A Town Press

You know what makes Voltron, Voltron? It’s the freakin’ team of lions coming together! I mean if one lion doesn’t show up then that’s a one legged Voltron, or a left handed Voltron. It’s all about the team coming together as one, which is what came to mind while talking with Motion Family, Atlanta’s very own Voltron …in a way.

Individually they all have their unique abilities and qualities, but you put them together and you get MOTRON! I mean Motion Family. But the thing that separates Motion Family from Voltron is that Motion Family doesn’t have to battle the evil forces of King Zurkon in space. Instead they battle the streets, photo sets, or whatever the hell they are trying to shoot to get the best quality of work possible. This is a group of guys who are hungry and passionate about what they do. They love Atlanta and understand the culture of its emerging creative community because they are a part of it and their art is their way of life. They aren’t doing it to only get paid, they do it for the love too. So when they are out doing projects it isn’t just shoot this shoot that pack up and go, they interact with their environment so they can capture it in the best way possible. This level of quality shows in their work as well as their lives as who they are.

Behold! a Muthaeffin Motion Family Interview!

“Hey sorry running a bit late, mind if we meet at 2:30” I texted David, co-graphic designer for Motion Family. “Yeah, no worries 2:30 is fine, take your time” David replied or something to that manner. I can’t really explain it, something about punctuation and creatives. After fifty-five minutes, two green teas, and a few rolls of film, I get a text from David asking about where we are as Tunde and I finally pull up to the facility, David’s spot to be exact. I know they say you should never interview someone at their home but here at +F.i.A+ we do delivery. The place was a bit hard to find, but David was there atop his tree house or at the front dock of his ship with glasses and plain grey shirt calmly and nonchalantly beckoned us inside. You know how you always imagine everything before hand, oh yeah, they’re called expectations. Well, I was just expecting some type of all-white warehouse facility off in the corner with a huge hanger door. But the house seemed nice and cozy from the outside. So we walked around the building over cobble stepping stones to the  entrance in the back all the while mentally preparing myself to capture and report all of what makes up Motion Family from David. 

Upon entering the room, we walked up the very unusual white angled stair case. Tunde and I heard a bit of commotion and saw some heads peep over the rail above. When we reached the top we were greeted by more than just David, the entire Motion Family (Diwang, CBass, Gavin and David) was there. I was really surprised about it. I wanted to ask beforehand that all members be present for the interview, but I didn’t want to take time from everyone’s busy schedule for little ol’ us. But there they were! It was like some sort movie scene. Imagine walking through a sewer corridor that leads into the sewer haven of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and meeting them for the first time and seeing them all posing effortlessly, displaying their dazzling skills as though you were controlling them in a video game and left the controller unattended. So I went ahead and grabbed the controller and got the party started!

+ www.motionfamily.com

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Written by +
Rithy // www.twitter.com/OohWeeMayne

Intronaut is a progressive metal band from LA. They combine heavy sludge metal and cacophonic vocals with smooth jazz breaks and odd time signatures to create a unique and tasteful sound of their own.

When I first heard them I could hear bits and pieces of bands like Isis, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and Weather Report all wrapped in one, it was an interesting listen to say the least. All of the musicians have killer chops and I feel they show a lot of promise and potential if they are given the right resources.

I had the opportunity to speak with their lead singer/guitarist Sacha Dunable about their new album Valley of Smoke and other things going on in their realm.

It’s 2010 now and we’re in a whole new decade. However, for the past four or five years, it feels as if metal has already been moving into a new era with different personalities and bands at the core of this movement.

If there truly is a progressive/post metal movement, which groups do you feel are driving it?

This is an interesting question.  I think you’re right in saying that progressive styles of metal are more popular these days than they were five or more years ago.  What is interesting is how people have different definitions for the term “progressive.”  To me, it’s more of a songwriting thing, like as in writing music that is emotionally gratifying, but doing it in a way that is somewhat different than what has been done before.

I know some people who will classify anything with great technical skill as “progressive.”  I mean, no one is wrong, everyone’s opinion is valid.  That being said, I’d be interested in knowing which bands you feel are driving it, because honestly I’m not as in touch as I once was.

