[SAMPLE_TEXT] On the Making Of “Poverty Dream”
What was the creative process like for this particular "Poverty Dream?"
Well, in terms of writing we were heavily inspired by black midi, as well noise rock, grunge, and jazz for the guitar melodies and chord structures I'd say. In terms of lyrical content i suppose it alternates between sardonic accusations of consumerism, genuine self statements about being in poverty, and satircal statements made from the point of advertisers. My hope would be that listening to it feels a bit cathartic and coerced at the same time, because thats how i feel expressing it. Some of the elements in the latter half of the song were developed live, and honed in the studio. Some of the bass lines were written by myself, and others by our bassist jacob. Our drummer tyler and I share alot of influences, with a key difference being he's traditionally jazz trained, and also used to listen to alot of drum and bass, so I'd say upon searching for it in the music, its clear to see those elements making their way into the song as well. As a general template, I normally bring guitar parts, vocal melodies, and overall song structure to the band. From there everyone adds ideas and we sort of work together and push and pull until its something that ceases to be any of ours individually, and something truly communal.
Were there any specific recording techniques or equipment used to achieve the desired sound?
Yes. from the get go we all creatively agree (along with our producer) that "the sound of indie rock" has gotten pretty stale recording technique wise. We really wanted to get as many tones as possible from analgue gear like compressors and tape etc. That being said I have no idealistic misgivings about using contemporary methods*creatively* . So as a general rule, we tried to create and achieve all the sounds and tones analogue and with sort of older methods (lots of true multitracking, tape, real life hall reverb, etc), and then make it a modern product using modern methods within a daw just to smooth things out and make them more bigly.
How do you feel "Poverty Dream" represents your artistic identity or musical evolution?
Well, it sure as hell is a step up production wise from the past. Everything we've made prior was made in a home studio on a tascam porta studio. Or in a garage. We had a lot more intent with the stylization this time. In terms of writing it's hard to put into words, but i think all of our parts as musicians just feel more sure of themselves, and more uniquely themselves as well. Without sounding full of ourselves I've always thought our writing was pretty good, but the inspirations are hidden well enough at this point that to me it feels like there is more synthesis rather than inspiration happening. Which probably isn't the actual truth, but the fact that it feels that way I think means good things.
How do you approach creating something new and different?
Honestly, I think my main rule is being bad but remembered, is better than being good but forgettable. There is so so so much music out right now, but honestly alot of it feels scared. Like its really afraid of not fitting into a playlist, or like its dreading the "what genre are you" question. It feels like "staying relevant and competitive" has transformed into "never color outside the lines ever." The irony is there is more oppurtunity to make strange music now than ever. I'm getting kind of off track but honestly I just try to make stuff I genuinely like, and feel expresses something. I think we all make that effort. It's easy to worry about what people will think of it, and I do worry about that alot actually. I just try to keep all my REAL criticisms and creative decisions wrapped up in "what makes a song more/less good *to me*" rather than "what makes it more/less good to a random person."
Could you share some of your musical influences and how they have shaped your sound?
I can try but we have alot and I'll probably forget some. With most of our music, I'd say the Nirvana influence is apparent. Mostly just in vibe though, not really writing or tones. The one structure I default to alot that is similar however is "quiet weird verse" with "loud grungey bangin' chorus." That's about the only true similarity I see there but people pick up on it. As previously mentioned black midi, jazz, and other grunge artists are also mixed up there. Also that sort of weird post punk/post rock heavy stuff like Slint and Swans. and even impressionist classical music like Scriabin. Anything that isn't afraid to throw alot of dissonance, or just alot of notes at you at once. I try to combine the taste in harmony of all those things into a digestible sort of package, because at the end of the day I also like pop. Jacobs bass parts play well with this I think. He comes up with things I'd never dream of playing over a chord progression, but ends up feeding into that sort of jarring harmony as well, while tying it all together in a sepearate melody. I think this comes from the fact he's been a baritone part of a barbershop quartet for a long time, and ummm, just look up "barbershop baritone part solo'd" and youll see what I mean. It's rather all over the place because it's filling out the tenor and lead parts, but also trying to keep them grounded with the bass, while also trying to create it's own movement seperate from all the parts. All this weirdness in mind, I think Tyler's drum background being essentially jazz, dance music, and rock, is what really makes the weirdness and the lo-fi work without just being more experimental punk. It frames it differently. If the drumming was balls out all the time punk stuff, I think we would be more firmly in the punk camp than we would care to be. The dynamics make the punk-ier stuff feel more intentional and unique, and makes the harmony be framed in a way (I hope) where the jazz and experimental influences are seen coupled with the noise and punk ones. We all have very different music tastes, but I think what we are seeking in those tastes is the same, so I think thats why it works out.
