Vote for Mysticism & Spirituality in Modern Music: REDEFINE magazine’s SXSW 2013 Panel Download Hi-Res Infographic

Vote for Mysticism & Spirituality in Modern Music: REDEFINE magazine’s SXSW 2013 Panel Download Hi-Res Infographic Explore all articles related to influential thinkers

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Related posts:

1. Midday Veil – Moon Temple Music Video (Subterranean Ritual II)
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music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Mystical & Spiritual Ideas in Modern Music: REDEFINE magazine’s SXSW 2013 Panel Pitch

MUSIC VIDEO AND INTERVIEW CONTINUED BELOW

Directed by Gabriele Ottino and produced by Superbudda Studio

How did the collaboration form and how closely did you guys work together on it?
Come è nata la vostra collaborazione e quanto strettamente avete lavorato al progetto?

Gabriele Ottino (Director):
La collaborazione è nata per il semplice fatto che io e Davide siamo prima di tutto compagni musicali in diverse band e di studio quasi da una decina d anni. Questo è però il primo effettivo lavoro nel quale i ruoli si sono definiti maggiormente. Davide mi ha chiesto di realizzarli il videoclip di un brano del suo primo disco solista dal titolo “1984″. Partendo dal concept, che vuole ogni traccia abbinata ad un evento storico verificatosi tra il 1° e il 6° giugno nel corso della storia umana, ho iniziato a selezionare una serie di eventi relativi all’anno 1984. In seguito ho trovato tutte le immagini di riferimento e mi sono confrontato per l ultima volta con Davide prima di passare alla parte di editing. Non avevo un’idea ben precisa su come sarebbe apparso il video finito. L’unica cosa che sapevo è che volevo che le immagini si scomponessero e ricomponessero come il “gioco dei 15″ (Fifteen puzzle) e che delle animazioni con i pixel dessero colore e movimento a questa specie di slideshow fotografica alterata. Il risultato ottenuto assomigliava più ad un visual acido che ad un videoclip vero e proprio. Abbiamo deciso allora io e Davide di girare ancora qualche scena “reale” principalmente per rendere tutto il piu fruibile possibile.Questa scelta ha portato il video verso una conclusione sia pratica che concettuale. L’estetica della realtà all interno della quale Davide accoglie informazioni digitali relative al passato viene invasa da glitch visivi, errori e pixel quasi a suggerire un passaggio tra la realtà vissuta e la banca dati di una memoria ausiliaria.

Davide Tomat (Director):
Gabriele Ottino è il mio socio di studio e di progetti musicali da oltre cinque anni. Lavoriamo insieme musicalmente, per il teatro, per il sound design e passiamo molto tempo a stretto contatto. Abbiamo anche vissuto insieme nel nostro studio per più di un anno e mezzo e quindi tutto ciò che facciamo, anche progetti solisti in qualche modo coinvolgono l’un l’altro. Gabriele è un ottimo musicista, ma prima di tutto un vero artista, un video maker molto intelligente e sensibile, ha realizzato parecchi video d’arte autonomamente e video, visuals e teaser per le band e progetti che condividiamo insieme (NAMB / NIAGARA / GEMINI EXCERPT). E’ stato quindi naturale chiedere a Gabriele di realizzare il mio primo video anche perchè stavamo ragionando insieme ai visuals da utilizzare per il mio live.

Pixel and glitch art sometimes loses quality in smaller video formats. Was the decision to go with larger glitch “pixels” in order to combat this technical problem, or was it purely for aesthetic reasons?
Pixel e glitch spesso perdono di definizione nella conversione dei video in bassa qualità .La decisione di usare pixel più grandi è stata dettata dall’esigenza di combattere questo problema tecnico o è stata una pura scelta estetica?

Gabriele Ottino (Director):
È stata una scelta sia concettuale che estetica. È una specie di mix tra l estetica sonora e visiva del disco ed il mio amore innato per l’errore digitale il quale ricerco da quando ho iniziato a lavorare con il video. Tutto il resto è caos organizzato che a distanza di mesi dalla sua realizzazione continua ad autogenerare significati.

Davide Tomat (Musician):
E’ stata la coerenza con l’artwork dell’ album a suggerirci di utilizzare la tecnica dei pixel grossolani nel video. L’artwork di 01-09JUNE è basato su un trattamento di pixel di immagini che rappresentano la diffrazione ordinata di raggi X aventi tutti la stessa energia per orpera di un campione cristallino di DNA. L’idea di utilizzare questo tipo di immagini è partita da un libro che ho scoperto per la prima volta a 10 anni e che si chiama “Potenze di Dieci”e fornisce un interessante e plausibile visione dell’universo cambiando dimensioni progressivamente per potenze di dieci fino a dimostrare che “Siamo nati con l’intero universo dentro di noi.” Tale concetto si sposa perfettamente con il mio album, sia concettualmente che tecnicamente perchè 01-06JUNE è stato realizzato con lo strumento più naturale, la voce umana, passata attraverso effetti digitali che hanno sezionato il segnale continuo in un segnale discreto con la tecnica del campionamento digitale . Lo stesso concetto dei pixel sulle immagini digitali e lo stesso concetto del viaggio astrale del libro che mi ha ispirato. Recentemente gli scienziati stanno cercando per dimostrare che lo spazio non è continuo, come abbiamo sempre pensato, ma che lo spazio è discreto, digitale, e non analogico quindi come i pixel sulle immagini e la tecnica di campionamento digitale nella musica.

INTERVIEW CONTINUED BELOW
TOMAT – “1984″ Music Video

What is the underlying message of the 1984, Space Invaders, war imagery, etc. in the song and in the video?
Qual è il messaggio nascosto dietro space invaders, 1984, immagini di guerra, ecc nella canzone e nel video?

Gabriele Ottino (Director):
Per quanto riguarda il video, penso che non sia centrale il messaggio di ogni singolo evento quanto la suggestione creata da una serie di eventi così diversi tra loro pur essendo accaduti nello stesso anno. Più si infittisce il numero di eventi al secondo, più ci si distacca dai fatti in se, acquistando oggettività ma perdendo umanità. Ecco cosa succede a Davide nel video. Non si vede dalle facce che fa?! Credo che sia la stessa cosa che accade all’astronauta quando inizia a percepire con gli occhi la sfericita della terra.

