frame.

I reached Mark Clifford for a chat before their A/V live set in Florence, april 6th.

FDOT: Last year's double release of Squared Roots and Everything Squared marked a new beginning for the band. Why not making it a single full-length record?

MC: It’s a good question. The original idea was to release something quite low-key - just to put down a marker - and to complete a full album for release next year. But as ‘Squared Roots’ gathered some momentum, we decided to put out some of the remaining tracks from those sessions, again without too much fuss or fanfare. In retrospect, we could have been less cautious.

FDOT: You were credited as one of the first post-rock bands in the 90s. Do you think it was a fitting definition for your music?

MC: You know I had to Google what the term actually defines these days. I think in terms of breaking down traditional song structures and using textures rather than defined progressions, it confirms with how we tried to create music early on in our career. Very early demos, while not being ‘conventional’ as such, had a slightly more recognisable structure, and I can remember sitting around the Tascam 244 4-travk one evening with Daren, Sarah and Justin and us asking ourselves why it needed to be this way - perhaps because socially we were as wrapped up in the club scene in London as we were in the rock scene. It just seemed to make sense.

FDOT: You are also indicated as the first "guitar band" on Warp. Things changed and now Warp has a wide array of artists using guitars, even outside the electronic music circle, like Squid. Do you feel that you inspired this change? And which projects from the label you appreciated the most, in recent years?

MC: Steve Beckett has often said that we opened the door for other artists who were not wholly electronic in their approach to music. I’m sure this would have happened eventually in any case because the cross-generation of genres would have made it inevitable but at that time there was a section of listeners who defined themselves as being anti traditional band structures and instruments and it was almost like sacrilege to them for Warp to sign these upstarts with guitars, even though what we were doing on those guitars was far from standard. I’ve liked many of Warp’s artists over the years: BoC, Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, and, of course the core that remains from back in the day - the usual suspects.

FDOT: The shoegaze element in your sound has been diluted, if not completely erased. But it’s interesting how this kind of music really resonates with Gen Z, and it’s now living a sort of renaissance. From your point of view, what are the reasons for this resurgence in popularity? And do you feel that Seefeel had a role in all of this?

MC: I really can’t explain this at all no. I know from when I was young, shoegaze was like a formless noise that you could lose yourself in; a kind of escapism. I’m not sure wether this generation of listeners is looking for a similar kind of ‘otherness’?

FDOT: In a recent interview, Mark stated: “The artists I like [...] they really squeeze the life out of equipment and they don’t just settle on the first sound or the first idea”. Which artists really inspired you, the ones you looked up to, both in sound and method/approach, when you started Seefeel? And which current/recent ones do you like and listen to today?

MC: I often think that I’m inspired by so much music - sometimes music I don’t like - because everything can point you one way or steer you away from another. But if I was to think about very specific artists, then clearly Cocteau Twins would be one - their approach to making music chimed with me because they weren’t interested in demonstrating technical prowess - I remember reading an interview with Robin where he stated that he didn’t like guitarists who could play more than three strings. It seems funny now, but this was so inspiring to someone who really had only just picked up a guitar.

FDOT: You recently re-reissued your 1993 classic Quique, an album that pretty much put you guys on the map. How do you feel about this record, 32 years apart from the original release?

MC: I like most of still; some tracks more than others. There are certain tracks (Climactic Phase, Polyfusion, Filter Dub for example) that I really enjoy playing live still. Others not so much. I guess that’s a good barometer as to my feelings about each track. But I’m overall proud of that record given the limitations we had at the time in terms of producing it.

FDOT: If you had to point to a significant moment, a milestone in your 30-plus year career, what would it be?

MC: There are a few to be honest and it would hard to pull one out. Obviously as a kid who dwas so utterly changed by hearing the Cocteau Twins for the first time, I would say recieving a letter from Robin Guthrie and being asked if I’d like to go to their studio to meet them, then touring with them and remixing them would be right up there as something pretty special. Playing in Paris at Warp 20, and the reaction we recieved from both the audience and from Steve Becket is another moment I won’t forget as we hadn’t played in so long and it’s nerve-racking in that situation because you have no idea wether you might be greeted with complete apathy.

FDOT: In Florence, you'll perform an A/V show. Who's curating the visual aspect of the performance, and what to expect from the audio-visual experience?

