it to bring it out into something that was more sleepmakeswaves, and it’s special because we worked quite closely on that bringing the melodies and chords together.

“But also there was this moment during the recording, one of those really magical recording moments where Alex, Kid and I were all in the same room – this is in the beautiful 301 recording studios in Byron Bay – and me and Kid were playing guitars with amps in the other room and we were all quite physically near each other and it was just quite a special moment I think. It was very quiet in the room and Alex was playing his chords on that piano we were all king of in something and that’s what we ended up closing the record out and I’m really happy with how that turned out.”

Getting back to those performances with Karnivool, it was fascinating to see a first slot support band grab the attention and respect of such a big crowd here in Melbourne, and I heard more than a few people comment on how good the set was. In one way it’s not just getting some more fans but converting people to instrumental rock, which most punters have never seen live, let alone listened to recorded. What’s the plan to tap into that group of instrumental rock virgins?

“Yeah well it’s hard because we’re not one of the most commercially ready bands, but we’re lucky in a couple of ways, I mean we work with really good people like Mike. He’s really got a strategy for us, well I think – who knows with Mike, he’s a mysterious man – but he has this vision for us but also getting the chance to tag along with this really big established bands and play these amazing shows to Karnivool fans who are really open minded and quite numerous, which is really rare and that shows how amazing Karnivool are that they manage to be so successful while playing such cool and interesting stuff, and so we got to play to the perfect group of people in Australia. So I think it was quite a masterstroke getting us on that tour and we got to meet the Karnivool guys and become friends with them and Dead Letter Circus as well and there’s this really strong prog scene with really catchy melodies and really strong vocals. I wouldn’t have thought we could tag along and jump on board a tour like that but we did, and it went better than we expected, and we’re very grateful for that.”

Playing at dunk!festival gives the likes of sleepmakeswaves the chance to share the stage with many bands that are out there setting standards, and Otto talked about having to follow Tides From Nebula and thinking how hard they were going to have to work to keep up with a performance like that. But there’s some great instrumental rock talent here in Australia as well such as Solkyri and Dumbsaint, but Otto has a particular affection for Meniscus.

“Oh man, the first time I saw Meniscus was in the old Excelsior in Sydney– it’s not even a venue any more, it’s closed down, but I saw them in a room where there were around 30 or 50 people there, and to this day, that band is possibly the greatest band I’ve ever seen in my life, and Daniel Oreskovic remains the best guitarist I’ve ever met, like these guys are so, so good it’s unbelievable. Dan’s a combination of being incredibly passionate and clever as well as being an amazing performer. Incredibly talented and he influenced my guitar playing a lot and I have a lot to be grateful for with him. They’re actually looking for a new drummer right now and I’d urge any excellent drummer to apply.”

Sleepmakeswaves have just kicked off an Australian tour for the new album (weekends only in true Aussie style) and are being supported by the brilliant Breaking Orbit and Teal who both play great alternative/progressive rock, and of course the new record is out now.

Tour dates:

Sat July 5 @ Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW

Sun July 6 @ Rad Bar, Wollongong NSW

Sun July 13 @ Rad Bar, Wollongong NSW (no Teal)

Thu July 17 @ Coffs Hotel, Coffs Harbour NSW

Fri July 18 @ The Northern, Byron Bay NSW

Sat July 19 @ The Zoo, Brisbane QLD

Fri Aug 1 @ Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC

Sat Aug 2 @ ANU Bar, Canberra ACT

Fri Aug 8 @ Amplifier, Perth WA (no Teal)

Sat Aug 9 @ Jive, Adelaide SA (no Teal)

Sat Aug 16 @ Manning Bar, Sydney NSW

Even if you weren’t aware of it, chances are you’ve heard the drumming of Marco Minnemann. He was in the running for Mike Portnoy’s replacement in Dream Theater, and has provided his incredibly skilled drumming to many other projects – including Necrophagist, Ephel Duath, The Aristocrats (with Guthrie Govan and Bryan Beller), Steven Wilson, and Tony Levin and Jordan Rudess for last year’s instrumental highlight Levin Minnemann Rudess. But he is not only a drummer; also playing guitars, keyboards and vocals for his solo material. I sent some questions through to Marco Minnemann (currently touring with Joe Satriani) earlier this month to discuss his latest solo record EEPS, out July 9 through Lazy Bones Recordings.

(((o))): Although you are best known for your drumming, on your solo albums (including the upcoming EEPS) you tend to play all the instruments. Is there a particular reason the drums became the focus of your work?

