Simon Scott Answers 5 (Again)

Last spring, I had the opportunity to interview Simon Scott (link), a musical pioneer who was a founding member of the Charlottes, Slowdive, and Televise. October 2009 saw the release of his first solo album, “Navigare” (link). I personally could not pass up the opportunity to follow up our first interview after the release of his album, and Simon Scott was kind enough to take the time out and answer 5 (again) for us. Our thanks to Simon Scott; enjoy!



1. You have been in the industry now for over twenty-years, starting out as a drummer when you were sixteen. In this broadband world, how has the industry changed in your experience?

The Internet has given music a great opportunity to develop creative relationships with like-minded musicians very quickly as the exchange of ideas and information has become almost instant. Digital communication allows the sharing of software and information for the artist to develop their ideas and learn new ways of making music and sound. The downside is that everyone can produce music as we now all own a computer with music software installed and there is a lot of rehashing of ideas ironically.

Illegal downloads are killing the opportunity for us to move forward in the digital age as the artist and label doesn’t get paid. Why should label and artist pour their creativity into releases that become free and disposable? I feel that everyone should hear music for free then buy the quality releases but this balance isn’t out there yet.

Twenty years ago the attitude was write music, perform it as much as possible and then get a record out, but now it is only a small handful of musicians go out and play despite a huge weekly release of music. Today the long and winding road is still tough but by-passed by many musicians as there is a lack of good promoters who give a damn. If you want to sell records you need to go out and play live and this helps to develop your craft. The technology is available to take onstage and the audio/visual scene is bursting with possibilities so I hope people continue to gig, as it is amazing to travel and meet people.

2. You continue to challenge conventional music and your own discography with "Navigare." This is not rehash; it is fresh, new, and relevant. Now that the process of composition to release is completed, how personally fulfilling was the process to you?

It was an amazing journey for me as I attempted to blend my sounds to disguise any trace of software I used, hide melodies that were too obvious or clear and abandon conventional songwriting structures. I think many people have become slaves to the software they use and need to explore sound coloration and timbre more by not taking the easy option of using pre installed plug ins etc. I approached the record as if no one would hear it so I just made a record I was proud of but obviously Miasmah got involved half way through, so suddenly I knew it would be released on a great label.

3. The album, not just the opening track "Introduction to Cambridge," has a cinematic quality to it. Do you find yourself influenced by visual and cinematic expressions?

One track called “Repulse” was very influenced by “Mullholland Drive” by D.Lynch, as I am drawn to his work. I am inspired by film but I find reality as, if not more, surreal to be honest, so this album is inspired by life and my experiences or people close to me. The majority of this album is about the death of a family member who was submerged for most of his life on submarines but when on land was intoxicated with drink. To write about his travels and his mental health was quite a harrowing journey but allowed me to explore areas of songwriting that I’d never been to before. “Intro Of Cambridge” was actually inspired by Erik Skodvin who runs the label, as it was the first track I wrote when he emailed me to say he wanted to put out my album so it is very blissful and hopeful.



4. You commented last time that you like to add "dirt" to your recordings. I am curious to know, when you write music, is it a linear process (the entire song being conceived out of genesis) or is it a circular process (in which the songs are pieced together)?

With “Navigare” I started with the main musical progression with a triad or a number of chords on the guitar or piano and a set of sequenced samples to create a whole song that represents a journey or environment you travel through. It is rare that I just sit down and throw musical ideas together to compose as you always start with no focus and are praying that something interesting emerges from being uninspired.

I see it as similar to cooking where you know what you want the end result to be so each ingredient and sonic flavor is added and allowed to infuse until you reach the point where you can present the song for consumption. Erik at the label would sometimes suggest extra seasoning or encourage me to spice it up. In Max/Msp I had created many loops, such as “The ACC” main pattern, that I would map out to create a whole composition from the loops and manipulate and age my layers to scrub clean any technology traces.

5. You have never become complacent as a musician; you do not sit back and rehash the past. Though you incorporate what you have done in the past, you are always doing something new: where do you find the inspiration to continue to tread new grounds?

The drive and inspiration to create new music never ceases and I am fascinated by recording and creatively exploring and organizing sound. Life also influences me including everyday events such as how I am spoken to when I buy the morning paper or the weather. Running my Kesh label gives me great excitement for releasing music too and I get to hear some great music from the files I get sent.

I realize Slowdive will be mentioned which is good, as I am proud of being their drummer, but that was so long ago now. I was and am still influenced by ambient and experimental music but I am sure the old influences are buried deep in there such as Syd Barrett and The Cocteau Twins. The new ones such as digital signal processing and recording resonant frequencies have created a musical freedom to create something new, inspired and different I hope.

Keep up with Simon Scott at MySpace, as well as his label, Keshhhhhh. Read more ...

Simon Scott Answers 5

Not long ago, Simon Scott and I started chatting online – imagine my surprise when I realized it was THE Simon Scott. As a founding member of the Charlottes and Slowdive, he helped define the shoegazing genre (two bands, by the way, that I plan future retrospectives on). After leaving Slowdive, he would work with many other musicians and bands, including Chapterhouse. By 2004, he would found the band Televise, and still had the time to create Keshhhhhh, a record label primarily focused on experimental electronic music. Ever the busy man, August 2009 will see the release of his solo album, “Navigare,” via Miasmah. Though everything on this blog has been personal to me, this is something special to me as it takes me back many years. I remember listening to Charlottes back in high school and Slowdive in college. I remember when Televised released their debut album. That’s twenty years time. So the fact that Simon Scott would take time out of his hectic schedule to Answer 5 is an honor for me.



