SS: I don't actually
have a tesla coil in my studio. If I did it would have to be a real fancy
one, not those cheap ones you find at Spencers Gifts. I do however, have
quite a few little LEDs that dance around when I'm making music. On occasion
I'll have one of my synthesizers on a makeshift operating table with the
back open and guts hanging out. Yes, I guess I am a modern mad scientist!
I'm going bald so I would need a big messy wig to complete the look. I
must confess that my studio is pretty up to date right now. Although I
don't use and actual PC in my studio, I do have a hard disk multitrack
recorder and a couple of samplers.
SPACE.com: What initially
attracted you to electronic music?
SS: My father had
an Oberheim synthesizer when I was quite young. He was living in downtown
Seattle at the time and I would program laser sounds and pretend I was
shooting pedestrians on the street -- Zap Zap. Some of my earlier influences
would have to [include] Bill Nelson. I would fall asleep listening to "Living
in my Limousine" while pretending I was singing in concert. The mid-'80s
work of Severed Heads, especially "Come Visit the Big Bigot", was also
one of my major influences during my teen years.
SPACE.com: What was
the defining moment that motivated you to build your own equipment rather
than employing existing synthesizers?
SS: My brother Ian
Stokes is a little older than me and has always been a major influence
as big brothers often are. We were living in different cities and he kept
phoning me describing these synthesizers he was building. I really didn't
pay much attention to it until I visited him and he showed me this strange
little set of boxes he had built. I was hooked immediately because it's
very economical to build your own synth versus buying one. You can literally
build an interesting piece of equipment for a few bucks. During my college
days, I was pursuing a degree in industrial design which gave me access
to a wood and metal shop so I put a lot of time and energy into the actual
looks of the instruments.
Now that I have them, I can't
imagine going back to traditional or virtual synthesizers. There's something
to be said about imperfection. Many of today's synthesizers are so tightly
engineered that they sometimes seem heartless in comparison. There's almost
always close to a real fire going on in my synthesizers from stuff like
shoddy wiring and big clumps of drippy solder all over the power supply.
However, I have no interest in the electrical engineering aspects of building
synthesizers, only in what it allows me to do musically and the enjoyment
that comes from designing what it will physically look like.
SPACE.com: Your music
possesses such a strong cosmic sense. What aspect of the human psyche are
you looking to trigger with your work?
SS: I can't honestly
say that I've ever tried to trigger anyone's imagination but my own. I
think I more often try to impress the listener with a vibrant alternative
form of music and sound design that still comes across as music rather
than experimentation. There's something to say about skill and craftsmanship
in the arts especially as the world inundates itself in more and more audio/visual
pacification. I think it's pretty easy to create music to try and trip
people out. It's harder to try and work toward being truly skilled in a
particular form of music or art. I have a long way to go but this is what
I'm working toward.
SPACE.com: What's
the last scientific discovery that made you go "Wow!"?
SS: I think it would
have to be the discovery
of so many new planets in the last few years. Everyday there is less
and less reasoning to the notion that we are here casually spinning alone.
The probability is good that as I'm sitting here coming up with answers
to your interview, incredibly huge interstellar ships are sailing from
civilization to civilization trading goods and services that we won't be
able to imagine uses for ten thousand years from now.
SAUL STOKES: Washed
in Mercury (CD on Hypnos Records)
This 63-minute debut release
from 1997 exemplifies Stokes' singular sonic vision with trembling electronic
tonalities and quirky but unhostile E-perc.
Superimposing a rhythmic
quality to most of the trancey pieces, Stokes generates a sense of human
thrill to the cosmic examination of quantum mysteries (like on "We Found
It on Io", see sample below). Even when the beat mutates into a pulse,
the rhythm remains obvious and enticing. Together with his versatile synthetic
noises, these semi-visible rhythms flesh the compositions into hypnotic
and energizing soundscapes, sonic scans of regions of distant galaxies,
aural interpretations of alien worlds. This is not just "space music,"
it's space music with something happening -- something strange and wonderful.