For me, it was really one time period and a group of bands  that I saw as a “progressive movement. ” This was like ten years ago and it that inspired me to make the kind of music that eventually became Intronaut.  Coalesce, Dystopia, Cave In, Converge, Isis, Dillinger, Cavity, Botch, that kind of stuff.  The late nineties into early 2000’s were awesome for that kind of material.  I really viewed that music as groundbreaking.  There were all these bands rooted in the punk/hardcore scene that were purposefully being different and showing the people in those scenes something new.

Now, those bands, or at least the ones who are still together, get to reap the benefits by being the forefathers  of these new bands who are emulating them – not necessarily being “progressive.”   The thing is all these new bands are music fans and drawing more attention to the older bands. I think that’s a key element to the cyclical process of music becoming popular and evident as a “movement.”

Do you feel metal is easily defined by one style or can it be several sub-genres?

Well, if you ask me, if a band has a palm mute anywhere on their record, I’ll most likely file it under metal (laughs).  After that,  however you divide it up is fair game.

Are there advantages to splitting up metal into sub-genres or do you think it’s just confusing to your average Joe Schmoe music fan? Does Joe Schmoe’s opinion even matter?

The advantage I suppose is for active listeners to be able to categorize what they hear in conversation or wherever.  I don’t like being labeled, but I understand where Schmoe is coming from.  It’s hard to say it wouldn’t be necessary to call Cannibal Corpse a death metal band and not a rock band for the sole purpose of describing to a potential listener what to listen for and hear.

One thing that really drew me into Intronaut’s sound was the clever use of jazz chords and progressions in many of your breakdowns. It adds a more complex and three-dimensional aspect to your music that I feel other metal bands don’t have.

What are all of your backgrounds as musicians?

Joe (Lester) and I played in a shitty death metal band in high school that would play with Danny (Walker)’s bands.  Joe went off to college and got a BA in Music, so he has a really strong knowledge of theory. He can apply it to jazz, funk, rock, Indian, African, whatever music.

Dave (Timnick) played baseball in college, finished the fire academy in San Diego, then one day decided that all he’s ever cared about is music.  He bought a drum kit and locked himself in a room for a couple years learning probably close to as much as Joe did in college, but more percussion-based stuff.  He always played music, but didn’t get serious until his early twenties.  He is seriously one of the most naturally talented and knowledgeable people I know when it comes to rhythm.

But overall, Danny and I started out playing in punk bands when we were kids and basically developed our chops from there.  Both of us have had some kind of lessons or courses in music theory somewhere along the way, but nothing crazy.  Most of what I know now has come from playing with Joe and Dave for the past six years.

So let’s talk about your last album Prehistoricisms for a bit. That album was pretty heavy- most of the songs are very epic and the titles refer to ancient mankind and our primordial environment.

How long did it take to write and record that album? Explain some of the process.

Let’s see what I can remember…I recall writing right after we came back from Europe in late 2007, then we did a tour with High On Fire in January/February of 2008 after writing only one song.  I think we wrote the rest between March and May, which is when we started recording.  We had everything done and mixed by June something so we could go on tour with The Ocean.

Of course, most of the stuff was semi-written by me at home before all this, but the dirty work of really thinking it all out and molding it into something was done in that short period of time.  At the time I think I was mostly satisfied with it, and at this point that record is what it is…but I knew we could do better on the next one by spending more time writing and putting less pressure on ourselves as far as deadlines go.

Your new album is called Valley Of Smoke. Was the writing and recording process similar to Prehistoricisms?

Yeah, after we got back from the Mastodon tour, I personally wanted to get started on a new record and just take our time with it, no rush.  Everyone else agreed, and we decided not to keep touring and start on what is intended to be the best music we can make. You just can’t do that when you’re continuously rehearsing old songs for a tour or whatever.  We had one distraction and that was going to play in India, but aside from that, we have been writing this album for almost a year straight.  That’s basically ten months more than we spent on the last record (laughs)!  And it seriously has paid off.  We’re just on another level now – I can’t wait to finish recording.

Let’s talk about your trip to India. You went there last year for the Great India Rock festival. India is the last place I would think of having prog-metal fest! What was that experience like?