Marco: Hmm, well I started playing drums as my first instrument to be featured in band work. So it sort of became the instrument a lot of people know me for, have heard me either on recordings or seen me live first. Even though I wrote and played other instruments as well on all my solo albums since 1994, the picture of me being a drummer somehow was prominent. And hey, I also do play drums on these albums, so it's ok I guess, hahaha.

(((o))): Looking at your intimidating touring schedule - playing with Steven Wilson, The Aristocrats and Joe Satriani - do you find yourself consistently writing while on the road, or is it only something that you do when on break from these bands?

Marco: Oh I make myself at home on the road and bring recording gear with me as well, so that I can translate my ideas. See, if the travels are arranged nicely, then it can be actually very comfortable and inspiring to travel.

With Joe for example we get driven straight to the show and then back to the hotel. So, there's a lot of time throughout the day.

(((o))): Following on from that, is there a method to how you distinguish between what becomes a Marco Minnemann solo piece and what becomes a song for The Aristocrats, or Levin Minnemann Rudess?

Marco: Yes. I purposely write pieces 'tailored' for each musical adventure. On my solo CDs I write with orchestration, also keys, strings or multiple layers of guitars/vocals.

With the Aristocrats I have to write for a trio, or write things that can be translated as a trio. Same goes for LMR, eventhough that one was designed to be a studio project in the first place, so there are no instrumentation it stylistic limits as well.

(((o))): The instrumental sections of the recently released track “OC/DC” are intense! You play only out of tune instruments, solely relying on their rhythmic placement for anything vaguely resembling a melody. It’s a great experiment! I understand other songs on the album were composed similarly; what gave you the idea to venture into this territory, and is it something you’re keen to do again?

Marco: Oh that idea sort of fell from the sky. I had this one riff in my head that I wanted to play with a detuned guitar. And then I thought, hmm...wait...what if I use that guitar on the whole song, and why don't I randomly detune all the other instruments for it, too, haha. The result sounded so weird and absurd, I just laughed and was very curious to see on how people would react as well. Sure enough, after posting the video which features the amazing work of Eeps co-producer Scott Schorr and his team, there were all kinds of reactions. Some thought it was genius and they've never heard anything like it, some thought it's the ugliest thing ever ;-). It seems difficult for some to absorb and accept material they can't compare of place in a certain box. But that was exactly what I wanted with that tune, or 'out of' tune, haha.

And yes, there are 3 more pieces on the Eeps album following a similar concept.

(((o))): Beyond these more experimental pieces, is there anything else you have tried to accomplish with this record that you’ve not done previously?

Marco: Very much! I worked with Scott Schorr, who also co-produced our LMR album. He has great ears and ideas, and embraces any kind of unusual stuff it seems and is up to no good, hahaha. It was almost like, the outer and weirder the pieces I delivered, the more he loved it. I mean, just look at the videos he came up with, right? I think we're a good team :-). We also arranged a few of the songs on the album together.

(((o))): Your last effort with producer Scott Schorr was on the excellent aforementioned Levin Minnemann Rudess. Looking back at your previous solo albums, they’re mostly mixed entirely by you. How do you feel having a co-producer influenced the music on EEPS?

Marco: Oh, I guess that one I answered on the previous question. But yes, it felt great having an additional pair of ears. After hearing your songs a lot during the writing/recording process, there's risk of sometimes losing perspective or objectivity a bit.

(((o))): For people who are first experiencing your solo work with EEPS, which other albums of yours would you recommend they check out?

Marco: All of them :-). Ok, well... Here are some of my favorites: 'Evil Smiles of Beauty', 'A mouth of god', 'Symbolic Fox' and maybe 'orchids' and 'housewifedogandtwokids'.

(((o))): So Marco, are there any other upcoming projects in the pipeline? Will you continue on with Steven Wilson now that he’s working on the follow-up to “The Raven Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)”?

Marco: Yes, we will be recording the new Steven Wilson album in September. Also, a new Aristocrats album in will be on the way soon.

(((o))): Now for a more selfish question – do you have any idea when you’re next going to tour Australia?

Marco: Oh yes. We will be in Australia most likely in November with Joe Satriani. And then with the Aristocrats in 2015.

Thanks so much for the good questions, hope you got something out of this 🙂

Thanks very much for your time and I can’t wait to hear the whole album!

We Have A Ghost is an exceptional band that produce music that seems to come from another world. The self-titled debut album is going to be released next July and we are already in love with its atmospheric, yet engaging, sonic landscape. To better know what's behind this record I tried to catch a Ghost and this what we talked about.

