Review: Quadrophonic/Tracks In The Snow

Staples of the Northern Irish funk-rock scene: Quadrophonic (formally Quadrophonic FunkMonks and the Gentlemen's Tea-Drinking Society), have released their debut EP titled Tracks In The Snow. It's about time. For too long Quadrophonic would leave audience members eager to get their hands on a physical embodiment of the music they just heard, danced and sang along to. They tease those fans no more.

Quadrophonic is comprised of: Ruairi McKerr (vocals), Matthew O'Hagan (guitar), Brendan Doran (bass), Conor 'George' Mulvenna (saxophone) and Matt Greene (drums). Quadrophonic originates from Lurgan; a land shrouded in fables involving a magical and ever powerful elixir that is known to change the complexion and behaviour of those that consume it, for better or worse. This tonic is cultivated, mixed and blessed by ancient monks at an unkown locale. They named it Buckfast. On occasion, members of Quadrophonic will perform live while under the influence of this brew and tend to, with it's consumption, increase their ability to perform as a tight unit. 

Tracks In The Snow takes some of the tracks that fans of Quadrophonic know and love such as Figaro, Oh Brother, Gabriel the Patriot and Moolah and offers up new tracks suchs as Animal Farm, The Sordid Life and Times of Aillistair Kripke along with the title track: Tracks In The Snow. As it turns out, now we've got more energetic and catchy music to accompany the tried and true.

The EP opens with Animal Farm, what's heard first is a moaning moo-like emmitance before the familiar funkyness takes hold. It's hard not to notice the prescence and empathsis on saxophone as George takes lead in the midsong lull to once again summon the vocal stylings of McKerr backed up by the instrumentation which is on-point, just as the baaa-ing heard from uncredited occupants of an actual animal farm. 

The much-loved Figaro makes a more fleshed out appearance next. Anyone who got their hands on demos of Figaro will notice and appreciate the improvements made, particularly with the brass. Figaro does not fail and delivers a groove that will no doubt permeate your subconscious manifesting itself through you unbeknownstly in the form of a whistle. Tracks In The Snow shows a march towards a more progressive sound overall. The longer offerings on the EP are all new tracks and as a result provide more room for experimentation, allowing focus on each of the contributors, everything in the mix is clear and nothing is lost in translation. 

As Moolah opens with a sonic finger banging from Brendan it meanders to moments that I feel would provide a fitting soundtrack to an acid trip among the pyriamids. The guitar and saxophone's Egyptian prescence are joined by a vocal diatribe aimed at the green queens (green queens is money incase anyone was wondering. Although while under the influence of LSD, you probably will find actual green queens to aim your words at).  

Track five, Oh Brother touches on family and religion and a majestic chior seems to enter around 2/3 into the song. It becomes clear it's a sampling of dialog from the Cohen brother's O Brother, Where Art Thou?, notably the moment which Delmar O'Donnell concludes upon his baptism, "The water is fine." Quadrophonic respond by closing the track knowing it's fine to go take a dip and wash away any and all of their funky sins.

The penultimate track is yet another crowd-pleaser. Gabriel the Patriot is surely the flashiest song on the EP without any ostentatiousness. The two namely doppelgangers of the band in Matthew O'Hagan and Matt Greene really take the reigns towards the closing of Gabriel the Patriot and as they do thunder beckons to announce the arrival of the EP's closer. 

In what wouldn't sound totally out of place at a Bar Mitzvah, The Sordid Life and Times of Allistair Kripke is the sole instrumental effort on Tracks In The Snow and does well to show the versitility of Quadrophonic. Their ability to do something a little different yet keep the same charm without vocals or lyrics is important to note. While no doubt you could say the hooks are missed on the closing track, it doesn't matter as rest of the EP is rife with hooks-a-plenty. Sometimes this kind of departure is important for facilitating the space for musical investigation into the unkown places yet to be treaded. And let's face it, whenever Yiddish is all that makes sense to be included; unless you're coming from an Orthodox Jewish upbringing it's perhaps it's best that it's omitted.

Tracks In The Snow's production was handled by Matt Greene and while overall, there's not a lot to nit pick - I do feel that the EP misses a certain something. I know that's vague but I reckon where Tracks In The Snow falls short is in conveying the energy that Quadrophonic generate in live performance. Perhaps it's a case of feeding off the crowd and therefore hitting that sweet-spot, maybe the recording sessions were lacking the influence of a certain aformentioned beverage.

Where I'd like to see them go next, whether they put out another EP or their first full-length is to aim for that benchmark they set whenever they perform in front of a crowd. Hopefully in the future they'll put out a live recording. If that's not in their future, then perhaps all they need is to hit the 'Buckie' before they hit record. 

~ Quadrophonic's Soundcloud & Facebook page

Favourite albums of 2012 (that weren't released in 2012)

If there's going to be a list of ten albums that I loved in 2012 then I also have to list those that were not released in the calender year but had my aural attention just as much (if not more so) than contemporary releases. Here they are...

Boris, Akuma no Uta

Akuma no Uta is probably one seriously heavy rock albums to be cultivated. The first track, Introdcution, is not as furious as the majority of the album, slowly droning it's way into a frenetic rock 'n' roll accompanied by shouting that seems to be giving the amplifier a hard time as it might be about to explode.
But there's soon a lull in the fast paced, face melting rock, whenever the soft starter Naki Kyoku comes on. I like that during Naki Kyoku if you listen closely you can hear fiddling around by the band as each instrument is readied for inclusion, the album rocks on until the final (and title) track sounds like it will be much like the first, but it soon transforms into and ends in glorious heavy rock, as it should. 

