9. Mai 2016, von Stephan Wolf

Wenn legendäre Bands schon so zahlreich ihre Aufwartung beim Jubiläums-WGT machen, darf eine Band, die ihren Nimbus schon im Namen trägt, nicht fehlen: Willkommen The Legendary Pink Dots! Eingebettet in den Verlauf einer Tour, die auch dazu dienen soll, den aktuellen Langspieler Pages Of Aquarius (Metropolis/Soulfood, ab Freitag) zu präsentieren, wird die niederländisch-britische Kultband das Auditorium des Schauspielhauses erfreuen, voraussichtlich am Sonntagabend. Am Pfingstmontag geht es dann weiter nach Köln, wo die faszinierenden Querdenker im MTC gastieren werden. Im Voraus gewährte Frontmann Edward Ka-Spel Einblicke in die Hintergründe einer der latent bedeutsamsten Formationen der Szene.

amusio: „Hi Edward, Du wohnst schon seit geraumer Zeit in London. Was hat dich dazu bewegt, die beschaulichen Niederlande zu verlassen?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Meine Mutter ist 2010 verstorben und hat mir das Haus vererbt, in dem ich nun mit meiner Frau und unserer kleinen Tochter lebe. Meine Mutter war damals das Einzige, was mich noch mit England verband. Aber dann dachten wir, dass wir es einfach mal versuchen sollten, trotz des fiesen Wetters hier. Aber die Zeit in Nijmegen und später in Süd-Limburg bleibt unvergessen. Ich fahre immer wieder mal hin, allein schon weil der Rest der Band dort verblieben ist.“

amusio: „Zunächst wollten wir nur über das neue Album Pages Of Aquarius sowie die Tour sprechen, die euch unter anderem auch nach Köln führen wird. Doch nun ist auch noch das WGT hinzugekommen…“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Unsere Teilnahme am WGT war zunächst gar nicht geplant. Schließlich läuft unsere Tour ja quasi zeitgleich. Doch dann hatte eine andere Band ihren Gig auf dem WGT abgesagt. So erging die Frage an uns, ob wir das vielleicht doch noch hinbekommen könnten. Und siehe da: Es passte perfekt! Den Sonntag hatten wir noch frei, am Montag geht es dann weiter nach Köln.“

amusio: „Werden sich eure Auftritte zwischen dem WGT und der regulären Tour gravierend unterscheiden? Etwa hinsichtlich des Repertoires oder auch der Dauer, zumal ihr ja für ausgesprochen extensive Gigs bekannt seid?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Wir sind mit einem komplett neuen Set unterwegs, das wurde ja auch mal Zeit. Eine speziell fürs WGT modifizierte Show wird es nicht geben. Wenn man es uns gestattet, sprengen wir in Leipzig gerne den üblichen Zeitrahmen eines Festivalkonzerts.“

amusio: „Was denkst du generell über das WGT?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Ich finde es phantastisch, wie sich die Leute dort ihr eigenes Universum kreieren. Wir haben ja schon einige Male dort gespielt. Und ich hege da nur die besten Erinnerungen. Mal abgesehen von jemandem, der bei unserem Konzert eine belgische Fahne schwenkte. Das fand ich befremdlich (lacht). Im Ernst, die Leute sind dort sehr aufmerksam und schätzen ihre Künstler. Auf dem WGT wird zugehört, das ist mir das Wichtigste.“

amusio: „In den vergangenen Jahren huldigten eure Alben ziemlich ungehemmt der Abstraktion. Pages Of Aquarius scheint hingegen sehr fokussiert zu sein…“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Ja, das ungehemmt Experimentelle haben wir auf dem neuen Album gegen enthemmte Intensität eingetauscht. Auf Pages Of Aquarius ist nicht ein einziger Ton dem Zufall überlassen worden. Jedes Detail wurde sehr bewusst gewählt und gesetzt. Ich finde, es ist ein ausgesprochen kurzweiliges Album geworden. Die Reise scheint schneller vorbei zu sein, als die Laufzeit von einer Stunde suggeriert.“

amusio: „Von der Improvisation habt ihr also Abstand genommen?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Nein, Improvisation ist stets vorhanden, aber wir haben das Material anschließend mit größter Sorgfalt editiert. Nimm mal den Song Greatest Story Ever Told. Dessen erste Hälfte ist komplett improvisiert. Aber es war uns wichtig, nie den Song aus den Augen zu verlieren.“

amusio: „Erinnerst du dich eigentlich an alle deine Releases?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Ich denke schon, sie sind ja ein wesentlicher Teil von mir. Aber ich habe aufgehört, die Alben zu zählen. Ich erinnere mich besser anhand der einzelnen Songs, die kann ich zeitlich recht exakt einordnen. Auch wenn ich mich nicht auf Anhieb an sämtliche Texte erinnere, die in den Achtzigern oder Neunzigern bei irgendwelchen obskuren Sessions entstanden sind.“