(((o))): Hey Ghost, many thanks for taking time out to speak with us. Where are you, and most importantly how are you?

Ghost: My pleasure. I’m good right now.

(((o))): I suppose there’s no use in asking you to reveal your identity, so I’ll just inquire about your decision in remaining anonymous. How would you describe your music to your friends? And do they even know you as We Have A Ghost?

Ghost: I’ve always had a hard time describing my sound. I say I’m an underground electronic band and I make electronic music. It’s not about me, it’s about the music. Truthfully, this is who I am, regardless of whether you know my name, where I’m from or what I look like. By paying attention to this music, you already know more about me than 90% of people who know me in everyday life. Most of my friends have met me through this while remaining anonymous.

(((o))): I read that you live in a real haunted house? Can you tell us something about it? And, what haunts you?

Ghost: I did while I was finishing up the album, yeah. It was a small room which was part of an old converted mansion. It looked like the set of the Addams Family or the Munsters but it was the real thing. There was a little girl (as I’ve been told) that hung out in the foyer. I think something happened to her there. On numerous occasions, I’d feel a presence from the corner of my eye - and always in the same spot. What haunts me is something else entirely and is related to the name.

(((o))): Can you give us a bit of a background? When did you first start writing and playing music and who or what influenced you to do so?

Ghost: 2001. I started working on the debut album in 2003 when I finally had the means of doing so through soft synths and DAWs. Most of what I was working with was modeled analog synths and sequencers, so I set out to replace my virtual gear with the real thing. I’m mostly self taught minus a few piano lessons as a kid and singing lessons in college. I come from a visual arts background. I have a BFA in art (painting/photography).

Oddly enough I made the decision to pursue a music career during a Chuck Close lecture for a printmaking class. He spent a year or two on a particular mezzotint, and sold them as both limited edition prints and lithographs. I learned that printmaking was the best and most affordable means of owning a one of a kind work of art. 'Fine Art for the People’ - accessible to everyone. I drew a parallel between print art and album art. As a formally trained multimedia artist with an interest in all aspects of art, I realized the album format was the perfect way to combine all aspects of art into one thing. I knew I could do the album art, photography, graphic design, music, production, etc to make one cohesive statement. This was around the time where making music on your laptop was a new thing. Before, it was unapproachable without spending crazy amounts of money in a studio. This prospect inspired me tremendously, and does so to this day. So I taught myself music production and began my journey. Come to think of it I think I should revisit this print idea…

(((o))): What's the idea behind the name We Have A Ghost?

Ghost: I realized there was something else haunting me…. the notion I was capable of doing more with my life as an artist. All these songs no one has heard. It’s haunted me for years on an hourly basis. In this sense We Have A Ghost represents anything haunting you. I believe this is universal. We are all haunted by something.

Collectively, WE HAVE A GHOST.

(((o))): What music inspires you?

Ghost: Cinematic music with substance and meaning. Songs that manage to bring out or enhance whatever I’m feeling or want to feel. Songs that make me cry or put me in the zone, give me goosebumps, or in some way blow my mind, or challenge me. I’m into movie soundtracks, and I absolutely love post-rock…

(((o))): Listening to music has a therapeutic effect on me and most of the time it helps me to stay in my own world. Does it have the same effect on you? If so, is there an artist or any music in particular that you turn to in this way?

Ghost: Absolutely. These days it’s Hammock's Chasing After Shadows… Living With Ghosts and Departure Songs, followed by Sigur Rós (), 'Time' by Hans Zimmer of the Inception Soundtrack and 'Rhubarb' of Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works volume 2.

(((o))): Your debut album is about to come out. From my knowledge, We Have A Ghost is your very first full-length release. How did you get signed on to Bleeding Light Records?

Ghost: Bleeding Light left an encouraging note, I replied. We both have a love for vinyl - the rest is history.

(((o))): Is We Have A Ghost a conceptual album? What is its central theme?

Ghost: The music on the debut album isn’t per se, but the album art, the meaning behind We Have A Ghost, the way I handle fan interaction and integration, the methodology behind how I present and promote myself are conceptual and carefully considered. I was able to connect the dots in hindsight once I dove into this full time and reached an audience. The theme is ‘what haunts you?'

(((o))): I've been listening to We Have A Ghost on repeat these days and I noticed that it blends different styles. I hear a range of influences on the album, and its variety is what I like the most. What inspired you to produce such a diverse collection of tracks?

