In Conversation with Slowwavesleep…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 2004

 

A little background:

 

Salutations to my pal, Thrill Racer (http://www.thrillracer.com) for this interview.

 

She sent me over a few CDs of bits and pieces recently, and among them was this

CD just labelled “Slowwavesleep”, of quite nice chill out and slightly dancey based

/ ambient music with an e-mail address and "please copy and distribute freely" on the CD…

 

Impressed enough, I wrote to this e-mail and Brian who is Slowwavesleep simply e-mailed me back

and this interview quickly came from that…

 

Check out (http://www.slowwavesleep.com) for more details…

 

Thanks again for the interview, Brian and good luck with future musical projects…

 

Many thanks

 

Andrew N xxx

 

Setting Sun:  What's happening at the moment and how are things?

 

Slowwavesleep:

Right now, most of the projects I'm working on are either on hold or moving very slowly. Between

school and work, there is very little time for music. Needless to say, I'm quite stressed and frustrated

since I can't purge any of my ideas. I hope to free up some time over summer so that I can finish

collaborating with a good friend on his latest album because it's about a year overdue.

 

Setting Sun: Can you fill us in on the history of "Slowwavesleep", how you got started, who fired

the starting pistol etc, etc?

 

Slowwavesleep:

Another good friend of mine inspired Slowwavesleep. Back in the early part of the 90's, he

spent several months compiling and mixing hundreds of sounds and samples into an ambient

masterpiece he named "Master Circles." The final product was extremely rough and disorganized

with no identifiable meter, which was his intent. Strangely enough, these tracks would occasionally

"sync-up" and a solid groove would be formed for a few measures. What I have done is attempted

to write the inverse of his project. The sounds of slowwavesleep are clean, rhythmic, soothing, and

hypnotic.

 

Setting Sun: What music have you been listening to recently and for "Slowwavesleep", what have

proved your influences....

 

Slowwavesleep: Oddly enough, I don't own any music that sounds like this project. I heard it in my

head and it came out that way. The only music I own that comes close to slowwavesleep is a handful

of tracks from the label "Good Lookin' Records." When I was creating this project, I tried to

incorporate a lot of sounds and writing techniques that I used back in the 90's; at least I heard it

in my head that way. I guess some of my influences back then were Deee-Lite, Plastikman, A

Tribe Called Quest, Orb, My Bloody Valentine, Curve, Omni Trio, and the Pharcyde. I guess if you

mix all that together, you could possibly wind up with slowwavesleep.

 

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of metal. I really like Queen Adreena and Kittie. Surely

this is simply because I am under a lot of stress right now and I am rebelling from it. I doubt

that my next project will be metal, but you never know!

 

Setting Sun: Why "Slowwavesleep" as band name... I guess from the cover of the CD it has

something to do with sleep, but enlighten us more if you can...

 

Slowwavesleep:

Slowwavesleep is the deepest stage of sleep right before R.E.M. The music of slowwavesleep

is somewhat philosophical at times and reflects a period of my life where there was a lot of

"soul-searching." Some of the samples are taken from the movie "Waking Life," which takes place in

a dream (?). Like many others, I believe that life is like a dream, or perhaps IS a dream.

Even Descartes could not know with certainty the difference between dreams and waking.

 

I've studied a lot of Eastern philosophies were the idea of a dream-life is prevalent.

So, in a nutshell, slowwavesleep is a reflection of my attempt to "wake up" from a

deep sleep. How's that for enlightenment!

 

Setting Sun: What have you also released to date and where can people get your releases?

What is also the idea behind your debut CD saying "please copy and distribute freely"

 

Slowwavesleep:

This is currently my only significant release. I have collaborated with dozens of other

musicians and played on countless recordings, most of which have only been heard in smaller

circles. Before mp3.com switched management, I had several projects listed on their site.

I'm interested in building a personal website that will house a couple of hours of music I've

worked on, but that will have to wait until I get a descent size break from school.

 

I feel that the web is the best place to distribute my music right now. I want to start my

own label, but the slowwavesleep project could not be included. Clearly, there are a lot

of unlicensed samples that I will never be able to get permission to use. This is why the CD says,

"Please copy and distribute freely." I can't legally make any money off of it, and no distributor in

their right mind would pick it up. Plus, most of the really great music I've ever come across

came to me through word of mouth.

