CM>>>After listening to the album I discovered the quotation of the great Albert Camus. Under the impression of the music of the album, the artwork and the quotation I thought that this album is a story about “winter”. Maybe I the signs completely, can you tell me something about the album and the idea behind it?
The Sight Below>>>"Glider" started out as I rediscovered playing the guitar and listening to the guitar music I used to listen when I was a teen. I've been a fan of MBV since I was 14 years old. The first time I heard "Only Shallow" I said: "don't know what's doing that elephant sound, but I want to do THAT!" I'm also into techno: Basic Channel, Sleeparchive, Panasonic, etc, so, I've tried to create a marriage of the two in a way. Now, there is obviously a huge influence from Wolfgang Voigt and I do not mind the comparisons at all: his GAS project to me is perfect music. In fact - funny short story: my friend Axel (the Field) was here in Seattle last year, and while hanging out and record shopping we found a copy of Königsforst at a record shop. I kind of rediscovered it. I haven't listened to it in such a long time and it felt so fresh still. That said: I think the main difference between GAS and what I do is the fact that I've been told Wolfgang Voigt despises guitar music and i'm the opposite - i'm a guitar player at heart and swear by the bulk of Creation record's catalog. Even though, the way I play the guitar doesn't sound much like one - I use it more as a sound generating device, like in the same way you would use a synthesizer or sampler to create new sounds, that introverted style of playing .., shoegaze as the media used to call it, is there in spirit.
For "Glider" and in part "No Place For Us" I used a viola bow, volume pedals, etc and recorded in one take whatever the emotion was at the time. Most of the songs on "Glider" were composed during the winter. I was all by myself for like 2 weeks altogether, having been recently laid off from my dayjob too - perfect setting for creating some music! I barely had any human contact or even left my house during that period. It was emotionally intense for sure. I wanted to capture that detached feel. Complete isolation was a total creative binge. I setup a system in my studio I refer to as a "generator." it consists of a series of effect units, loop pedals, and a small mixer chained together. I would play for a few hours thru this system, recording pretty much anything I did. After I recorded everything and selected portions I liked, I would add a pulsing beat to it, but other times (specially lately) i've been using the pulse to play guitar on top of it too. I like to experiment with different aproaches and definitely try not to repeat myself in a way.
CM>>>How does it came to the albums title, have you first found this name for the project, or was the albums name the result of the music?
The Sight Below>>>I think it was all done after the music was finished. It could be like looking beneath and you may find beauty and melody - listen a few times and uncover different elements. Kind of in a way an old film works: I enjoy that old movie quality it has – film graininess, so to speak, that forces the listener to focus hard to uncover different details and small sounds that are hidden on first listen, but are there to be found and enjoyed with repeated listening. But it could also have so many different connotations - for instance, viewing a desolated landscape that are the remains of what could have been, that wasn't and that may never be. The Portuguese refer to this as "saudade" and it serves as the basis for Fado. I kind of like thinking of it as "hopeful gloom," like a brooding sound for drowning in lightless water.
CM>>>How would you describe yourself as a “summer” or “winter” person? Or does it depend on the condition of heart?
The Sight Below>>>I would say I'm more of a winter person. I think the music I am making reflects my own personality - an extension of how I view myself in relation to the world that surrounds me. I've tried to make dance music many times, but felt it didn't come natural to me and hence sounded forced. I am quite an introverted, closed person in many ways and prefer to be out of the spotlight (I know it sounds very contradictory given I am doing an interview). In fact, I rarely tell people I make music. I've had people come said to me after a show in Seatte "oh, I didn't know YOU make music!" - I get that quite a lot actually. I always though of composing music as something quite personal. I do not enjoy talking about myself at all. I try and avoid thinking about such things really.
CM>>>Do you adore the work of Albert Camus and did he influenced your creative work?
The Sight Below>>> The Stranger was influential when I was a teen, so in a way it has shaped some of my creative output.
CM>>>So you love ambitious literature? And do you read a lot?
The Sight Below>>>I do not read as much as I would like or used to when I was younger and had more spare time -- you know, been a teen, living with your parents and not having so many responsabilities.
CM>>>Who made this wonderful artwork of the album? And do you know which technique was used to get these mysterious pictures? Or are these pictures a close-up view of some frost at a window?
The Sight Below>>>That was Michael Cina - he is a very gifted, talented artist who's getting a lot of recognition for his graphic design work. I am not sure what Michael did, as I wasn't involved in the process.
CM>>>I’ve read that the album was recorded during winter 2007 – 2008? Could the result be different if you recorded the album in this winter – like taking a snapshot of the soul and heart of the artist?
The Sight Below>>>Perhaps, as I was going thru a lot of personal things during that winter.