Glenn Branca, The Ascension

Four guitars, bass and drums is all that's needed for Glenn Branca to curate and craft one of the most brilliant peices of music. Each instrument builds, knocks down then re-builds a wall of sound that somehow isn't as dence as you might think, it certianly isn't a bad thing, mind you.
Also for some reason I'm stunned at how much The Ascension feels ahead of it's time. I don't mean it's more suited in 2012 than 1981, it could be 50 more years until it "fits in" with the time. But like I said, I'm impressed at it's recording date - I just can't seem put my finger on why. To me The Ascension blends abrasive and jarring composition along with healing swells of sound - to put it simply, it's sublime.

Iva Bittová & Vladimir Václavek, Bilé Inferno 

Bilé Inferno is what you want to put on if you every wondered what Eastern European folk would sound like when it's close to it's finest. Both Bittová and Václavek share vocals and string contributions, mixing together effortlessly. It's a joy to attentively listen to this collaboration. Both Iva and Vladimir have a chemistry that I think has to be one of the most attractive qualities of Bilé Inferno, it's easy to pick up on and the fact it translates so well through the music, it's a testament to the talent of both Bittová and Václavek. If you ever needed an introduction to either of these artists, you could do worse than to kill two birds with one stone by seeking out Bilé Inferno. 

Le Orme, Ad Gloriam

Le Orme's debut Ad Gloriam is a soup of all things psychedelic and progressive. The enchanting backup vocals compliment Aldo Tagliapietra's lead efforts very well and there's enough there to satisfy anyone who holds an appreciation for the psych-sound of the 60's. Le Orme experiment with structure and sound throughout so it's not exactly an atypical peice of psychedelia.
I guarantee with the spread of iPhones across the globe, if you play the opener, Introduzione, in a public place it'll prompt those around you to check their phone as it uses the same default tone most iPhone users rely on. Getting lost in the wide instrumentation heard in Ad Gloriam is also wonderful too, so get psyched and have a listen. 

Magma, Mëkanïk Destruktïw Kömmandöh

The vocals MDK has to offer are incredibly theatrical but absolutely impossible to understand. MDK has mostly the same structure throughout but it meanders into insanity at times as is evident in Nebëhr Gudahtt, when Stella Vander is screaming fantastically and making noises most indecipherable. It's exciting and refuses to be quiet, get to know Magma and their music by starting with MDK. 

Mazzy Star, She Hangs Brightly

Mazzy's Star 1990 debut is the first time anybody got to hear Hope Sandoval's oh so seductive vocal stylings and ever since many have fallen in love with them. She Hangs Brightly is a nice mix of dream pop, blues, slow psych' rock and shoegaze, maybe that doesn't lead to a consistent listen that would appease those honing in on a genre-specific album. But it's not eclectic to the point it where feels like an audible Jackson Pollock, it's a concentrated mix of melodies that seems to work for listeners that have both broad and narrow taste. 

Naked City, Torture Garden

If I had to take one Naked City album with me to a desert island, it would have to be Toture Garden. The record itself is noted as being somewhat of a life changer for Claudia Heuermann who upon listening and becomming obsessed, set out to make a film (or two) about John Zorn, the captian of the Naked City ship. It's basically a compilation album taking minitures from the self titled debut and what would end up on the follow-up to Torture Garden, Grand Guignol. It's fast, it's loud and it will repel most people within the listening vicinity. 
It runs in at 26 minutes with 42 songs, it's also probably the easiest way to get aquainted with the Naked City sound. The only separation between each track is the 3-4 second silence once each composition is finished, so you can easily loose track of which song you're on and hear it as one peice of music. 

Novos Baianos, Acabou Chorare

Novos Baianos' Acabou Chorare is quientessential bossa nova and everything put on tape is spot on from vocals, guitar, drums, cavaquinho to bongos add to the sound greatly. It's laden with infectious grooves that make you want to dance, it also makes practicing arte suave all the more fun so I highly reccomend that combination, though dancing will easily suffice.
The vocals are shared among Baby Consuelo, Moraes Moreira and Paulinho Boca de Cantor and each of the three are unique, the interchange between backing vocals and lead are particularly catchy and enjoyable. You'll learn the words quite easily which may even lead you to understanding some Brazilian Portuguese, what's not to like?

Talk Talk, Laughing Stock

Laughing Stock is one of those albums that grabbed me within seconds of the first song. Now adimittedly my musical intuition is faulty at times, hearing the first song on an album then feeling certian that the rest of it will kill me (in a good way) is a seldom occurance. But I felt that about Laughing Stock, I was familiar with the hits Living In Another World and It's My Life, never would I have guessed they would end up carving out a much more unique sound.
The evolution and gradual movement towards the music they were meant to create is something to be relished. Laughing Stock is the last Talk Talk album and it serves as a perfectly polar opposite bookend to their synthpop beginnings. The six tracks were surely early signs of things to come in terms of instrumental music niches such as post-rock. Mark Hollis and co's swan song is one you must hear. 

Yo La Tengo, Summer Sun

Summer Sun is a light album, it's got sweetness and smoothness throughout and some of my favourite tracks by Yo La Tengo are on here such as Season of the Shark and Today is the Day (both of which are reason enough to give this album a full listen incase you ever needed some sort of invitation).
Maybe it's not the most celebrated work of Yo La Tengo, but I think everyone can find meaning inside a peice of music. Each person's findings will often be different and unique to themselves and Summer Sun meant a lot to me this year. 

