Episodes
Monday Dec 30, 2019
Mark Nelson Interview
Monday Dec 30, 2019
Monday Dec 30, 2019
Originally this was meant to accompany Surgery 211, an episode spotlighting Mark Nelson, featuring music from across his career with Labradford, Anjou, and notably Pan•American upon the release of A Son on November 8th. So better late than never, here are a few questions about that album and ideas surrounding it. As an added bonus I asked if he might have brief thoughts on a couple of the tracks I was using for the podcast and he actually provide one for each and every one, presented below with links to the albums for purchase digitally on Bandcamp and physically at Kranky Records. Enjoy.
Are you a nostalgic person?
Yes, I’m plenty nostalgic. But I think nostalgia can be different things. On a personal level I see it as memory without blame. Yes, rough edges removed but also hard feelings, anger and destructive instincts for revenge. It’s an acceptance that we had blind spots in the past that seem naive now.
Culturally, it’s a bit more problematic. There has to be justice, or at least the gesture towards justice. I don’t think we can take the same view of our political and cultural past as we can of our personal past. I recently read The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro and it wrestles with this question among others. In the book a land that has known horrible war and atrocities is enchanted to lose its memories by a dragon’s breath. The question is whether to kill the dragon, knowing the violence and vengeance that the return of memories will provoke, or let the dragon live on and let the people continue to live in a peace divorced from the past. A good question, but, ultimately, I think most would agree we need to pursue justice even if it comes inextricably with the potential for violence and destructive vengeful thoughts.
What is your relationship with Virginia? I ask in particular because I've long found your music to be especially good to drive to, so I was wondering if landscape plays a part in your aesthetics, either urban or natural?
Virginia is my home, despite the fact I only lived there for 10 years. It’s tied up with friends and memories of friends and aging and dying parents and grandparents. In particular, the winter landscapes in central Virginia are something I dream about regularly. Bare trees but everything is largely still green. But any landscape in motion: walking, cycling, on the bus, train or in a car are triggers that consistently send me into an active memory space. Peaceful and active. Virginia is the place where my parents died.
Was there a specific motivation to make a more folk-based album this time around
An effort to simplify the process and abandon patterns that were no longer satisfying -- I guess is the best answer. A desire to see if I could present something with some of the layers removed. Sometimes the layers can feel like a misdirection. I think my best musical ideas are quite simple and quite direct emotionally. They have never been intellectual, so that elemental presence of voice and guitar felt like it needed to be forwarded and refined.
Did your approach to work change, because what is interesting is how much the album still sounds like a "Mark Nelson album" despite the obvious differences?
I’ve often been inspired by other artists and tried to figure out how they did what they did. Maybe a good example in my music is 360 business/360 Bypass, a Virginia reference, by the way, where I was deep under the spell of Berlin ambient techno-primarily the Chain Reaction label artists. So, I left the zone of my own tools and tried to work with theirs. I think that’s a
worthy effort: to gesture with aspiration. If you’re lucky it’ll expand what you’re capable of and, hopefully, light up the darkness of your own habits. But in the end, I’m not a successful enough mimic to avoid sounding like myself!
Here is a list of the songs I'll be using for the podcast. If you had a brief anecdote about one or two of these could you share?
I have a horrible memory for titles, so I’ll have to listen on Spotify to remember and see if anything comes up.
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“Before” // Pan•American - Quiet City (2004)
Yes, that’s one I still like for sure. “Let those memories come, break, then begin again.” More or less my mantra. Plus, backwards guitar. Thank you! I’m proud of that one.
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“WR” // Labradford - Mi media naranja (1997)
Ok, probably the most realized song we ever did. 95% percent Robert Donne here. Makes me think of him. That same metal cylinder rolling across the floor. Hammond organ. Fine, our best song. I even like my B part on guitar.
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“How Much Progress One Makes” // Pan•American - White Bird Release (2009)
I guess my favorite Pan.American record. Steven Hess on the rim shots, babies in the house, dub in the air. The next song is pretty relaxed. This record is ok.
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“Greater Grand Crossing” // Anjou - Epithymía (2017)
Wrestling with the density as always. I hear Bobby Donne here.
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“Banco” // Labradford - A Stable Reference (1995)
Title from reading too much Ian Fleming. I guess the vocals should be louder, but we were so loud at this point. I loved playing with Bobby. He was the drummer and bass player on this record. Oh! the vocoder part! Carter sold shit before it was finished.
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“Are You Ready” // Pan•American - For Waiting, For Chasing (2006)
The heartbeat record. Guitar melody not far from where I am now. There’s that sound of a cooking pot lid in there, bought at a thrift shop in Chicago, used countless times, now gone but missed. I think this record got some bad reviews and I’ve felt vaguely ashamed of it, but this sounds like what I would want it to sound like.
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“Phantom Channel Crossing” // Labradford - S/T (1996)
Bobby found a big gas cylinder and that’s what’s rolling around at the start. I would love to still have that. Our attempt to bring Einsturzende Neubauten into our music. Plus, violin by Chris Johnson. Carter doing some nice synth ghosts there too.
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“Muriel Spark” // Pan•American - A Son (2019)
First song I did for this record. A Neil Young aspiration is certainly present in the guitar. Lyrics about The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
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“C. of People” // Labradford - Prazision LP (1993)
Too long ago! Minor keys, terrible vocal effect, but comforted to hear pitch isn't terrible… or more terrible than it is now. I do remember writing this melody. “Cars light up the city, but stars light the skyline from behind” is a decent lyric. Carter sounds fantastic. with those high notes. His specialty I’d say.
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“Project for an Apartment Building” // Pan•American - Cloud Room, Glass Room (2013)
Mixed feelings here. I remember the mastering engineer saying “sounds like bacon cooking!” which didn’t do great things for my confidence, but that old sine bass sound and the beginnings of my pursuit of steel guitar is nice.
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“Readings” // Anjou - S/T (2014)
Nice to hear Steven Hess again. I like the struggle of his sounds.
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“David” // Labradford - Fixed::Context (2000)
Named for Mr. Bowie, because I think we thought the synth sound sounded like side two of Low. Nice to hear that chiming, tremolo sound of Bobby’s bass. That’s a sound I remember. Synth sound is fantastic. Guitar needs some work.
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