Ghost: You are hearing songs recorded over a 6 year period that have a common thread in them - me. The tracks that made it on the album are the ones I listened to privately in various states for what feels like forever. They withstood the test of time for me, and have benefited from the time it’s taken, as I’ve grown artistically and personally during the course of making this album. I just kept refining the songs little by little, and stuck with them until the tracks began to take on a life of their own. As time went on my influences progressed as I discovered new music.

Sometimes the sound was partially impacted by the addition of a new piece of gear. For example, when I got the Elektron Machinedrum, the 1st song I made with it was 'Computerrok', which is almost 100% Machinedrum (including the bass). 'The Incident' was the 1st song I made when I bought my bass guitar and analog delay. 'It Is What It Is' was made when I bought Ivory. As soon as I bought BFD, I made 'Meadow' (all those drums are programmed with BFD). 'Marymoor Park' was created when a friend let me borrow his guitar. It was the 1st time I played a guitar, let alone record one and I could not believe I was making music with it. That song is 100% guitar (minus the dog). 

I’ve never been concerned about having a particular sound. I just get my feelings out using whatever I have in front of me. I think very much in textures and layers, with every layer suiting how that part makes me feel as it relates to whatever else I’ve tracked. There are a wide range of emotions captured on this, which has contributed to its variety.  I see sections of songs like genres. 'To Begin Again', for example - has an ambient ending - the section in the middle is 4 on the floor techno, the part before the ending has a little post-rock with the addition of the guitar. There’s a section of ambient industrial/experimental noise against a soothing ambient melody, the baseline has a bit of acid to it, the drum machine pattern has a hint of trip hop while the live drums give it more of an electro rock kind of feel. And I feel that certain genres really nail a particular feeling. And since I know I tend to write diverse music I wanted to make sure my debut album reflected that, because I don’t want to be tied down to one style. This sets the expectation from the beginning. I’m going to be true to myself and express how I feel no matter what it’s classified as.

(((o))): Should you pick a song from We Have A Ghost to listen to right now, which one would you choose and why?

Ghost: At this moment I would pick 'Sleepy Cells' because it has a lot of elements that fit my mood right now. It’s relaxing, with a hint of melancholy and a little darkness and mystery, and ends with a release of intensity that still manages to get beneath my skin leaving me wanting more.  If you haven’t listened to it yet, start with 'The Secret'.

(((o))): What were some of the triggered memories when you worked on this album and when you listen to it now?

Ghost: Making music is a private moment made public. My work deals with the artists intention and whether it matters. I’m more concerned with how it makes the listener feel.

(((o))): What is your production setup like?

Ghost: At the time I was recording the debut album I had a Mac Pro running Ableton Live with an Apogee Ensemble interface. I had a guitar, bass, a custom Moog Minimoog Voyager with CV expansion, Virus TI desktop synth, an Elektron Machinedrum SPS 1-UW drum machine and several analog effects (Z-Vex Super Hard On, Death By Audio Robot and Total Sonic Annihilation, a vintage Fuzz Face, and a Bass-Drive Mosfet), 2 racks of Moog Moogerfoogers - Ring Mod, MURF, Phaser, and the 104-Z analog delay (which was used on practically everything). KRK V8 studio monitors, a pair of Universal Audio LA 610 pre-amps, a tube Mic, a Mackie control surface with motorized faders and a Mackie C4, along with an Akai MPD-24 drum pad and a few other midi controllers.

A couple of sample based software instruments, FXpansion BFD 2 for writing analog drum parts (and sometimes keeping them, like in Meadow and Electric Blanket), and Synthogy Ivory for piano. In addition, since this is a multimedia project, I should mention I had a Canon 5D mk2 with a bunch of L lenses, a merlin steadicam, a Canon EOS 1D N, and a Go Pro Hero. It was a great setup.

I just picked up the Analog Keys by Elektron and it’s absolutely amazing.

(((o))): I like music most when the genre is not too obvious while listening to it. What do you think of genrefication? How would you 'tag' your music style?

Ghost: I think people need an entry point when discovering music. I’m learning by how other people classify my music. Genrefication gets longwinded and complicated and it’s hard to pin music down to one thing but my tags are: electro industrial, ambient industrial, forms of post industrial, rock, electronic, downtempo, electro rock, ambient electronica, indietronica, post-rock, ambient and shoegaze so far.

(((o))): Who are your favorite musicians? Would you want to collaborate with any of them in the future?

Ghost: That’s really difficult to answer because I love so much music and my music taste is varied depending on my mood. I’d like to create something with members of A Great Weight, Ventenner, and Solarein.

