The
world is awash in sound. Some sounds comfort us. They lift you up and
make you smile. Others agitate us. They boil the liquid in your eyes and
make your teeth scream.
Right now I'm sitting in an inner-city cafe
and I can distinguish somewhere around a dozen sounds. There is the
chatter of customers, the assured clink of cup on dish as the staff
clean up another empty, the welcoming robotic pleasantries of the
counter staff, the looping buzz of the fan above my head, footsteps ( high heels most likely ) from the floor upstairs, the 90s acid-jazz
soundtrack from the speaker to my left and the crinkle of a crisp
wrapper a toddler is fingering to my right.
When you think of sound like
that you begin to wonder how people relax at cafes at all. Yet relax I
do. As we all do. The modern world is so flooded with sound that we have evolved to
ignore most of it unless we stop to pay attention.
Music can be noise. We all know music we consider aggravating. One
person's Miles Davis is another person's Miley Virus. Yet it isn't something
we can't easily tune out from as we can with other daily distractions. Music is more personal. We form opinions and setup
roadblocks.
The
music of noise is a curious thing. It's not really my cup of tea. It's a
big thing here in Japan though and some of the biggest names in the biz
can be heard playing at a bar not far from my doorstep. I ventured in
there a few times - to that dark, angry basement. I always left feeling
generally dizzy, disturbed and fortunate not to have payed an entry
fee.
So
when I was invited to listen to the latest offering of music from
Australian ambient artist Closer ( Liam Daly ), who describes his music as using noise
and tape-hiss, I wasn't exactly scrambling for my headphones.
 |
| Closer - Liam Daly |
Imagine
my surprise then when I found myself so intrigued by the sounds on his
EP "Heartache/Lifted" that I immediately turned off the lights, lay down and hit the
replay button. This was noise with structure - something just a little
familiar enough for me to grab onto and yet something so new I felt a long forgotten
childlike delight.
I
quickly got in contact with Liam to ask him about the Closer project
and this exciting new EP. It's noise Jim, but not as we know it ....
PsyAmb:
Readers of this blog may not be so familiar with your background. Would you care to share with us a little history regarding past bands and how you came to be a solo artist - how did the "Closer" project come about ?
Liam:
I
grew up playing piano from a fairly young age. My mum played piano a
lot, and taught me. Dad has always had a deep way of understanding and
talking about music, so that has strongly influenced me from early on.
Well, when I got my first guitar it was all over for piano, and school
grades.
I started my first band when I was probably fifteen. Around that
time I started messing with Fast Tracker and Rebirth, writing really
terrible hardcore and jungle. I started my second band and finished
school. I moved to Melbourne and played in a post rock band called These
Hands (formerly These Hands Could Separate The Sky). Later, after the
band split, nothing at all really was working for me. I moved out from
Melbourne and kind of rebuilt myself for a while. Closer was one of the
many good things that solidified from such a difficult time.
PsyAmb:
When did you start writing/producing music - and what or who were your early passions and influences ?
Liam:
In terms
of passions and influences, I've always been drawn to music that is
raw, honest and passionate. Often this means verging on nihilistic, fine
lines. Devotional. CBGB's era punk, 80's hardcore. 90's midwest bands,
they were all so heartfelt and desperate to just exist. You don't get
that pained beauty in classic post rock bands from trying to make people
dance and buy your records, right?
PsyAmb:
Not much really seems to be held up, there are so many good bands and artists that go under the radar and then just swim off into static. I think there has been a big shift in what cultural beacons people resonate with. It used to be the grumpy dude at the record store or maybe a rad zine, that kind of thing. Now, who or what are the cultural beacons? And which beacons are interacted with most. Why? What affect is this having on everyone ?
PsyAmb :
I'm no expert in post-rock, it was something I flirted with in my youth but lost touch with since then. Listening to your previous Closer albums I can hear shades of the post-rock ethic throughout - that crossover of art rock and ambient sounds. It's very emotional stuff. However with your new EP I hear a different direction. It sounds so new that I find it difficult to define. I can see a progression from the previous albums on to this point. Is this the sound you have always been looking for ?
