Hello Malcolm, it is pleasure to meet you. First off, can you explain the significance of the name “Kaura” (pronounced ‘kay-aura’)?
When searching for a name that felt like it would embody what the music of Kaura would be, there didn’t seem to be anything out there that fit the bill. I started putting together letters and sound phonetically that felt like it had the right resonance. Kaura seemed to have the right vibe. After kind of settling on it, much later I looked it up and found that it was an Indian birth name that describes the child it’s given to will be one who feels or experiences things beyond words. I felt like if there was anything that I would want people hearing Kaura’s music to feel it would be beyond words. So that pretty much sealed that deal and we stuck with it.
What bands / artists / albums got you “into” music in the first place?
I was exposed to all kinds of music early on by my older brother but I’d say the first band and album that really inspired me to want to create music myself was Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream”. It’s still an amazing album in my opinion. Music that rocks yet has a lot of melody and dances between heavy, aggressive blasts and beautiful, lulling intimacy really appeals to me. I was seriously obsessed with that band for a while and then moved into more extremes in both directions. I started getting into Pantera, Quicksand, Kyuss, Snapcase, Fear Factory and more rockin’ stuff as well as going in the other direction and digging on Depeche Mode, Enya, Dead Can Dance and really mellow stuff. I guess I’m still inspired by the same dynamics that drive those genres of music. Riffs that knock your dick in the dirt and super melancholy orchestral type stuff.
You have said that your lyrics involve themes of evolution, re-birth,social and personal consciousness. What draws you to these topics?
I think it’s just the nature of my being. Philosophy, spirituality, sociology, metaphysics and all the realms and dimensions beyond the one we currently resonate with are all of interest to me. I’m a truth seeker if you will and by seeking the truth I’ve been led down many different paths and found myself crawling down all sorts of rabbit holes; all of which have formed the soup of my consciousness, from where my lyrics are born. When a song is incubating it draws out of me whatever themes it needs to support the intention and sonics the song has. There’s a certain sense of urgency or intensity in most of our songs, which I think naturally inspires the lyrics to reach into realms that are of a similar vibration. It would be a bit silly to create densely intense and provoking song and then have the subject of the song be about a night out on the town partying…kind of contrary I’d think. The other side to the intention with the lyrics is to speak about matters that, to me, are of some greater importance. I believe music is most definitely a medium for transmuting consciousness and if I can serve in the role of writing lyrics that might inspire new thoughts, offer new perspectives, share new information or just simply offer support for the expansion of the listeners consciousness; then I will be following my dharma.
You incorporate an interesting array of instruments into your work, a blend of modern and ancient, and from a wide range of origins. How large of a role do they play in your song writing?
It depends on the song and the intention with which we approach the song. Sometimes they’re the crux of the concept or seed idea of the song and other times they play more of a supportive “production” type role. For a song like ‘Apathy’ the verse dulcimer riff was one of the first and key elements that the song was built around. For a song like ‘If This Were To End’ the dulcimer was more of an arrangement and production aesthetic choice. For me, I often get song ideas as downloads, playing in my head, that are fully composed, fully arranged pieces of music. I’ll then choose different instruments to play certain roles in recreating what it was that I first initially heard in my head. In that case those roles get shuffled around sometimes trying to figure out what the best instrument to have doing certain parts are. Sometimes the guitar line will shift to the dulcimer and a drumbeat will shift to gamelan bells or tabla. That process of shifting things around and rearranging instruments is often at the core of writing a new song. It all just depends on the song though. We don’t try to create any hard and fast rules for how we implement them. Sometimes the song simply doesn’t need any weird shit in it so we leave it out.
You have just released That Which Defines Us, your anticipated debut album. Tell me a bit about the writing and recording process?
The writing and recording process spanned a great length of time for us so it was very much an evolutionary snapshot of that whole timeframe. Most all the songs were completely demoed before we went in to track the final parts. A lot of the initial tracks that were used in the demos ended up being in the final version. It was the case with some of the songs that they had been written a year or more before we went in to retrack the drums for the final. It was like we were constantly dropping into portals to the past and then back to the present when finishing up the final tracks. As we neared the end we were working on recording songs that were written more recently. The benefit of working that way, albeit it took a long time, was that each song was able to be treated like a mini album unto itself. Most of the time a band writes a bunch of songs and then goes in and records the whole heap all at once. That way of making an album is great for creating a sense of continuity but sometimes doesn’t make for the most diverse or dynamic album. When you work on one song at a time you can really get into the vibe of that song and let it unfold.