The Haxan Cloak, Trentemøller, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Björk, Sigur Rós, Thom Yorke and Radiohead, Helmet, Max Richter, Ministry, Pink Floyd, Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Chelsea Wolfe, Portishead, Hammock, Clark, Gesaffelstein, The Moscow Coup Attempt, Air, Boards of Canada, Flying Lotus, Massive Attack, and Mogwai to name a few.

(((o))): What are your plans for the near future?

Ghost: Continued promotion for the vinyl release. Other than that I’m at work on an EP, and some other things I’m not ready to talk about right now.

(((o))): Thanks for talking to us and good luck with your projects. Finally, is there anything else you want to tell us that we haven't already covered here?

Ghost: I’m giving away a test pressing on Kolidr - you can enter here:

Thanks for having me. I appreciate your time.

It's been three years since their last album, in which time we actually thought they'd split up, but Leeds post something 2 piece Khuda are very much back with a spectacular new album; Molasses Constricts The Clinostat. We sent Dave Guzda to talk to Tom (guitar) and Steve (drums) to find out what they've been up to in that time.

(((o))): Making music is often complicated collaborative process at the -best- of times. Does the distance between you (Tom and Steve) and/or working as a two-piece pose any unique challenges and/or benefits?

Steve - Hey Dag, thanks for taking the time to have a chat with us!!

Tom - Yeaah, hey dude! Nice to talk with Echoes And Dust!!

We had this album already pretty much written when I made the move out to Finland, and just met up together for a week or so before the recording session to get some loose ends tied up put the finishing touches to stuff! It was surprisingly smooth though, we were both a bit worried beforehand... I guess we've just spent so much time together over the last few years that we managed not to really loose that connection!

Steve - Yeah the distance pretty much killed the process hah hah. As we've been on hiatus since we recorded Molassess then we haven't written anything new, we've been jamming a lot during preparation for these last two shows though with some pretty interesting results so who knows 🙂 Working as a two piece has always made things really easy, there is definitely more room for tracks to be gig ready before being 100% completed which has led to a lot of this material being sculpted over time rather than "written" in full.

(((o))): You guys must be pretty tech savvy to collaborate in such a manner?

Steve - I guess if we were to start trying to write new material we are in a fairly fortunate position, we both work as sound engineers and Tom is in the process of building a recording studio over in Finland (www.tonehaven.net) luckily Dropbox exists so we may not be as stumped as it appeared initially.

(((o))): Which one of you is the science enthusiast?

Steve - Neither of us are massively scientifically minded.

Tom - I think we both spend a bit too much time on wikipedia though... 🙂

(((o))): Where did you come up with the album title 'Molasses Constricts The Clinostat'?

Steve - Now that would be telling hah hah! You have to bear in mind that a lot of the titles/themes we have ended up working with have been devised over a very long time in varying states of sanity sat in a van together for hours on end. We'd really love to do a step by step explanation but it kind of spoils the fun 😉

Tom - With our previous albums we didn't really ever take much time to tell a story and link the song titles etc.. we definitely struck more of a theme on this album though, which somehow inherited the name Molasses Constricts The Clinostat.

Steve - There was one review for our last album Iecava where the reviewer had painstakingly gone to the effort of finding a link between the tracks which was absolutely incredible (it was by E&D reviewer Magda as it happens). It completely changed the way I look at that album now as the conclusion that had been met was a load more succinct than our original ideas. With this one we thought it would be cool to lay down something down for people to find if they look hard enough.

(((o))): What is significance of the song title 'Balduinius 1491'?

Steve - Balduinius 1491 is an outer main-belt asteroid, it's significance to us is another head scratcher though I'm afraid..

(((o))): 'Onward Planarian' is quite a musical journey stretching to over 12m. I find it to be a very evocative song. It makes me think of sunny days spent lakeside with a gentle breeze blowing. Was there a specific inspiration (or inspirations) for this beautiful song?

Steve - I love how music can cast a completely different image to each listener. It really should be encouraged for people to take what they naturally take from it without it being coloured in by us at all. I like the idea of it being about a sunny day on the lake side if that's what you take from it then that's what its about.

Tom - I like that image too, and can definitely see how it would fit. It's cool though, because I guess no matter what our answer or inspirations are... for you, it's the sunny lakeside... for someone else, it could be the total opposite! We've always enjoyed watching and listening to people different reactions and interpretations of our stuff, that's one of the things about being an instrumental band, the meanings are a lot less obvious!