Davide Tomat (Musician):
Come per la scelta dei pixel grossolani, per il senso del video Gabriele ha cercato di essere coerente con il concetto dell’ album. 01-06JUNE è stato registrato in una sessione d’ improvvisazione solitaria tra il 1 ° e il 6 giugno 2010. Alla fine della sessione di registrazione ho cercato di estrarre dei brani dal lungo materiale audio che avevo registrato e abbinare i brani individuati ad eventi accaduti nella storia umana tra il 1 ° e il 6 giugno cercando una coesione emozionale. Così per il video, dopo tante idee, abbiamo deciso di applicare la stessa tecnica e cercare tutti gli eventi accaduti durante l’anno 84 e ed editarli per il video. Personalmente, il messaggio nascosto del video è quello di fare attenzione a ciò che è successo nella storia umana e a ciò che accadrà, sapendo che ciò che stiamo costruendo o distruggendo adesso farà parte del futuro, che siamo tutti responsabili per ciò che sarà la storia futura, ciò che verrà dipende da tutti noi, senza esclusione. Come scrisse Orwell: “Chi controlla il passato controlla il futuro. Chi controlla il presente controlla il passato.” Alla fine del video anche io sono disperso e prigioniero nel grande archivio digitale cercando, seguendo i pixel, una via di fuga. Quel mondo, il mondo di internet, in questo momento, sembra essere molto più interessante di ciò che realmente ci circonda.

What are some sources for the archival film and photos?
Quali sono le fonti d’archivio delle immagini utilizzate nel video?

Gabriele Ottino (Director):
Provengono tutte da ricerche su internet, la mia (la nostra) memoria ausiliaria.

As Italian artists, how do you feel about the future of Italy and the European Union right now?
Come artisti italiani, come vedete il futuro dell’Italia e dell’Unione europea in questo momento?

Gabriele Ottino (Director):
Bella domanda.E da una decina d’anni che progetto una fuga dall’Italia. Nostro è un paese ricco di bellezza ma ormai privato di quasi qualsiasi tipo di significato.Accogliamo tutto ciò che di nuovo ci viene proposto da paesi ” più grandi” di noi. Allo stesso tempo non abbiamo le basi culturali per poter filtrare quello che ci arriva e ci investe privandoci di iniziativa e creatività. Dei bambini senza immaginazione che vestono abiti stranieri senza saper parlare nemmeno la propria lingua. Una vera merda! Ogni tanto si trovano però dei punti di connessione con alcune persone ed ammetto che è adrenalinico ed estremamente stimolante. Come trovare alleati in un campo di battaglia. Un po troppo guerrafondaio a meno che non decidi di chiuderti in eremitaggio con i tuoi cari o di difendere il tuo castello se ne possiedi uno. L’unione europea non la sento se non per il fatto che sento meno il peso dei confini. Infatti sto iniziando a entrare nell’ottica di vivermela un po’ di più come casa.

Davide Tomat (Musician):
E’ un momento molto strano qui in Italia. Sembra che tutto sia completamente fuori di senso. Tutto sta andando nella direzione sbagliata. Sono generalmente una persona positiva riguardo al futuro e allo sviluppo della coscienza umana. Sono sempre stato pieno di speranze per il futuro, quindi in qualche modo penso che questo abisso che stiamo vivendo forse sarà il punto di partenza e la motivazione per ri iniziare a salire e cercare di tornare in superficie. In un minimo storico come questo solo la verità, le cose vere e importanti sopravvivono, come dopo uno tzunami, ciò che rimane in piedi è destinato a durare nel tempo. Quello che è realmente importante per tutti noi adesso è cercare di guardare con onestà dentro noi stessi e fare solo le cose che veramente sentiamo e in cui veramente crediamo cercando di entrare realmente in contatto con noi stessi, pensando a noi stessi come una parte del tutto, lo stesso tutto che si trova all’interno noi, dentro tutti, cercando di andare oltre le apparenze.

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Related posts:

1. Onuinu – Ice Palace Music Video (w/ Director Andrew Sloan & Choreographer Jin Camou Interview)
2. David Daniell & Douglas McCombs – “30265″ Music Video (Interview w/ Director Timothy Leeds)
3. AU – OJ + Ida Walked Away Music Videos (Interview w/ Luke Wyland & Director Takafumi Tsuhiya)

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

TOMAT – “1984″ Music Video (w/ Director Gabriele Ottino & Musician Davide Tomat Interview)

Do you storyboard your images before you create them? How long does a piece like The Thread Inside take from start to finish, contrasting with Cock And Cobra?

The ideas for my paintings usually come to me slowly and build on themselves in my mind’s eye, sometimes for years, before I begin illustrating them. For instance, the idea for Cock and Cobra came from a leaping rooster figurine at an antique shop. The form of it really intrigued me but also made me wonder what it might be leaping from. A snake seemed like the most logical and interesting conclusion. The two masculine symbols needed a reason for such conflict, and I figured that the femininely-charged roses would make a great context. This painting took about a month with many hours put into it, whereas Vulture King took several months, mostly because I periodically put it on the back burner due to uncertainty about how exactly to finish it. For me, sometimes ideas need a little time to incubate.

False Eyes [below] and The Thread Inside [first image] took about a week each and tie into other paintings in the series. I will usually do many rough sketches to compose the elements in a dynamic fashion. This can sometimes be the hardest part of the process because it is nearly impossible to find reference for something the way it appears in your head. Cock and Cobra is again a good example of this. I had to composite many different source pictures to put the rooster at the angle I wanted him while maintaining that slight realistic spark. Of course, my imagination has to fill in many of the gaps, creating that other-worldly feel which I suppose is a key element to my style.

Your work stresses organic matter a lot, be that in the form of feathers, hair, sinews, bones, etc. What is it about these elements that draw you to them, and do you, in perhaps a [David] Cronenbergian way, ever see organic stylings in non-organic materials?

I suppose there is a part of me that does not like technology very much. The constant sound of traffic and jets flying over head, buzzing power lines, and unending construction. There are ongoing themes in my art that involve the clash of technology with the natural world as well as my own human guilt for being a part of that encroachment by default. The marriage of the organic and inorganic is a way of addressing the seemingly irreversible state of the environment. We have become a part of our environment only in a way that a cancer relates to our own bodies.

This current body of work stands in stark contrast to your previous pieces. It seems like a very big leap in a positive direction, both in terms of conceptualizing your works and in terms of the actual technical skill involved. Do you think this is true, and if so, did this change of inspiration and style come from a particular place?

Yes, looking back I do find that I have made vast improvements, stylistically, and skill-wise, but I still feel like a novice in many respects. I suppose it is just experience that comes with age. When I’m not making art and just going about my day, and even in sleep, I feel I am putting puzzle pieces together and building on ideas and perceptions. I try to keep my art fairly honest and don’t have much of a pop sensibility. Through osmosis, I’m sure I absorb the shifts going on in the art world around me, but I don’t let it dictate the directions I take. Mostly I feel like I am trying to translate ideas from my subconscious into a narrative that I may decipher just as any other observer of the art might. There is not usually a predetermined symbolism going on. The art is open to the interpretations that any individual might read into it.

What’s next for you? Are there themes or styles of art that you are looking forward to exploring more?