MC: The visuals are by a friend Dan Conway. The set is something we would like to grow and evolve over the coming months and years and it’s very much in its infancy at present so expect to feel like you are at the start of a journey with us - hopefully a warm, exhilirating one.

[LISTEN TO THESE MIXTAPES] - ((OPEN THE THIRD EYE)) - EACH MONTH ON RADIORAHEEM.IT AND RADIOALHARA.NET

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LÊ ALMEIDA (BR, TRANSFUSÃO NOISE RECORDS) 🇧🇷 § listen if you like: one of the coolest, best-kept secrets, garage rock labels of the last 20 years LINK

Lê Almeida is a producer, singer-songwriter and label owner from Brazil. Over the course of 20 years, he helped putting the brazilian indie/garage rock and underground music scene on the map, mostly with his label Transfusão Noise, which he started in 2004 while living in Vilar dos Teles, a small village in the region of Baixada Fluminense, sited in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He toured with legendary indie band Built to Spill, and released music on his own and with the psych band Oruã, among numerous projects.
The history between Lê and frame. goes a long way back, as he was one of the first guests I had in mind when I started my monthly show on Radio Alhara.
Lê kindly accepted to get back on the show, and this time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his label Transfusão with a special mixtape: 20 songs for 20 years.

“In my mix tape I wanted to put a mix of tracks from a time when I lived in that old house you mention in your questions. It was a period before the escritório existed. Only the last few tracks have a connection with the escritório.”

The “escritório” that he’s mentioning is a small home studio that Lê built in the first years of the 2000s, and served for a long time as the headquarters of Transfusão, in which Lê started his musical journey.

FDOT: It’s very cool to have you back here. This time around, you prepared a very special mixtape to celebrate 20 years (!!!) of your label, Transfusão Noise. How the label came about in 2004, and what a young Lê thought in the first place, in creating such a rare yet precious creature in Brazil’s underground music scene? What are the biggest achievements, the best moments/memories that you’d like to remember from the whole experience?

Our main characteristics were that we did a lot with very little or with very old and sometimes bad equipment. Twenty years ago I just wanted to make things happen and have a name that we could call family, our noise family. Being able to leave the Baixada Fluminense to visit places around the world is one of our greatest achievements, and it was all provided by music. For believing in music and art.

FDOT: After 20 years of Transfusão, how was the label’s work received in Brazil and outside of it? Do you feel like the label has an international sensibility, or it could also fit into the rich and very specific Brazilian music scene?

For many years the only way I could connect with people outside Brazil was by email, and I did that for many years. When I moved out of the country I met many people I had only spoken to by email. I've always felt a genuine openness towards Transfusão and our lo-fi essence from other cultures in different countries. I realise that we have a different sound, a specific style of recording and making records, which wins many people over when they connect with our universe.

FDOT: Some time ago, I found a video on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjVRoOYzjvo) in which a tv crew interviews you in your home/studio. It’s a fascinating document for many aspects: the camera “peeping” into your workspace, which is very DIY and embodies the spirit of lo-fi music, and the idea that this kind of music (but all kinds of, basically) CAN happen in every place, you just have to have the instruments and the will to do it. How much has your workplace (and workflow) changed since that interview? Do you still live in the same area of Vilar dos Teles?

I live in a different place today. But still in Vilar dos Teles. I come from a very humble background, but I've always been very articulate and this has helped me progress in my recording studies. I recorded for many years at home until I rented a space in the centre of Rio, the Escritório. From then on, that was my work space and I carried on until I started travelling with Oruã. From then on I started recording in many different situations. Any house with a sound desk and some pre amps is enough to make something happen.

FDOT: You’re very active as a musician and producer both in Brazil and outside of your home country. You also played with Built to Spill, which is pretty dope. How was that? And how the collaboration came about?

It was a crazy thing. The chances of playing in a band you admire are very slim and it happened spontaneously with us. Doug heard our sound and wanted to connect. In the end we toured for a whole year and recorded a new album. It was a very special moment. We learnt a lot about life on the road during that time.

FDOT: What were your biggest inspirations when you started making music? And what inspires you the most, when you play/produce/compose? I’m also curious about your method. Your music seems to be generated by improvisation: it sounds like “organized chaos”. It has a perfect balance between free flowing soundscapes (often field recordings), high level musicianship, and intensity. Are you a more cerebral player/composer, or a more instinctive one?