(((o))): When I listen to Khuda I hear a lot of different musical influences. Do you have any influences that fans might be surprised to know?

Steve - I had a real thing for tech hardcore, extreme metal and old school funk while in my adolescent years. The old driving funk grooves have always had a hypnotic quality to them which I could never get enough of. These days I try to just soak up everything I can get my ears on, its gotten to the point now where I try to find something to like about everything, there really is no point in cutting yourself off from an entire style just because it doesn't fit into your self image.

Tom - We had a tour a few years back where we listened to a load of really hard dubstep/grime/uk hip hop stuff which was a lot of fun!! And again, like Steve, I try and listen to as much stuff as possible, variety is really important. Working as a sound/recording engineer I have definitely developed a bit of a bad habit of listening to stuff based on who recorded it... I've been through a bit phase of being quite obsessed with anything recorded by Steve Albini. Not that that is particularly surprising or a bad thing...

(((o))): What was the Kin Hell Fest experience like as musicians? It looked like a very intimate setup. Especially for Khuda.

Steve - Kin Hell Fest has been pretty close to us since it started, we played the first edition and Tom ran the sound rig back when it was at The Well. I built the rig for the past couple of years as we had to outsource p.a equipment and have also done the branding/t-designs for the last two editions. Its a great festival, Paul Priest has an exhaustive taste in music and is one of the most enthusiastic promoters we know. The general atmosphere has always been really open minded too which is just as well for us heh heh.

Regarding the set up we always just play on the floor these days, it takes away a lot of the bullshit, we travel with one or two little LED cans so we can see and we don't even like to use the PA any more. It just means that things are the same every time and it just improves the atmosphere no end, we kind of like the idea that everyone in the room is in the same place and of the same status.

(((o))): Kin Hell Fest had a really diverse cross section of Metal artists. Khuda seems to fit in well with a variety of genres. Do you care how the 'media' labels you genre wise?

Tom - Yeah, it's really not something we've ever really given any thought to. I'm all for genres and labeling stuff, but I guess for me, genres are basically just that... adjectives to describe music. I think people can take that stuff way too seriously. I like that we can play with a variety of bands. It keeps things interesting for everyone involved!

Steve - I suppose we are always going to fall under the "post" whatever blanket and I'm totally fine with that, in all honesty though what you name things really doesn't matter so much (I know that sounds rich coming from us hah hah). Its probably going to get to the point where sub genres get so numerous that everything just starts to come back into one big melting pot any way :D.

(((o))): A great deal of passion and emotion comes across on Molasses Constricts The Clinostat found in both the gentle passages and the moments of full-throttled aggression. What emotions do you feel as you play these songs live?

Steve - It really depends on the atmosphere and the timing, the last few gigs have been understandably a bit charged seeing as each time we haven really known when/if we will play together again, there have definitely been a few people walking away with wobbly bottom lips which is mind blowing. I always kind of just zone out into whatever we are doing, not to say that there is no emotional impact but the calm of 100% concentration is one of the main reasons I love playing, it's almost meditative.

Tom - The emotions definitely change every time we play! I wouldn't say that there are 2 gigs we've played that are absolutely the same. Like Steve, I just get into a zone, and the emotions take over. There isn't really a formula to it... if we've had a good period and things are going well, the feelings can be happy, euphoric etc, or if we're stressed or somethings have being going wrong, we can also pour all of that out when we're playing! There are of course some moments of songs too that are more emotional than others, and some where we can just have fun and rock out!

(((o))): Are any of the songs linked to personal experiences in your past?

Tom - While I can't say I've ever written a guitar part about one particular experience in my life... the stuff that comes out is just a build up of the emotions from the environment and circumstances around!

Steve - I guess all of them are somehow the culmination of our experiences up until that point in time. A couple of them are directly related to specific occasions but as I said before, what a song means to me is not necessarily what it means to Tom. I can say though that this album is a lot more personal to us than the last couple have been.

(((o))): It took me a few listens to really appreciate Molasses Constricts The Clinostat. The unique drum patterns, the musical cul-de-sacs, numerous tempo changes and unusual time signatures require time to be absorbed. Is this surprising to you? Or is this expected of 'experimental'/'progressive' music that pushes the envelope?

Tom - Hehe well the stuff we've always written has always been purely for our own satisfaction, in the sense that we've never really changed a song to make it easier to listen to, only more interesting/fun for us to play... the fact that other people seem to enjoy it is just a happy accident, and one which we are incredibly grateful for! We probably do have quite a weird mix of playing styles and influences, so I'm definitely not surprised that it isn't the most immediate listen!