I want to get back into oil paining and also going much bigger at some point, possibly even doing murals. Over the years I have done a fair amount of figure drawing and painting but have not brought it too extensively into my personal work. In the future I hope to incorporate the figure more often, working from models and perhaps gaining some classical sensibilities.

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Related posts:

1. Michael Michael Motorcycle Artist Interview : Multi-Colored World Of Poster Art
2. Jacob Van Loon Artist Interview : Layering Upon A Tangible Aesthetic
3. Christopher Davison Artist Interview : Beyond Black And White Disaster

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Ian Michael Anderson Artist Interview: Gently Organizing Organisms

Rafael Anton Irisarri

“A Great Northern Sigh” from The North Bend

As The Sight Below, Rafael Anton Irisarri’s compositions rebuild familiar emotions and spaces by way of minimal electronic soundscapes. According to Irisarri, “A Great Northern Sigh” has conceptual and thematic ties to the work of Orcas, as it also relates to the Pacific Northwest. “Almost like an audio postcard,” he adds. “What can I say — I’m deeply inspired by this region and wouldn’t imagine composing our Orcas album anywhere else.”

Rafael Anton Irisarri

“Deception Falls” from The North Bend

Are there any lessons you’ve learned about your own creative process as a musician as a direct result of working collaboratively on Orcas? Are there any that will stay with you in the future?

Rafael Anton Irisarri: I’ve re-learned to work with others, to be patient and to accept change as a natural form, to not be contrived by preconceptions, to be open to suggestions and ways of thinking. It’s been really wonderful, as I’m usually a hermit when I work solo.

Creating this record was a very natural process for the two of you. Do you think both of you relate to creation (as a philosophical construct) or the emotional output of music in similar ways? If so, do you think that extends outwards to general life philosophies, as well?

RAI: For me, music was for the longest time a form of therapy. I was a very awkward kid growing up — the kind of lonely, skinny, fragile, bullied boy you see exemplified in fictional characters like Oskar (from the novel Låt den rätte komma in). From an early time, music became my way of coping with the fact that I didn’t seem to belong anywhere. To this day, I still feel like this sometimes. I don’t really have a “life philosophical stance,” but if I would have one, I’d borrow a line from my favorite book: “It is lonely when you are among people too.”

In some ways, Orcas is a very polished and straight-forward record, but there are many layers of grain and nuance to be dissected. How much of the pop structures and additional underlying details were the result of planning versus experimentation?

RAI: Many years ago, I would have a particular sound in my head, and I would try to recreate it, basing an entire composition from that idea. As I’ve developed further, I’ve become more and more obsessed with building my own tools to create new, unique vocabulary. This of course is entirely personal and related to my own limitations as a musician; I’m not a proficient player in any instruments. I just play many instruments based on ideas and feelings I have at the time, so it’s not like I can sit down with sheet music and play some Bach (as an example) on the piano. I took a more “punk” approach/direction, and decided that if I could take an instrument and express an emotion with it, it didn’t matter what my technical limitations were. This is of course, part of my process, too; I use my limitations as part of my creative process. Rather than seeing something as a handicap, I observe it as opportunity to express myself in a unique way. At the same time, I do a lot of improvisation in the studio and record everything. Lots and lots of happy accidents tend to happen this way, so then my job as a composer becomes “managing” these accidents while shaping them into compositions, almost like a sculpture artist (as cliché as this comparison may sound).

Listening Station

Orcas – “Until Then” (Broadcast Cover) – DOWNLOAD MP3

Broadcast – “Until Then”

Each track on Orcas leans cohesively towards the light or the dark — but when one dissects the individual components, seemingly contradictory sounds emerge. How much of this record was composed in the editing process through compiling together different combinations of sounds? Were certain textural details interchangeably attempted on different tracks until winning combinations emerged?

RAI: I’m naturally drawn to the darker nature of life, maybe from life experiences, or maybe cause some of us are born this way, [we] are more connected to darker personalities. I dunno, I’m not a psychoanalyst; my music tends to be an extension of how I feel at the moment of composing it. I do what comes most natural to me.

Can you describe how some of the more interesting layers of sound were created?

RAI: Well, most of it stems from improvising in the studio, recording everything, then processing, filtering, re-amplifying, detuning, deconstructing and manipulating. A simple example is the “trumpet” sounds that lead on “Pallor Cedes” — that is actually Tom playing a glockenspiel using a viola bow, to which I applied the aforementioned processing style.

Was the name Orcas chosen before or after the completion of the record? Are there qualities about the orca — as a creature — that you think translates thematically to your sound?

Are there plans for further collaborative efforts as Orcas?

RAI: Yes, absolutely, we are working on new material remotely, and plan to record some more this summer. That said – I really hope our listeners and listeners of this kind of music in general really supports our first album by buying it, either on a physical format, or thru any of the multitude of legal download stores. It’s beyond frustrating to put so much effort into an album, spent countless hours making something sound exactly how you envision it, only to find it “file-shared” as crappy-sounding MP3′s. What you listen on those low-res rips is not a very accurate representation of how it sounds on vinyl for instance. There is really no equivalent. So if you like our music, please support it by purchasing it.

Ω

Related posts:

1. Spectral Hypnosis : Orcas, CFCF, Jogging House MP3 Streams & Downloads
2. Substrata Festival Brings Intimate Ambience To Seattle (w/ Curator Interview)
3. Tim Hecker, Daniel Menche, Lawrence English, Scanner (Substrata Festival 1.2) Live Show Review 2012

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Orcas Band Interview: A Balance Of Majestic Forces

In Midday Veil’s new video for “Moon Temple,” vocalist Emily Pothast has edited source material she and guitarist Timm Mason generated last year during a residency at Experimental Television Center in Upstate New York. At its gentlest, the video is a silky smooth ripple; at its most severe, a rigid and noisy gallop through harsh-edged brain wave terrain. Pothast guides you to step through purple-hued worlds as she morphs from a candle-wielding human into multiple faces of sensuality, to disintegrate in and out of forms of ghostly apparition. 23:50 in duration, “Moon Temple” is the type of video you’d want to project on a big screen, for a richly synesthesic experience.

The band has just finished mixing The Current, their second studio album with producer Randall Dunn (Boris, Sunn o)))). Stream the entire improvised EP below, and catch them on a string of tour dates, including a set at the upcoming REDEFINE SXSW showcase at House of Commons, Austin. (More details and full lineup coming soon, and you can see last year’s recap HERE.)