I listened to a lot of Ramones when I was young, it influenced me a lot. When I discovered Guided By Voices it changed my world. A lot of recording at home with friends. Drinking together and chatting. My parents at home always liked my hustle and bustle and were very supportive. Both at home and in the office I've always been prolific with friends in improvisations. I like to take some songs from snippets of lost tracks. This is perhaps one of my ways of making music. But I also like to sit alone and experiment with chords or just sample some discs and put together loop sequences.

FDOT: You've created a lot of great music under your own name, but I think people should get to know your band, Oruã, which has also toured internationally and taken part in Seattle's famous KEXP live music format. Last year's "Passè" was one of my favourite albums of 2024! How was the band formed? Could you introduce the other members and how you met them?

Oruã emerged at the end of 2016 during improvisation sessions in the office. I got a few people together and we recorded a lot of material just by improvising. From this initial recording, the band took shape. The band has changed over the years, with different line-ups but constant collaborators. Passe was our fourth album, recorded entirely on the road between our travels in Brazil, the United States and Europe. We always work on our recordings, creating our own sound. João Casaes plays synths and Bigu Medine plays bass. These two and I have collaborated together on various projects for many years. Ana Zumpano plays drums and collaborated with us on Passe and we've had an artistic relationship for many years.

FDOT: Ultimately, would you like to suggest some brazilian artists/bands you dig? Also projects orbiting around the underground music scene, or in the Transfusão family :)

I've got quite a list of projects going on (CLICK ON THE NAMES TO HEAR THEIR STUFF ON BANDCAMP - SUPPORT THESE BANDS!!!)

EX-EASTER ISLAND HEAD (UK, ROCKET RECORDINGS) 🗿 § listen if you like: strange folk from around the globe, experimental/artsy stuff, (to) transcend spiritually LINK

PLMS (IT, JIPO RECORDS) 🌴 § listen if you like: library music, getting groovy, funk, wonky soundz LINK

1. Your music, as well as your aesthetic, is strongly influenced by Japanese culture. What is it about Japan that fascinates you, and what did you learn/discover when you were there?

Firstly, I have to say that I have always had a certain fascination with language (in general);

Japan in particular I find fascinating in its artistic forms/cultural roots, sometimes I find there a sense of order, sometimes a sense of rupture, of fragmentation - enhancement of a fragment - and more generally a specific focus in various types of medium. It suggests something akin to my way of understanding/abstracting a concept, and going more specific, it could be following a non-linear narrative, or the representation of the ephemeral (e.g. ukiyo-e), if only because they tend to remove the subject as the central point of the narrative communicates something to me, and these are all concepts diametrically opposed to the West, or what I have been used to living here.

2. Still talking about Japan, would you point to artists or creative personalities who have inspired you and inspire you, both in terms of graphics and music production?

One point of reference certainly is Ryuichi Sakamoto. There would be a lot to summarize, the way he reduces a theme to the bone particularly captures me, and I think it speaks so much about aesthetic/conceptual research.

I think it's a rare meeting point between traditional composition, sound design, but also sound localization.

Citing for example his record "async," in which the interference and white noise of cities overpowers the sacred harmony of a chorale, is not only is it a great figuration of modern dissonance, but it is for me a magical way of telling a suggestion. Incidentally, my EP happened to come out on the same day as his passing.

Another one is definitely Tadao Ando, architect. Besides the fascination of his works, the way he uses light as a building material-I see him very close to me not so much because of what he does but more because he is self-taught. Being one myself, it gives me many answers to see how far one can go with one's own means.

3. Are there similarities between your activity as a graphic designer and your activity as a musician? I mean as an affinity in method, or approach.

Certainly the concept of sampling is very similar to both. Assuming that you never start from nothing but from something that has already been done, archiving tracks, or scans, becomes a bit like a big shelf from which you take material, then trace the outline, and maybe remove it later, just to have an overall idea, there is always then a distillation of that information... As well as starting out in this way, on graphics it might be looking at the angle of one line superimposed on another, the order of shapes, or the handling of space. It's quite a recurring starting point, and fun for my kind of approach.