amusio: „Nach wie vor scheinen eure Pop Noir-Songs, wie sie etwa das Album Any Day Now auszeichnen, beim Publikum besonders beliebt zu sein…“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Wenn wir Any Day Now heute aufgenommen hätten, wäre Pages Of Aquarius dabei herausgekommen.“

amusio: „Stimmt, das neue Album trägt diese gewisse Atmosphäre von einem Song wie Waiting For The Cloud in sich.“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Genau! Aber wir haben die wirklich abgefahrenen Sachen längst nicht ad acta gelegt. Warte mal die nächsten Veröffentlichungen ab (lacht). Es wird auch ein Konzeptalbum mit Amanda Palmer von den Dresden Dolls geben. Und auch ein neues Tear Garden Album ist in der Mache. cEvin Key und ich sind schon ganz fleißig dabei, fünf Songs haben wir bereits fix.“

amusio: „Warum bist du so kreativ?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Weil die Musik in mir einfach geschieht. Und dies tagtäglich. Früher oder später ergeben sich dann auch die entsprechenden Projekte. Zugegeben, mein Drang zum kreativen Ausdruck ist schon immens. Und er hat mich bis heute auch noch nie verlassen. Ich kann und will das nicht ändern, auch wenn ich letztlich doch ziemlich besessen bin.“

amusio: „Besessen von der Musik, doch als Mensch scheinst du eher der besonnene Typ zu sein, oder?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Stimmt, die Besessenheit bezieht sich nur auf die Musik. Meine Persönlichkeit sollte ihr dabei nicht im Weg stehen.“

amusio: „Inwiefern beeinflusst deine räumliche Trennung zu den anderen Legendary Pink Dots euer Schaffen?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Sie äußert sich anhand eines konzentrierteren und wesentlich disziplinierteren Arbeitens. Früher spielten wir nach Lust und Laune munter drauflos, denn wir hatten ja täglich die Gelegenheit dazu. Wir haben uns oft treiben lassen, waren manchmal sogar eine Spur zu lässig. Heute beherzigen wir einen anderen workflow, da wir die Notwendigkeit erkannt und anerkannt haben, die Gelegenheiten zum gemeinsamen Musizieren zu einhundert Prozent auszunutzen. Faul waren wir noch nie. Aber dass wir nun so großen Wert auf Disziplin legen, wundert uns manchmal selbst ein wenig.“

amusio: „Diese Diszipliniertheit ist Pages Of Aquarius anzuhören…“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Wir lieben es zu sehen, wie sich Disziplin auszahlt.“

amusio: „Kommen wir kurz auf das inhaltliche Konzept des Albums zu sprechen. Es  handelt offensichtlich von der bevorstehenden Zeitenwende…“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Die Hinwendung zum Optimismus des neuen Wassermann-Zeitalters hat ja bereits vor über vierzig Jahren eingesetzt. Die alten Hippies haben ausgedient. Nackt im Mondenschein zu tanzen, hat sich nicht als Erlösung erwiesen. Aber der Spirit ist geblieben. Und wird sich nach und nach durchsetzen. Die Welt ist schön, das Leben ist schön! Noch liegen, bildhaft gesprochen, die gestrandeten Fischkadaver herum und stinken vor sich hin. Aber bald werden sie vollständig verwest sein. Alles wird gut! Darum endet das Album mit großer Zuversicht und Hoffnung, auch wenn auf ihm noch jede Menge Dunkelheit vorhanden ist.“

amusio: „Und mit Mirror Mirror eine packende Eröffnung. Wer scheut denn da den Blick in den Spiegel?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Das bin tatsächlich ich. Ich kann mein Spiegelbild einfach nicht ertragen! Höchstens von der Seite, etwa auf dem Weg an einem Schaufenster entlang (lacht).“

amusio: „Aber sich zum Blickfang der Show zu machen, das liegt dir schon, oder? Ich erinnere mich da zum Beispiel an ein Konzert im Kölner Luxor, im Vorprogramm von Skinny Puppy…“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Oh ja, da habe ich zum Ende hin meine Disks durch die Gegend geworfen. Ich war emotional sehr aufgekratzt, das war aber eine Ausnahme. Das Showelement stelle ich inzwischen etwas zurück, denn, wie gesagt, alles hat der Musik zu dienen und sich den Songs unterzuordnen.“

amusio: „Woher nimmst die Motivation?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Sie entspringt dem Wissen, dass nichts von alleine kommt. Dass man im Leben für gewöhnlich nichts geschenkt bekommt. Man muss seine Position im Leben selbst definieren. Keine Zeitvergeudung zulassen. Letztlich zielt die Frage nach der Motivation nach der Identifikation: Ich mache das, was ich tun muss.“

amusio: „Und dabei schreibt dir niemand etwas vor?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Doch, mein Spiegelbild (lacht).“

amusio: „Oder die Erwartungen des Publikums?“

Edward Ka-Spel: „Unser Publikum erwartet, dass wir keine Erwartungen erfüllen. Und das schon seit über 35 Jahren.“

source

English:

INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD KA-SPEL (THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS)

With so many legendary bands making their appearance at the anniversary WGT, one band that already bears their nimbus in their name should not be missing: Welcome The Legendary Pink Dots! Part of a tour that will also serve to present current full – length Pages Of Aquarius (Metropolis/Soulfood, out Friday), the Dutch-British cult band will delight the Schauspielhaus auditorium, probably on Sunday evening. On Whit Monday we will then continue to Cologne, where the fascinating lateral thinkers will be guests at the MTC. In advance, frontman Edward Ka-Spel provided insights into the background of one of the scene’s latently most significant formations.

amusio: “Hi Edward, you have been living in London for quite some time. What made you leave the tranquil Netherlands?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “My mother passed away in 2010 and left me the house where I now live with my wife and our little daughter. Back then, my mother was the only thing that connected me to England. But then we thought we should just give it a try, despite the nasty weather here. But the time in Nijmegen and later in South Limburg will not be forgotten. I keep going there, if only because the rest of the band stayed there.”

amusio: “First of all, we just wanted to talk about the new album Pages Of Aquarius and the tour, which will also take you to Cologne, among other places. But now the WGT has also been added…”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Our participation in the WGT was not originally planned. After all, our tour is running at almost the same time. But then another band canceled their gig at the WGT. So we were asked if we could still manage it. Lo and behold: it fit perfectly! We still had Sunday off, on Monday we will continue to Cologne.”

amusio: “Will your performances differ significantly between the WGT and the regular tour? Regarding the repertoire or the duration, especially since you are known for extremely extensive gigs?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “We’re on the road with a completely new set, it’s about time. There will be no show specially modified for the WGT. If we are allowed, we are happy to go beyond the usual time frame of a festival concert in Leipzig.”

amusio: “What do you think about the WGT in general?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “I think it’s fantastic how the people there create their own universe. We’ve played there a few times. And I only have the best memories there. Except for someone who waved a Belgian flag at our concert. I found that strange (laughs). Seriously, the people there are very attentive and appreciate their artists. People listen at the WGT, that’s the most important thing for me.”

amusio: “In recent years your albums have paid homage to abstraction quite uninhibitedly. Pages Of Aquarius , on the other hand, seems very focused…”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Yes, on the new album we exchanged the uninhibited experimental elements for uninhibited intensity. Not a single note has been left to chance on Pages Of Aquarius . Every detail was chosen and placed very consciously. I think it turned out to be a very entertaining album. The journey seems to be over faster than the one-hour running time suggests.”

amusio: “So you refrained from improvising?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “No, improvisation is always present, but we then edited the material with great care. Take the song Greatest Story Ever Told . The first half is completely improvised. But it was important to us never to lose sight of the song.”

amusio: “Do you actually remember all your releases?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “I think so, they are an essential part of me. But I stopped counting the albums. I remember better based on the individual songs, I can chronologically arrange them quite precisely. Even if I don’t immediately remember all the lyrics that were created in some obscure sessions in the 80s or 90s.”

amusio: “Your pop noir songs, such as those featured on the album Any Day Now , still seem to be particularly popular with the public…”

Edward Ka-Spel: “If we had recorded Any Day Now today, Pages Of Aquarius would have come out of it.”

amusio: “That’s right, the new album has that certain atmosphere of a song like Waiting For The Cloud .”

Edward Ka-Spel: Exactly! But we haven’t put the really wacky things away for a long time. Wait for the next releases (laughs). There will also be a concept album starring Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls. And a new Tear Garden album is also in the works. cEvin Key and I have been very busy, we already have five songs fixed.”

amusio: “Why are you so creative?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Because the music just happens in me. And this every day. Sooner or later the corresponding projects will arise. Admittedly, my urge for creative expression is immense. And to this day he has never left me. I can’t and won’t change that, even though I’m pretty obsessed in the end.”

amusio: “Obsessed with music, but as a person you seem to be the level-headed type, don’t you?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Yes, the obsession only relates to the music. My personality shouldn’t get in her way.”

amusio: “To what extent does your spatial separation from the other Legendary Pink Dots influence your work?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “It manifests itself in a more concentrated and much more disciplined way of working. We used to play whenever we felt like it because we had the opportunity to do so every day. We often let ourselves drift, sometimes even being a little too casual. Today we follow a different workflow, as we have recognized and acknowledged the need to make 100% use of opportunities to make music together. We’ve never been lazy. But the fact that we now attach so much importance to discipline sometimes surprises us a little.”

amusio: “This discipline is to listen to Pages Of Aquarius …”

Edward Ka-Spel: “We love to see discipline pay off.”

amusio: “Let’s talk briefly about the content of the album. It’s obviously about the coming turning point…”