1. Who are your musical and nonmusical influences?

Musical influences appeared when I was ten listening to my older brother and sister’s metal records such as Motorhead and Black Sabbath. This was why I began to play the drums as the sheer power and noise was immense but then I saw the Smiths on “Top of the Pops” and also the Jesus and Mary Chain. Around 1987 the bands began to appear with heavier sounds such as Spacemen 3 and Loop, and I went to see My Bloody Valentine before "You Made Me Realise" was released and I was blown away. "Isn't Anything" was released later and this still is my favourite album ever. I was and still am also into Can, Velvet Underground, the Cure, Love, Syd Barratt era Pink Floyd too. Movies are really important too but David Lynch's films stand out and have an atmosphere that has crept into my recent work most definitely! Milan Kundera's books are inspirational but reality is the biggest influence as I find life is ever changing and the complexities of modern day living rarely leaves little time for fiction. People's emotions, relationships, the ugliness and beauty of the human condition is always there in my musical ideas and I think I'd be unable to cope as well with this fast paced life if I couldn't release some of my emotions through music.

2. Out of curiosity, what have you been listening to in your iPod/MP3 player lately that the rest of us should check out?

Well I love the Gas "Nah Und Fern" box set as the depth and emotive qualities in that collection has almost everything I love about music but anything on the labels 12k and Miasmah are shockingly good with diversity but also a strong sense of identity. The Sight Below album "Glider," which has been released on Ghostly International, is great and I am lucky to be able to play guitar with them live when he tours. Machinefabriek is also another artist with a fast and consistent flow of great music.

3. Staring Keshhhhh Recordings and being responsible, to some degree, for the product of other musicians, how has that impacted your own approach to music?

Having my own label has really opened my eyes to how many people buy music, what format, the price of music and also the way we approach music as an art form these days. Firstly the digital world of discovering music has opened the floodgates for just about anyone to distribute their music, so there is a really huge amount to filter out. The upside of this is no longer is an a+r man responsible for helping out unknown artists as anyone can build up a fan base and sell their music. Unfortunately the sales of music have decreased as it is very CDR driven and the struggling musician has to work some awful day job just to survive, which is in these dark days easier said than done. The positives of running a label are helping an artist release their music, which you know is amazing, and also sometimes getting to play on the record like I did on Hannu's "Hintergarten" album. I also get to put out music that was lost through whatever reason so I can re release albums and they get discovered by a new audience, who missed out first time. This happens because an artist has great music but just not the platform to get it out there so a box of 500 CDs gets a bit dusty up in the loft when the actual music is outstanding. Luckily for me I have some amazing retailers who put out the Kesh releases which get good exposure for the releases such as Boomkat, Norman Records, and Smallfish Records, plus p*dis in japan and Tonevendor in the USA.

(Photo by Alex Alexander)

4. You have been on a journey, from the Charlottes to your solo release "Navigare." What are the differences in approach these days of writing and recording music as a solo artist as opposed to completing the process in a band?

The committee meeting process of doing anything when you have a band is awful as personal politics always effects the decision making process and I think every band I have ever been in has had complex personality battles that ultimately led to poor decisions being made. Without anyone to disagree with me I get to release very pure personal music that follows it's own musical path instead of one made by a compromise. This is why my solo album "Navigare" is the strongest record I have ever written and performed on as I followed my heart 100%! The Miasmah recording label, which is releasing it this summer, left me to just get on with it, which allowed me to remain focused.

I record at home in my studio that has taken years to build up and I will add my old tape recordings or field recordings of my environment to my digital audio workstation. I totally love adding dirt to recordings to give texture and emotion to a track, such as re recording a nice clean acoustic through an old cassette player then distorting it and feeding it back into the computer. Having the drums out is a pain as I don't have much room but it saves loads of money, loads of time and doesn't wreck the spontaneous element of laying down musical ideas. One positive about working with other musicians, which I still do today, is the companionship that makes gigs and traveling a lot of fun. I have a few side project happening right now where we send files over the Internet, such as Seavault (on Morr Music) who is myself and Antony Ryan from Isan, a film project with Jasper TX, Rafael Anton Irisarri and I are doing and an album together via the Internet right now, and I have also just finished a piece with Machinefabriek. All of this is made possible by digital communication which is positively transforming the way musicians work.

5. Currently many artists on both sides of the Atlantic are pointing to shoegazing as an influence; as a key figure in the creation of the genre, why do you think that shoegazing is having a revival?

I think the media has decided to write about the eighties a lot over the past couple of years, which has affected fashion and music hugely, so I guess the early nineties is the next logical progression. Some parts of the publishing media have decided to feature "shoegazing" recently and suddenly the shoegaze revival has begun but personally I feel shoegazing had a revival around five years ago as clubs like AC30 and Sonic Cathedral opened here in the UK and they started releasing records. This revival has grown year by year so now the Sunday papers have caught on and decided this is what is cool again. I must say that shoegaze was a dirty word over here but in the US, Japan and other parts of Europe it has been a very relevant and respected influence, which is very positive.

I have heard shoegaze have an influence on loads of music since I was in Slowdive as many bands took a strand or two of that sound and kept running with it such as Mogwai or Smashing Pumpkins. I remember adverts that had shoegaze soundtracks about ten years ago and many films have featured Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, so it may have been unfashionable for a number of years but the impact has lasted and filtered through the media. I love what modern electronic music has done with this influence as it has become a new style of shoegaze, dream pop, ambient, minimal techno or whatever you want to call it. I get confused when I see a band and they are an identical early 1990's style band with fender jaguars and bowl haircuts as it was nearly twenty years ago since we all formed those bands. Grab it and take it in another direction and then the world will listen.

Keep up with Simon Scott at MySpace and viist Keshhhhhh online.

Also, do not forget to get a hold of “Navigare” in August, being released on Miasmah. Read more ...