 

Music should be shared. I find it awful that the RIAA sues people for downloading music. The artists

who object to file sharing should be ashamed. A true artist should be modest, love his/her craft, and

celebrate it. There is no room for fame, fortune, and glory in the heart of the true artist. There are so

many great artists and bands that can't give their stuff away fast enough. But now I'm starting to rant…

 

 

Setting Sun: What I like about your debut CD is the fact that all of the tracks run onto one but are split

at proper moments through the CD. What lend you to this idea?

 

Slowwavesleep:

I really enjoy dj culture. I bought a set of turntables back in '97 because I wanted to be able to write

for the dance floor. I've written all sorts of tracks in the genres of house, techno, drum & bass, break

beat, even happy hardcore if you can believe it. If there is one thing that I love, it's a good mix tape.

Where songs move within their framework, a mix tape (or mix CD) will have movement over a greater

span of time, ever flowing and changing. It is a new layer of movement, like symphony has movements.

You can play them separately, but they are only complete when played together. Although

slowwavesleep has 13 tracks, I feel that it should be viewed as a single piece of music and ingested in

its entirety. This idea is a nod to dj culture.

 

Setting Sun: Do you play concerts? If not, could you see yourself playing concerts - how would

they differ?

 

Slowwavesleep:

I've never performed a live set of my original music although I have thought about it a lot. There is always

the argument of what is "played" and what is "actually played." If I were to simply set up my computer and

keyboards and do a live PA, I would really just be playing sequences. Very little music would be played

manually. Why not just play the CD instead? I couldn't easily recruit a whole band to perform the set as it

sounds on the CD; so one alternative is to write "band versions" of the tracks. Another option is to have

the parts of slowwavesleep pressed on dub plates and do a dj set instead. This way, I could also mix in

new tracks too. Either way would be cool, but the latter would be the best option for me right now because

of my heavy school schedule.

 

Setting Sun: What's next for "Slowwavesleep" - do you have any releases in mind etc...How can you see

your newer material developing in contrast to your earlier material?

 

Slowwavesleep:

Slowwavesleep is supposed to be a solitary endeavour, but there might be a sequel. After I finished

this CD, felt like making another one building off of ideas in the first. Slowwavesleep II would be much

less beat-heavy and much more melodic. I think it would be fun to pretend to be a modern day Mozart

and write well developed movements with harmonies and counterpoint, using the same instrumentation

and feel as the first CD. I'll let you know if ever comes out of my head.

 

Setting Sun: When you are not in Slowwavesleep, what do you do?

 

Slowwavesleep:

Well, I can't stop complaining about school. I'm working on my BA. The plan is to become

a science teacher at a school that will pay for my master's degree. My hope is that, as a teacher,

I will have summers off to work on music and art. Currently, I have a script for a comic book that

I will probably draw this fall.

 

After it is finished, I plan to make it a short animated film, time permitting. I work part-time

at the college I attend and devote all my free time, which there is little, to my friend's next album.

Right now I'm just engineering until I have time to produce along with him. I can't wait to dig into it!

 

Setting Sun: Where do you come from? Have you been to any good gigs where you live recently?

 

Slowwavsleep:

I hail from Chicago! It's a great city; you should visit if you get a chance. There is something to do

every day, regardless of what time it is. There is tons of music, art, and culture. I lived in beautiful

(and boring) Southern California for a few years, but moved back because I would rather endure the

extreme heat and cold of Chicago to be in its glory.

 

With my limited free time, I don't see as many shows as I used to. A few months ago I saw The Mars

Volta and they kicked my ass. They were like The Doors or something. Epic jams and lots of energy.

Oh yeah, in December there is an acting troupe that is performing a musical based on Monty Python's

"The Holy Grail." I don't care if it costs me $200, I'm not missing that!

 

Setting Sun: Lastly, sort of hacking a question one of my friends used to use in her magazine,

if you were stranded on a desert island with a record player (although I could be tempted to let you

upgrade it to a CD Player if I was feeling nice), what 5 records what you choose to have with you?

 

Slowwavesleep:

Man, that's a tough one when you really start thinking about it.

 

OK, how about

 

Descendents - Liveage,

 

The Beatles - Revolver,

 

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless,

 

Deee-Lite - Dewdrops in the Garden,

 

Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool.

 

That covers a few of the bases.

 

Setting Sun:  Thanks for taking the time to fill in these answers, Brian. Good luck

With your future musical projects...

 

Slowwavesleep:

Thank you! I'm thrilled that find my CD worthy of note. I'll keep you updated on my

future projects.