a LOOk inSIDE:

OBScURA

so the album is probably the most tonally consistent piece you’ve made to date, what inspired that tone and what inspired you to keep to it throughout production?

it started with fauna, and kind of grew from there. i feel like every track sprouted from the one made before it in a way, that’s one of the reasons [‘obscura’] is so connected. counterpart also played a big role in that. it’s something i’ve had rolling around in my mind for ages now, i’d just never been able to fit it in any of my previous stuff. this idea of connectivity, one and two, push and pull, predator and prey, etc. this record started with fauna almost having this feeling of dread around it, a moody whatever it is- it’s not silly or cheery or anything like that, it’s animalistic, tapping into a drive of the creatures on this planet, to kill and eat each other. there are two voices in many of the songs on this record, on fauna it’s predator vs prey. on pushing a pull door it’s two parts of someone’s mind, both experiencing the same difficulty. on seethe it’s two ends of a “love triangle,” the winner and loser. on flow it’s someone finding themselves in another person’s dream. tonally this record stays… dark? i’m not sure how to say that without sounding like i wear all black. it’s not a “dark” record but it’s complex, based mostly in very obscure and extrapolated versions of subjects, and artistic. i’m insanely proud of it.

you’ve said this album came to be amidst a time of change and uncertainty, did this affect the record in any way?

[…] that’s hard to say, there are some songs that came before that rocky period, some after, but none of the songs suffered because of that time, nor did any songs gain a new meaning or subject because of it. i went through some things that were just rug out from under your feet situations. things i had no control over, but were already there so all i could do was recover in my own way. some of that is reflected on the record but oddly enough i think i was writing about that feeling before those things even happened to me, so maybe once it was my reality i stopped wanting to write about it.

do you have a lyrical favorite on this album?

having just gone through and transcribed all my lyrics from this record, it’s a tough ask to narrow down a favorite song- i was really struck by the lyrics of natura. “it's a time that we can't evade, though we try. eventually nothin' sticks, so we lay down, and nothin is liftin' this weight of mine. i believe in you, i believe in me, and we all will be set free in natura.” something about that really stands out to me, not that i can place it. i love the imagery of pushing a pull door, all the lyrics really evoke that feeling of being stuck. the canvas has a lot of really great lyrics that portray the struggle of wrestling with artistic freedom really well. one of my favorite lines i’ve ever written is in fauna, it’s “bite the hand that feeds the dog that bites you and your friends.”

and an instrumental favorite?

there’s so much musical intricacy on this project, so many things that make me really proud. the polyrhythms throughout the record are fantastic, especially on obscura and the canvas. obscura is one that i didn’t expect to click with people but i was pleasantly surprised. seethe is really fun obviously, but i love the intro to it as well as the similar sections on earth eater. so much of what i pay attention to in a record is the the flow of it, i’m really happy with how the transitions turned out.

there’s some strange production throughout this album. natura, flow, flora to name a few. what drove those production choices throughout the making of the album?

you know, every bit of all the music i make is 100% made by me, from scratch. all production, all recording, all writing. nothing to fall back on. i wanted this record to be my most challenging, but also one of my easiest records to make. what i mean by that is i didn’t hold myself back anywhere on this record. in the past i’ve retcon’d my music out of fear of negative reception, out of fear of my ideas being too forward or crazy for what the project was, etc. on obscura i didn’t hold myself back once. any crazy cool musical idea i had is something you hear in the record. this is a record you can hear a hundred times and pick out something new every time. it’s dense like all my music, but i let it be strange. i like strange. it’s so much more interesting than a face singing and dancing to music that someone else wrote and someone else produced. it’s incredible that i can do all of it.

you’ve said this album is “music you want to hear.” what about this album fulfills your desires musically, and what’s something you want to hear that you didn’t get to include in ‘obscura?’

i recently was asked to list live acts i’ve seen recently and realized there was a trend in all the performers. it’s all music i find musically stimulating, it’s musicians who write and make their own stuff, it’s creators of albums of songs that are musically interesting. i get so bored with music if it has no heart or style or intrigue. there’s not much that i want to hear that’s not included on this record. maybe saxophone music. i listen to albums fifty times if they have what i love, and out of all my music, this is a record i’d listen to fifty times. it’s wild, it’s different, it’s got depth, it’s got me, it’s honest, it’s something special. it’s not easily classifiable. it’s not something you throw on the charts and forget about in a week, it’s something that sticks with you. there’s a place for all my music, but if i continue creating after this, this is going to be the rule, not the exception.

“organica” closes out the album as this large orchestral piece, what made you settle on that being what you leave the listener with?

organica was something that really couldn’t fit anywhere else. i could have included it in my score work, but this was something that felt connected to this record. something about it that i really enjoy is that i included lyrics with it that bookend the whole album in a way i love. i haven’t heard anybody do anything like that, it’s really unique. while you hear this massive orchestral thing you can see these lyrics, read them in your own voice or mine, and have a lovely cap to the whole experience.

with ‘obscura,’ are you going for success?

haha well if history is any guide, i can expect to get a pat on the back from .01% of my followers and the people i sent the record to early, but for this album that’s not what it’s about for me. i love when my stuff connects with people but this record is only meant to connect with me. it is me. it’s what i find interesting and attractive, so if i like it, thats the success i need.

there’s a complexity here that isn’t present on a lot of your other work. did that intimidate you to include something more intricate or less accessible?

it’s gonna stay that way. on other records i shelved material for being too out of the box, so yes, this one is complex, intricate, dense, by design. it was less intimidating and more just accepting a fate. i’d love for people to broaden their musical horizons a bit, you know. i hear some of these indie artists and wonder why i’m not up there with them, hopefully with this record and other possible records in the future i can start paving the way to my unique voice in all that. or not. it doesn’t matter ultimately. “what becomes of all my words? who looks on all my works, and says what the eulogy will say?”

do you anticipate a positive response to this album?

i’ve been surprised by the reactions to the singles i’ve released, so i hope the same will be said for the rest of the album. i’ve worked hard on it and i’m incredibly proud of what i’ve made.

what’s next after this?

if there is anything next, i don’t know what it is. i’m tired. i’ve spent long enough doing music, if more comes then i’ll be grateful. all i know is it’ll be more like this.

—SAMUEL KINSELLA

by WHCH / living ent.

IN CORRESPONDENCE