Favourite albums of 2012

As of late I've been thinking about rankings and have come to the conclusion that they are pretty much pointless. So these won't be ranked. However they will be in althabetical order, so don't fret as there is some order to this list.

Animal Collective, Centipede Hz

Animal Collective come back with thier first full length since Merriweather Post Pavillion, arguably their most commercially successful release to date. When you speak to anyone who listened to Centipede Hz you'll often get mixed conclusions about the album's merit. I think that those who have grown to like Centipede Hz have done as a result of it litterally growing on them, repeated listening can bring new layers up to the forefront and have for myself turned songs I initially didn't like: Wide Eyes, Mercury Man and Amanita for example, into favourites from the album.

To some the artwork is garish, but is a hinting glimpse at what's in store for those that see Animal Collective live as they tour their ninth studio release. It's just stunning, you can see/hear how they're moulded the tracks on Centipede Hz into unique live performances in it's embryonic stage as they perform at Prospect Park. If you have listened to it and wrote it off, maybe give it another 10-20 listens and then decide if it makes the cut.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Mature Themes

One full listen of Mature Themes and it's easy to solely focus on standout melodic numbers like the title track or Only In My Dreams, but each of the thirteen tracks present such a classic sound with fun hooks-a-plenty. Schnitzel Boogie is a good example of the humour in Ariel's writing, as it sits beneath a nice lo-fi cacophny as background vocals start to sound like distorted guitar. Much like Before Today, it's a great introduction to Ariel Pink that anyone who has found themselves enthraled in music from decades past, may find themselves latching onto. 

Beach House, Bloom

It's somewhat a typical Beach House sound brought to us in Bloom, but what is hard to deny is it's appeal. The cliché "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind. I think Beach House's ethos is similar but runs along the lines of "If it ain't broke, just add little peices to it". I feel there's a definite progression heard on each release since their debut, though subtle they are. If you spend more time worrying about a lack of innovation or a abundance of risk aversion instead of enjoying the music, then that's too bad. It's soft and cuddley - put it on at volume low enough to allow others in the car to talk without a raising their voice too much and everyone will enjoy the drive 10 times more. It's just a big sweetie of an record, okay?

Cloud Nothings, Attack on Memory

Cloud Nothings made quite the statement quite early on in terms of year-end accolades, and rightly so. Attack on Memory has everything a blisteringly quick album should, it does a very good job of kicking things into every imaginable gear, as the album starts somewhat adagio with No Future / No Past it immediatly gets up to speed with the second track and easily my favourite: Wasted Days.

After the first hearing Wasted Days, not only was I sure that I would always have Attack on Memory on hand (in case I ever needed extra motivation (or just an awesome soundtrack) to help me outrun any knife-weilding maniac's that might be about), but I also knew this band had won me over, I was sold. I'm still figuring out how to sign up to their fan club.

Steve Albini takes the production credit on this one and once again his mark is felt on the album as you'd expect, however I'm looking forward to hearing how it sounds out of the studio and on the stage. The rest of the album's great too, incase you were wondering.

Earth, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

The first few notes strummed by Dylan Carlson in Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II immediatley sets the mood. Part one and two were both recorded at the same time but were released just under a year apart. So in hearing that the rich and textured soundscape from part one translates and continues, as well as the welcomed addition of Lori Goldston on cello, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II puts you right back into the right mode of listening.. 

As the strings take the lead for the first portion, with quiet brushing and shaking coming from the percussion's end, Adrienne Davies soon comes into the fold more during A Multiplicity of Doors with pacing as keen as it sounded in part one. The cello really adds to the sound and I hope Lori Goldston makes more appearances in the future. Perfect album for those long walks in the desert while smoking cigarette, I think.

Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel...

When listening to The Idler Wheel it's easy to let the groove take your full attention, it is both offbeat and tranditional. But it's kind of easier to hone in on the words, and as per usual these words are sung with such honesty that they may as well be straight out of a diary, a very well-written diary. The vocal delivery, to me at least, seems a bit strained at times. It's as if Apple was making sure the message falls on the ears of everyone outside of the studio, and I like that a lot. It's clear she's not having trouble in any department, no sings of hinderance to the sublime talent. Hopefully Fiona Apple fans won't have to wait half a dozen years for the next one.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

After ten years have passed since your latest studio release it might be time to get on with things and release another, and so we have 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (in the interest of brevity: ADBA). While the two mainstays for those who like good-old Godspeed are actually re-workings of live tracks, Mladic and We Drift Like Worried Fire (formally Albanian and Gamelan) they are absolute vintage Godspeed. We Drift Like Worried Fire to me stands out more out of the two 20 minute tracks and while certain parts of ADBA are quite meloncholic, in it I find there to be a triumphant hopefullness that washes over you as the first cressendo builds and ceases to. 

In what seems to be a semi-trend among certain bands pigeonholed into the post-rock category, Godspeed have two drone tracks on the album providing a nice interlude. While I feel they don't exactly compliment the longer tracks in the album as a whole, they succeed in creating a very nice soundscape to guide whoever's listening towards the next destination: epic instrumental music.