Read our interview with Emily Pothast about Midday Veil and her record label, Translinguistic Other

MIDDAY VEIL TOUR DATES
March 1 Rat & Raven, Seattle, WA
March 3 Bad for Jazz # 12 at SPACE, Seattle, WA
March 9 Pastime Tavern, Dallas, TX
March 10 SXSW Runoff Fest at Super Happy Fun Land, Houston, TX
March 11 Cafe Istanbul w/ PSYCHIC ILLS & WOODSMAN, New Orleans, LA
March 15 Austin Psych Fest SXSW Party, Spiderhouse, Austin, TX
March 16 Redefine Magazine Showcase, House of Commons, Austin, TX

Related posts:

1. Translinguistic Other Interview : Forever Sounds (w/ Midday Veil’s Emily Pothast)
2. Midday Veil – “Choreia” Music Video Premiere
3. Midday Veil – “Anthem” Music Video

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Midday Veil – Moon Temple Music Video (Subterranean Ritual II)

Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) is upon us again, and we have whittled down their list of 100+ international shorts and full-length films to pick what we have determined to be the best and most interesting of the bunch.

Portland International Film Festival 2012 runs from February 9th through the 25th, with more than one screening for most movies (exceptions generally being shorts and midnight film series).

Looking for something to do this upcoming week? How about one of these films?

Those interested in documentaries can see a list of documentaries we recommend for PIFF 2012 or see here for all PIFF coverage.

SNOWTOWN
AUSTRALIA

Directed by Justin Kurzel
Snowtown is director Justin Kurzel’s examination on a series of murders throughout the 1990s, all committed under the leadership of Australia’s most famous serial killer, John Bunting. A terrifying suburban horror film, rooted in real life mysteries. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival.
02/24 – 6:30pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/25 – 8:30pm – Whitsell Auditorium

SURVIVING LIFE
CZECH REPUBLIC

Directed by Jan Svankmajer
All hail Czech surrealist Jan Svankmajer, who is back – surprisingly – with a new film! Here, Svankmajer explores the human subconscious and dreams; a man who finds himself repeatedly dreaming about a mysterious fictional woman consults a doctor on how he can delve deeper into dreamland, to continue his new romantic saga.
02/15 – 8:45pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/22 – 9:00pm – Whitsell Auditorium

THE LONELIEST PLANET
GERMANY

Directed by Julia Loktev
Gael Garcia Bernal’s latest movie has him alongside Hani Furstenberg, in a romantic drama about a couple that was madly in love but fall apart once resentment and disappointment seeps in silently. A character portrait on how contempt and wordless physical and mental cues can transform the course of a relationship.
02/20 – 5:15pm – Cinema 21
02/24 – 8:45pm – Cinema 21

THE TURIN HORSE
HUNGARY

Directed by Bela Tarr
Black and white minimalism push forth this Hungarian philosophical and metaphysical tale, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s mental collapse after his witnessing of the Turin Horse. (FULL REVIEW)
02/18 – 8:15pm – Cinema 21
02/21 – 7:00pm – Cinema 21

FOOTNOTE
ISRAEL

Directed by Joseph Cedar
Father and son, both working in Israel as Talmudic scholars, must learn how to resolve a conflict of pride when one is mistakenly told he has won the famed Israel Prize.
02/18 – 8:30pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/19 – 5:00pm – Cinema 21

NORWEGIAN WOOD
JAPAN

Directed by Tran Anh Hung
A film adaption of Haruki Murakami’s novel of the same name, Norwegian Wood. Is a slow-paced romantic story about dysfunction, tragedy, and love. Beautifully shot, with a soundtrack crafted by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
02/12 – 8:00pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/21 – 7:00pm – Cinemagic

AURORA
ROMANIA

Directed by Cristi Puiu
This is the second film in Romanian director Cristi Puiu series, Six Stories From The Outskirts Of Bucharest, where a seemingly “normal” guy commits intensely violent acts, driving home the message the perspectives can always be challenged.
02/20 – 6:00pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/22 – 6:30pm – Pioneer Place Mall

THE DAY HE ARRIVES
SOUTH KOREA

Directed by Hong Sang-Soo
A film professor finds that notable circumstances in his life keep reoccurring day after day, challenging him to determine whether his days have become mind-numbingly routine or if the same day is somehow replaying over and over again.
02/14 – 6:15pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/23 – 8:30pm – Whitsell Auditorium

EXTRATERRESTRIAL
SPAIN

Directed by Nacho Vigalondo
In this unlikely romantic comedy, two strangers – who have just met after a one-night stand – find themselves in close quarters after massive alien spaceships arrive in Madrid.
02/24 – 8:45pm – Whitsell Auditorium
02/25 – 6:00pm – Whitsell Auditorium

ETERNITY
THAILAND

Directed by Sivaroj Kongsakul
This Thai epic oscillates back and forth between mirth and tragedy, life and death, past memories in a spiritual and poetic way that is at once confusing and enrapturing.
02/22 – 6:00pm – Lloyd Mall 6
02/25 – 8:15pm – Lloyd Mall 6

ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA
TURKEY

Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
A mesmerizing murder tale, which REDEFINE writer George Shaefer describes as possessive of an inherent intrigue — a subtle, masterful work, worth many viewings and good conversations about meaning.” FULL REVIEW
02/19 – 7:30pm – Cinema 21
02/24 – 3:00pm – Cinema 21

Related posts:

1. Portland International Film Festival 2012: Festival Preview Guide, Part One
2. Portland International Film Festival 2012: Documentary Film Preview Guide
3. SIFF 2012 Festival Preview: European Film Picks, Part One

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Portland International Film Festival 2012: Festival Preview Guide, Part Two

Q&A With Emily Pothast, Translinguistic Other Founder & Midday Veil Vocalist

I first became interested in Gnosticism when I was living in a part of Texas that is completely dominated by fundamentalist Christianity. I knew the dominant culture was fucked, but I didn’t feel like it was useful to be completely dismissive of the religious mythologies that held so much resonance for these people. I wanted to know where these ideas came from and to see if I could learn something about the patterns behind them.

– Emily Pothast, on mysticism

Didn’t you tell me once that you had some kind of experience where you went out-of-body because you electrocuted yourself with some of your gear during a sound check? Talk about that a bit.

Yep. It had to do with a short in an amplifier and a building with old wiring. It was super weird. My lip touched the microphone, and everything went completely white. Whatever electromagnetic integrity holds my consciousness together was completely overridden by the strength of the current, and for a brief moment, I became a passive conduit for electricity. I felt my “self” taking the form of the wiring of the building and reaching out into the electrical grid beyond. And then I came back. It was over within a matter of seconds.

'The years... when I pursued the inner images, were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me... Everything later was merely the outer classification, the scientific elaboration and the integration into life.'
-- Carl Jung on The Red Book, 1957

BUY: THE RED BOOK

In general, I’m interested in the mystical strains of various religions because they tend to emphasize direct experience over dogma. I first became interested in Gnosticism when I was living in a part of Texas that is completely dominated by fundamentalist Christianity. I knew the dominant culture was fucked, but I didn’t feel like it was useful to be completely dismissive of the religious mythologies that held so much resonance for these people. I wanted to know where these ideas came from and to see if I could learn something about the patterns behind them. So I started looking into the history and politics of early Christianity, which led me to Gnosticism¹, which is far too broad of a topic to get started on here — but yeah, it’s super interesting.

