Saluations to Jen Dan (Stratosphere Yahoo Group)
For this interview…
In a attempt to publize ‘Setting Sun’ a little more
I posted recently after a break off ages on Jen’s
Group – the interviews I had done recently
On my website (http://www.geocities.com/aen1mpo)
For which long terms viewers on my website
Would have known have been totalled to 6
New ones in the space of under a month.
From that interview, Brain head of of Silber Records
Contacted me inviting me to listen to some of the
Music on his record label ‘Silber Records’…
I must admit I hadn’t heard of the label before,
But out of interest I had a listen and the first one I
Listened was ‘Remora’ which was Brian’s own
Personal project.
Now here was a alternative band and a half which
Are listed as post apocalyptic pop music which
Contains love songs from a revolutionary ready to
Abandon his war grasping for hope.
It wasn’t until doing this interview that I realised
That long time Setting sun favourite Jessica Bailiff
And listening to this music it is easy to see why.
Like Jessica’s at her best, Remora also embraces
Drone Guitar to form soundscapes rather than actual
Songs, but on the latest album Enamored, it shows
A sound not just staying as guitar focused to a more
Band oriented sound, but instead of just using it is
A team effect, the use of the additional instruments
Like Bass, Drums and Keyboards seem to do
Very different things to the previously almost
Solituary guitar and take it to a very place
Altogether far Removed from post rock.
The interview of course after that can quickly
And true to form the way Setting Sun has
Been operating recently with interviews etc
For the past month or so I got the answers back
pretty quickly, so a special thank you to
Remora for the interview.
How are tricks and what is happening at
the moment?
Remora:
Things are going well enough.
Some stressful things,
but nothing to bother complaining about.
Setting Sun:
Can you next tell us a little bit about the history
of Remora? How it got going etc.
and who fired the starting pistol be it for
a better word etc?
Remora:
95% of the time Remora is just me.
It started because a couple of bands
I was in were kind of dissolving & I'd just bought
a 4-track, this was in 1995.
So after about a year of doing that I was asked
to play at a festival in Atlanta put on by the band Pineal
Ventana & that kinda triggered me releasing some
cassettes of songs & eventually the albums &
playing live a bit.
Over the years there have been a few people who've
occasionally worked with me on Remora for a
song or live show or two, but
it's usually just me & my guitar.
Setting Sun:
What are your influences and who are you listening to
at the moment?
Remora:
My initial influences were mainly Lycia, Swans,
Joy Division, & the Stooges.
I'd say my big influences these days are usually other
musicians I'm friends with like Aarktica, Rivulets, Kobi,
& Jamie Barnes.
Right now in my CD player are discs by Six by Seven,
Stonebreath, Jandek, Motorhead, & Hefner.
Setting Sun:
It is interesting to see in the current album there were a
number of songs inspired by Killraven stories written by
Don McGregor (which brought me back to my early teens).
What first drew you to such a theme in your album here?
Remora:
I had read the Killraven stuff as a kid & I can’t really
remember how I got back into the comic, but
I re-read it & was totally obsessed with it &
wrote a bunch of songs about it.
There were about five other songs about the
Killraven mythos that got cut from the disc.
I've always had this interest in the post-apocalyptic
future-dystopia stuff that came out of the 1970's
& early 1980's.
Setting Sun:
Out of interest what is the inspiration behind
Remora?
Remora:
I don't even know sometimes. A lot of songs
just kind of come out of the air to me.
Sometimes I actually have a story I want to
tell or mood to convey or a sound I've found in my
guitar that I want other people to hear.
Sorry I'm not of much help on that.
Setting Sun:
I notice also that Brian is the head of Silber Records.
Can you tell us a little bit about this?
How this started up etc and how it compares to
Remora?
Remora:
Silber Records pre-dates Remora.
It takes up most of my time. We're up to 50 releases
& will do about ten releases this year.
Remora would do a lot more touring & record more
material if so much time wasn't spent on Silber,
but it all works out for the best probably.
Setting Sun:
What's next for yourself? Do you have any more
releases in mind etc, etc? Are you planning to
play any concerts / gigs in support of this
album?
Remora:
Right now I'm working on a limited release EP for
Shane Sauer's label. It's a bunch of vocal only
songs that I do when I'm tuning my guitar at
live shows or that I sometimes leave on people's
answering machines.
It's nice because it's fun instead of being serious.
I'm also working on an EP that's basically me doing a bunch of
Remora songs on lo-fi sequencing software, so it has
this really video game sound in the end.
I don't know if it'll ever actually get released
anywhere, but it's fun to work on.
It'll be a while before I get around to figuring out what
I want the next Remora album to be.
I might be getting a new car soon & I've been joking
about trying to book 10,000 miles worth of shows.
Setting Sun:
A few more light hearted questions to finish off with
Firstly, Where are you from? What's the music scene
like where you are? Have you seen any good concerts
recently?
Remora:
I'm from Raleigh, NC & I currently live here as well.
The music scene here is kind of a bit clicky &
I don't really fit into the click.
There are some bands I like quite a bit,
but no one really doing the same sort of
thing to share gigs with.
I just got off tour & there were some
bands I played with I dug, here's the list:
The Sea, Like Lead
- a Pittsburgh post-rock band
The Drunk Republic
- from Huntsville,
Alabama singer-songwriter
Jared Micah
& the Hats
from Murfeesboro,
Tennessee kind of minimalist pop
The Czars
I played with them in Cincinatti,
but they're from Denver & get
compared to Red House Painters a bit
Setting Sun:
What would you be like to be doing
when you are 60?
Remora:
Composing symphonies or maybe
minimalist single instrument pieces.
Hopefully playing with grandchildren.
Setting Sun:
What will you be doing when you are 60?
I don't know. My day-job is physical labor
& there are a couple guys that are 60
working there who've been doing the
same basic job 40 years.
Remora:
So though I hope one of my artistic
endeavors get me out of the cycle,
there's nothing wrong with being
where I am now only older.
Setting Sun:
Lastly, something light to finish off (borrowed
from a pal's zine almost) “ Imagine you were
shipwrecked on a desert island and could have
(Clearly have second sight here lol) the
choice of having 5 records or CD's with you
with a stereo of course- what would be your
desert island discs?"
Remora:
It will probably change tomorrow, but right now:
Neil Young - Harvest
Jandek - Six and Six
Hefner - The Fidelity Wars
Six by Seven - The Way I Feel Today
Ministry - In Case You Didn't Feel Like
Showing Up (live)