I also must say that I love the packaging of the vinyl release. The drone tracks appear on the same 7'' and the two longer tracks on their own 12'', so the listener is forced to either switch records four times and enjoy the album as it was meant to be. The alternative is to enjoy the longer tracks on one playthrough, the same going for the drone 7''. Personally I really like how you can approach ADBA like a choose-your-own-adventure and depending on your mood, allowing you to enjoy meditative drone or spine-tingling post-rock as you please. The possibilities aren't endless, but fun to experiment with. 

Molly Drake

Molly Drake's self-titled posthumous record is a simple little thing but that's what's brilliant about it. You have the gorgeous voice of Molly Drake, her piano playing and her husband Rodney Drake handling the mono recording using vintage tape recorders during the 1950's and 60's, that's it. What's clear is not only were Molly's talent in terms of writing and singing were inheritied by her son Nick, the vocal similarity is almost errie yet plesant to listen to. 

Scott Walker, Bish Bosch

Headphones. I've only listened to this through my headphones, in order to decipher all that's going on I think having the music blasted straight into your ears is the way to go. Yes, you're going to hear weird lyrics accompanied by unusual vocals, there'll be some flatulence too. All I know is that my ears feel good after listening to Bish Bosch. Part of me does wish Walker would explore or prolong some of the melodic instrumental movements like at the end of Epizootics! or at the half-way point of Corps De Blah. 

My rationale behind including Bish Bosch is that it's unlike anything else released this year there, but that doesn't mean it doesn't get by on merit too. If you like anything avant-garde you'll probably like this, Walker's vocals are strong and he still has a good range to play with. His musical mind is also as abnormal as ever, thankfully.

Tame Impala, Lonerism

Lonerism is one of the albums to be dropped this year that has little tolerance for filler material. Anyone can relate to Kevin Parker's lyrics and pick up on things that are at times somewhat buried underneath a lot of lovely effects and noise. Perhaps only those who haven't felt like a loner will find it hard to relate to Lonerism, but then again there would be few who fall under that criteria. Lonerism feels timeless and happens to be one of the albums you try to make a point to tell your friends about, because you know they'll like it. 

 

Interview with This Will Destroy You

This interview originally took place on June 30^th 2011. Now that that’s out of the way and the excessive tardiness is forgiven; Texas’ This Will Destroy You candidly talk about outside projects, their latest release Tunnel Blanket and altered states of consciousness. Enjoy this one.

moodgusic: So how are you doing today Jeremy?

Jeremy Galindo: I’m doing well man, doing well. A little tired.

moodgusic: So you’ve been touring the UK this past few days, you played Newcastle last night didn’t you?

JG: Yeah, we played Plymouth, Newcastle, Cardiff and – uh it’s hard to keep track of everything, and another city [Glasgow]. So we’ve been here for a little bit.

moodgusic: And soon you’re playing London, then Belgium for the Dour festival isn’t that right?

JG: Yeah we end with the Dour festival and we have like one more show in Switzerland after that. But we have about two weeks left until we get back to the mainland.

moodgusic: So you’ve just released Tunnel Blanket. Upon it’s release, as well with your last EP Moving on the Edges of Things, it’s clear you’re going in a different direction: drone, doom, ambient. After departing from the post-rock sound, how do you look back at your old releases?

JG: The more and more that we grow as a band the more I respect our older releases. I guess there was at some point, just like when hear it every day when you’re shoved into category with all these other bands that you may or may not respect, you can start to not appreciate your work as you did when you first did it. But looking back if it wasn’t for those albums we wouldn’t be where we are now and those albums are still the reason why I’m able to pay my bills at home and still be able to do this. I have a deep respect for them, it’s just not how I felt about them when they first came out, it’s kind of a different feeling.

moodgusic: You, Chris, Donovan and Alex are very busy outside of TWDY, you’ve got different projects – I know you’ve got a film company We Tried Film.

JG: Yeah, I’m doing a film through We Tried Film in February so we have quite a few projects on.

moodgusic: So is there a delay in production, wasn’t production supposed to start in the Summer?

JG: No, the idea was to start the company in the Summer we just have to figure out some of the logistics. But yeah, all of us defiantly have stuff going on.

moodgusic: With that, is it hard for you to put full focus on TWDY?

JG: No not at all, it’s defiantly our number one priority. If something happens to where we have other projects going on that we need to finish up, but if something comes up for TWDY, like a tour or maybe a great support tour we’ll defiantly drop whatever we’re doing to make sure that we’re doing what’s best for the band at all times.

moodgusic: I was just on last.fm - do you use it?

JG: Oh yeah, we read it here and there.

moodgusic: I was just on the band’s page and read a bit of criticism from a fan, would you like to hear it?

JG: Sure yeah, I love ‘em.

moodgusic: Their username’s Chump86..

JG: Nice.

moodgusic: This is exactly what he said “because nobody comes to Sweden”. How do you respond to Chump?

JG: The problem is we’ve had some bad representation in the past in Europe, getting us to where wanted to go and wanted to tour. We played Sweden once, it was a great experience and we’ve always wanted to get back there. We had plans to get back there in the fall but things are getting moved around right now. We do plan on being there next year and we wish we could spend more time there, it’s just logistically and mostly financially it becomes more difficult when you start moving that way.

moodgusic: So Communal Blood is the first single from Tunnel Blanket, do you plan to release from this album or maybe a future release?