As far as my personal history of spiritual experiences, the big one would be losing my parents in a car accident in 2005. I was really close to my family — especially my mom — and that experience just threw me into this incredibly deep and infinitely painful abyss, which ended up being very transformative for me as an artist. Pretty much all of the assumptions I had about life before that point collapsed and everything I have done since then has been rebuilt in the shadow of that experience. The album Eyes All Around is about that process of going through hell and eventually coming through the other side.

Jung’s The Red Book is endlessly fascinating to me because he also went through a very harrowing period personal crisis, except his had a spontaneous onset. The The Red Book was his personal journal where he recorded all kinds of visions he had during that time, which essentially amount to prophecy, both visual and literary. He went in a psychiatrist and came out a prophet.

Midday Veil are about to go into the studio and work on another more song-oriented outing right? Plug away.

Yep, Midday Veil are about to go into the studio with Randall Dunn and record our second full-length album. It will consist of some stuff you’ve probably been hearing us play live for the past few months, and some other things that are very much still in flux. I’m excited because I think the new stuff really represents the band coming into its own.

Didn’t you guys record some stuff in The Integratron²? That’s one of the cooler ideas I’ve ever heard. How’d that go? Any weirdness?

Aw, thanks! The Integratron is amazing. The building is incredible and it’s situated on a geomagnetic vortex, supposedly. They also do healing sound baths with these quartz crystal bowls that are designed to resonate with the frequencies of the room, so you can feel the sound coming through your body like a physical current. If you go, you definitely need to get one of the sound baths!

As far as weirdness beyond the inherent weirdness of being there, I didn’t feel any. We did make some recordings in there but we’re still sorting out what to do with them. They have some incredible moments, but we didn’t multi-track, so we just have room mic recordings and a big part of the amazingness of The Integratron is the way it actually feels to be there. The acoustic properties are very strange. The sound travels in unexpected ways. Learning to play music inside The Integratron is like learning to play a completely new instrument! So whatever happens with the stuff we have, I think I’m definitely interested in making another trip down there at some point to see if we can’t figure out a way to record more spatially in order to really get a sense of what it’s like to be in the space.

How do you feel about how the drug war influences the culture surrounding our music scene? Do you ever find yourself wishing you could shill something other than booze legally? Any thoughts on the ridiculously high prevalence of alcohol problems among musicians?

Well, I don’t feel like it’s my position to shill booze or anything else (except records!), but it’s true, nearly all of the legitimate music venues in Seattle are bars first and venues second, so I guess everyone in a band that plays those venues shills booze indirectly. The bars make money off selling alcohol, which no doubt influences the music that gets played and promoted and also probably encourages musicians to drink more than they would if they weren’t hanging out in that kind of environment all the time. It would be an interesting experiment to play music in a club that just served pot brownies, for instance, and see how that changed the overall contours of the experience. It would be very different.

“I think the idea of having songs that are completely set in stone is a little like having a supreme deity who created the world exactly as it is, static and unchanging. Charting the development of themes in linear time, or intentionally building toward a climax is, in fact, a very idiosyncratic and Western way of looking at music. But if you take a longer, wider look at the history of humans making music, you find strong traditions all over the world of music that unfolds around a central point and illuminates the contours of a single eternal moment.”

– Emily Pothast, on spontaneous creation

2011′s Escalator Fest³ featured like 2 bands (out of 10, Midday Veil and Rose Windows) that I would say wrote “actual songs” by any conventional definition of the word. Both of these new releases on your label are based on spontaneous experimentation. What are your thoughts on the importance of spontaneity in the creative process, as it’s obviously something you pursue?

I definitely pursue improvisation in my process and am most drawn to musicians who also practice a certain kind of cultivated spontaneity. The four core members of Midday Veil have been playing together for almost three years now, and our process has definitely matured a lot. Early on, I had some songs that I had written on my own that we adapted for the full band, but now when we write songs together, it’s generally something that starts as an improvisation and gets refined over time.

To me, there is always something magical about the very first time a melody or rhythmic idea emerges, and so on some level, taking an idea beyond that initial improvisation is always a little like trying to draw a picture of a bolt of lightning from memory. (That’s why, as far as my personal tastes go, Subterranean Ritual II is the most exciting thing Midday Veil has released so far.) But we’re also working on bringing some of that spontaneity into more recognizable song structures by creating compositions that are a framework for improvisation to unfold in. Like, this is the shape and color of the tent, but what happens inside the tent is always a little different.

For me, that interest comes right back to your other question about spirituality. I think the idea of having songs that are completely set in stone is a little like having a supreme deity who created the world exactly as it is, static and unchanging. Charting the development of themes in linear time, or intentionally building toward a climax is, in fact, a very idiosyncratic and Western way of looking at music. But if you take a longer, wider look at the history of humans making music, you find strong traditions all over the world of music that unfolds around a central point and illuminates the contours of a single eternal moment. For me, that expansion of time is the essence of psychedelic music. Music is art that unfolds in 4 dimensions, and psychedelic music is psychedelic insofar as its ability to imply dimensions beyond that.

I’m interested in music that explores, but first goes to the trouble of setting up good conditions for exploration. Set and setting. Then it becomes more about the journey than any particular destination.

Is this maybe a subtle way to encourage different, maybe healthier choices in chemical consumption among the listeners? Clubs themselves won’t make dick on any of that unless the laws change.

Well, Fungal Abyss are very open about the fact that, for them, the process of getting into that meditative, creative headspace involves mushrooms that are currently illegal in the United States, despite the fact that they were deemed sacred by many of the indigenous people we stole this continent from. But ultimately, we [at Translinguistic Other] put out their album because the music is excellent, not because we have any agenda of encouraging one drug over another. The shroom thing might inspire some people to turn on and tune in, but other people it will probably just use it as an excuse to completely dismiss it before giving the music a chance. However people choose to react, I think that says more about them than it does about the label or about Fungal Abyss. I think it’s my job to help put the art I want to see out into the world and try not to worry too much about what other people do with it in their free time.

From Improv To Tape: Recent Releases On Translinguistic Other

Fungal Abyss — Bardo Abgrund Temple

Every time I take mushrooms, I personally experience a similar sensation of a veil lifted and a world of guitar noise, cresting electronics, and godhead reverb echoing eternally behind the scenes of our manufactured reality. I feel this is relevant information when discussing an album by Fungal Abyss, Seattle epic metal dudes Lesbian’s mycology-obsessed free-form psych project.