On the album you worked with some well-renowned people such as producer Sylvia Massey. How was that?
We tracked drums with Sylvia at her amazing studio complex, Radiostar Studios, up in Weed California. She’s a really sweet, talented person and such a pleasure to work with. We tracked with her in Studio A, which used to be an old theater building that she converted into a studio. She’s amassed an impressive array of drums, mics and other recording gear that made it a real treat to track there. She’s pretty much built a recording empire there in that little town nestled in the valley of Mount Shasta. Just being able to step outside and breathe in the fresh, crisp air and look up at the snow-capped mountain top was hugely inspiring. Her staff there is great as well. Being surrounded by such a great bunch of folks while working on music was conducive environment for getting great results.
You must have learned a lot about the recording process since your self-titled EP in 2005.
Absolutely, I definitely feel that there’s been a huge progression from the EP to the album. Naturally, the more you do something the more refined you become in your skills to affect the results you’re looking to achieve. I think with each song we make we get closer to realizing the vision we have for this band and the music we make. For me as a producer and engineer, I’ve continued to hone my craft in shaping a song and taking it from a concept to a finished piece. Song writing is also a continually maturing process with this band. I feel like the process of pulling inspiration from the ethers and allowing the creative energies to flow through you, is more about getting out of the way of that flow and allowing it to happen, than it is a process of learning how to write better songs; as though it were an intellectual or analytical process. I think the more songs you write the easier it is let go and trust what comes through. You learn little tricks to help open the flood gates … a hot cup of chai tea and some incense in the air is always a good place for me to start.
How did you come to work with A Perfect Circle’s Paz Lenchantin on the EP?
At the time I was working as an audio engineer at the Troubadour and Paz played a gig there with Guy Blakeslee. It was just the two of them. I think it was the early days of what would become The Entrance Band. I met her that night briefly and then got in touch with her shortly after and asked her if she’d be interested in recording the strings for one of the songs that would be on our EP. She was really busy and had a full schedule but she made time to drop by our studio and track all the strings for Dividing Lines. She was such a pleasure to work with. She’s exceptionally talented and super professional. She knocked out almost 30 violin tracks in a couple hours! That was definitely one of the highlights of making that EP for sure.
You have recently relocated to Los Angeles from Berkeley. How is LA treating you?
Quite well actually. It’s a totally different vibe than the bay area though. For the time while we were in the bay our guitarist was still living in LA so we were doing a lot of commuting back and forth to get together for writing, recording and playing shows. LA and SF aren’t too far away (6 hours) but now that we all live in the same city it’s such a luxury to be able to get together more regularly. I do miss the air quality of the bay but the benefit of being closer to the industry is worth it. The bay is great for fostering creativity but you’ve got to be on top of your business in this game to move your career ahead.
How does ‘Kaura the live band’ differ from ‘Kaura the album band’?
It’s the same band in the studio as it is on stage. We’ve gone through a number of bassists over the course of history of the band but other than that it’s the same line up. The only major difference is that when we were in the bay we were playing with a multi-instrumentalist who was playing the majority of the dulcimer, percussion and strings that you hear on the record. Since relocating to LA we’ve trimmed down to being a 4-piece and use track to reproduce those elements live. It’s a functional solution but we’re looking to get back to performing with a multi-instrumentalist again to get away from the track. It’s a very unique position to fill so we’re waiting to find the right fit to complete that puzzle.
2011 seems to have treated you very well. What has been your highlight of the year and what do you have planned for 2012?
2011 was most definitely focused on the release of That Which Defines Us. We’ve worked really long and hard on this record so it’s been a real mile marker for us to finally release it. We’re hoping that the majority of 2012 will be spent promoting it. We’re already back into writing new material but the main focus this year will be creating opportunities for us to get out there and reach more people with this album and the rest of our music.
Thank you for your time, Malcolm.
Check out the band's website http://www.kaura.com/ and their album That Which Defines Us, available through iTunes and other music retailers.
No comments:
Post a Comment