 JG: Most defiantly we’re doing a single right not for Black Dunes as well as a surprise remix from somebody that we respect very well from this area actually. That will be coming out hopefully by fall. We’re going to keep on releasing stuff, we’ll probably do another picture disc within the next year to continue on with that series then hopefully start writing the new album by Winter.

moodgusic: [To Chris] In a recent interview I watched, you talked about the name Tunnel Blanket and how it came to be from a DMT (dimethyltryptamine) trip you had. Whenever I was listening to Powdered Hand and there’s a voxpop in it.

Chris King: Oh yeah that’s Temple Grandin, she has a documentary about her.

moodgusic: I couldn’t hear her clearly but she said something about hallucinations and seeing tunnels.

CK: Yeah, the idea of the theme of the album came on a DMT trip, like the near death experience, what you experience seconds before you die basically.

moodgusic: Was it a bad trip then, it’s seems like a fairly dark album.

CK: I mean it can be interpreted any way you know. That’s just kind of our take on it.

moodgusic: Was that the first time you had ever taken dimethlytriptamine?

CK: No it wasn’t, it was the first out-of-body experience that I’ve had on it though.

 moodgusic: Have the rest of you ever taken DMT before?

JG: Most defiantly, I’ve had a few experiences with it. It’s maybe not something I would do again. I’m trying to settle down on the hallucinogens I think. The older you get, the less appeal it has, maybe just psychologically and how much stress we’re under. Well, mushrooms is always something I’ll always have a close connection with, but that’s a whole different story.

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moodgusic: What was it that turned you guys on to DMT?

JG: I first heard about it through William S. Burroughs

moodgusic: This guy? [pointing at shirt]

JG: Yes! I didn’t even see that shirt, that’s a great shirt. That’s the first time I ever heard about it, but it became quite popular in Austin, the area that Chris and I grew up in and you know it’s been around for a while but it’s definitely now starting to gain it’s popularity in film especially too now.

CK: Yeah there’s actually a documentary that came out at SXSW specifically about people’s experiences on DMT, it’s pretty interesting. It can be positive for people if they have the right frame of mind going into it. If you’re going into it not to just get fucked up, if you go into it with an open mind you can get a lot out of it.

JG: It’s not for beginners.

CK: It’s very intense and direct so a lot of people have trouble dealing with it, because you’re just kind of thrown into things that you might not want to see.

JG: Well people think that they can take two hits of acid or a few grams of mushrooms and they’re ready for a DMT experience and it’s a whole different trip.

CK: It’s not something I would just recommend someone to take, if you’re in the right frame of mind and you feel clear headed – I’ve definitely have positive experiences on it.

moodgusic: That’s the first time I’ve got to talk to a band about DMT, what about ayahuasca?

CK: Yeah, I would never do that again. There’s so much life changing perspective - you don’t really want to go there.

JG: I took it in a bad environment with a friend who extracted it. You definitely need someone there that understands the drug, to take it.

moodgusic: You mean a shaman?

JG: Most definitely. I would say so. To experience it properly.

CK: I took it in New Mexico with a friend of mine that took me to a sweat lodge, he’s half native American so he took me out to take it. That [ayahuascua] has to be in very controlled doses it’s also something you should have a high respect for, you should not fuck with it.

Donovan Jones: Yeah, I would agree.

JG: I took it with a friend who wishes he was a shaman, but is not. Yeah it’s not something I enjoy looking back on.

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moodgusic: So mixed experiences for both hallucinogens. Have you ever tried salvia divinorum?

JG: Oh yeah.

DJ: I like salvia.

CK: I don’t, it’s like huffing glue or something to me. You can get it from head shops in the states and I feel like it’s the equivalent of going and huffing gasoline or something like that.

JG: I would agree with that.

DJ: Huffing shit like that just kind of makes you pass out or disappear.

JG: Yeah I just mean equivalence, not necessarily the high.

DJ: I’ve had out of body experiences on salvia.

JG: Oh yeah, definitely. Without a doubt.

CK: I’m just saying in the hierarchy of things.

JG: It’s like the schwag of DMT.

DJ: I understand. It’s so short lived, it’s like five minutes. 

JG: It’s just not a very pleasant high altogether.

DJ: I don’t mind it. It’s just different strokes I guess.

moodgusic: A friend of mine took it last night and came in and out [of the trip]. They came out of out and went back in three times, that was the first time I had ever seen that, and it was only 25x.

JG: Yeah.

DJ: You know what fuckin’ Mills did when we smoked salvia? He tried to hold up the world and shit. That was awesome.

JG: Yeah I’ve seen people freak out on it before. A lot of my friends are flailers when they take drugs like that. You have to have people hold them down.

moodgusic: Yeah you need sitters, everybody is different about that sort of thing.

JG: Definitely, when it comes to hallucinogens everybody reacts differently, everybody looks at it different. Everybody thinks that they’re all experiencing similar things so they all see the same things and some of that’s true. But all in all, it’s your own experience and that’s one of the problems that I have with the drugs is that it’s like becoming this thing where especially with DMT now, everybody is trying to find this certain area and have these same experiences that they hear about here and there. I’ve talked with people and had experiences out there but they were my own experiences and I don’t think that there is any sort of collective trip. I don’t think that exists.

CK: People equate it to a religious experience and the thing you have to realise is that it’s not real. I mean you can get solid life lessons from tripping but ultimately you have to realise it’s nothing tangible, it’s synthetic.

DJ: It just kind of shows you that shit you have to sort that out yourself.