Members of Lesbian were in a crazy technical spazz-core band called The Abodox and have been practicing their instruments obsessively for decades now. Despite this, they’re smart enough to know that when free-from riffing on the fly, it’s best to keep things insanely simple as to avoid glaring fuck ups.

Most of the tracks on Bardo Abgrund Temple are little more than a base primal drumbeat laced with no nonsense fills and a bunch of same key effected guitar noise layered on top. In fact, that’s pretty much what the entire first 20-minute “song,” “Arc of the Covenant,” is. It’s cool for sure, and reminds me of bands like say late nineties/early ‘aughts Bardo Pond sans vocals. Not honestly what you’d expect from the Lesbros. Dudes are choppier than a schooner ride through hurricane waters — and they’re toning things down on that front quite a bit here. On the plus side, they’re not singing for once, which is a bonus, and there’s exactly zero bullshit metal posturing. So its way chiller vibes than what they thrown dow in their main project.

In my mind, the album, which is over an hour long, peaks on the song “Time of Bones,” when one of the guitar players remembers: “Oh shit, yeah, I can shred,” and proceeds to drop some light speed blues licks for a spell. Or is it the song “Timewave Zero,” which references in title and then actually samples the immortal Terence McKenna? You can never go wrong with shit like that, and you know what, you can stream the entire thing online for free (see below or visit their Bandcamp) but you can’t buy it as a download for some reason.

Midday Veil – Subterranean Ritual II

You might also want to grab Midday Veil’s Subterranean Ritual II on Amazon, because it’s less than $2 for a 35+ minute record. The Veil have been pursuing the art of spontaneous musical channeling from the jump, and you should be able to tell just from the cassette’s moniker that it’s their second foray into cutting free-form experimentation to tape. It definitely works better than the first, due to longer song lengths, less instinctual vocal outbursts and more focused intentions.

The first track, “Moon Temple,” starts off meditative, turns tribal, and unsurprisingly peaks at the end when guitarist Timm Mason drops some staccato fret board shred-i-tude for a few sustained minutes. It’s what the whole track seems to be building to and when it hits, your mind is taken to a wondrous level of sublimely blown. It’s probably the most structural moment on the tape, where years of scale worship bear luscious rewards. The next track, “Naxos,” is ominous in tone and kind of doesn’t go anywhere much but sounds spiritual nonetheless. You just kind of think its building to a crest like the first song, but it never comes. Interesting in a sound-tracky way for sure and makes me think about performing arcane internal rituals in a cathedral at dawn while the sun drenches my spirit with life rejuvenating energy. Good, but in a background music kind of way.

The thing about Midday Veil is, they’re one of the few psych bands writing actual songs these days, which sets them apart from the pack. Their strength rests largely on the potency of Miss Pothast’s pipes which are wisely restrained to background ambiance here. Trippy improv albums are fun, but I’m more looking forward to their next studio outing which will most likely feature something I won’t be able to shake out of my head after the music ends. Then again, maybe that’s just the drunk in me talking. That dude never shuts up.

Midday Veil – Naxos by Translinguistic Other

Upcoming Releases On Translinguistic Other

Dictionary Of Terms

¹ Gnosticism (from gnostikos, “learned”, from Greek: γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge)
A scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common toearly Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism (especially Zurvanism), and Neoplatonism. A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis (esoteric or intuitive knowledge), is the way to salvation of the soul from the material world.

² The Integratron
PHOTO CREDIT (R): The Milky Way over the Integratron by Wally Pacholka
A space in Southern California, self-described as “an acoustically-perfect tabernacle and energy machine sited on a powerful geomagnetic vortex in the magical Mojave Desert… The Integratron is the creation of George Van Tassel, and is based on the design of Moses’ Tabernacle, the writings of Nikola Tesla and telepathic directions from extraterrestrials. This one-of-a-kind building is a 38-foot high, 55-foot diameter, non-metallic structure originally designed by Van Tassel as a rejuvenation and time machine. Today, it is the only all-wood, acoustically perfect sound chamber in the U.S.”
(Source: www.integratron.com)

³ Escalator Fest
A multiple-day festival of psychedelic music, which has taken place annually in Seattle, Washington, since 2009.
(Source: www.escalatorfest.com)

Related posts:

1. Midday Veil – Moon Temple Music Video (Subterranean Ritual II)
2. Mystical & Spiritual Ideas in Modern Music: REDEFINE magazine’s SXSW 2013 Panel Pitch
3. Midday Veil – Eyes All Around Album Review

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Translinguistic Other Interview : Forever Sounds (w/ Midday Veil’s Emily Pothast)

“To me, a born-and-raised Californian, the forest of Oregon has a heavenly, Garden of Eden, sacred feel,” explains vocalist and guitarist Christopher Lynch. “It was a major force behind ‘Black Hills’ and some of the other tracks.”

“The lyrics are mostly for me, and anyone who wants to dive deeply into my weird world… like how John Lennon used to tell everyone that all his lyrics were just gibberish,” explains Lynch, who goes back and forth regularly on the idea of “mystery versus transparency” in song lyrics. He cites Sigur Rós as a band for which mystery works; their Icelandic and sometimes language-defying lyrical content play a secondary role to their lush instrumentation and associated imagery.

“I like it when lyrics are not easy to make out or understand in the first couple listens,” continues Lynch, “because it opens up the listener more to the vibe and emotion of the melodies, vowel sounds, and diction.”

Gardens & Villa focus heavily on capturing these moods, and even the album’s press release expounds on logistics and musical comparisons rather than on lyrical content. Rest assured, though; such decisions are wholly intentional.

“There would not be enough room in a press release to sufficiently expound on or describe them,” Lynch supposes, making it clear that Gardens & Villa‘s shiny pop veneer betrays the depth of its content.

It is only when one really begins to deconstruct the lyrics that a fascinating underlying thread begins to reveal itself.

Discovering A Hidden Narrative

Take, for instance, the surprising nature of even the album’s most in-your-face dance tracks. “Thorn Castles” features an acoustic guitar, sunshine-laden melody, and bounce-in-your-step rhythm, but gives wide-eyed descriptions of magic and miracle. Over a disco beat, “Star Fire Power” relays hushed references to “shooting stars” and “fire power,” while “Spacetime” playfully explores the malleable nature of the space-time continuum. Even at their most flamboyant, Gardens & Villa explore unconventional themes that would never cross the minds of many.

“A lot of my songwriting comes from a desire to open myself up to nature and the universe, experiences with love, my subconscious, childhood memories, imagination and various cocktails of each,” reveals Lynch. “I guess these are reflections of my larger life philosophies, but not in a concrete way.”

In fact, none of the lyrics on Gardens & Villa are particularly concrete. Though Lynch is quick to say that though he does not follow any specific meta-narratives or doctrines, his curiosity of philosophical and spiritual ideas shines through. The entirety of Gardens & Villa is a cryptic blend of philosophy and memoir, with content converging from varying places and spaces.