4. Insula is your debut album. Is there a particular reason for the choice of title?

Yes and no. I remember that I chose the word more or less at random (it never is) but mainly because of its double meaning:

Both that of island, hence to an idea of isolation / loneliness, of research, and because of the insular cortex of the brain, which among its many functions also plays a role in language: connected to the ability to initiate the right pauses and breaths that precede and enable long and complex spoken sentences.

5. How was the creative process of the album? Who participated in the recording sessions?

The record is shared with Edoardo Battaglia, who recorded the drum parts. As long as I worked on it alone it was very arbitrary as a process ahah. Since Edoardo took over instead, I started to see a more precise form of what I was doing. After that we then composed some of the tracks together, such as June and Medium Swing.

6. You are working on a very interesting publishing project, also related to Japan. What is it about?

It is a bilingual book that I have been putting together in the last few months, in which I asked Giulio Battolla, a great friend and a great writer, for support. Let's say it is an investigation of language, phoneme, and graphic sign, in a way that is not at all academic - nonlinear in fact. Part visual collection, part prose sections, typographic research, photographic documentation, and much more that I hope to share soon.

7. Insula comes out for Jipo in audio cassette format, with a very distinctive design. Do you think this return of the cassette is just a passing fad, a matter of aesthetics? A bit like the “rebirth” of vinyl a decade ago... what do you think?

To me the physical/aesthetic component seems to be the main reason, I think a lot of the hype is that, that fascination given mainly by its limitations/components, at the same time it is practical, you take it everywhere, and it keeps a physical contact with the content.

So many! Most are from the L.A scene, a scene that is flourishing with artists like Sam Gendel, Telemakus, Lionmilk, Knx, Mndsgn, Kiefer, Jacob Mann, Matthewdavid, Madlib, Devin Morrison, and so on.

9. If you had to associate Insula with something visual (a shape, a colour, a character, an image...), what would you associate it with?

I would associate it with so many things now that I think about it, in some ways with cold colors, with glacial expanses, and in other ways with the flickering lights of a metropolitan area as seen from a window.

PEAKING LIGHTS (USA, VARIOUS LABELS) 🌈 § listen if you like: dub music, sexy mixers, big phat joints, chill out in the nature LINK

MODEL/ACTRIZ (USA, TRUE PANTHER RECORDS) ⛓️ § listen if you like: hot summers, nine inch nails, bdsm, being a naughty boi LINK

NICO GEORIS (USA, LEAVING RECORDS) 🌞 § listen if you like: ambient/new age, skywatching, ETERNAL BLISS LINK

OSEES (USA, DEATH GOD RECORDS fka CASTLE FACE) ☠️ § listen if you like: krautrock, punk/hc, heavy stuff, gettin' high on helium in the morning LINK 1 - LINK 2

NATUREWORKS SERIES 🪴🌱🌍 § listen if you like: nature, plants, going outdoors, being just a chill guy LINK

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS :: UNRELEASED VOL. 1 & 2 ⚡️🎸 § listen if you like: getting tinnitus in your 20s/30s, overdrives, fuzz boxes LINK 1 - LINK 2

ANDROID FEELINGS FEST '24 (LIVE PERFORMANCES) 🤖 § listen if you like: COOL AF live music, or just knowing one of the finest labels in Italy, Jipo LINK

LAZY LAZARUS (IT, JIPO RECORDS) § listen if you like: slackers, alt-rock, big dogs, little dogs, all kinds of dogs LINK

JACK NAME (US, MAPLE DEATH) § listen if you like: driving in the city at night, obscure songwriters, rorschach tests LINK

JACK NAME INTERVIEW

a quick chat with jack right before his live set at Progresso in Florence, sept. 18, 2024.

FDOT: Your music is like a sleight of hand: at times, I have the impression that I recognise very common musical traits, which appear simple while concealing complexity and mastery. What are your methods? What do you draw inspiration from, first and foremost, when writing a song?

JN: I don’t know if I have any methods. For me, writing usually happens with inspiration in the traditional sense. Some kind of spirit breathes an idea or a feeling into you, maybe life does it, maybe a moment, but suddenly there is an idea inside you and it can come out as music or art. For the music that I’m proud of making, I never remember the process of writing the music. For the songs when I used a method or a craft, like “a songwriter” I usually don’t like those songs for very long, so I try to avoid that kind of writing.

