jeudi 11 novembre 2010

Interview : Nice Nice (Jason Buehler)


1. Your first musical memories?
My first musical memory is from when I was 5 or 6 years old. I had a Snoopy portable radio at the time and, when the song “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” came on, I assumed that Leroy Brown must be Charlie Brown’s brother. This led my young mind to assume that any music that came out of Snoopy was somehow related to the Peanuts universe. It was a strange time.

2. The best record you received as a present? / The worse one?
My cousin gave me a Beatles mix tape when I was pretty young and I listened to it a lot. It was the perfect music for me at the time and those melodies are now permanently etched in my brain.
Years later, during a time when I was listening to a lot of very wild free-jazz, my mom gave me a CD called “A Touch of Jazz”. It was an album of lite piano jazz and the cover showed a rose in a wine glass sitting elegantly on a piano. Not the best gift for me at the time, but it’s the thought that counts.

3. The first record that you lost?
I have no idea what the first record that I lost was (maybe the first one that I owned?), but there is one lost record that really stands out- I just don’t know what it was called! I was digging for records in a thrift store years ago and came across a privately pressed record from the early 80’s that was some kind of weird low-budget electronic/gospel concept album. It sounded like William Onyeabor doing Christian electro and it was an absolute gem of a record, but I somehow managed to leave it behind somewhere between the store and my house. Terrible.

4. The name of your imaginary band?
Nice Nice. It’s imaginary and real at the same time.

5. In which environment do you like to record music?
Comfortable, low key, well lit. Maybe with some plants. Just homey and casual. Sometimes it is fun to record in a situation where there is an element of pressure- like maybe as a guest at somebody else’s session or in a fancy studio- but I usually record in the comfort of my home.

6. What will music sound like in 50 years / 5000 years?
In 50 years music will sound like the music that will be made 30 years from now, because people will be nostalgic for simpler times. And in 5000 years music will not exist, because robots hate music.

7. Which underrated album will start a new musical genre?
It isn’t an album, but that super slowed-down Justin Bieber song – I think it’s slowed down 800 times – could start something. That shit is epic, and the process can be repeated to any song with interesting results.

8. Which album should never have been made?
Kenny G’s fake duet with Louis Armstrong: “What A Wonderful World”. Pat Metheny explains why here.

9. Your favourite album to have a drink?
If it is a nice summer evening drink while the sun is setting I would probably put on Ethiopiques Volume 10. The song Tezeta is just so lovely and breezy. But it all depends on the situation. I like some “party music” too.

10. Your dream collaboration?
Collaborating with the Boredoms would be fun. It would be amazing to work with Eye and to be a part of all of that powerful percussion. Working with Brian Eno would be incredible, as well. I have been listening to a lot of his music lately and I have great respect for him and what he has done.

11. The record that freaks you out?
Herbie Hancock’s “Sextant” always freaks me out- in a good way. It is a dark and psychedelic record that manages to be both deeply primal and other-worldly at the same time. It could be a recording of primordial organisms or sacred ritual music from Species 8472. Very freaky.

12. The record you would like to listen to right now?
I am actually already listening to a record right now: Conrad Schnitzler “Grun”. Great record! But after this I will be listening to a bunch of Hawaiian records that I found today at a thrift store. Love that dreamy pedal steel sound.

13. The film that tickles your creativity?
Lately I have been watching a lot of Yoshi Sodeoka’s video art. I’m not sure if it qualifies as a film, but it has been inspirational visual stimulus for sure. Check him out at www.sodeoka.com.

14. The little-known track that everyone should have heard of?
Well, a lot of people already know this track, but I am going to mention it anyway: “Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)” by Blind Willie Johnson. It is a scratchy recording from 1927, but it is special enough that is was pressed on a golden record and sent into space alongside music from Beethoven and Bach and the sounds of animals of Earth. I have known the song for years, but it continues to be moving and mysterious and it is one of the most transcendent pieces of music that I have heard.

15. An album or an artist you wouldn’t want to be?
T.I.. He’s going to jail.

16. The cover version you would love to do?
John Cage’s hit single “4’33”” would be fun to play. It has been covered before, but I would do it louder and faster.

17. The mashup you would love to do?
I have never done a mashup before, but maybe Steve Reich’s “Clapping Music” mixed with Fripp & Eno’s “Wind on Water”. It wouldn’t set the dance floor on fire, but at least I wouldn’t have to match the tempos.

18. The text you would like to produce a soundtrack for?
The Voynich Manuscript.

19. Have you ever had auditory hallucinations?
Yes, many times. Working in looped based music can be very disorienting sometimes. If the loop is short enough and you listen it long enough it is very easy to start hearing things. When we were working on our last album there were several occasions when we were listening to a short instrumental loop repeating and we both started hearing voices in an instrumental loop. It was kind of scary.

20. How would you like to die?
Old and content.

Nice Nice - One Hit


Go to their myspace and learn more about the Voynich Manuscript

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