Edward Ka-Spel: “The turn to the optimism of the new Age of Aquarius began more than forty years ago. The old hippies have had their day. Dancing naked in the moonlight hasn’t proven to be a salvation. But the spirit stayed. And will gradually prevail. The world is beautiful, life is beautiful! Figuratively speaking, the stranded fish carcasses are still lying around and stinking to themselves. But soon they will be completely decomposed. Everything will be fine! That’s why the album ends with great confidence and hope, even if there’s still a lot of darkness left on it.”

amusio: “And with Mirror Mirror a thrilling opening. Who is afraid of looking in the mirror?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “That’s actually me. I just can’t stand my reflection in the mirror! At most from the side, for example on the way along a shop window (laughs).”

amusio: “But making yourself the eye-catcher of the show is something for you, isn’t it? I remember, for example, a concert at the Luxor in Cologne, supporting Skinny Puppy…”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Oh yeah, I threw my discs around towards the end. I was very emotional emotionally, but this was an exception. In the meantime, I’m putting the show element back a bit, because, as I said, everything has to serve the music and be subordinate to the songs.”

amusio: “Where do you get the motivation from?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “It springs from the knowledge that nothing comes by itself. That nothing in life is usually given for free. You have to define your position in life yourself. Don’t allow time to be wasted. Ultimately, the question of motivation is aimed at identification: I do what I have to do.”

amusio: “And no one tells you anything?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Yes, my reflection (laughs).”

amusio: “Or the expectations of the audience?”

Edward Ka-Spel: “Our audience expects us not to live up to expectations. And that for more than 35 years.”

“The first music I loved was psychedelic… just always felt the need to push the brightly painted boat out further.” —Edward Ka-Spel (Above: photo by Inge Bekkers, courtesy Ka-Spel)

BY JONATHAN LEVITT

For the uninitiated, the Legendary Pink Dots create psychedelic songs that blend religion science and mythology into their own dense claustrophobic world.

As a band that has lived most of its life pitched on the edge of obscurity they have managed to assemble one of the most fiercely independent visions of music this side of Hawkwind.

The Maria Dimension, which came out in 1991 on Play It Again Sam (PIAS) and which celebrates 25 years since it was recorded, is as life altering a record as they come. Part cerebral science fiction part horror story, punctuated with a narcotic beauty, the record rotates like some rogue satellite spinning towards uncharted worlds.

It’s a record with a pulsing femoral tension that sucks you into its murky vortex.

To quote a review I once wrote about the album, “The Legendary Pink Dots album The Maria Dimension has as Bob Calvert of Hawkwind fame once said on his Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, ‘A magnificent engine of steel and gleam’ at its core. I was blown away by this album back in 1991, and felt it was a masterpiece joyfully out of synch with the musical zeitgeist of the time. 25 years on, the music still sounds as unique and compelling as it did back then. That said, nothing could replace the memory of the first time I played this record on my college radio show. It felt like a sinister interception of a radio broadcast from another planet occupying a space where the Pain Teens are hanging with Syd Barret.”

I’ve come to a more recent conclusion about this album that what Edward Ka-Spel and crew have created here is something more subversive than I could have ever imagined back when the album came out. It’s more than just a tightly wound universe they’ve concocted, I’d say they were able to transcend the boundary between music and religion with this record. If you believe that music is its own language and that there are very real limitations to how we verbally describe things, then The Maria Dimension has created a aural vocabulary for communing with a much larger presence. It somehow has perfected the vocabulary for us mere mortals to transport us not merely out of our bodies but to suspend our own limited thinking allowing Ka-Spel and the Dots to bring us to a place where, as writer Ernest Holmes says,

“There is One Infinite Mind,

which of necessity includes all that is,

whether it be the intelligence in man,

the life in the animal,

or the invisible Presence which is God.”

 I decided to contact Ka-Spel to talk about The Maria Dimension and where the “brightly painted boat” is currently moored. (Below: the band now)

BLURT: To start off where and when was The Maria Dimension recorded?

EDWARD KA-SPEL: All recordings took place in the barn next to the home of sax player Niels Van Hoorn on the border of Holland and Germany. We had an 8-track studio cobbled together and a stirring view of the great river Waal. The only hazard was the odd thunderstorm, which would mean a rapid dive for the mains switch to save everything from going up in flames.

Can you go into some detail as to how the sessions for the album went, something about the recording process and some of the unique instrumentation used and any special production techniques employed?

The album before Crushed Velvet Apocalypse had been very much composed beforehand  by myself and Phil (The Silverman) in the flat we shared- so it was time to throw the gates of chance open. We literally improvised for a month with no restrictions. Two huge kettledrums were dusted off, Bob got the sitar out of the case, I dug out little stringed souvenirs, which I’d found in Greece and other exotic places. Bob recorded EVERYTHING on his cassette recorded which was placed in the middle of the room- it was necessary because half-inch tape was pricey. We re-worked much of it formally for the album itself. Mixing was eccentric. Engineer Hans left the band midway through recordings, so it was a case of 2 octopuses on a mixing desk with the captain barking from the back.

What is The Maria Dimension?

A place where multiple Marias sit serenely and wave to us as the snowflakes fall. It is not an earthly place.

