SHUTTLE358
AMBIENTRANCE (US)
INTERVIEW
WITH DAN ABRAMS
by David J. Opdyke
His
mid-1999 debut of optimal.lp proved "that the 'cold' mechanics
of computerized sound can be given distinct warmth and beauty."
shuttle358 "draws heavily from the microscopic and ostensibly
souless world of digital electrons, giving them loose structure,
warmth and life by way of stunningly arranged sound patterns"...
to quote these pages.
With
his latest release, frame, Abrams lets his sound evolve through
processes of easy-on-the-ears experimentalism which yield fascinating
results...
AmbiEntrance:
While I enjoy its obtuse isolationism, Frame seems more experimental
and slightly less inviting than optimal.lp; was this "planned",
or did it just come out that way?
Abrams:
i wanted to evolve my sound.. it became very easy ergo dull
for me to manufacture an 'optimal' track.. that plus the fact
i have had an experience with an enormous amount of idm/microscopic
music since optimal.. i did not design this album *for* a certain
audience, but rather it is my impression of those and other
ideas, whether i liked them or not.. it's kinda my objective
take on the scene.. i've got some new projects, however, that
allow for this style of ideas in a more fitting genre.. quite
cool.
AmbiEntrance:
As far as evolution, were you making music before optimal; if
so, what was it like?
Abrams:
it was pretty much the same but with cheesier elements in it..
I wasn't brought up on a TB303 or anything, so I was always
inspired by william orbit and brian eno.. I wrote ambient music
with pianos and bad drum sounds and strings and stuff.. ive
always been a fan of good video game music, as well.
AmbiEntrance:
What about those artists who keep mining the same sound again
and again... is it laziness, lack of talent or "giving the fans
what they want"?
Abrams:
i cannot speculate on that. that depends on your point of view
and financial interest.
AmbiEntrance:
How much (percentage-wise) of soundwork is done via the computer
compared to being "played" on traditional synths? Can you tell
us about your (software/hardware/gear) set-up?
Abrams:
a synth IS a computer.. i dont own a 'keyboard' of any sorts..
i have no room and have learned to adapt without one. regarding
my modules, i feel the most sucsessful result of a song is how
few synths it took to do it.. needless to say i'm constantly
downsizing things.. optimal was done 95% with one module, which
i just sold for $300. it's not for kicks, its more of a personal
life philosophy. My upcoming mille plateux album is made exclusively
using my own node-based sampler/step-sequencer script driving
arbitrary samples of past work. i find however, that hands-on
tools are the best for me.. except for a keyboard, that is.
but, whatever.. they are just tools.. i'm sick of hearing about
who uses what. it's just about grabbing this shit out of the
air cause it's all floating around us all day long.. it's yours
for the taking... so i say go ahead, what are you waiting for?
AmbiEntrance:
Has anyone ever listened to your music (for instance "Out Out")
then said "I think you've got a problem with static..."?
Abrams:
i'm sure people have said that about the entire genre.. it's
just a style, you don't have to like it.. but, i think it comes
off kinda nicely.
AmbiEntrance:
Why do you think it is that some folks can listen to these "pops
and clicks" and hear beautiful music, while others hear only
noise? (I guess the situation could be reversed to include Ricky
Martin, etc...)
Abrams:
yes exactly.. and some people can do both. some of it is just
peoples' personal preference, but mostly it goes back to what
i said about how we are not raised in our culture to be creative
people. We need to be told what taste is by Ikea and Architectual
Digest, or by history books filled with picasso paintings. But
on the other hand, if you had that kind of control over people,
what would you tell them to do?
AmbiEntrance:
The closing track of "Spiff" presents samples about making your
work your hobby; are you one of the "lucky ones" referred to?
(And who's the photographer?)
Abrams:
i always find it fascinating to find someone (from any culture
- mainstream or underground) who has the ability to see the
continuity and relation between the creative fields.. it's something
i strive for. the sample is of a young jerry lewis who was showing
off his sampler! he was a big fan of early electronic music
and was referring to people in creative fields that have accomplished
many different things than were known for.. and then there is
the dumbfounded interviewer, who is encountering this lifestyle
for the very first time, as the creative-driven life is a concept
foreign to many people. we are not raised to be creative people
unfortunetly. but the thing is that true creative people - be
them scientists or artists all use the same underlying mechianism
to create, explore, and solve problems.. this stuff is is like
a transferable bus ticket - you can ride all over town if you
use it right.
AmbiEntrance:
Wow, the Jerry Lewis revelation surprises me... How did you
uncover this fact/sample?
Abrams:
it turns out late night cable tv is good for something besides
uninterupted product marketing.
AmbiEntrance:
Can you give some other specific examples of these cross-creative
people you admire?
Abrams:
One example is that the guy who wrote that ambient score for
the film 2001 was an architect. He devised these graphs and
charts that had notes interpolated over time and handed them
to the various orchestra members. My point is that it is important
to have a focus, but there is a connection between everything
that you can uncover to an extent, it all branches off from
that focal point.
AmbiEntrance:
Where do your track titles come from and at which point during
the creative process do they hatch?
