Voices #17
◦ “voices” is the place where we ask, artists reply and you read.
here we got:
lebenerde
answering some questions. We have already observed his ambient / electronic / noise / drone work here.
[1. IDEA]
■ The A. O.: The track from “d | d | d” that we prefer is “distanz”. Can you tell us how it came to light?
► lebenerde: I was preparing for an upcoming music theory exam and had to learn chord names lol.
I used an old Yamaha keyboard to play along with the example chords and then I had these two chords that I really liked. Somehow I forgot the exam and just ended up in Ableton, throwing the Yamaha sounds in a granulator and then started just adding effects to find timbres and textures I like.
I wanted to have this degradation of sound quality over time and really did not want to hurry with it and just let it take its time. That’s true for all three songs on this EP actually. I never made tracks this long before. I think it’s because I thought that nobody would listen to something this long but I figured that’s stupid. The duration allows you to just be in it.
[2. CREATION]
■ The A. O.: How do you usually approach composition? Do you start with a concept, a sound, a state of mind or what else? How do you generally proceed from the initial seed to the complete work?
► lebenerde: Although it always differs, recently a lot of my work came alive through doing dumb shit in Ableton, Max and SuperCollider. Meaning I just play around in the software, and mess around with different parameters while I record everything I do. Most often the step that follows is to close the project without saving.
But sometimes I find something I like and after recording I pick my favourite bits and start editing them. Then I will probably feel like this element needs company and either try to form a new layer with the existing material or do a second exploration. Exploration is the thing really. It’s just sound exploration at this point. I just play around and try to use the software in a new way.
For me this approach takes away a lot of pressure that I felt before. I don’t think I have to write beautiful chords or find nice drum rhythms or do something that nobody did before or anything like that.
Of course sometimes before I start these explorations I kind of know in which direction I want to go. For example if I want a soothing, floaty, void-like sound or if I want to concentrate on certain frequency ranges and only try to form sub basses. This is my playing field then.
[3. FEEDBACK]
■ The A. O.: What do you hope listeners feel or experience when engaging with your music?
► lebenerde: At the moment I am really interested in the perception of sound. What the hearing itself feels like.
This is why I have works which consist of 90% sub bass for example. Listen to my track [hz]. It is a crazy hearing experience that feels like someone is working a jackhammer inside your brain but it is still soothing. Also having these low frequencies move around in the stereo field is unusual, especially with headphones since there is no cross talk between speakers.
Creating these moments of confusion, comfort, and asmr type sensations is a big interest of mine. Something you can get lost in. If this interest transfers to the listener, that would be cool.
[4. IDENTITY]
■ The A. O.: In a world saturated with digital music content, how do you try to keep your sound distinct and personally meaningful?
► lebenerde: I make sounds that I like and sometimes I share them. That’s the most meaningful thing I can do. The distinction does not happen because I start the creation process thinking “ok I need to make something that’s distinct now”. I have my own aesthetic taste that I can count on. If I feel influenced by the work of someone else I let it happen but I cannot get absorbed by it. I just try to keep my individual voice and add to it. A lot of this is also learned outside of music making I think. Knowing yourself, being open to change and being aware of what you like about this world will help form a distinct approach automatically.
[5. INFLUENCES]
■ The A. O.: Name 3 albums that you consider relevant to your musical path and why.
► lebenerde: ○ Ryoji Ikeda – test pattern
Everything this guy does is just mind bending for me. I talked about how perception of sound is a big interest of mine. Ryoji Ikeda is probably an artist that sparked this interest because his works just mess with your brain. Also the stuff he made together with Alva Noto under the name Cyclo. is just crazy. Never heard anything like this before. Total madness.
○ Fennesz – Endless Summer
The idea that glitched out distorted guitars can feel like summer seems bizarre but I guess it works. The album makes use of glitches and sound degradation in a totally “warm” and comfortable manner. And I think I gained confidence to make longer songs because of this album.
○ Swod – Gehen
Really well fitting combination of acoustics and electronics. Also their use of little vocal snippets is definitely an idea I picked up on in some of my own work.
[6. REGARDS]
■ The A. O.: Leave us with a quote you love.
► lebenerde: “The proof of the pudding in music is always in how it sounds. No abstract idea should be permitted to occlude the intended acoustical character of a composition. Sound is the final trump card.” (Martin Bresnick)