Did this idea of a Maria Dimension already exist and lead to songs coalescing around that “unearthly place,” or did the idea come later?

It was there at the time.

Who designed the cover of the album? Why was the original art not used for some later editions of the album?

Stephan Barbery (house artist at Play It Again Sam records) painted the cover after I gave him the concept outlined above. I guess that in my head I had a real scene etched (it was actually a dream) which could never in fact be captured unless someone sneaked inside my mind with a camera. Still it is THE cover for MD; a later Polish release was simply part of an album series with covers designed by a single artist…

Who produced the record?

We all did.

PIAS as a label back in the late’ 80s early ‘90s seemed to have quite a unique roster of artists, what was there reaction when you first played them the album?

They were great. Really got behind it and it did surprisingly well for an obscure band like The Pink Dots.

How long had the songs on this album been floating around in one form or another?

“The Third Secret” had been there for maybe six months but most were recorded after being pulled fresh from the river outside.

Did you have a specific narrative arc for the sequencing of the album if so can you tell us what it was? If not what were some of the choices you remember making in terms of the running order?

It just seemed to flow naturally little discussion was needed.

Personally where do you place this record in terms of all of the Dots records?

Obviously very high up there considering the fact that we’ve just put out a 5-LP Box set containing all the sessions as well as the full album in its glory (the original vinyl edition was severely truncated as CDs were just becoming all the rage).

Do you feel this album gave the band a higher profile especially in the US given the amount of press the album received and how it was promoted to college radio?

It surely helped, although the successor Shadow Weaver fared better in the States.

In terms of live shows, have you ever played the entire album all the way through live for an audience?

No, we tend to dive in and out, pick and choose- but odd songs still crop up live today.

“Disturbance” is one of the finest songs you have ever recorded can you talk about how this song came into being?

Began as a concept to see how stacking guitar after guitar would sound. Phil provided the perfect “Slave ship rhythm”. We were very much into German bands of the ‘70s at this time.

In terms of musical influence that fed directly or indirectly into some of The Maria Dimension’s tracks you mention you were listening to ‘70s krautrock; any bands and albums in particular?

Nothing particular. The usual culprits like Ash Ra Tempel, can… but also early Chrome.

Speaking of 70’s German bands, have you ever wanted to do much longer Amon duul like numbers?

They do happen, but we trim them before they go out for public consumption.

Your music is part psychedelic mixed with an industrial vibe on some of the tracks, was this album a point in time where both began to coalesce as equally important musical directions the band could follow?

Categories never really mattered to us (still don’t)…The first music I loved was psychedelic….just always felt the need to push the brightly painted boat out further.

“Pennies for Heaven” is one hell of a creepy song with some unforgettable imagery—did the lyrics predate the music, or how did this song come to you?

The lyrics predated the song. One of those unpleasant dreams of a plane crash, which needed to be purged.

Speaking of lyrics and songwriting what is the process you went through for this record? Do you jam as a band or do you write on your own and bring in your ideas and the others help expand upon them?

A bit of both really…I do love a band improvising, even when it’s just myself and Phil rolling ideas to each other. Somehow that’s when the magic really happens.

What was touring during this period of time like for the band? Did US audiences get the music in a similar way to their European counterparts?

Very early days for touring in the US. In cities like SF and Seattle, awareness was high and the reception was sometimes ecstatic. But then there would be a bar in, say, Milwaukee where 20 people would be scratching their heads unless they’d driven there specially from Denver.

I met you at I believe at the (O’cayz Corral) or some other rock club in Madison Wisconsin, back in 1992-93 on your shadow weaver tour, so your comment about people in Milwaukee makes me laugh because attendance was pretty sparse. Does it take the wind out of your sails to play for a small audience or does it not matter?

I actually enjoy the contact when the audience is small…increases the one-on-one situations. Everybody smiling at some point.

What were some of the bands you played with on The Maria Dimension tour?

Ah, memory fails me….

Below: a live clip from 1991

Now I want to talk about the various editions of the record? Originally did the LP and CD differ in terms of running order and number of tracks?

Running order was the same, but the original LP sliced the recordings in half as vinyl was regarded as future landfill at that time. That’s why we have made this enormous luxurious vinyl box set this year.

What was The Maria Dimension 3”— what editions of the album came with this bonus? Then there was Chemical Playschool 8&9 —who got that record and could you tell us something about it?

The 3” was a marketing ploy of PIAS- we always have extra tracks in the can and they all came from these sessions. CP 8 & 9 is largely created out of reworkings of the Maria sessions.

I heard a bootleg titled The Maria Sessions, I’m aware bootleggers can label things whatever they want, but if the music is from those sessions, it hints at a very different sound for the band filled with long form abstract numbers part Pink Floyd part Harmonia, can you tell us about these tracks?

It’s not a bootleg. It’s a privately released CD-R which is part of the vinyl box set now. It’s actually created from Bob’s cassettes of the first improvisations.