Incredible! I mean it was a blur for the most part.  The flight there was like twenty hours and it’s literally on the other side of the planet, so you can imagine the gnarly jetlag.  But the people we met were great and the shows were unbelievably huge.  Like, almost too big for us (laughs).  It was amazing to stop and think about how we started this band from nothing and there we were playing for thousands of people in fucking India, pretty wild.

The food was AMAZING.  And the bands weren’t all prog metal, it was more a variety of all kinds of rock groups.  I realized that people here view India as a place that’s backwards and third-world, but honestly they know about all the same stuff as us. The bands are just as easy to bro down with as any American band we’ve toured with.  There weren’t too many cultural barriers on the music side of things.

What can Intronaut fans expect to see from the band this year?

Some exciting stuff surrounding our new release Valley of Smoke. I can’t talk about all of it yet, but we’ll definitely be out and about and I hope people don’t hate the new album.

For more about Intronaut, click here

Spiritual figure and Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan once said, “music is not expressed through language, but through the beauty of rhythm and tone which reach far beyond language. “

When I first contacted former High Rise and current Green Flames guitarist Munehiro Narita, I felt as if this interview was going to be plagued with all kinds of scheduling conflicts, linguistic errors and overall cultural differences. I couldn’t have been further from the truth. While there were some initial language barriers, the raw intensity and passion in Narita’s music allowed me to better understand and appreciate his craft and connect with his unique brand and artistry.

Narita has become a major idol of mine and it was a pleasure to discuss his old work with High Rise and his most recent musical project Green Flames.

It’s been a few years since High Rise was heavily active in the Tokyo psychedelic rock scene. How have you kept yourself busy since High Rise has been dormant as a band?

I produced  some solo albums and did session work. I played with many players, I did an album with Shoji Hano under the name Kyoaku  No Intention. That was essentially very loud, experimental and improvisational music.  I also  practiced lots of guitar and made effect pedals.

Your most recent project is Green Flames. Can you describe the sound?

I guess it’s the feeling that what made High Rise a bit more pop…um Green Flames is  more funk-oriented (laughs). Green Flames is the band in which I realized a sound that I did not have in High Rise. It’s music that I’d really love to release abroad and let everyone hear it.

How was Green Flames conceived?

I did a session with our drummer Yamamoto Tatsuhisa and I thought about starting another band and making our sound the base of the group. I wanted to do more proper music and that provoked Tabata’s interests. I also wanted more creative control and felt I could run the band’s artistic direction.

Is the writing process for Green Flames similar to High Rise?

No, because Nanjo was the vocalist in High Rise, I followed his tastes and allowed myself to be flexible to his vocal approach. In Green Flames,  we make music with my thoughts and intentions at the core. I aimed to create a more  pop sound with Green Flames, but I still do not want to seized or seduced by a concept or direction of a sound that is stereotypically  “psychedelic.”

How would you craft and arrange your songs when playing with High Rise? Was there a particular process or formula that you conceived when writing new material?

There were many times that I added a guitar melody and parts to basslines which Nanjo had already written. I would then construct a refrain or bridge to be able to flex my guitar sounds, possibly throw in some solos and really make the most of things. Nanjo added lyrics and a constitution from there.

Do you view the studio and live as two separate entities or do you track everything as if performing live when recording? Briefly describe the recording process for Green Flames.

No, we play live and tape it. We prefer recording in that format and have naturally gravitated towards it. The reason is things cannot be expressed well when certain improvisational elements aren’t thrown into the mix. For instance, if you’re during a “standard” rhythm guitar scratch track, you would want the cleanest signal for that particular sound. I don’t like it when my effects pedals are off and just lay dormant, you hear that really dry guitar sound (laughs).

One of the things that initially attracted me to High Rise and Green Flames is your guitar work. I hate to quote Almost Famous, but you really do have one of the most powerful and incendiary sounds in rock music.

I’m a guitarist myself and I’ve always been drawn to the loud and passionate personalities within the rock and fusion realms, people like John Mclaughlin or Carlos Santana who have so much to say.

Who are your major influences and how did you finally reach your current sound?

The influence of Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana is big, but at first it was Mike Bloomfield and James Gurley from Big Brother. I was heavy into that “psychedelic blues” guitar sound and I really appreciated the elements that James Gurley brought to Janis Joplin and Big Brother. He had a great sense of timing and some articulate melodic phrases.