“Sometimes [the songs were] sporadic creations, other times calculated, and sometimes directly inspired,” says Lynch. “All came with a different feel and color.”

Like the morning sun rising over the horizon, a progression of synth and scat singing slowly brings Gardens & Villa into sight. Opener “Black Hills” begins the journey with descriptions of mankind scaling mountaintops and witnessing the rising of the seas — only to eventually submerge themselves in water to be “baptized.” “Cruise Ship” follows, inviting listeners to take their wives and children onto the cruise ship because “that’s how God made us to live.”

While these lyrics can certainly be taken at face value — and may even recall the band’s experiences bathing in frigid rivers — they are, more importantly, symbolic. The album’s many references to water parallel with well-known ideologies and parables. Just as Siddhartha found enlightenment at the banks of a river; just as one is baptized to be saved; just as John Lennon sings, “Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream” — so are Gardens & Villa doing. They are not floating down a river in a literal sense, but in a whimsical sense; they are taking a plunge into life’s flow, by living to the fullest and by pursuing their passions. And, in the opening tracks of the album, they are boldly inviting listeners to do the same.

Ancient as well as personal wisdom abounds on Gardens & Villa, and there are certainly profound lessons shared. By their very nature, though, the emotions, memories, and concepts the band attempts to document are difficult to distill into words.

“The album document[s] a love story… and a period of growth, but not overtly,” explains Lynch.

Towards the end of the record, Lynch speaks less of abstract concepts and begins to recall memories with poetic jargon. In “Carizzo Plain,” the line, “You and I are intertwined,” seems to describe two yin and yang halves cosmically woven up into one another. “Neon Dove,” the album’s last track, references a lover’s “cosmic touch” and symbolic return. Together, the tracks offer a satisfying, romantic conclusion to a record that seems to document an epic adventure — one which all began because the band decided to swim in life’s waters. From there, all things became enlightened; they experienced the magic of the universe in its limitless forms and learned the benefits of accepting circumstances both positive and negative.

Finding Answers Within

Despite how remarkably cohesive the album’s narrative thread is, its track sequence was chosen mostly “for [its] sonic relationships.” Its lyrical continuity was not even considered, and it is only over time that the power of its narrative has become evident.

“More and more, as I become familiar with it, I feel like there may indeed be a strong flow and story within the lyrics as well — maybe corresponding to the sounds and vibe,” muses Lynch. “Anyway, it was not completely intentional… but maybe subconsciously [and] sonically-driven.”

The record’s lyrical and musical cohesion becomes less of a surprise when one considers Gardens & Villa’s relationship to their collective subconscious. Decision-making is an exercise highly rooted in the band members’ intuitions, and Gardens & Villa seem to live by the philosophies they celebrate in their music. In “Star Fire Power,” Lynch repeats the word “intuition” like a mantra, only to conclude that following it leads to fruition.

“Intuition plays a major part in creating songs, vocal melodies, business choices, lyrics, pretty much everything,” says Lynch. “Vibe is maybe the most important thing to us when it comes to music-making and decisions.”

Rather than relying exclusively on cold, hard logic, Gardens & Villa have opted to place their trust in these more elusive creatures. Luckily, their instincts have led them to a satisfying and fruitful place, indeed.

“I believe that in my mind there is a constant oscillation between feelings and reason and things that appear as truths and others as falsehood. It is like a sea with waves and wind and calm and sun and kelp. Perspectives change and objects change color,” says Lynch. “Your intuition can be like a boat that you can navigate with. I think it will usually take you where are supposed to be.”

Q&A

What do you think about the resurgence of psychedelic music and imagery? Do you think it has impacts for the near future?
I think the return of psychedelia could be a natural step in the development of 21st century culture. We are curiously exploring our minds and our connection to nature/the universe. In a way, the ’60s began a cultural movement which yearns to fill a void which science and modern Christianity (and their ongoing war) have created (in America). We are extremely spiritual beings who have inherited a spiritually dead culture. I think that through trial and error we are in the process of building and synthesizing a new myth which could help guide us through the new paradigm. My biggest hope is that we rediscover and use the wisdom of the ancients. Everything has been done and thought of before — and if not in actual traditions and texts, it is all around us in patterns and sounds and miracles.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to those wishing to pursue a fulfilling life?
Spend lots of time gardening. Seriously.

Ω

“Natures of your kind, with strong, delicate senses, the soul-oriented, the dreamers, poets, lovers are almost always superior to us creatures of the mind. You take your being from your mothers. You live fully; you were endowed with the strength of love, the ability to feel. Whereas we creatures of reason, we don’t live fully; we live in an arid land even though we often seem to guide and rule you. Yours is the plenitude of life, the sap of the fruit, the garden of passion, the beautiful landscape of art. Your home is the earth; ours is the word of ideas. You are in danger of drowning in the world of the senses; ours is the danger of suffocating in an airless void. You are an artist; I am a thinker. You sleep at the mother’s breast; I wake in the desert. For me the sun shines; for you the moon and the stars.”
– Hermann Hesse, Narcisuss And Goldmund

www.gardensandvilla.com + gardensandvilla.bandcamp.com

Related posts:

1. Gardens & Villa Cover Fleetwood Mac, Remix & Tour w/ Polica
2. Gardens & Villa – “Spacetime” Music Video
3. Top Pops! Beat Connection, Gardens & Villa + Here We Go Magic MP3 Downloads & Streams

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Gardens & Villa Band Interview : Naturally Mystical (w/ Lyrical Analysis)

Directed by Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
Hungary

After finishing The Turin Horse, I read some quick blurbs on the web about the film. I was curious if anyone had written about the significance of the film’s focus on six days. Not that six days, instead of five or seven, is significant in and of itself, but I wondered nonetheless. It may be that 6 is an even structural number. However, in the case of The Turin Horse, it is likely that the sixth day reflects God’s command that the land “bring forth living creatures,” and then the consequent shaping of humans in His image and likeness. Heavy. Well, it’s hard to approach a film based on a critical moment in the life of Friedrich Nietzsche and assume it to be removed from philosophy.