How did those long form initial improvisations lead to the dense songs we hear on the record what was the evolutionary process?

Evolutionary process is a well-chosen term…you can hear the seeds of “Evolution” right there. But the mutations of seeds scattered in those improvs were radical.

You mention that you have a box set of all of the sessions for the album. How were these sessions scheduled, was this worked on for an intense period of time all in one go or would you tour and then come back to recording?

We played for a solid month then had a holiday break, then all resumed for another 4-6 weeks when we consolidated what we had, tried various concepts (Disturbance for example), and mixed.

In 1991 vinyl was making its original last stand: Were you involved in mastering for the LP? Were you satisfied with the how the record sounded?

I confess I never listened to the original vinyl edition- I was just too disappointed by the presentation.

Below: a clip of the Dots performing live in 2014

Given that you never listened to the original vinyl, what’s different about this vinyl version? Is it on heavier vinyl stock? Are there liner notes included?

Well, ALL the bonus tracks are there making it a double. Then there’s Maria Sessions volumes 1 & 2 , which is another double album, and the 3″ single plus a collage of out-takes for disc 5. Great quality too, all remastered and packaging to die for..

If people want to order the record what’s the best place to get it?

We have a few on our bandcamp page (legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com) and also through Soleilmoon (www.soleilmoon.com)

When you look back to 1990/91 and the resulting album, what comes to your mind?

Well, I miss Bob still. It was his last album with the Dots before he succumbed to lung cancer in 1992. A different life back then—3 of us sharing a small flat. All very much hand-to-mouth existence.

What are you listening to these days?

Still a lot of great new bands/artists  out there… Even so, played an old chestnut last night — Church of Hawkwind no less….

Final question: what does 2015 hold for you and the band what are you working on these days?

Ha, in fact not so much changed except that we’re taking some time off the road to push the multi-colored boat out into the middle of the ocean. We feel like we hit a bit of a pinnacle last year with Chemical Playschool 16/18, although we duly paid our dues to the Goddess of Obscurity by making it available only on double CD-R.

But hell, that’s just how we are.

***

Source: http://blurtonline.com/feature/the-story-behind-the-album-the-maria-dimension-by-the-legendary-pink-dots/

Edward Ka-Spel of Legendary Pink Dots answers reader-submitted questions

For the second in our series of reader-driven interviews, we invited site visitors to submit questions for Edward Ka-Spel of Legendary Pink Dots.  Thank you to the following people for contributing questions: Georges, Chris Janssens, Peo, Addie Hondo Pray, James Doerflinger, Arsenic Strychnine, Gregg Russell, Orson Panetti, dogma, Frank, Teresa Ortiz, Geoff Doner, J TM, Brad C, Jacek Armatys, Kelly Graham, Scott Coan (note to contributors –  some questions have been combined and edited for publication, but all personal comments for Edward were passed along to him.)

For many years, we’ve heard of a possible collaboration between you and David Tibet. Is it still on the pipeline?

Nothing in the pipeline but I rule nothing out. I like David and have a very high opinion of him as an artist so if the possibility arises I’d certainly go there…

Are there any plans to expand the band’s current line-up?

Not right now. We still enjoy the freedom afforded by such a line-up.

Will there be a future Tear Garden tour?

Probably…I know I say this every year,  but the will is there on all sides..

Any plans to work with cEvin Key on a new Tear Garden album or some other project?

Already working on it.

Will there ever be a Mimir tour?

It’s been quite a few years since Mimir recorded together so I can’t really see this happening.

You’ve recorded more than forty albums with the Pink Dots and even more solo albums. Many bands are out of good ideas after only three albums, and after one or two albums more they are fed up with each other and they quit. What I find the most impressive about your production through the years is not that your are still able to make new songs, but that thirty years later your new songs and albums are still GOOD. While many other bands split and quit, you just seem to keep on going. My question is: How do you do that?

Thank you. There is no master plan…we simply do what we HAVE to do..

You are such a prolific artist, your discography is astonishing. What tips do you have for other musicians to keep such disciplined, consistent focus, basically for a lifetime like you? What is your best recipe for struggling with procrastination?

Just don’t [procrastinate] ….life is too short.

Do you have writer’s blocks from time to time, and if so, how do you cope with them?

Terrifying…they do happen occasionally. Normally I tinker with old pieces that were never finished….it often does work too.

What is the main place where Dots’ records come about? Is it a studio which is somewhere out of your home, or is it in your and Phil’s homes?

Both our homes…We have modest set-ups (mine is in the living room of our very tiny house)…but it makes for a special atmosphere to recordings.

On what parts of records (besides lyrics and vocals) do you usually work?

I’m a kind of “hands -on” guy. Not exactly a control freak (I appreciate and need interaction with others) but I want to be there from the beginning to the end of a piece.

What is the creative process generally like between the members of Legendary Pink Dots, and has it changed much over the years?