But honestly, the influence of Hendrix came later on. I remember when I was in school, everyone was into Hendrix and wanted to capture that sound. I really didn’t listen to much of his material until I was older. Even now I’m not your traditional “Hendrix freak.” I prefer to analyze how he carried himself onstage or what amps and pedals he used, not really his playing techniques. I’m more intrigued by his live sound than the studio recordings.

Are you happy with where you’re at with your playing or do you always strive to reach those seemingly impossible heights?

Yes, um I would say I strive to reach seemingly impossible heights. I think that the feeling of playing and being entrenched in the music is like getting caught in a trance or feeling the strong high of a drug, it happens more and more as you practice and become proficient so your performances go well.

Do you feel that your guitar sounds and music are reflective of your Japanese upbringing?

Yes. The sound of my guitar is very “Japanesque” and sometimes I feel like I hate it because it’s so “Japanese-sounding” (laughs). But I think that it’s my personality and I can’t change it, but just embrace it.

Not many Americans are familiar with this, but the city of Tokyo has a long history of psychedelic-rock and experimental bands. My first introduction to the scene was via Boris.

Boris is more of a stoner metal/ambient group, but the more I listened to them, I heard about other artists like Michio Kurihara, Les Rallizes Denudes, Flower Travellin Band and of course High Rise.

What is the current state of psychedelic and experimental music in Tokyo?

The current bands of the Tokyo’s new psychedelic era are becoming a part of  a fixed form. Fixed form as in the opposite of a fluid form. Fixed form as in the old-fashioned tricks and things have increased. Many people are too heavily mimicking the sounds of the bands from yesteryear or even some of the popular bands who came about in the past decade.  The interesting bands are just not seen. They are not put on the radar of the mainstream.

I feel the various and interesting music scenes are any place, but Japan right now. Some Japanese bands are really imitating the success of previous groups.

Considering Japan is literally on the other side of the world, how did you gain access to some of the older psych-rock bootlegs and tapes that were floating around when you were younger?

I heard mainstream American rock in my pre-teen/teenage days. There was this guy I went to school with named Hamano and he was in a band. Hamano had some Keiji Haino tapes and he got me into Haino as well as exposing me to other musicians…like he got me into Kaoru Abe and Kaoru played sax with Haino. I was really blown away by his sound.

I remember wanting to take the power of improvisational like Abe’s and put that into a rock context. It was sort of like what MC5 did with funk and how they tried to emulate funk musicians like James Brown. I wanted to take free jazz, heavy blues and transpose that into a rock setting.

Are there any foreign or domestic labels that have worked hard to push experimental music into Tokyo’s more mainstream realms?

No, actually many of the small labels have begun to shrink or withdraw. There’s not a heavy infrastructure for nurturing experimental music at the local and regional levels.It might be interesting to see some labels stand up and put alternative genres on a platform, like really making things a bit more business-oriented and not just a flash in the pan cultural trend.

Boris is an example of one experimental/heavy band that has managed to tap into the right markets in the US, however they appear to be an exception. You do not hear about many Japanese rock groups performing psychedelic influenced music in America.

What do you think it takes to break into a foreign market? As a Japanese musician, do you feel it’s even a smart strategy to aim at the United States first or conquer another foreign market maybe closer to Japan?

It is very interesting that a Japanese group like Boris or Mono has succeeded abroad.

At one point in time the Japanese heard a lot of music that was not in our native language. It was odd hearing the different vocal inflections and dissecting some of the explicit or even implicit lyrical meanings behind songs. Conversely, I think an American or Chinese person may experience something similar if being introduced to Japanese songs.

So I guess if you can tackle the issue of language, you might stumble upon a strategy that translates well in foreign markets. It does not necessarily have to be close to Japan, but in a region in which people can genuinely receive your message and connect with the music.

For more of Narita’s band Green Flames,click here

For another great interview with Narita, click here

By now many of you have all had that moment where you’re listening to the radio and you hear something familiar…. Uffie’s gone pop? Wait a sec…. that’s not Uffie! Turns our pop’s newest sensation, Ke$ha, released a single that sounds a lot like Uffie x Justice “The Party”. With her release of “Tik [...]