Interview with Mega Sin (Poland) by Maciej Krzywinski Dysrhythmia's new album is titled Barriers And Passages. After dozens of playbacks I started to wonder what barriers can actually limit your band's musical movements, so to speak...? I mean, Barriers And Passages seems to be result of open-mindedness, not limitation... KH: We weren't really thinking of that title as relating to our musical approach but I can see how it could be perceived that way. From what I know, you needed only three days to lay down all the basic parts of Barriers And Passages in the studio. Taking the complexity of Dysrhythmia's music into consideration, this achievement is quite impressive... Now I'm thinking about all these death metal bands who need weeks to record 30 minutes of blast beats and sharp riffing... Maybe you should give 'em a lesson how to save time and money? KH: Yeah, it was 3 days to record all the basic tracks, which was the meat of the album but we still spent another couple days afterwards doing some overdubs and fixing a few mistakes. Speaking of metal music... How is Dysrhythmia's music received by the metal-oriented fans and media? I'm asking 'cause I assume that many of the promotional efforts of Relapse are focused on metal market... KH: Yeah, and many of the tours we've done have been with metal bands, more or less. The reactions are usually positive in a live situation. As for reactions from the metal press, it's usually more mixed. Some of those writers are more traditional in their tastes and we don't fit in with that. With Relapse branching out more with what they've been signing in the past few years, our new record is being marketed in new places this time, more indie-rock type publications and whatnot, while still advertizing in the metal markets as well. Why not do both, ya know? I don't think we appeal to any one type of music fan. How important is improvisation factor in music of Dysrhythmia? Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to see you live but I suppose that improvisation is much easier on stage than in studio...? KH: Yeah, improvisation used to play a larger role in our writing but now it is a little more thought out ahead of time. Live, there is still room to improv but it's never too extensive, mainly it's just in what Jeff plays on the drums. He never likes to play the same fill twice....which is fine with me, it keeps us on our toes and listening to each other at all times. Are members of Dysrhythmia educated or self-taught musicians? KH: Jeff and I went to school for music. Colin went for recording engineering and taught himself mostly outside of school. Maybe that's a silly question but I wonder how you find titles for your songs since they're all instrumental... For example, how do you know that the phrase Bus: Terminal is the best one to describe hundred and six seconds long piece of music? KH: All of
the titles have some sort of meaning to me, probably because I pick most
of them [though there are a few on the new record that Clayton came up
with before leaving the band]. In the case of "Bus: Terminal",
that song makes me think of riding the Chinatown Bus to and from NYC via
Philadelphia every weekend while we were writing the record, because I
was still living in Philly and we were rehearsing in Brooklyn at Colin's
studio. Those bus rides are usually Some people are of the opinion that instrumental music is harder to dig than the one with vocals and lyrics. I don't know if you agree but I think that the lack of voice makes the sound more easily accessible since the listener does not have to split attention between sound and word... And what's your opinion? KH: That's one way of looking at it. Too often people think of instrumental music as being background music and I think sometimes that is the purpose of instrumental music, but certainly not with ours. It requires a lot of listening and paying attention to appreciate and start to remember. Have you ever been asked by an interviewer for explanation of Dysrhythmia's lyrics? KH: Yes. Once. But it was a generic questionnaire they sent out to tons of bands at the same time, so I didn't hold it against them. Funny thing is that Barriers And Passages is NOT completely instrumental album - there are three words in first second of already mentioned Bus: Terminal... Seems to me that from now on only Don Caballero and Zombi are truly instrumental acts in catalogue of Relapse... :) KH: Come on man. Count-offs don't count as lyrics. Let's assume that previous question was never asked and that Dysrhythmia is 100% instrumental band. With this assumption made, would you say that lack of vocals and lyrics makes your music self-sufficient and totally autonomous (by saying that I mean that the music serves no external purposes and is fulfillment of the ideal of art of art's sake) or is it still medium of expression of something...? KH: Of course it's a medium of expression. You don't always need words to communicate. In my review of Barriers And Passages I wrote that your music reminds me of accumulating noise (not necessarily meant to be music genre), sound of ocean depths as well as everything what's between these two diametrically opposed descriptions... I do realize how silly it may sound and that's why I would like to know how you describe Dysrhythmia's sound by yourselves. KH: Anytime someone asks me to describe our sound I usually don't, other than just saying it's "instrumental rock". People always have their own ideas of what's "progressive" or "punk" or "metal" or whatever so I don't like to talk in terms of genres. I'd rather just let them borrow a disc or tell them where to check it out online. Who would you prescribe Barriers And Passages if you were a music therapist? KH: To anyone who was locked inside a cell their whole lives and force-fed MTV all day. Someone wrote about your album: the record Slayer would do if they were art-school nerds. Were you