CM>>>How long have you worked on the tracks and the recordings? Have you written and recorded everything during one winter?
The Sight Below>>>Yes, I work fairly fast once I am inspired. I do not enter the studio everyday to record, I only work when I am inspired. Once it happens, I binge - I stay up for days recording ideas and making songs until an album is done, hence the continuity within the album.
CM>>>How do you usually create a new song. Do you first record rhythm parts and the synth parts and after that the guitars? Or isn’t there any sequence in building a new song?
The Sight Below>>> I do not use synths nor I own any at the moment. Everything on Glider was made using processed guitars, played live thru loop pedals and reverb units.
CM>>>Influences part two… Do you think that Seattle, the area you life influenced your music?
The Sight Below>>>Yes, absolutely. I've been profoundly influenced by the Pacific Northwest - I think the landscape, weather and overall aesthetic of the region have been the most influential on my work to date.
CM>>>I know it’s much to early to ask you after releasing your new album, but do you work on new material?
The Sight Below>>>Yes, in fact, I am working on a new project with Simon Scott (aka Televise, formerly of Slowdive and Chapterhouse) and so far we've done a remix for Isan (Morr Music) and around 25 minutes of music - hopefully we wil have a new album finished by the time winter ends. I've also completed 49 minutes of TSB material, which Ghostly will release throughout 2009 ... Ep's, compilations, etc.
CM>>>You decided to keep your personality and gender anonymous. What’s the reason to work anonymous?
The Sight Below>>>Well, it is not THAT anonymous in this digital age. One can easily find my identity with the help of Google quite easily. The reason that I wanted to start out anonymously: I didn't want people to have a prenotion of what the music was going to be about. I've been around for a while and have released music under my own name - music that happens to be very different from TSB. In some way, TSB is a different facet of my persona.
CM>>>And Ghostly agreed to that right from the start? I mean most of the record companies like to promote faces besides music…
The Sight Below>>>Yeah, Sam (Ghostly's founder) has been 100% supportive of everything I've done from day one. He's the best!
CM>>>How did you get signed to Ghostly? Have you send them a demo or did you meet some of them by accident?
The Sight Below>>>I've known Sam for a few years now. I had sent him some demos a while back and he loved them - kept playing those for a while at their office and always kept coming back to those tracks. Eventually, he emailed me and asked for a demo of new material. Good timing cause I had just finished mixing down "Life's Fading Light," so I sent him that and he liked it and asked for more, and I kept sending material until I had an album and two ep's done. I love working with him! I've always like and admired his label - their aesthetic reminds me a lot of Factory, which is one of my all-time favorite labels. I love working with the Ghostly team, they've been great and I am really proud to be part of the Ghostly family.
CM>>>But being an anonymous artist impeded any chance to play live in front of an audience…
The Sight Below>>> No, not at all. I've been playing live here in Seattle, the US and EU. In fact, I did an 18 date tour in the EU during the fall. It went really well.
CM>>>Which persons beside Ghostly know about your artistic work and your new release. Your friends, your family?
The Sight Below>>>Just some very close friends, colleagues, etc. I do not enjoy telling people what I do.
CM>>>I swear you I won’t to put you on thin ice… But am I allowed to ask you something about your person. I would like to know which instrument you learned first?
The Sight Below>>>I learned playing the guitar when I was 12, first instrument I learned by myself too.
CM>>>So you’ve been raised in a kind of musician’s family?
The Sight Below>>>Not at all. My grandfather used to play the accordion when I was a kid, but other than that, I am the only musician in the family (that I know of).
CM>>>I know I already asked you about the difference between recording the album last winter and this winter. Listening to the news right in the moment I asked myself if the different situation worldwide which seems to me more depressed compared o last year probably could influence your music?
The Sight Below>>>Not really, when you already feel at the edge of the world, there's only one direction you can possibly go (smiles).
CM>>>Besides music in which things you are interested in?
The Sight Below>>>Film, photography, history/politics, travelling to different places, going to the symphony/theater/performance art, walking around the woods, drinking wine, coffee - lots of it!
CM>>>The album merges four on the floor beats with kind of ambient soundscapes – are you influenced by Techno music?
The Sight Below>>>Yes, I love Basic Channel ...
CM>>>Which piece of music would you name as one of the most important for you?
The Sight Below>>>Hmm...that's tough, I like way too many things. I love Gymnopedie by Erik Satie and almost everything by Mahler.
CM>>>What do you need for a perfect day in your life?
The Sight Below>>>Drink sangria in the park, and then later, when it gets dark, go home, feed animals in the zoo, then later, a movie, too, and then home. Forget myself, I thought I was someone else, someone good. Youre going to reap just what you sow.
Photos Ghostly Presskit
Interview Michael Mück
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