RECORDING July 2022 - 49

How so?
I think that mixing everything at once
can be exhausting. When you think
about how important the decisions are
you make in a session, it behooves you
to be in an alert, awake and well-rested
place. When I get to the end of a
mixing session, and I'm super exhausted
and run down, I don't always trust my
decision-making.
So I want to try the second example,
which is to come in with two or three
songs and mix those. Then go back, record
two or three more and come back
to mix. Then two or three more and see
if this approach makes things a little bit
less exhausting.
Was there one song that
was the hardest to bring into
existence, and was there
one that was the easiest?
The easiest one was probably " Eniko. "
It's perhaps the most straight-ahead pop
song structure, very much an A, B, A, B,
C, A, B kind of thing. Some days you sit
down, you start playing, and you don't
doubt yourself. And, it moves very fast.
The track " New Pleasures " might've
been the most difficult to get it to where I
was happy with it. I tend to write in spurts.
There's the original demo moment where
I come up with the idea, and things are in
place, but in terms of sculpting it and the
sound design, I think that was the song
that took the most time.
How much sound design do
you do in Ableton, and how
much is hardware synth
manipulation and outboard?
Most of the manipulation is done using
hardware. With Ableton, I'm very much
underutilizing the software itself. Maybe
that's because the first five records I
made, I made on a tape machine. In a
way, any DAW will do the trick - Logic,
Pro Tools - as long as it's recording.
I tend to like to work with another person
where we will take a snare sound,
or like the EWI (electronic wind instrument
played by Dave Lackner on " The
Peripheral " and " Cloud Storage " ) where
we will take a live performance, and I'll
comp it. Then, we'll run it through the
Ursa Major or the Eventide. Just try to
get it to a place where we find the sound
interesting and compelling.
RECORDING July 2022 49
Is there a question you've never been asked
that you wish somebody would ask?
That's a good question. Often, when I put out a new record, people focus on the last
record was this and this one's this. People never ask, " Is there some long-range goal
that you're after? " Is my shape-shifting simply a matter of being restless and changing
styles, or is there something larger at work?
I'm assuming the answer is that there's something larger at work?
Like most people in the 20th century, I grew up with a notion of what it means to be
an " artist. " You study history and you learn technique. You have idols, you go towards
your idols, and then you kill your idols and come up with your own trademark sound.
I think the idea that an artist is one immediately identifiable person and has a trademark
is something I want to question. We are all complex individuals and society tries to
minimize our complexity for various reasons. I think my exploration of different styles is an
attempt to raise the question, " Do we have to limit ourselves? "
Today, we see that a lot in music, both from artists and listeners.
This notion that if you are into and play country, you're country or
jazz or metal even down to the small sub-genres. Yet most long-term
successful musicians, say, Led Zeppelin, Prince, Tangerine Dream or
Radiohead, or artists like Picasso or Van Gogh, had different periods.
I couldn't agree more. I often envy film directors, for example, Stanley Kubrick.
What makes something Kubrick? He can go from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Barry
Lyndon, and there's something liberating about being able to do that. Strangely, we
don't really grant musicians that kind of freedom.
I am sure my shape-shifting has probably impacted or affected the reach of my music
because it's not immediately recognizable as Arp or whatever. Still, as somebody who
creates, I think that if you don't give yourself a certain amount of freedom, what's the point?
Excellent words to end on. Thanks, Alexis!
You too, man. Thanks.
Tracking at Gary's Electric, Brooklin
Photo by Alexis Georgopoulos

RECORDING July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of RECORDING July 2022