Stokes' music is particularly
strong in the melodic department. The tunes are pleasant, yet possess a
touch of darkness which seethes and swims throughout the music (a darkness
that is more scientific in nature than antagonistic).
RealAudio samples:
We
Found It at Io
Zona
Clearing
SAUL STOKES: Zo Pilots
(CD on Hypnos Records)
Upbeat electronics of a peculiar
nature live on this 72-minute CD from 1998, and nearly 30 of those minutes
are live performances from the previous year.
Harmonics constructed of
strange sounds flow like electrified liquid through an ambient mist. The
weirdness pulses with melodic fluency, supercharged by ethereal rhythms.
Sonics of quintessential otherworldliness merge and blossom into entrancing
auralscapes, evoking vast regions of mysterious territory, haunting with
abstract quality, yet rich with organic resonance.
Stokes' percussive sense
oozes through the mix: soft beats and shuddering rattles and whirring chirps.
All goading the melodies into sinuous turf, primed to snare the listeners'
subconscious. Trembling ambience drifts with compelling rhythmic support.
The real power involves Stokes'
method of interweaving all these unearthly sounds to achieve deeply emotional
tuneage. The melding of sparkling electronics with dreamy sequences gives
birth to curious sonic foundations for further electronic cycles. The delicate
E-perc is a masterful touch, infusing just enough tempo to ignite the compositions.
RealAudio samples:
Fast
Creatures
Altitude
and Architecture
The
Zo Pilots
SAUL STOKES: Outfolding
(CD on Hypnos Records)
A sensuous quality permeates
the music on this 64-minute CD from 2000. This release features a more
atmospheric dose of Stokes' electronic spaciness.
This time the percussives
are more muted, allowing the drifting tonalities and sighing otherness
to flourish and breed. The soundscapes are quite ethereal, but far from
passive. Stokes' sense of experimental drama lurks in this ambience, generating
an undercurrent of mysterious awe.
Pulsations cycle into lush
cloudbanks, punctuated by synthetic sonic lifeforms which swoop into audible
view, cavort, then vanish into the swirling mists. Each aspect contributes
energy to the melody, infecting the atmospheric calm with a lively tempo.
These rhythms are more subtle this time, often originating in the use of
non-percussive sounds.
When percussives do appear,
they are muffled in weirdness, lending their tribal nature an extraterrestrial
edge. But then, natural, E-per or overt oddity, rhythms are rhythms: mesmerizing
when applied with an artistic touch (as exemplified here), attractive by
the sheer power of their primal beat. Stokes' rhythmic sense is commanding
even when the beat is soft and tempo languid.
RealAudio samples:
Hurried
Space
Greys
Conundrum
SAUL STOKES: A Collection
of Live Recordings (CDR on Saul
Stokes Music)
This limited edition CD features
selections from three live Stokes concerts (two in Philadelphia in 1998
and 1999, and one in Bellingham in 1997). These pieces are seamlessly blended
into a single 60-minute track, producing a powerful dose of edgy ambience.
Stokes' music is an entire
different creature during his live electronic performances. Besides being
improvised electronics, the flow in his live shows is more constant. there
is less emphasis on rhythm and more focus on ethereal weirdness . . . which
can get rather intense, as is frequently the case.
The ambient electronics drift
in soft layers, merging and overlapping to generate atonal soundscapes
that possess a melodic tinge. There is very little keyboard-action here,
while waves and pulsing pitches abound. Quivering noises erupt, interact,
and are gone. When they re-emerge, they are accompanied by pleasantly hissing
tonalities, which in turn succeed in dominating the flow. When rhythms
do appear, they emerge in the form of squalling electronic pulses altogether
unlike any earthbound sound.
Laid on an aural tapestry
of dreamy tones, this weirdness is quite intellectually stimulating. The
seeming ambience is littered with sonic intersections of breath-holding
tension. As the textures slowly evolve, layers of intensity are introduced
to the process, to commence their our mutation.
This release comes in a delightful
wooden case that is a mild form of a Chinese puzzle box.
Not found in stores, this
release is exclusively available at Stokes' live performances, via Stokes'
website or through Hypnos Records.
What do you think? Send your
comments to the editor.
advertisement