Steve - Hah hah thanks for bearing with us 😀 Personally I like a record to be a bit challenging, the bits that are jarring are usually the bits that stick out upon repeated listens that being said its definitely possible to go too far out the other end but even that has its time and place. I'm not sure that we wrote the album to be deliberately confusing but I guess due to our personal tastes there would always be a certain amount of that.

(((o))): I've always felt the Khuda's musicianship was extremely high; evident since Palingenesia. The songs on Molasses maintains that level of playing while appearing to have refined the cohesiveness of each song. Has anything changed in how you approach song writing since your first album?

Steve - Thanks, that's really kind of you to say! Funnily enough the writing process is almost exactly the same, we have always just jammed through ideas tweaking things along the way and then playing the songs live as much as we can until the parts are solidified. We were probably a little more disciplined regarding changes and structure with these songs than we have been on the last couple of records but the songs are still the culmination of lengthy jam sessions.

Tom - Yeah, thanks a lot!! It's very nice of you to say that! I guess the only real difference was that we were just in a bit less of a rush with this one. There wasn't a big change in terms of our writing style. bit this time around we gave ourselves the time to play the songs live, and figure out what was working and how things were flowing before booking time in the studio!

(((o))): Question for Tom (Guitarist) Sorry Tom, you are stuck on an island and can bring only one guitar, one amp, and one effect pedal. Which would they be? 🙂

Tom - Well, I'd bring my guitar, which is a Schechter, and a loop pedal, I've always used a Boss RC-20, but also really like the look of the new dual pedal Ditto Looper from TC, aand I would bring my Mac Amp (which is a hand made hiwattesque tube amp built by a lovely man called Howard, from Leeds).

(((o))): Any future plans you would like to mention? Will fans be able to see you live?

Steve - We really aren't sure at the moment, we have a couple of leads that we might end up following so long as we can make it work around the rest of our lives I guess the one thing that can be said is that we don't want to be so resolute about not playing any more. Khuda has been a big part of our lives for the last few years though so I guess it wont be as easy to quit as we initially thought hah hah.

Tom - Yeah we have an open book with things. Whilst we definitely have no plans to start actively touring again, we've had such a lovely time playing together, that we're just going to stay as flexible as possible with regards to future plans, so who knows... 🙂

Boris are, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most legendary guitar bands in the world. The Tokyo based trio of Atsuo (drums & vocals), Takeshi (bass, guitar & vocals) and Wata (guitar, keys & vocals) have been releasing consistently brilliant experimental music for nearly two decades now, sounding like almost nobody else on the planet in the process. For this interview I met the band at London pub/venue The Lexington in the aftermath of their triumphant headline set at this year’s Desertfest and ahead of the release of new album Noise. Whilst their musical partnership appears highly egalitarian, it is noticeable from the outset that Atsuo is the de facto spokesperson of the group. In fact, Wata sits in almost complete silence between her bandmates. Whilst all three of the band are friendly and seem in good spirits, Boris are an enigmatic band and, over the course of the interview, it becomes clear that even meeting them in person doesn’t quite enable one to understand their unique approach.

In a first for me, the band communicated via translator Haruna Taira, to whom I am greatly indebted.

(((o))): How would you describe Noise as a record?

Atsuo (after much discussion with Takeshi): I think we would have to say that it’s typical Boris!

(((o))): What would you say is typical Boris? I’m sure lots of people would argue about that!

Atsuo: I think we work in quite an ordinal way as a rock band. Typical Boris is whatever we feel is natural and whatever we think makes sense for us. For us the relationship between us as band members and the songs is like a circus… Before we felt that we were battling the lions from the circus group but now, on Noise, we’re sitting together and being friendly with the lions.

(((o))): You’ve gained a reputation as a rather eclectic band over the years, but you only seem to have become more so as the years have gone by. What do you attribute that to?

Atsuo: The approach on Noise is largely inspired by us feeling more comfortable. A lot of the music we have done in the past was inspired by wanting to do things that other bands had not done, whereas now we feel quite comfortable working with more “ordinary” sounds and forms.

(((o))): Is it natural for you to write music that counterbalances so many different elements?

Atsuo: The elements have often seemed really separate in our work I know, but for us they’ve all been together under the banner of “noise”, hence the title of the new record!

Takeshi: If you mix some particular elements straight away it would be really boring but we have the “noise” glue we can use to hold it altogether.

