ASVA (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for taking your time. What’s currently going on with ASVA?
Not a great deal… I’m writing quite a lot of music these days, some of it geared towards Asva (A new full length is written) and some geared towards other projects. Asva isn’t really playing live at all these days but I would like to see a tour happening in support of Presences Of Absences and hopefully including some of the new material I’ve been working up. The other guys (with the exception of Greg Gilmore) haven’t even heard any of the new tracks so I’m not sure what the response will be. It’s different.
– First of all, could you please share some history of the band?
Asva started as a duo, just Brad Mowan and myself. We would bring people in who’s enthusiasm and talents seemed appropriate; Jessika Kinney, Dylan Carlson, Trey Spruance, Troy Swanson… lots of really great musicians have been involved over the years. Brad and I went our different ways when our opinions of what Asva was from a musical standpoint diverged; I wanted to go into a more contemporary composer-ish realm and experiment with liturgical themes, he wanted a sonically heavier, more direct approach. It didn’t help that I had also become very frustrated with the recording process we generally worked with; it sounded great but was expensive and the methods and ideas I wanted to delve into simply couldn’t happen due time and budgetary confinements. The current group (myself, Toby Driver, Greg Gilmore, Jake Weller) is much more relaxed and not all that interested in being ‘doom’ or any genre specific label at all. A lot of doors have opened up creatively by having no preconceived notions of what Asva has to be.
– And why did you pick «Asva» as the band’s name? Both its origin and meaning.
Asva… I picked it up while reading about thoroughbred horses. It’s a sanskrit word that means ‘Horse’ and I think describes a particular horse- one that is beneficial- but I’ve never delved that deeply into it’s origins or true meaning. I spent a lot of time on my grandparents ranch as a boy and spent lots of that time astride a quarter horse working cattle or just riding for the shear pleasure of it. Domesticating the horse changed everything, I expect more profoundly than the invention of the wheel.
– Your latest opus is «Presences of Absences»; are you satisfied with it and the feedback it got?
I am. I expected people to have real questions as to the general direction because it is quite a step off from previous work- particularly due the influences of Greg and Toby- but the direction is one I’ve been messing with for a very long time and ‘What You Don’t Know Is Frontier’- if I’d had my way- would have been a much clearer step in this direction and might have explained things. P of A is one of those records that takes a while to digest and wrap your head around, luckily most reviewers has patience enough to do the work the record requires. Much like a good novel there is a lot of subtext, much going on below the surface that doesn’t make itself readily apparent.
– For all those who haven’t heard it yet; how could you describe this new album?
A sonic prayer; worship for the non-believer.
– To start getting a bit more into this new CD; why and how did you entitled it «Presences of Abscences»? Would you mind to elaborate a bit on the lyrics?
The title came from a paragraph in the novel ‘Jayber Crow’ by Wendell Berry. There is much in the book that I respond to and this little phrase in the context he used it paralleled so much of my own interpretations of life and how we fit into the grand scheme of it all, without bringing some religious element in as the ‘explainer’. I can’t explain the motive behind Toby’s libretto but his sense of fitting the lyric and choral timbre to accentuate a sort of contemporary liturgic orchestration added so much. I’d have liked what he did even if he’d taken the Cocteau Twins route; he could have pulled it off sans lyrics altogether.
– And what about the artwork? Who crafted it, what does it represent, etc.
Jeff Sandridge is the artist behind the monotypes ‘Baby Bird’ and ‘Nest’ He’s done several pieces for music I’ve been involved with… ‘Horse’ from Burning Witch and ‘Head’ from Sunn 00Void are also his creations, monotypes as well. The quote from Jayber Crow is of course there and sits within a color scheme I pulled from Joseph Albers ‘Interaction Of Color’ and the photo of the dead horse, well. That horse holds a whole lot of implications, Asva of course, death and changing modes, sorrow, and to top it off it belonged to my brother Michael. What I tried to do (with some success I think) is combine all these elements and create something that reflects both the passing of time and the illusion of change happening while that time passes. Many things of course do evolve and sometimes abruptly change but the crucial stuff, the love, children, need of home, death, acceptance, loss, forgiveness, etc, the real building blocks of what it means to take part in all of this remain concrete. I have a deep respect for the well worn, the trod upon, the door latch that has been opened and closed a hundred thousand times and the patina from all those hands.
