voices #47
◦ “voices” is the place where we ask, artists reply and you read.
here we got:
Pefkin
answering some questions. We have already observed her ambient / drone / experimental work here.
[1. IDEA]
■ The A. O.: The track from “Unfurling” that we prefer is “My breath the sea”. Can you tell us how it came to light?
► Pefkin: I read a book by the Scottish historian Alistair Moffat a few years ago called “In Search of the Saints” which is about the Irish saints who travelled to the Scottish west coast and islands to spread Christianity and find solitude, the most famous being Columba who established a religious community on Iona which stills exists. I’ve wanted to go and visit the beehive cells on the uninhabited Garvellach islands in which some of these monks would meditate in solitude. I’ve not managed to do that so I did the next best thing and wrote a song about it, imagining the passage through the seasons, the loneliness, the winter storms, the trance state, feeling disembodied and fearful. The protagonist in the song no longer knows if he hears his breath or the sea as he prays and meditates in the depths of a winter storm.
[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?
► Pefkin: I make a lot of notes generally when I’m reading or hear something that interests me so I have a few notebooks with thoughts, phrases and ideas. I will start a song with some sort of drone or perhaps something I came upon by accident when rehearsing for a gig. I’ll usually play that on a loop while I flick through my notebooks looking for something that feels right with the mood of the music. I then start to write down some lyrics. I try hard not to overthink this and just write freely. I’ll then move between singing what I’ve written and playing some viola or synth and build a song through trial and error. I will edit my lyrics heavily as I work. I usually add too much to a track and then subtract what I feel isn’t necessary which is a new step for me. I then do a rough mix and leave for a few days, come back to it and make a final mix with fresh ears.
[3. FEEDBACK]
■ The A. O.: What do you hope listeners feel or experience when engaging with your music?
► Pefkin: My music is often set in a specific place so I hope people can close their eyes and feel themselves sink into that landscape and feel the mood I want to set.
[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?
► Pefkin: I’m lucky in having started making music before streaming so I already had a distinctive sound before the rise of Spotify, Bandcamp etc. I don’t think 11 minute songs are really made for Tik Tok! I just make the music I want to make and I’m not reliant on it to make a living as I have a non-music job. This keeps it meaningful for me and I don’t need to justify what I do for funding or do endless videos for engagement.
[5. INFLUENCES]
■ The A. O.: Mention 3 albums that you consider relevant to your musical path and why.
► Pefkin: ○ Hood – Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys
This came out just before I started Pefkin. It unfolds slowly, establishes such a distinct mood and landscape – autumnal, dusk, a feeling of loss and unease.
○ Nico – The Marble Index
This sounds like nothing and nobody else. It’s just Nico doing what Nico does with such an incredible production by John Cale. I moved from playing violin to viola because of him.
○ Scott Walker – Tilt
Like Nico, this is the sound of an artist making precisely the record they want to make with no regard paid to the market. I was blown away hearing this in the 90s. It’s a record that makes you feel – often unpleasant feelings – horror, confusion, unease.
[6. REGARDS]
■ The A. O.: Leave us with a quote you love.
► Pefkin: “Love and regret go hand in hand in this world of changes swifter than the shifting of the clouds reflected in the mirror of the sea.” (Joseph Conrad)