JG: Yeah it’s incredible to have those experiences and to learn about yourself but I think a big problem is when people start equating that to some sort of higher life form or higher plane where they’re in contact with something outside of themselves when really all they’re experiencing is themselves. If that makes any sense.

moodgusic: Chris were you behind the April fool’s prank?

CK: No actually I was out of town when that happened.

moodgusic: Was it you, Jerermy?

JG: Yeah it was. That was the perfect time to use Chris as a scapegoat for it since he was out of town and he turned his phone off.

moodgusic: It caught me off guard. I started to write a blog post going through your career, being all sentimental then it just occurred to me, “fuck, it’s April fools day.” Right there I just turned on my heel and just said “okay I could go on being sentimental but the fact of the matter is it’s April fools day and these guys are probably taking the piss.”

JG: That was fun.

moodgusic: You can’t do that again though, that was like your one get out of jail free card used up.

JG: I’m sure if we pulled that one again we might piss people off to an extent that might not be so great. But at the same time, we like to have fun.

moodgusic: You probably pissed off a lot of people?

JG: Oh yeah definitely, even close friends. I didn’t realise the post even went out and I was sitting at a bar with a friend of mine and I just started getting text messages all over the place like “Are you okay? Where are you? Do you need help? What’s going on?” – Too many to respond to. I figured somebody posted something on facebook so I ran to my friend’s house jumped on the internet and saw it and immediately called up our old label (my friend Brandon) and told him just to run with it. And that’s where the “Who’s seen Chris?” flyers went out and all that.

Alex Bhore: Are you talking fake break-up?

JG: Yeah.

AB: [Laughs]

JG: Yeah it was fun, we enjoyed it but our management freaked out a little and they wanted to put us into it a little bit but it was still fun nonetheless.   

moodgusic: I really started to second guess it when, I don’t remember if it was Suicide Squeeze’s website or Magic Bullet but they had this obituarary, if you will.

JG: Yeah, that was magic bullet.

moodgusic: What are some of your favourite releases so far this year? Or maybe even stuff that’s older and you’ve just picked up on again?

JG: I’ve really been sticking to older stuff, I haven’t had the chance to check out the new Grouper, I’ve heard it here and there and think it sounds amazing. I’d like to pick it up, but yeah, I’ve really been sticking to older recordings recently.

CK: There’s this band, or it’s just this one guy from New York called Clams Casino and his EP is amazing it’s kind of electronic, instrumental hip-hop stuff. It’s all over the place. Lately I’ve been enjoying the new John MOuse record a lot too.

DJ: When did that Dream record come out?

CK: Like three years ago.

DK: The newest one?

JG: No the newest one was within the last year.

DJ: That new Dream record is pretty fucking sick. I’ve spent some time on it. I haven’t heard much of it, but that new R. Kelly record sounded really good from some of the singles I’ve heard. That Local Natives record I’ve been jamming a lot, it’s like some happy time music, it’s nice to go there some times. The new Steve Reich is really good. 

moodgusic: Yeah I watched one of his works the other day, at the Tramway in Glasgow. It was good. What about you Alex, what have you been enjoying this year so far?

AB: I’ve been digging some older music but the only new thing that I can think of and that I like a lot is the new Deerhunter record, it’s really good I love the textures on it and how it was made and recorded.

DJ: The new Boris, I like those new releases they released on the same day. The new Boris is fucking good.

moodgusic: One more question about DMT before I go, I know I’ve harped on it but when you’ve taken it did you play music to soundtrack it? I imagine you’d have to be very selective about that because the trip only lasts around 15 minutes.

CK: I mean a lot of the influence for the album, is not necessarily with drugs but the idea of things – it’s just kind of a response to hyper-culture, like slowing things down to where it’s almost exaggerated, like slow beyond the point of being slow to kind of make a statement. Codeine and things like that, that will slow down music so I guess some screwed up hip-hop music, that had a little bit of influence as far as the tempo of things. It’s very kind of slow and drawn out. It’s just a response to hyper-culture with smart phones being everywhere, everyone has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) nowadays. This could be like a record made in the 1800’s if they actually had the means to make it – I would like it to be timeless, you know?

JG: As far as taking music into a DMT trip..

DJ: [Laughs] I like that dude, I like that.

AB: Back to the bullet-point.

JG: It disappears after a while and you hear your own – the sounds, they’re not what you start with when you’re inside it. The experiences I have had with it have always been slower, kind of calmer somber music to kind of ease into it but in the end it doesn’t even matter what you’re listening to. It could be Squarepusher and you’re still going to disappear.

moodgusic: And would you say that would be the same for mushrooms?

JG: Oh no, not for mushrooms no. You’re still too lucid. Music has a great effect when you’re tripping on mushrooms or acid just because of that lucidity. You can experience different feelings and different emotions depending on what you put on. You can go insane listening to certain things or you can be completely calmed down and pulled out of bad trips because of certain music so that’s very effective there, but I think with DMT you’re too far gone for the music to have an effect on the trip.

moodgusic: Have you experimented with naturally altered states of conscienceness, such as inducing lucid sleep or a sensory deprivation tank experience?

DJ: I had my first lucid dream about a week ago.

moodgusic: Did you induce it yourself or did it just happen naturally?

DJ: [Laughs] This is a shitty reason to have a lucid dream but I was taking my contacts out when I was in bed and one of my contacts landed on the floor and stayed there all night and I found it the next day.

moodgusic: Did you use it again?

DJ: Yeah I just sunk it back in the solution and it just softened up again – but I had a really planned out vivid fucking dream and it scared the shit out of me.

