Yes Alexander - Sound In The Signals Interview
Like Lions just came out and it is a really neat release. One thing I like about it is that it incorporates so many different styles and genres and really makes it all work. Did you set out wanting to try and fuse so many different styles or is it something that just kind of happen naturally?
Well I think it is a little of both to be honest. Since this is my first release on my own I was actually able to mold it into exactly what I envisioned. With that ability I compiled an eclectic sound. I have not been able to do this in any other project I have been apart of before. I intended Like Lions to evoke a certain kind of emotion that could bend and contort throughout the album and to accomplish that it had to have different styles coming from a pure natural place.
From what I understand Like Lions was an album that was seven years in the making. What took so long to get an official solo release out? Now that it’s out do you plan to try and keep going to solo route?
Actually I started creating Like Lions in September of 2009 and it took about a year to finalize it. I have wanted to put out a solo record for the last few years but I was caught up with The Casual Lust and also BSBD. I actually left San Francisco for the mountains of West Virginia so I would have time to create and record it. I absolutely loved making this record in so many ways from living in an isolated place in the dead of winter to having control over every single sound on the album. I am still working with BSBD and also started a new project this year but between those I am always working on solo songs. So yeah....my solo project will always be en route.
To fans of your work with The Casual Lust what would you say is the same about your solo release and what would you say is the biggest difference?
Thats a good question...Seth Syberg from the Lust and I have a very unique partnership that reflects in the music. He is a very solid musician and with LIke Lions I really had to push my own boundaries and trust within myself and find my own path. Sadly we have not recorded anything new in a couple years so I guess the largest difference would be the lack of Seth's musical ideas and Like Lions stretches to incorporate the electronic sound that the Lust has consciously stayed away from The similarities to me as in the overall feel of both albums would be that the music is collectively dark and haunting.
The instrumentation on the album is really interesting and in some songs your vocals are kind of at the forefront and sometimes the music is kind of feels like the main focus with the music being the main focus. What all did you play on the album and who all else worked on the album with you?
When making the record I really wanted to keep a certain flow for it and also capture the different influences of my own past musical romances. I really enjoy the bare bone sounds and also being able to pick it up and have some electronic influences too. I played keyboard, synth, harmonica, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and all the vocals and lyrics. With that said without Charles Richard who produced, played all drums, electric guitar on the track Evidence and Kurt Johnson who played electric bass and upright bass - Like Lions would not be what it is today. Charles and I really worked well together in terms of how I wanted to record to sound. He and I together got down to the depths of how I wanted every song to grab and chill the listener down to the core. He really understood what I was going for.
You are really well known for the work you did with Blue Sky Black Death. For anyone who doesn’t know the album you did with them could you tell me a little about how that album came to be and what that album has meant to your career?
I was touring with The Casual Lust and got an email from Kingston in BSBD saying that they liked my vocals and lyrics for the Lust and were interested in having me do back up vocals on their next record. So I went to Seattle without ever really being involved with that genre of music and had to kind of learn how to sing in a different manner. My voice changed a lot then. It worked so well that we decided to record a whole record together which became Slow Burning Lights. Working with Ian and Kingston really raised the bar for me musically and broadened my horizons for my own capabilities and allowed more listeners to learn about who I am. I am totally grateful for that experience and am really looking forward to our next release with them which is planned to come out early next year. We are going to be touring for this next album and that will give us both a good amount of exposure which is way over due.
I know on your site it says you are always looking for collaborations are you currently collaborating with anyone? Who would you like to work with given the opportunity?
I started a new project this year with Alexander Goose and we are focusing more on dance/dark pop. That should be out early next year as well. I will always be down to collaborate with anyone who I find talented, work well with and have the same creative visions. I love to sing and I love to be pushed, so my future career will have a lot of growth and new sounds. I am also currently back in the mountains filming an eight part music video series with Hannah Cairns for Like Lions. That should be out in March of next year.
Damn, if I had the chance to work with anyone I think that would have to be Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Drijer of The Knife. They are both such a innovative force in the music world and have been for the last few years and are really inspiring to me. Also Kim Ann Foxman from Hercules and love affair. She is fresh with what she is creating and I like it a lot.
I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have any closing comments you’d like to make?
Just to put it out there that I am still record label shopping for Like Lions it has taken this long because I really want to find a good fit and am totally open to talking with labels with interest in what I am doing creatively.
And -- World Wide Romance - BSBD/YESALEXANDER 2011
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