Abrams:
track titles can be at once bothersome and expressive.. they
come sometimes very, very late and after many iterations.. they
are simply another form of expression. i try to keep mine down
to one.. word. :)
AmbiEntrance:What
about "lyndon tree", which has a more "organic" title than the
others?
Abrams:
It is a more organic track is why.
AmbiEntrance:
How do you classify your music? Musically speaking, do you see
yourself more as an innovator or a follower?
Abrams:
we are all someone else's innovator and our own followers -
meaning, we unintentionally inspire/affect others even when
copying someone's work, and conversly when we innovate we are
only doing so within our own limited experience - which is to
say everything has been done, we just haven't experienced it..
i personally try to do things that haven't been done, but there
is also merit in doing what someone else has done better.. which
in many cases is futile, which is why i avoid it at all costs.
but then you get trapped because you copy yourself when you
write something you like and it just goes on and on like this..
AmbiEntrance:
People are asking where the name "shuttle358" comes from; can
you share that information with us?
Abrams:
the name is a combination of many sources, including the shuttle
358 circuit board, however i would not like to discuss this
since i think it is uninteresting and has no direct relevance
to my music.. much the same talking about what kind of midi
cables i use and shit like that..
AmbiEntrance:
The "Frame" video is very cool; will we be seeing more such
works in the future?
Abrams:
hopefully.. the frame video was very tongue-in-cheek.. but it
actually works on some levels. i am excited about doing more
video work, especially now that i have much more time.. i'm
just waiting for a project to come along..
AmbiEntrance:
How was it "tongue-in-cheek"?
Abrams:
I purposely did not plan every detail out, and I photographed
it in one day.. I just kept it loose to see what I could come
up with.. I also wanted to collaborate with some friends, but
ended up just doing the whole thing myself which i didnt prefer
to do.
AmbiEntrance:
You also work as a visual artist/designer; describe some of
your projects.
Abrams:
i have worked on design projects ranging from transportation
design (Honda, Ford school projects), to product and interface
design (Ryobi powertools, Acer web-based pda's, Nokia/NTT telephone
concepts), furniture design, packaging design, and some graphic
design work. Now i find myself working in hollywood as a visual
effects artist on feature films.. this is the closest i've found
to merging my visual side with my technical side, and my expressive
side with my commercial side. also its great to work within
a narrative structure, just like my music. probably i'll stick
with this for awhile, as it poses a large variety of challenges.
AmbiEntrance:
Can you give some examples of your feature film work?
Abrams:
i'm finding that it is a different kind of beast to do this
stuff.. in that you have to find creativity in the details.
my latest project is this film called "fighting like cats &
dogs" as a lighting technical director, responsible for designing
and implementing the look of the computer generated scenes in
their lighting, color, and painted surfaces. It follows the
design process exactly - research, ideation, problem solving,
execution, but it is also like music where you tweak data to
yield musical (in this case visual) results. For example programming
shaders (which are the surface textures) is almost *identical*
to programming sounds! And its a job that also allows me to
work closely with a lot of creative minds including the director
and other artists - which is much different than being barricaded
in my room writing tracks.
AmbiEntrance:
Which came first... the art or the music? Do you consider yourself
to primarily be a visual or musical artist?
Abrams:
if all i did was music, i would have nothing to draw upon..
i feel it can be kind of an oppressive problem, because you
are supposed to express all these life experiences you have
but you spend so much time doing it you don't get out of the
house. this is why few *fully* expressive artists (ie:no commecial
interest) don't create their art full time. it's impossible!
AmbiEntrance:
How did you come to be involved with Taylor Deupree at 12k?
Abrams:
after hearing his great ambient work and wanting to try to release
my material (after much coaxing from friends, mind you), taylor
was willing to put me on his .aiff comp and release a full length..
i was blown away with the responses from 'optimal', so, since
then i've been busy.. and of course, taylor gave me the opportunities
to do some design work, always challenging.
AmbiEntrance:
And of course you did the packaging for the .aiff comp (THE
coolest packaging I've encountered!) ... how did that particular
piece come together?
Abrams:
taylor had an idea to package everything in a floppy disk like
the 12k logo.. I thought to have it transparent only so it is
not so literal.. so it takes on its own identity and essence..
I also personally laser cut and blessed each of the 500 pieces.
:) it was a fun project.
AmbiEntrance:
What are your plans for the future, creatively and/or otherwise?
Abrams:
IF there is another s358 album, i would only allow it if i have
found either a totally good new sound, or a perfect match between
frameand optimal.. otherwise i am now working on downtempo and
drum&bass projects with a s358 twist, and looking for a
venue to release them. i also plan on listening to less idm/glitch/microscopic
music, too.. i've stopped going to idm events and now get more
amazed at a really good live jazz club.. you should try it!
someday i may be satisfied with just hearing this stuff in my
head.. or too lazy to write - which ever happens first.
AmbiEntrance:
Will these new drummier sounds NOT be "shuttle358" releases
then? Another project name?
Abrams:
yes, the mille plateux album etc will just be listed as 'dan
abrams'. i dont want to confuse the projects because there are
many different styles i can write. most likely any d&b/downtempo
work will be under "dj part".
AmbiEntrance:
I'm really looking forward to your new sights and sounds...
please keep us posted.
Abrams:
no prob.