Lots of improvising in the last years…Takes me back to the first days of the Dots. We record everything and then develop the best bits. In fact we improvised way less in the 90s after “9 Lives”.Of course,  there are personal pet songs too…

The last time you’ve been to Moscow was in 2012. Do you have any plans or wishes to visit this city with a gig in near future?

Love to. I love Russia, the people, the country, the special atmosphere…Have to return..

Do you have a favorite place to play live?

Maybe Czech republic…From Prague through to the tiniest villages people listen so well and know how to show their appreciation.

Do you ever find yourself overthinking and nitpicking aspects of your songwriting? I read an interview with Micheal Gira and he talked about the dangers of using modern sound editing tools to ruin his work, by worrying too much about the little things.

It’s a danger for sure. Sometimes, after fighting with a piece for days using those very sound tools Michael refers to, I can tear it up and make the spontaneous, “damn it all” version. Same tools, different settings.

What drum machine(s) were used on the early (80’s) recordings?

Drumatix 12 (?) Roland 505,707,808, Linn drum.There were more but the names evade me.

What are some of your favorite synthesizers?

Pretty much anything by Korg. Still very attached to my old Yamaha CS30, but here are soft synths that blow my mind- love Izotope Iris for example. There’s a great developer out there called Rhythmic Robot too who conjure up the grittiest, dirtiest sounding inventions I ever heard …love them all..

What has the experience of being in a band, expressing yourself lyrically, the whirlwind/slog of travel and meeting people and seeing so much done for your personality and emotional well-being?

I’ve actually always been painfully shy and the life forced me to face and meet people.I reckon it has been good for me, but that nervous core is still pretty much the same..

Also, I’ve heard it said that you have a very strong intellect (which doesn’t surprise me). Does this difference still make itself visible in odd ways in your life?

not for me to say…

Is there any chance we’ll ever get to hear those early recordings made under the Vizzyen Laedyr moniker?

There’s a chance. I recently made contact with an old school pal who was also part of it…He has the tape – but has to find it!

Do you trust people who don’t like cats?

No.

Do you like Depeche Mode? If so, what is your favorite song?

Alena played me the odd song and some of it is very decent..but I don’t know their music well enough to chose a favourite song.

What has been the most impressive album you’ve listened to this year?

Heroin in Tahiti’s new album. They are from Italy which is the centre of the World as far as psychedelic music goes these days.

For someone just starting out making music, do you recommend anything in particular, such as software, a book, or a mindset?

Just do it. Do it for yourself, and if others like it then that’s great

How do you feel about the industry shift toward streaming services rather than albums?

Harder for us to live now, but sadly the way of the World. Personally I prefer something more tangible as streaming implies background music and I never could keep something so beautiful pushed to the back.

I am a composer ( heavily influenced by you and your music) and often listen to some of my own compositions from time to time and there are particular pieces that I come back to more often than others. Do you often listen to your own music? What material of yours do you find you listen to more often than others? A particular album perhaps?

Alena makes me listen to my own creations, which can be difficult for me. The emotional connection is somehow too intense- like your life crawling (not flashing) past your eyes. Left to my own devices, I choose the creations of others.

What advice could you give somebody trying to make a living in the music business?

Make the music first, then think about living from it.

Why not a SACD or BLU-RAY edition of classical albums, eventually in 7.1 (or 5.1) like Steve Wilson?

Oddly never considered it..I do love what Steven has done with all of those timeless albums though (as well as his own wonderful music).

Are there any chances to re-release first 3 albums by The Tear Garden on CD’s? I think they’re excellent but I think they need a reissue.

Best ask Nettwerk.They seem to be into the business of suffocating good music and are being quite effective.

Will “The Gethsemane Option” be released on vinyl?

Yes, but in a while…

With such lyric intensive songs, combined with your prolific output, do you remember all your writings or do you ‘dust-off’ and revisit the material you perform?

My memory is decent, but not THAT good.

source: http://www.chaoscontrol.com/edward-ka-spel/

Edward Ka-Spel looks back on hearing Amanda Palmer for the first time

In her book The Art of Asking, Amanda Palmer writes about a formative experience involving one of her favorite bands, The Legendary Pink Dots. When she was 18, a friend brought her along to a Legendary Pink Dots after-show party and mentioned that she made music. At that point Palmer had only recorded a rough 4 track demo (‘12 copies in existence’), and she was greatly dismayed when Legendary Pink Dots frontman Edward Ka-Spel actually wanted to HEAR her songs. But afterwards, Ka-Spel gave her words of encouragement that proved to be major catalyst of her career.

Reading this reminded me that Ka-Spel was one person who I’d always wanted to interview but hadn’t, so I reached out to him to see if he’d like to be featured in Chaos Control.  Since it was on my mind, I initially asked for his recollections on that night he heard Palmer for the first time. His reply is below.

“I must say I remember that encounter where I encouraged Amanda to go ahead and expose her music to the wider world very well … It was a night for small talk, polite socialising, moderate sips on deadly potions. In reality, I always suffered a bit on those occasions, not quite sure how to behave beyond nodding and smiling (a lot).