Atsuo: “Noise” can be the counterbalance that allows all the elements to fit together.

(((o))): When writing more pop-oriented tracks do you ever have to restrain yourselves from wandering into more experimental territories or do you find it quite natural to write ‘pop’ music sometimes?

Atsuo: It depends on how we’re feeling. Takeshi has a big pop imagination…

(((o))): I definitely feel you have become more “pop-oriented” in recent times though…

Atsuo: The pop song is quite natural for us now that the lions have gone. Before we got quite tired every time we worked on a record but now it’s a lot more relaxing.

Takeshi: It was more that the songs turned out different this time, rather than being directed by us. They naturally ended up as they are.

(((o))): The press release for this record talks about Noise being a mix of everything that you have done as a band thus far. Where is there still left to go? Are there any things that you feel Boris definitively could not do?

Atsuo: Most of the things that there are that can be done are things that I can’t do, so that’s quite limiting! I’m only as good a musician as a high school kid so there’s not much I can do.

Takeshi: When we find something we want to do creatively we usually can’t do it straight away. Atsuo: Sometimes in the middle of the process things change completely!

(((o))): Despite your diverse sound you seem to have a really strong connection with the metal scene, and metal fans seems to lap up all your varied work. Do you reciprocate that strong connection?

Atsuo: We really love metal, but we have never seen ourselves as a metal band! We’ve got used to being seen as a metal band, especially in Europe. We don’t care how people describe us. In Japan people think that metal bands must be really skilful, but as we’re so bad at our instruments we can’t be a heavy metal band… Lo-fi heavy metal perhaps…

(((o))): You are famously prolific, to the extent that I think some people new to the band sometimes struggle to pick up on all the amazing music you have done. Are there any records from your back catalogue that you feel are perhaps overlooked and that you would like to recommend to new Boris fans?

Takeshi: To be honest, I think right now that it’s definitely the case that we want people to hear Noise…

Atsuo: I think it’s an ideal entry point for new fans. New fans can find which elements of Boris they like best on Noise and find whole albums of stuff in the past that we’ve done that they may enjoy the most!

(((o))): Japan has produced so much remarkable experimental music in recent decades but Boris are a rarity in that you have managed to attract a fairly large audience around the world. Why do you think that might be?

Atsuo: I think skill is, ultimately, unimportant. Music is not just from skill. Someone tweeted us once saying that we were only “atmospheric” but we feel that the feelings we express in our music can be felt all around the world, whether what we’re doing is “experimental” or not.

(((o))): You’ve done a lot of collaborations in your time. How do those work for you? Do they always work very straightforwardly or can they be very challenging?

Atsuo: Sometimes we do battle with our collaborators but originally we meet as friends so I think the friendship between us is what enables our collaborations to work, rather than the background of the collaborators or our own musical backgrounds…

(((o))): A lot of experimental bands seem happy to come across as being ultra-serious but Boris always seem to be having fun as well. Is that the primary objective?

(Laughter from all three band members)

Atsuo: Why? Does it look silly? We want to enjoy the music even when it’s serious and experimental. Again, it’s all about counterbalancing the different elements. Rock for us is about having fun and about enjoying it so we always look to do that.

(((o))): Have you intentionally being trying to get that across on recent records, which have perhaps been more accessible?

Atsuo: We never try to write anything intentionally but the three of us all have different background so we never intentionally go into the studio looking to do one thing or the other really. Each album makes a new world for Boris individually, and I think that continues on Noise. 

(((o))): What are your plans for the rest of 2014? Will we see you back in the UK before long?

Atsuo: At the moment we have shows in Japan and America. We’ll come back here as soon as we can definitely.

(((o))): Leeds would be nice…

Atsuo: We have really good memories of playing in Leeds, especially at the Brudenell Social Club, so we definitely want to go back! I must ask, do you have any questions for Wata? She needs to say something! (Laughter)

(((o))): Well… I’ve heard, Wata, that you’re really into video gaming. I know nothing about video games whatsoever so… if you were to recommend me a video game to convert me then what would it be?

Wata: (After a pause) Well, recently I’ve been really enjoying Pokemon and Zelda games… Zelda is quite new to me so I’m catching up.

Atsuo: She’s wants to get the new Nintendo 3DS for going on tour. It has a network where you can play against other users that are nearby…

Wata: So maybe people at shows can get in touch and play against me on the 3DS when I get one!

Thanks to Rachel Silver and, once again, to Haruna Taira.

Noise is out tomorrow via Sargent House - read Jake Murray's review of the album here.