Liam:
PsyAmb:
Liam:
Like sculpture is really a great way to describe it. For me, I then turn each part of the sculpture into the idea of what that sculpture conveys emotionally. Lots of reverb, distortion and delay, and bouncing of the wet signal. Time stretching maybe, and layering back. Both songs are mapped out as if they were house tracks. Therein lies the structure, the sub bass ties it all down.
PsyAmb:
I lived in Melbourne for a few years in my younger days. It always had a
lively music scene that was very supportive of new acts in various
electronic genres. Is there much opportunity these days for audiences to
hear Closer and ambient music live ? How supportive is Melbourne of
experimental music these days ?
Liam:
Liam:
I find this
really difficult to answer. I really don't think I know how to
properly. The Melbourne scene is so loosely knit, and in my opinion
quite sparse, and somewhat fickle, myself included. It's maybe not very
cohesive, there isn't really a "scene". The live circuit is not very
"charged", I don't think. There are definitely exceptions but gigs are
often lacking in social energy. Why? I don't know, and I could be
totally off the mark, but it's a discussion I'd love to have more often
with people.
Not much really seems to be held up, there are so many good bands and artists that go under the radar and then just swim off into static. I think there has been a big shift in what cultural beacons people resonate with. It used to be the grumpy dude at the record store or maybe a rad zine, that kind of thing. Now, who or what are the cultural beacons? And which beacons are interacted with most. Why? What affect is this having on everyone ?
PsyAmb :
I'm no expert in post-rock, it was something I flirted with in my youth but lost touch with since then. Listening to your previous Closer albums I can hear shades of the post-rock ethic throughout - that crossover of art rock and ambient sounds. It's very emotional stuff. However with your new EP I hear a different direction. It sounds so new that I find it difficult to define. I can see a progression from the previous albums on to this point. Is this the sound you have always been looking for ?
Liam:
Well,
yes. As I produce more with Closer, I get more of a sense of what it is
I want to do. This is somewhat dangerous though if it remains rigid,
like any ideology. So you always have to keep looking. It's the journey,
so to speak.
PsyAmb:
How would you personally describe your new EP ? It's so uniquely
interesting that for me it's like listening to music for the first time
again. Well perhaps not to that extreme but there is definitely a feeling
one gets when hearing something so fresh and challenging it makes you
think the future has shifted for you in some measurable way.
Liam:
Wow, how do you respond to that? Thank you! I guess it's a musical description of the euphoric, lonely element a lot of current electronic music purveys. We're so jacked to our phones, earphones in, but we're trying to connect. Everything has a dollar sign sitting atop of it and is individualised, itemised. How do you lift yourself out of that realisation ? It really is that same music, slowed right down with its own echo as its core. I've been calling it slowrave !
Wow, how do you respond to that? Thank you! I guess it's a musical description of the euphoric, lonely element a lot of current electronic music purveys. We're so jacked to our phones, earphones in, but we're trying to connect. Everything has a dollar sign sitting atop of it and is individualised, itemised. How do you lift yourself out of that realisation ? It really is that same music, slowed right down with its own echo as its core. I've been calling it slowrave !
PsyAmb:
Each song on the EP is so layered in subtle melody, noise and ambiance
that spread out over enormously long periods. I imagine it must have
been quite a painstaking effort, almost like sculpture in way, to
create this music. Continuously replying the songs, building up
structure little by little while trying to hang onto an overall vision.
Can you share with us your production process for creating the songs on
this EP ?
Liam:
Like sculpture is really a great way to describe it. For me, I then turn each part of the sculpture into the idea of what that sculpture conveys emotionally. Lots of reverb, distortion and delay, and bouncing of the wet signal. Time stretching maybe, and layering back. Both songs are mapped out as if they were house tracks. Therein lies the structure, the sub bass ties it all down.