“Consequently, it was a bit of a shock when someone pretty much ordered her to sit at the piano and ‘perform,’ even if it was a sympathetic roomful of people. I know I could never have done this myself and the lump in Amanda’s throat resembled an apple that was refusing to budge.

“Even so, the songs that emerged were delivered with the kind of passion I associated with an old hero of mine, Peter Hammill. Straight from the soul and the silence that resulted from the audience was more of a stunned one than the sound of politeness. Loved it.

“Just had to tell her…but outside in the cooler night air without other people around.

It’s true we did (and still do) receive a lot of tapes, cdrs and now files/youtube clips from a lot of people. I wish I could enjoy them all … but just a few wave the lamp in the fog. Amanda’s first tape was a floodlight and her first private performance was a storm. Great to see that kind of storm sweeping the planet ever since…”

source: http://www.chaoscontrol.com/edward-ka-spel-looks-back-hearing-amanda-palmer-first-time/

B-CZAR: Describe the early days of your musical career. Did your family support your dream?

KA-SPEL: I had to have a job to support my musical ambitions in the beginning. Worked for three days a week as a reporter on the local rag (and was this publication ever a rag). Still it kept me alive and afforded me the luxury of buying an analogue synthesizer which I could pay for over 3 years. We rehearsed in a squatted house in Ilfor which is where Phil and April (the other original Dots) lived. We would play for hours, taping everything….the other people living in this house were extremely tolerant.

B-CZAR: Do you consider yourself to be a bard? Explain.

KA-SPEL: Certainly not…I was not born in the 16th Century though the Dots have certainly lasted for quite a while.

B-CZAR: Do you consider Syd Barret to be an influence? Explain.

KA-SPEL: Syd was wonderful, but not as much of an influence as many seem to think. My lyrics are my own.. who else would want to own up to these delusions anyhow? Of course, we are both very English.

B-CZAR: Do you believe in any Fortean monsters?

KA-SPEL: I hated Lord of the rings etc. as a child and haven’t warmed to this kind of thing over time either. No character development-just didn’t catch my imagination. I tried too.. I really did my best to relate to hobbits and slobbits and frobbits and small people with large ears.. didn’t work.

B-CZAR: Do you believe in magick?

KA-SPEL: Yes

B-CZAR: Tell me about the last time you laughed hysterically.

KA-SPEL: I cannot remember a specific moment, but living at this particular time causes me to laugh hysterically very often…it’s the only way to hang on.

B-CZAR: What are your current projects?

KA-SPEL: Next week, I’ll be participating in the first ever Mimir show in Antwerp, Belgium. A nice challenge, as we will improvise completely ….. Jim O’Rourke is even flying over from Chicago to take part.. I like challenges like this. Beyond that, a small European tour is planned for LPDs, then we will record again. Later in the year I’ll visit the USA for some more recording and maybe a couple of solo shows.

B-CZAR: What do you think of the Bush Administration’s handling of American affairs post 9/11?

KA-SPEL: Everything would appear to be going to plan. Me? I’m building an ark in the backyard.

B-CZAR: Define the similarities and differences between The Tear Garden and The Legendary Pink Dots.

KA-SPEL: There is a big difference in production. Tear Garden has traditionally had a large budget to play with, and it does make a difference. Even so, the songs tend to be created the same way. Both projects like to experiment, test the borders… I’m actually looking forward to recording the next Tear Garden….could be later this year.

B-CZAR: Did kraut rock or punk rock influence your music in anyway or did you want to create an alternative sound in opposition to those genres.

KA-SPEL: I grew up with German psychedelic music on the radio and on my stereo when I could finally afford one. It has to play a part…Punk was not so important, but I was deeply impressed by some of the new wave bands like Joy Division, wire, This Heat and Pere Ubu.

B-CZAR : Do you have any pets?

KA-SPEL: Charlotte the cat and Humbert the dog.

B-CZAR : How do you want your epitaph to read?

KA-SPEL: “I can hear every word you are saying”

B-CZAR : What out of fashion clothing would you like to see make a come back?

KA-SPEL: Kaftans.

B-CZAR: What subject did you excel at in school?

KA-SPEL: English believe it or not.

B-CZAR: Read any good books lately?

KA-SPEL: I wish…..so little time to read recently.

B-CZAR: What do you do to overcome creative blocks?

KA-SPEL: I had a horrible creative block at the beginning of 2004. I just hooked up my synthesizers and recorded every note struck in ever increasing anger. When I examined the results in a more balanced state of mind, I realized that there WAS something worthwhile there. It only takes one small seed of hope.

B-CZAR: Do you have any collections?

KA-SPEL: I do like my modest record collection….just can’t resist vinyl. It shocked me when a neighbor’s kid described the records as the biggest CDs he’d ever seen.

B-CZAR: I read in an interview you always perform in bare feet. Explain this.

KA-SPEL: It connects me to the ground, I need this because I’d lose myself otherwise.

Source: http://bit.ly/1KwzKU5