FDOT: Every album you have composed so far has been linked by a recurring theme. Concept albums, if you like. This one is slightly different, and is described as a ‘pearl necklace’. What is ‘Fabulous Soundtracks’ about?

JN: When I made Fabulous Soundtracks it was an attempt to capture little moments that happen in life, and to listen to the feeling inside myself to see if I could find the music in those moments, and record them. Its similar to trying to write down a dream after you wake up, but with sound.

FDOT: Speaking of soundtracks, I notice a ‘cinematic’ quality in your music, and it is a value I find in both the sounds and the images your lyrics evoke. Are you somehow inspired by film soundtracks or, more generally, by the world of cinema?

JN: I do find certain kinds of movie’s inspiring. I like slow long movies with lots of details and lots of negative space. I think the real magic happens when the imagination of the audience has some room to be involved. I’m very inspired by the music of Toru Takemitsu, and he did a lot of soundtracks. I like a lot of traditional musics from around the world too. Movie music is interesting to me because there are so many wild sounds and ideas that would never be in a pop song, but millions of people can enjoy it if it’s a part of a movie. I also really enjoy making videos, films, its like a visual form of music, and I like working with filmmakers on soundtracks as well. I would like to do much more of that in the future.

FDOT: Do you also have literary references you draw inspiration from when writing your lyrics? Or do they mostly deal with lived life, or slices of life that you come across on a daily basis?

JN: For me, Lyric writing has to be musical, not just the meter of the words but also the way the sounds inside of the words flow together. I always want it to be very natural, like the way a plant moves. Every writer has their own flow or style, the way they use language. Most of my lyrics come from lived life, things I come across on a daily basis. There are writers who I love, and stories I find particularly inspiring, but it’s not usually where my inspiration comes from.

FDOT: Over the years you have taken on various monickers, and a passage from the press release reads: ‘He has defiantly opted out of social media and is moving further away from conventional rock spaces, rarely playing live, and even then, often to improvise. His practice refuses social pressures when seen as detrimental to his artistic instincts'. What gives rise to this need (if you can call it that) to ‘disappear’, or remain on the fringe, especially in a hyperactive metropolis like Los Angeles?

JN: I need a lot of focus and attention to make art and music. These days there is too much distraction, too much interruption, and I think it will effect music in a very significant way. I think it maybe has already started. The way people share time and space is different, the way we relate is different. Music and art is a part of the transcendental side of humanity. I think these bright screens, huge amounts of information and stimulation, and social overload makes it very hard to transcend. Social media is like a cocktail party from hell that never ends. Everyone you know is there, everyone watching each other. There can be a pressure to keep up or a pressure to perform, people compare themselves to other people. These things make it impossible to live in the present moment. For something to be online it is immediately in the past. Even a live stream, it is in the past. It seems like now we have processed time. And like processed food, it is very unhealthy. There is an expectation with many people in the music business that artists should play this game, but I think it is very destructive for creativity. I also really dont like what these things are doing to society and politics. So, for me, resisting this is a political thing and a way to protect my creativity too.

JN: I feel fear of missing out on my own life, but otherwise I don't worry about it. It’s important to be in the moment, and it feels good too.

FDOT: Is there an artist (from the Los Angeles scene, but also from elsewhere) that you would recommend?

JN: I don’t really know. I’m not really a part of any scene. I have some friends that make music, but I mostly stay away from the music scene in los angeles.

FDOT: (Almost) every musician tells of having had an epiphany that drove them to make music. What was yours, if any?

JN: I dont know. I always made music since I was a baby. I started singing before I could talk. For me it is a kind of mystical thing. It feels like a force that you can be in communion with, I think it’s probably a female. All my life, making music feels like the most free and magical thing I can do.

FDOT: If you could live in the body of another artist (even a deceased one) for just one day, who would you choose to be?

JN: There are so many songs and albums that I love, it’s a bit obvious or simple maybe, but my favorite album ever is probably the third velvet underground album. But I don’t wish I had written it. I just love it.

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SEEFEEL INTERVIEW

JACK NAME INTERVIEW

a quick chat with jack right before his live set at Progresso in Florence, sept. 18, 2024.

CHECK OUT OUR SOUNDCLOUD FOR MORE MIXTAPES AND LIVE SETS!

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