nerds at school? KH: We're still nerds. Why did Clayton Ingerson leave Dysrhythmia? KH: He left to pursue a higher calling. He left music behind to study Buddhism and as far as I know is still involved in that. I haven't seen or talked to him in almost 2 years. Could you please give me Colin's hairdresser's address? KH: He does it himself. Is it true that if you didn't had one strange dream back in 1999, Jeff Eber wouldn't play drums in Dysrhythmia? KH: That's probably correct. It's important to listen to your dreams. Were you very annoyed when Relapse's staff had problems with correct spelling of your band's name? How many typos have you seen in advertisements? By the way, I've heard that you used to work at Relapse's office? KH: Everyone seems to have trouble spelling our name. I've gotten used to it by now. I worked at Relapse for a few years. Mainly because it was flexible with my schedule and I was free to come and go inbetween tours. It was a pretty comfortable job. Who were the five Philadelphian people you had been playing to for first three years of Dysrhythmia's existence at each concert? I can imagine that number of tickets sold was not very satisfying but at least you had the privilege of knowing everyone from the audience by the name... KH: Well, Colin was one of them before he joined the band...haha and his friend George, who he played in Infidel?/Castro! with. Then it was Jim Winters, whoes sort of a local legend in Philadelphia, and a few other people I can't remember. Does this still happen often that less than five listeners attend your concerts? KH: Yes, but thankfully not too often anymore. But let's just say Salt Lake City is not one of our hot spots. Aren't you sometimes dog-tired of constant touring and traveling in a van? By the way, how much does your new van differ from the previous one? Did you make a progress in terms of comfort? KH: I love touring and hate being at home. We have a fairly comfortable van now, though very small [it only fits the three of us and our gear.] But we definitely made progress in terms of comfort. This van has AC. Our old van didn't. In fact, I don't know how we bared it in the summers during tours because the old van not only didn't have air conditioning but it also shot hot air from the engine back at us, so it would be twice as hot. How many drawings have you sold on tour, by far? Are they expensive? Which art movement would you compare them to? Cubism, modernism, abstractionism? Dysrhythmism...? KH: We only did that on one tour and not even the whole time. I sold 2 drawings, each for a dollar. So did Colin. I would call mine: stark abstract cartoonism. Colin's really obsessed with drawing eyeball creatures in space. Could you please tell me few words about improv band including you and Bruce from Yakuza? Was it one-time initiative or are you going to continue working together? KH: That was a one-off performance but we might try it again. Who knows. There's been some talk of going into the studio and trying something. My information's not confirmed but I've heard of your involvement in bands The Fifth Season, While Heaven Wept, Euclid Street and Grey Division Blue. Could you tell few words about them? KH: The Fifth Season was my very first band, which I played in during high school between the years of 1991 and 1993. We spent 2 years writing 5 songs, never played live, and then made a demo and broke up. Our music was very influenced by Fates Warning, Rush, Queensryche, and whatnot. While Heaven Wept is an excellent doom metal band that's still around today. I only played with them briefly. We grew up in the same area and had the same friends and similar musical interests. Euclid Street was something I did for a few years in Philadelphia after I got out of school. I was playing in E.S. when I first started Dysrhythmia. Euclid Street was folky-acoustic pop stuff. I met the singer and rhythm guitarist at an open mic night. I really wanted to play in a band that was simplistic and acoustic-based and that was enjoyable for awhile. We recorded a record but it remains unfinished. Grey Division Blue existed between 1993-1995. It was myself and ex-Dysrhythmia bassist Clayton Ingerson. In GDB Clayton primarily played viola. The music was dark and classically-influenced. We recorded a 6 song cassette called "Departure" and that was it. Project called Skinless, which you also were involved in, hadn't anything to do with death metal band Skinless, did it? KH: No, not at all. Skinless was the name of an ensemble I started my senior year in college for school credit. I was unaware of the death metal band at the time. It was an experimental, multi-media project. We gave 2 performances and that was it. What does Byla's music sound with Jarboe's vocals like? How did actually Byla's cooperation with her come into being? And by the way, do you perceive Byla's music as soothing after doing noise with Dysrhythmia? KH: It's not finished yet but it's going to a lot different than the first Byla CD. Jarboe's vocals are going to be very integrated with the music, they won't really stand out above the guitars. All the vocals are wordless, it's more like a second instrument to the guitars. I met Jarboe last year when I saw one of her solo shows and gave her our first CD. I read in a magazine that she enjoyed our music so I figured she would appreciate it. Soon after we had the idea of collaborating. She came up to Brooklyn in March to Colin's studio and layed down her tracks. She's still finishing up a few more on her own at her home studio. We'll try and finish the record this fall. The point of Byla at first was to just focus on meditative, soothing sounds. You could say that was a reaction against the more chaotic sounds of our regular bands. That's all what I wanted to know. I'd like to thank you very much for your time and hope to see you in Europe very soon. Thanks. Europe is in ours plans for next year. |