i was reading the newest issue of TapeOp, and there’s a nice sized interview with howard bilerman, efrim manuck and thierry amar about hotel2tango in montreal. until the end of the interview, where the questioner began speaking about the arcade fire, it was an interesting read. as a fan of many avant (or “post-rock,” i guess) bands in the constellation and alien8 families, it was a welcome surprise to find an interview from the perspective of a recording magazine as opposed to some online ‘zine or the wire or something.
aside from learning some of the recording techniques that different projects have utilized, they touched on some other topics that i found intriguing. someone — i think it was either howard or efrim — brought up bob dylan’s concept of verite music recording, the notion of leaving absolutely everything that happens — chairs creaking, missed notes, depressed pedals — in a recording. since i’m not looking at the magazine right now i don’t have a direct quote. but, the interviewee mentioned how he thinks those “moments” are what make recordings beautiful.
as someone who is always trying to be as honest, open, and natural as can be with my creative impulses, it was refreshing to read about others who share similar sentiments. aside from the obvious, “we hate pro tools/digital recordings and the new school thought! we’re going to stick to the old school” mentality, they’ve taken it a step further. leave it all in there. this is the performance, take it or leave it. i like it. to me, that’s what makes music so incredible. the ability to find or create something raw and free of self-scrutiny is invigorating. i hope my own projects in the future don’t lose that purity.