JG: I used to love it.

DJ: Well it was my first one and I got my fucking ass beat – or I was about to, by these three huge ass skinheads from Germany.

moodgusic: So none of you have tried sensory deprivation tanks then?

JG: No but I have been curious about them, I’d love to experience something like that. It’s just right now with as much as we’ve been doing at least for myself, my anxiety levels are too high. As soon as I’m able to relax and have a real home I would like to start trying things like that – natural ways of experiencing different things.

DJ: Isn’t our tour van like a sleep deprivation tank?

JG: [Laughs] Yeah, a little bit. That’s more of a meditative thing, that’s a whole new, whole different way of experiencing those kinds of experiences. I don’t know how to word that better. I don’t have that much experience with meditation. I know Chris has a little more experience than I do. But from what I’ve heard, sensory deprivation can be incredibly beautiful or insanely manic.

CK: Claustrophobic too.

JG: Yeah, you have to be able to overcome some of your fears if you have those and claustrophobia can be a big anxiety issue for me. You’ve got to be in the right state of mind for those things or maybe use them to attack those issues, which is what I used to do with mushrooms but it’s just different now.

CK: With meditation, so much is just trying to find a serene spot and the ultimate thing you can do is to completely surrender your ego and be perfectly fine with being by yourself for long periods of time. If you have the right state of mind and path for that then it can be very positive and clear out all the fucking gunk up there.

JG: Agreed.

moodgusic: Well thanks very much for taking the time to talk to me about all that. Have you talked about that sort of thing much at all?

DJ: We don’t get interviews like this very often.

JG: No, people aren’t too curious about that.

moodgusic: I hope it doesn’t build the wrong reputation for you, it’s just something I’m very interested in but now that I’ve got enough stuff to get you guys snitched by the FBI, I’ll be on my way.

CK: I don’t mind talking about it because so much of it is just like people assuming things and it’s just some kind of shit to get you “fucked up” like a drug addict. There can be higher meanings to things if they can get positive experiences out of it.

JG: Exactly, I’d rather have a more comprehensive interview like this about our experiences instead of “Oh, have you done this?” “Yes.” “Okay, next question.” It just seems like it’s more of just a fad that’s going on here when really it’s just a point we’ve used, not necessarily that we’ve specifically used to but one that we’ve used to find inspiration and to clear our heads and tackle some of the issues that we deal with also create music. But it’s not the reason for our music and I think that’s where things get clouded, as far as what people read and their perception of our drug use. The drugs didn’t create the music, we created the music. But our experiences that we’ve had on and off drugs are the reasons our music is what it is. I think it’s important that people realise that, we aren’t a drug band, but we do drugs - I mean it’s kind of two different things, it’s just a part of our lives. It’s not the music.

 

Fin.

 

Unedited interview audio in full ~

[audio http://moodgusic.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/234f1-interview_with_this_will_destroy_you.mp3]
Interview_with_This_Will_Destroy_You.MP3

 

*Apologies to This Will Destroy You for the delayed publishing of this interview.

 

Interview with Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed of Arthur's Landing

moodgusic got together with Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed of Arthur's Landing before their June 25th performance at Tramway in Glasgow. Long time collaborator and dear friend to Arthur Russell, Mustafa talks about how he began working with Arthur, the self-titled debut album's recording, and the pleasure of performing.

Peter Zummo, Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed, Bill Ryule, Elodie Lauten, Steven Hall and Ernie Brooks Photograph property of Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed

moodgusic: So Mustafa, how are you doing today?

MA: I’m doing quite fine, I’m really excited. This is my first time in Glasgow – in Scotland. The spirit of Arthur lives on and on. 

moodgusic: It does, yeah. So the spirit of Arthur Russell you were saying, what does it feel like when you’re on stage performing? Obviously, Arthur isn’t there, but as Steven said, “It feels as if he is there”.

MA: Well you know what’s interesting; I was just talking to some of the techies about the fact that I have one of the original RX17’s – Yamaha RX17’s, which is the drum machine. And I was very reluctant, y’know Arthur was always into this electronic stuff and of course when he met me he really wanted to have that ‘Afro’ type of thing – that ‘dance’ thing and that’s kind of how he met me. But he wanted me to get into this over piece. And to this day, I have on stage the original RX17 and I bought another one to play them live, as opposed to the pre-programmed rhythms just to have the spirit of Arthur with me all the time.

Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed Photograph property of Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed

moodgusic: That’s fantastic.

MA: You know, when he passed away. I told his dad, that his initials: C-A-R, Charles Arthur Russell – he was the car that got us from one place to the next and this guy’s classic man ‘cause you see he’s still rollin’!

moodgusic: That’s true. Do you find that it’s in no part thanks to your work, Steve Knutson from Audika and the internet that his music lives on and still touches so many people.

MA: Well, I’ll tell you it is kind of mind boggling to go and listen to ‘In The Light Of The Miracle’ and hear all of the cow bells and all that percussion, because I used to struggle with finding exactly what it was that Arthur wanted. He knew what he wanted from me, so there was a lot of takes, but you know ‘Let’s Go Swimming’, I’m really proud of my work on Platform On The Ocean and SchoolbellTreehouse you know it’s just really me and Arthur. So yeah I really do appreciate Steve a great deal and Audika for everything that they’ve done with Strut. And before those guys, Steve D'Acquisto who’s also not with us but he really captured In The Light Of The Miracle and that went onto other people, so yeah.

moodgusic: It’s really quite remarkable, would you have ever anticipated that so many years on everybody would say he was way ahead of his time?