PsyAmb:
Who are you listening to days ? Are there any other local or
international artists you could recommend to readers to check out ?
Liam:
I've been listening to Muhd - Dilogia constantly. It blows my mind away, every time. Everything on BLWBCK is amazing. Fourteen Nights At Sea are the most incredible post rock band, and their label Hobbledehoy is first stop if you want to hear the best of Australian music currently.
PsyAmb:
Care to share some details of your studio / recording setup ? How do you go about creating those deep drones ?
Liam:
It's basically just my notebook running Ableton with a Novation Launchkey alongside. A lot of sounds start with a basic loop, nothing fancy. I'll bounce it and go from there. The subs are done using Operator and layered to lift them out of the depths, or sink them. There is a lot of post production involved, lots of sidechaining, compression, tape hiss of course.
Here is a link to further reading on it :
http://www.sheldrake.org/
Where did the idea for that track name come from ? Is it something you experience yourself ? Do names generally come before or after you have created a song ?
Liam:
This is exactly what the song is named after! A great book. I always build a concept to work parallel to an album which tends to complete its story in my mind as the release is finished. The album, In Search of Life, is loosely about a radio signal from another planet picked up on earth. Only, it's intention is to reach further away and is picked up here by chance as it carries on. I kind of question whether there can be sentience or awareness within signals like that. Maybe the signal is a life-form. "What's Riding The Airwaves Tonight". With that in mind suddenly everything comes alive on a whole new level. This is all of course metaphorically about our connections with each other as people, I like to keep it simple.
PsyAmb:
On the new EP both tracks share the same length 10:10. What was the intention there ? It kind of looks binary , i.e 1010 = 10
PsyAmb:
Liam:
I feel very much myself when doing anything Closer related. I always seem to find something that affects me and changes my way of thinking as I write each release. There is always a cathartic element to Closer. It's almost like each release is a space for me to put parts of myself that are growing so I can see them from a different perspective.
PsyAmb:
Liam:
Liam:
David Byrne writes in his latest book about this a lot. How different music has developed based on the space it is played within. I envision Closer in a big space on a big system, pitch black with strobe lights, smoke and visuals, and nothing much else. An environment like that really goes hand in hand with heavy sub bass which I use so much of, and never feel like I have enough of. It makes you wonder about the development of bass music in the UK, how much have those kinds of spaces naturally invited the sound to develop into what it is ?
Liam:
PsyAmb:
Liam:
Probably the main challenge I have is to actually just sit down and write a god damn album already!
I'd like to say a huge thanks to Liam for taking time to giving some top quality feedback here. To listen to Closer's music and keep up to date with new releases, live performances and more be sure to check out the following links :
If you are in Melbourne then be sure to catch Closer playing live next Monday ( April 20 ) at The Old Bar in Fitzroy.
Liam:
I've been listening to Muhd - Dilogia constantly. It blows my mind away, every time. Everything on BLWBCK is amazing. Fourteen Nights At Sea are the most incredible post rock band, and their label Hobbledehoy is first stop if you want to hear the best of Australian music currently.
PsyAmb:
Care to share some details of your studio / recording setup ? How do you go about creating those deep drones ?
Liam:
It's basically just my notebook running Ableton with a Novation Launchkey alongside. A lot of sounds start with a basic loop, nothing fancy. I'll bounce it and go from there. The subs are done using Operator and layered to lift them out of the depths, or sink them. There is a lot of post production involved, lots of sidechaining, compression, tape hiss of course.
 |
| Hearthache / Lifted EP |
PsyAmb:
One of your previous tracks is called "The sense of being stated at". Seeing that reminded me of the work of British scientist Rupert Sheldrake who is perhaps best know to readers here for his trialogue presentations with Terence McKenna an Ralph Abraham where they talk about all manner of aspects of the psychedelic experience, social dynamics and evolutionary theorems. One of his presentations was an experiment he did about the sense of being started at. Basically he tested if people could indeed understand when they were being stared at.
