TAYLOR
DEUPREE:
CHAIN DLK
INTERVIEW
WITH TAYLOR DEUPREE
by
Andrea Ferraris
ONLINE
INTERVIEW HERE
Chain
D.L.K.: Speaking about minimalism and pop, I've
been positively surprised by the fact that your latest release
has become more and more melodic without betraying your personal
approach. But being so hyper-prolific, aren't you afraid of
repetitions?
Taylor Deupree: I really make a conscious effort
to continually explore new sounds and new approaches to writing
because I want to avoid doing the same thing over and over again.
I don't think anyone could honestly say I do the same thing
on each album. In fact, in the '90s I felt like I was varying
my sound TOO much and that I had lost focus. Now I try to push
in new directions but at the same time work within the same
mindset or with the same set of inspirations. Also, I like to
do a lot of collaborative work. This is a really great way to
learn new techniques from other artists and ideally creating
a sound which is not so much a layering of myself and someone
else, but a multiplication. 1 + 1 = 3, I like to term it.
Chain D.L.K.: "Northern" is full
of acoustic or "non-electronic" instruments, since
your production work with Eisi is relatively recent; has it
influenced the way you worked on your solo records?
Taylor Deupree: Absolutely...the album with
Eisi was easily the most challenging project I've ever done
but I also picked up a lot of techniques and learned a lot from
the process. Working with more traditional instrumentation and
vocals brought on a lot of mixing challenges. For example, certain
types of equalizers would work better for different instruments
than others...things like that. I learned a lot about mixing.
I've been interested in blending acoustic and digital sounds
for a number of years, and really began working with guitarists
back in 2003 with the release of the "E.A.D.G.B.E"
compilation on 12k. "Northern" was the first time
I incorporated the sounds on a solo album. It was all quite
natural, though, as I was taking inspiration from my new natural
surroundings as well as from my work in the '80s with my good
friend Bryan Strniste which was quite pop and utilized many
different instruments and vocals.
Chain D.L.K.: "Northern" is really
filmic, have you ever considered composing the soundtrack for
a movie? I've seen that your last work is accompanied by some
nice black and white winter postcards, is that all of the visual
influence you drew upon while working or have you been influenced
by other images/movies/landscapes? I mean, obviously every musician/artist
is influenced by whatever happens/is around him during the composition/recording
process but is there a particular influence -- for example Sonic
Youth always say their music is deeply influenced by New York
City, Seefeel's "Ch-vox" by a bad period Marc Clifford
was experiencing, etc.?
Taylor Deupree: As you said, Northern was influenced
by everything around me as well as the themes that flow through
a lot of my work such as stillness, the suspension of time,
minimalism, etc. But, more specifically the black and white
winter landscapes, which were all taken at our new house, and
the move out of the city up into the country were big influences.
My life has been at a very transitional time for the past couple
of years, and I'd say also a difficult time. One thing that
I really set out to do was create an album without too much
force or direction. I wanted to create something that simply
came naturally. I was in a brand new studio, my surroundings
were new, I just wanted to see what flowed out naturally, to
embrace my new surroundings and let the music come out.
Chain D.L.K.: You've said: "When I
was 8 my favourite band was Kiss...when I was 10 my favourite
band was the Beatles and later new wave." But can you remember
when and how did you discover electronic music?
Taylor Deupree: The electronic music definitely
came from '80s new wave. The bands I was listening to then were
primarily electronic. When I was 13 my parents bought me Kraftwerk's
"Autobahn" and I was also listening to a lot of Jean-Michel
Jarre at the time. I was also a product of the video game generation.
Our family had an early computer in the house (a TRS-80) that
I would program and I spent many weekends in video arcades.
I was sucked into this new digital wave and grew up as the personal
computing industry grew up. Through high school I was quiet
and tended to seek out lesser travelled paths and to specifically
follow interests that others were not interested in. This led
to listening to a lot of alternative music and even within that
circle I would seek out more unknown bands, a lot of them ended
up being electronic in nature.
Chain D.L.K.: I find interesting the fact
you decided to start a label focused on "unconventional
Japanese pop"; I also think there's a sort of continuity
between that, the music you play and 12k. At last minimalism
had been deeply influenced by Asiatic (and also by African)
culture. Is it a matter of aesthetics or did they promise you
loads of sushi?
Taylor Deupree: The sushi definitely plays
a part...it's my favorite food! But, yes, I think there is starting
to be a crossover with what Happy has been doing and what 12k
has been doing. Happy really set out to be a non-electronic
label, I wanted to take it far, far away from 12k -- even do
indie rock. But I've found that to be beyond my means, really,
and I often think about merging the two labels...basically allowing
12k to expand into more rhythmic territory if I wanted it to.
Also a lot of 12k's artists are incorporating some more "pop"
(for lack of a better term) elements. On the latest Sawako CD,
for example, she used vocals, a first for 12k. The upcoming
Fourcolor CD features piano on one track and is definitely a
new sound for 12k. Back in 1997 I had a huge artist's revelation
and began to merge all of my influences from art and music and
focus my aesthetics into a more cohesive whole. I think now
I am coming to one of those times in life again, to re-assess
what I'm doing and collapse it into a new hybrid of aesthetics.
Chain D.L.K.: Many people criticize the
fact that lots of Americans, when becoming fond of eastern philosophy/aesthetics,
disfigure its original notion -- like they say happened with
western Buddhism or western Hare Krishnas. What do you think
of it?
Taylor Deupree: I try to stay safely away from
a lot of the deep philosophy because these are very deep and
ancient thoughts that I simply do not have the authority to
debate. I do not want to speak of original notions, for fear
of distorting them. Instead I will read books and take away
thoughts and inspirations on whatever sort of level they reach
me at. Take Wabi-Sabi for example. This philosophy is so ingrained
in Japanese culture that they themselves don't even speak of
it or know how to describe it. So how can I? What I know, on
a simple level, is that it's the appreciation of imperfectness
and a sense of ephemerality and non-permanence. Those ideas
right there are enough to excite me and to get me thinking in
ways that I can really parallel to my music. I don't need to
intrude on the sensitive philosophies or claim to be an expert
at something I'm not.
Chain D.L.K.: You've also said, "Graphic
design takes up a lot of my time, but it allows me to work at
home. It's allowed artists to really take back control of the
recording process because everyone can afford to do it in their
own homes." It sounds like you put a lot of stress on staying
at home. Are you spending that much time at home? And which
are the main occupations of Taylor Deupree when he's not working
in graphic design, on music or on the label?
Taylor Deupree: I have a family now, a 3-year
old son, who is the center of my life. So every moment that
I can stay at home is precious to me. In terms of music, I am
most interested in what the studio has to offer, as opposed
to live performance, so I really prefer to work there. Also,
12k takes up a lot of time, managing releases, processing orders,
etc. All that is done out of my home office. There is not much
time in my life after being a busy musician, label owner, and
graphic designer. So my occupation besides that is to play with
my son, be a father, play ice-hockey, spend time with friends.
And maybe if I have a spare hour, sit outside under the trees
and try to relax.