MA: Well it is a complete surprise, it’s a blessing, sometimes I feel I don’t deserve it, you know what I mean? I’ll be very honest, unlike maybe Steve and Ernie, you know Arthur had several different periods. And I actually played with Arthur during the last stages of his creativity when he had moved away from some of the pop elements and was really into him playing more keyboards and doing all the work and then it was percussion and drums, you know, me. I didn’t understand the music at the time, I really didn’t. I came from a really different – you know; Jazz, R&B, that type of thing. He found me – I don’t know if you guys are familiar with James Mason’s Rhythm of Life. Well that was also a kind of classic R&B piece and he came into the studio and he heard me play, and he asked me to come and work with him. And I was actually just starting out, playing out at that particular time, so I was flattered that anybody would want me to play with them! So yeah, I mean the music was always, it always had it’s own space, it’s always very different, it never sounded like anything else. So in that regard, it was always special, I could always put it on. And it really bothered me when he got sick, and we were really doing some nice stuff then. In fact, I think we were working on Let’s Go Swimming and we’d gone to Minneapolis with Trisha Brown and Peter Zummo, it was shortly after that I found out he was sick. So I’m just happy to be here and to have kept up my chops, to help promote what Arthur gave to me, practically all the good things that have come to me as far as international travel, playing with Peter Gordon, Peter Zummo and working with Elodie Lauten. That all came through me taking the chance to go and play with this guy who was so weird and so different than what was going on with black R&B at that time, so I really appreciate Arthur so much.

Peter Zummo and Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed Photograph property of Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed

moodgusic: Hopefully you can keep on, like Steven was saying: play London, Northern Ireland, Oslo even.

MA: Listen, I hope so. You know we all love the music, but unfortunately the one thing we keep working and, and working at is refining the music because we don’t get to play it often enough together because of the different projects. So we’re looking for the right formula, something a little bit different, we have a leaner band this time. The last time we were out here we had seven pieces and now we’re down to five. We’re going to have a couple guests from home, from Glasgow. I’m looking forward to hearing these ladies contribute, that always adds a little juice, you know? Playing that rhythm and you see the ladies and you start you know, I hope so.

moodgusic: Tell me about when you were recording the self-titled album, did you and Arthur’s Landing take on any of the traits that Arthur was infamous for; his amount of takes?

MA: Let’s put it like this, none of us for the most part find those infamous traits to be complimentary. They were very, very difficult to work with. I think Steve, Steve Hall, my good buddy Steve, he embodies many of the qualities. He’s a bit of a diva sometimes. But he’s a delicious diva if you want to call it that, he’s a cool cat. But no, I think that one of the things that was really good was that Peter Zummo, who I’ve worked with independently for a long time, who really has a clear idea of what should happen in the studio and what we should get out of it. Ernie Brook

s as you know really plays with quite a number of artists, and like myself who plays and records with a number of different people, a number of different genres, we had a good idea of what it is that we wanted. The challenge, which I would say was similar to working with Arthur, that Steve brought to it was that he didn’t want it rehearsed. He wanted to capture the idea of the guys coming into the studio and playing it live, so we had some direction, but not a lot of direction and so in that regard there was an element of that, because that’s the way that Arthur liked to work. Arthur had an idea, and then he would play, and play, and play, and play and then he would put the pieces together, you know? Especially in those latter years, I mean obviously in the early days he was writing these nice, crisp songs with that lyrical and melodic content. It’s a little bit different from his dance stuff, his dance stuff was about the groove and the interaction between the instruments, we’re going to try and capture some of that for you guys tonight.

moodgusic: What is it like being on the inside, so to speak. I mean all of us fans who’ve obviously never crossed paths with Arthur, we have no idea of the music that’s hidden away and not out there for sale. What is some of your favourite stuff that you could talk about that’s been released and maybe stuff you want to see released?

Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed Photograph property of Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed

MA:  You know that’s difficult for me to really respond to in that way – I don’t know if the audience that’s listening to this, to your recording, can feel the smile on my face, but I’m just having a good time. You know I’m very humbled and I’m just having a good time. I’m not really too self-aware of what the audience is thinking, I’m just having a good time. I guess my attitude is if there’s an audience that wants to hear us, I feel a responsibility to give them a good show, to find a new shirt – in fact, can I say this? I actually, now again maybe this is not right but I actually found some old plaid pants, you know some brown plaid and I said “I’m going to Scotland to play!” so I got me some plaid pants to wear with my African top and I said “Hey man, this is the joint!”, I never get to wear those things! You know, this is the occasion. So I’m just thankful, I’m just thankful and lucky. Just very lucky.

moodgusic: It’s great to talk to you and see how appreciative you are of Arthur’s music and this is my first time seeing Arthur’s music performed live. To see it performed by you guys, his closest friends and collaborators, It’s an honour. So thank you very much Mustafa. 

 

Arthur's Landing's self titled debut release is out now on Strut Records.   

Unedited interview recording~ 

[audio http://moodgusic.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/180b8-interview_with_mustafa_ahmed_of_arthurs_landing.mp3]
Interview_with_Mustafa_Ahmed_of_Arthur's_Landing.MP3

*Special thanks to Philip Larkin for giving me shelter and bein' the best.

 

*Apologies to Mustafa Khaliq Ahmed and Arthur's Landing for the delayed publishing of this interview.