One of your previous tracks is called "The sense of being stated at". Seeing that reminded me of the work of British scientist Rupert Sheldrake who is perhaps best know to readers here for his trialogue presentations with Terence McKenna an Ralph Abraham where they talk about all manner of aspects of the psychedelic experience, social dynamics and evolutionary theorems. One of his presentations was an experiment he did about the sense of being started at. Basically he tested if people could indeed understand when they were being stared at.
Here is a link to further reading on it :
http://www.sheldrake.org/
Where did the idea for that track name come from ? Is it something you experience yourself ? Do names generally come before or after you have created a song ?
Liam:
This is exactly what the song is named after! A great book. I always build a concept to work parallel to an album which tends to complete its story in my mind as the release is finished. The album, In Search of Life, is loosely about a radio signal from another planet picked up on earth. Only, it's intention is to reach further away and is picked up here by chance as it carries on. I kind of question whether there can be sentience or awareness within signals like that. Maybe the signal is a life-form. "What's Riding The Airwaves Tonight". With that in mind suddenly everything comes alive on a whole new level. This is all of course metaphorically about our connections with each other as people, I like to keep it simple.
PsyAmb:
On the new EP both tracks share the same length 10:10. What was the intention there ? It kind of looks binary , i.e 1010 = 10
Liam:
I wish I'd thought of that !
I wish I'd thought of that !
PsyAmb:
How much of your own personality is reflected in the songs on this EP ? In what ways ?
Liam:
I feel very much myself when doing anything Closer related. I always seem to find something that affects me and changes my way of thinking as I write each release. There is always a cathartic element to Closer. It's almost like each release is a space for me to put parts of myself that are growing so I can see them from a different perspective.
PsyAmb:
I feel your music often has that art installation feel to it. It cries
out for accompaniment with video or some form of modern art. Have you
ever done any sound-art-installation before ? Would you feel comfortable
seeing the general public's reaction to your work ?
Liam:
The
last show I did, I projected Conan The Barbarian and triggered a bunch
of samples from it. I really love film. Oh, and I blasted strobe lights
and smoke machines to add to the effect. You can see photos on my
Facebook page. This next show of mine is with a good friend who is a
film maker projecting visuals of his own. I'd love to build live visuals and have that become commonplace. I've always dreamed of building installations
and some of the things people are doing are just amazing. The
Parthenocarp comes to mind in particular. How do you conceive of such a
thing ?!
PsyAmb:
How do you see the relationship between sound, space and composition?
Liam:
David Byrne writes in his latest book about this a lot. How different music has developed based on the space it is played within. I envision Closer in a big space on a big system, pitch black with strobe lights, smoke and visuals, and nothing much else. An environment like that really goes hand in hand with heavy sub bass which I use so much of, and never feel like I have enough of. It makes you wonder about the development of bass music in the UK, how much have those kinds of spaces naturally invited the sound to develop into what it is ?
PsyAmb:
Do play live much ? What is your approach to playing live as a solo artist ?
Liam:
Taking
such heavily processed sounds into a live situation is tricky. I'd
really like to have the next album translate live performance wise.
There is such a huge difference between watching a band and watching
someone with a laptop. Having said that, I adore the ability playing
this way has to free me from focus and let the music speak for itself,
guided only by a few lights and visuals.
PsyAmb:
What are currently your main compositional and production challenges ?
Liam:
Probably the main challenge I have is to actually just sit down and write a god damn album already!
I'd like to say a huge thanks to Liam for taking time to giving some top quality feedback here. To listen to Closer's music and keep up to date with new releases, live performances and more be sure to check out the following links :
- Closer on Bandcamp
- Closer on Facebook
- Closer on Soundcloud ( with a tasty remix of Nils Frahm's "You" )
If you are in Melbourne then be sure to catch Closer playing live next Monday ( April 20 ) at The Old Bar in Fitzroy.
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