To my–now evident–shame, I have never seen a Béla Tarr film before. There was a screening of the Hungarian director’s seven-hour Satantango (1994) this past spring at the University of Chicago, but I missed it. Damn. And I mean that.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW

The very first scene of The Turin Horse is a long take (the film is all long takes: 2.5 hours long, 30 shots) of the horse and the cab driver going forward brutally, mercilessly into the wind. The camera takes us alongside the horse, then in front and close to its nose, as it breathes and snorts at the dust in its face. It stays with the horse and cab, allowing us to see and feel the resilience of the two beasts to the wind. The melancholy strings–somber, yet oddly soothing, and bound to the Sisyphusian might of the creature and its vast presence within the screen–touched me. I love that first shot.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW

Unlike the narrative expanse of a film like Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, where story and dialogue drive the sound and visuals, The Turin Horse works to dissolve story in favor of visual instance. The meticulous occupation of watching Tarr’s superb crafting of a tactile sense of space pressures us to see his world in its particulars. Tarr is both subtle and exact, in the picture frame of a woman as the daughter packs her luggage box or the lame right arm of the father—which only becomes explicit after repetition and detail. The moments where daughter and father sit at a stool and look out the window at the harsh wind contain, for me, the humiliation and conviction of humanity.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW

The story of Nietzsche and the Turin horse is something of a parable of the madness and cruelty of this earth and a creature’s refusal to abide the lashings of an imposed order. (Read more about Nietzsche and the Turin horse.) This sentimentality is the initiative of the Übermensch. But The Turin Horse isn’t an interpretation of Nietzsche so much as a meditation on those impositions against which Nietzsche railed–order, morality, indoctrination, humanity removed from its animality–which is survival and life as a daily expenditure. It is a hard movie to watch; some people may think it bleak, may think the world “broken” or hopeless. The Turin Horse is cinema where narrative is transposed to light and shadow, to visual instances where a woman pulls water from a well, where a rough hand peels a hot potato. The lingering, omnipresent details of space and livelihood are the film’s metaphysics, and they are our means of understanding and empathizing. We are the horse and Nietzsche.

It is really encouraging to me that a film like The Turin Horse was made now, in 2011. I associate this type of film with Robert Bresson (the equine connection with Au hasard Balthazar), Ingmar Bergman, and arthouse films of the ’60s and ’70s–so it is awesome to attach the word contemporary” to Tarr. It is a shot of intellectual and spectatorial adrenaline rush.

Related posts:

1. Portland International Film Festival 2012: Festival Preview Guide, Part Two
2. Shadow Shadow Shade – “White Horse” Music Video Trilogy
3. Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) Film Review

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

The Turin Horse (2011) Film Review

“I try not to think at all,” says musician and multi-disciplinary artist Chad VanGaalen. “If I pre-think anything, it’s usually bad.”

Best known for his solo music career and his production work with Calgary-based band WOMEN, Chad VanGaalen is a man who is consistently pushing his mind to its outermost limits. With all of his musical and artist projects, he functions at his prime when working instinctively and impulsively, with little to no pre-conceived limitation.

VanGaalen’s fourth full-length record, Diaper Island, was recently released on Sub Pop Records. Unlike with his previous albums, this time VanGaalen had a studio large enough to permanently house all of his music equipment at once — a difference that changed the creative process of the disc completely.

“I could leave everything set up, whereas [previously] in the basement I would have to break the drums down and set up guitar amps and then move guitar amps out of the room and set up the drums,” he explains.

The streamlined approach allowed VanGaalen to work on his music on the fly. Akin to an artist working from a prominently-displayed easel, VanGaalen could now work the way he preferred to work — spontaneously.

This spontaneity can also be seen in his side projects. Each of his musical alter-egos explore a different musical style. The most well-known among them is Black Mold, his instrumental electronic project. Other projects such as Oldest Bubble and Golden Dunes are in the works. He describes them, saying, “I have a few drone records done and an instrumental stoner beat record that will rule your brain.”

That same schizophrenic spirit can be found in his animations. Spawned from a land with no restrictions, VanGaalen’s illustrated characters are ever unpredictable and bursting with personality. In his latest video for Diaper Island‘s single, “Peace On The Rise,” VanGaalen introduces viewers to hosts of alien beings and morphing, melting characters. His most high-quality rendering yet, the video marks a significant milestone in his animated career, with a final product that is quite reminiscent of ebbing and flowing acid-trip creations like Superjail! and Fantastic Planet.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW

[2011] Chad VanGaalen – “Peace On The Rise” from Diaper Island

“This is my best one yet. It is the first installation in a continuing story about space tourism based on a group of humanoid life forms who have invented an empathy device which they take with them to different planets in order to absorb creatures and ‘become the creature’ for a brief moment. This quickly becomes a problem as they get addicted to the absorption and begin losing their grip on who they really are.”

“I try not to think at all. If I pre-think anything, it’s usually bad.”

– Chad VanGaalen

For his personal work, VanGaalen first chooses the tracks he wishes to animate and then moves onto the physical act of creation. He abstains from pre-planning, preferring instead to allow structures and storylines to form gradually and with a preponderance of possibility. This technique is also used when VanGaalen creates video for other bands. For his video work for J. Mascis and Love As Laughter, he retained full creative control, working under the assumption that these bands place trust in his artistic vision when they hire him.

“The only way I will do a video is if people give me full control,” VanGaalen explains. “Animation takes way too much time for it not to be able to bend and stretch inside my mind. Usually artists will already know that I have no ‘real’ idea what I’m doing, and they can dig it.”

From one video to the next, VanGaalen’s animations are isolated, encapsulated worlds of madness. He creates all of his videos using a combination of digital software and analog methods. Beginning with plenty of felt pens and paper, he later manipulates the drawings with programs like Dragon Stop Motion and Toon Boom.

“It’s amazing for 2D style stuff,” he says, of Toon Boom, a program which is used by the creators of The Simpsons. “I love it and hate it.”

In the near future, VanGaalen will begin a short animated film with his friends Stu Hughes and Brandon Blommaert. As is his style, VanGaalen has no idea what it will be like, but knows that “it will be crazoid.”

retrospective video gallery

[2009] Black Mold – “Metal Spiderwebs” from Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz
“This was an experiment in a 100 frame cycle. I would draw 100 frames of animation and then when I got to frame #100, I would place it on top of frame #1. So, in theory, by the 2nd or 3rd pass, it became impossible and irrelevant to distinguish the first frame from the last. It’s still a work in progress.”

[2009] Black Mold – “Fuck ebay” from Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz
“Pure nonsense. Whatever came into my mind was what I would make happen.”

[2008] Chad VanGaalen – “Molten Light” from Soft Airplane
“This video was my first attempt at a linear story so I really wanted to have consistency with the animation as well. It was my first animated short!”

[2006] Chad VanGaalen – “Flower Gardens” from Skelliconnection
“I did this video while I was doing a residency out in Sackville, New Brunswick.”

[2006] Chad VanGaalen – “Red Hot Drops” from Skelliconnection
“I cannot remember doing this video at all – there was a lot of pot involved.”

[2006] Chad VanGaalen – “Clinically Dead” from Infiniheart

Related posts:

1. Chad VanGaalen – “Peace On The Rise” Music Video
2. Secret Cities – Pink Graffiti Album Review
3. Top Pops! Chad Valley w/ Glasser & Twin Shadow, Teenage Sweater, Still Corners

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Chad VanGaalen Interview (w/ Animated Video Retrospective)