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Loscil
Those who think science is a dull subject do not know what they're missing out on. Not only do they choose not to witness amazing things like pictures of Saturn's rings or how mold can grow from what seems to be nothing, they would probably miss out on the haunting, dream-like qualities of loscil. It is electronic music, but as warm, welcoming, and soothing as learning about one more cog in the intricate machine that makes our very lives what they are. Centered around Vancouver-based Scott Morgan, he treats us to the addition of conventional instrumentation on his latest album on Kranky, "First Narrows." If National Geographic used soundtracks like this, no one would wonder what the beauty of science is. Imagine a swim through primordial seas, watching a storm build on the open plains, or the intriguing glory of glaciers, and you will know exactly what it sounds like. Morgan recently put up with a little not-so-scientific poking and prodding from Eden Hemming Rose.
SM: I sent kranky a demo (4 tracks of which appear on TriplePoint). They liked the demo, we started talking, and that led to me being accepted as part of the Kranky family.
SM: loscil is lifted from an old computer music language called CSound. loscil is a function for looping sampled sounds. Its name comes from the combination of "loop" and "oscillate"... seemed fitting.
SM: I agree. Vancouver is know for its rain. I can't help but think the rain has subconsciously influenced my being and thus my art. If you think of it, all my records have a water theme to an extent. This is somewhat accidental, but I think it's also something core to me that I don't pay attention to consciously.... My cats influence me too.
SM: Well, I'm a drummer and have often played hard and fast. loscil is my project to do the opposite. It's a project that's taken on its own life, and that is a quiet, slow moving, ambient life...
SM: My uncle gave me a guitar when I was young. That led to playing in bands as a teenager. I also played tenor sax in the high school concert band and drums for the lunch hour vocal groups. Bands led to taking music at university, which lead to an interest in computer music.
SM: Working alone is completely different for me than working with others... For one, you're in complete control when you work alone. This can be a blessing and a curse. It's much easier to stick to a vision working alone. Like a writer or a painter, you can take time to flush out an idea, discard it, resurrect it, all on a whim. Collaboration is very much a negotiation. You have to trust someone, and in turn feel trusted by them. You have to share and you certainly have to compromise. But the best aspect of collaboration is certainly the realization you've created something you couldn't possibly create alone. Each has its advantages. I'm sure I'll continue to do both.
SM: Well, while making First Narrows, I consciously tried to avoid using a theme. What I found happen though, is a theme started to emerge without me conceiving of it. In many ways, First Narrows became a record about "home." Many of the working titles for the tracks survived as final names (something not true of the previous two Kranky records).... Emma and Lucy Dub are named after my cats. The performers on the record are all friends of mine I've played with in varying capacities in the music community here. "First Narrows" is the entrance to Vancouver harbour. I ended up naming the record this for fairly symbolic reasons. Basically, the theme was accidental, and not conceptual but governed by the material and the process of realizing that material....
SM: Music plays various roles in my life. It is certainly a form of expression. There are feelings I get making music that I don't get doing anything else. It is also an intellectual exercise.... I like to think abstractly about music and musical ideas. These thoughts are perhaps diversions from other things...so it's a distraction, I suppose. Music is also a big part of my social life. I've made many friends from music. Most of my closest friends are musicians and people I've played music with in some capacity. Relatively speaking, it's also a job. I don't make a living off my work as loscil, but I do make some money. I am also employed as a sound designer, so many of the tools and techniques are shared between work and my musical life....
SM: For sure. I play guitar and drums. If all else fails, I would sing...though I'm not a very good singer.... My life would be different without technology, there is no doubt about that. I love my computer and get a great deal of pleasure out of the technical aspects of programming musical tools and such...but I would survive without it and certainly would make music without it.
SM: Interesting question. I'm not sure I could answer just one.... Leon Theremin, Max Mathews, Hugh Le Cain are a few of my favourite historical musical-scientists.
SM: For sure. I play guitar and drums. If all else fails, I would sing...though I'm not a very good singer.... My life would be different without technology, there is no doubt about that. I love my computer and get a great deal of pleasure out of the technical aspects of programming musical tools and such...but I would survive without it and certainly would make music without it.
SM: I would say the strongest influences on me in terms of how I make music are my friends, my teachers and my colleagues. I am perhaps most strongly influenced by the music and art of others. Experiencing the creativity of other people is the most powerful influence on and inspiration to me. Without the music and art of those I've met in my life, those I've studied under and those whose art and music I've experienced, I doubt I would make music.
SM: I see myself making music, living outside the city, having a family. As for the content of my music making, ten years is a long time; it's hard to predict. Ten years ago, I was just being introduced to the practice of computer music.... 10 years down the road could see me practicing music with different tools, and different aesthetic concerns. I will be making music though, no question about that.
SM: I play drums in a band called the Battles. I also may be playing in Dan Bejar's Destroyer again soon. They do not conflict with loscil at all. Work conflicts more.
SM: Well, I played a wedding once; that was very strange. I was asked by an engaged couple that I had never met to play their wedding reception. It was very odd. I think most of the wedding-goers were a little freaked out by me playing, as was I. The room of people basically seemed to get as far away from me as possible. It was a very strange evening.
SM: Sheesh. That's a tough question for anyone to answer. Music is so subjective, I can't possibly imagine what someone would conclude. Some people seem to draw the conclusion that my music is dark and depressing. I don't necessarily think of it this way. I don't know.
SM: It's really quite simple. I start a new Max patch, load in some sounds, tinker for a while. When I get some elements that I like, I save this file with a working title. I revisit this file several hundred million times, changing little bits and pieces until I'm happy with all the elements. Then I create a mix-down straight from the patch...sort of a "live" mix. I'll do a bunch of these and pick the one I like the best. I master it, put it with the other tracks and send it off to Kranky. There was of course the additional step with a few tracks on First Narrows of adding performances...but this was simply a matter of recording the performances alongside the mixes...then mixing it all together into the final version....
-- Eden Hemming Rose (21 June, 2005)
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