– I could say this album has a different feeling compared to your previous efforts, is it maybe your most complete and mature record thus far?
I could say the same thing as well! As I’d mentioned earlier ‘What You Don’t Know Is Frontier’ could have been a more obvious a step in this direction had the ideas I had for that record been implemented; it’s a good record for sure but in the end it really doesn’t represent what I’d have liked it to from an emotional standpoint. At the time there were many cooks in the kitchen (so to speak) all of whom had vastly differing ideas of what the recording should represent so it ended up being not quite as focused as I’d have liked. ‘Presences Of Absences’ I think sounds considerably more focused and is completely unconcerned with ‘being’ something specific and in that respect it is vastly more mature than not only WYDKIF but everything I’ve ever done that came before it.
– In fact, though you have always been an innovative and a really orginal act, I could say this time you have gone even further, bringing your experimentation to the next level. Was this something you aimed for or was just a natural evolution?
Thank you! However I don’t hear this music as experimental. The basic components have been around for a very long time and the instrumentation is completely standard, maybe even retro in a way because there are no sequenced parts, no synth… everything on this record was recorded using a microphone- I didn’t even use a DI on the bass guitar- all microphone 100% of the time. Maybe that is experimental? I don’t know the why or the how but the music keeps on coming and it guides me much more than I guide it.
– Due to this really unique sound, I would like to know where do you draw inspiration from to create your songs and sound.
I’m inspired by so much… Varying emotional states really alter what comes out of me creatively and also plays a huge role in the quality of my playing. I tend to work better for longer periods and play cleaner and more effectively when comfortable and happy. I like listening to a variety of music, bands like The Fall and Radiohead, Bad Brains, Guided By Voices, Silkworm, and a good bit of contemporary classical stuff as well; Part, Orff, Penderecki, Ives. People introduce me to stuff I’ve missed- old and new- all the time and frequently I wonder how this or that got past me. My Father recently introduced me to Henryk Gorecki. I’m really enjoying his 3rd and picking it apart somewhat to see if I can figure out how he (Gorecki) so easily manages to bring tears to my eyes.
– And how does the songwriting tends to be like? Is it a spontaneous effort?
Initially it usually is spontaneous, the original sketch at least. The building off of that usually takes a very long time, things like waking up in the middle of the night with an idea sprung from a dream and driving to my rehearsal room to record it or sitting and noodling away on some instrument until something comes into focus… Listening over and over plays a huge role both in time and effort. The hardest part is finally saying ‘it is finished’. Only very rarely does something ever actually come to a ‘finished’ end; usually I just get to a point that it’s time to move on. Regrettably much has been left to the wayside because of this inability to finish writing a piece of music but at some point a few of those ideas will be revisited and maybe utilized. Presences Of Absences feels finished to me largely because of Greg, Toby, and Jake’s contributions… I never would have managed on my own, it never would have been ‘finished’.
– In this album we can find some new ASVA members; what have they brought to the band? Specially Toby Driver (vocals), as I think it has given true magic to your sound.
All the fellows brought such different ideas to the table, completely contrary to what I could have imagined. The previous records were 90% written by me but not this one. It helps, the fact that they know their instruments so well and understand how they can improve a song without stepping all over it and taking over… generally I don’t trust other musicians sense of musical propriety. There were several instances where- upon hearing Greg or Toby’s takes- they threw me (what they had recorded) to the point I felt my playing would need to be altered to accommodate what they had done. They reassured me though, that they had written with the bass primarily in mind, like it drove them to come up with what they did. Working alongside such talented musicians, artists in the truest sense, and hearing this… it made me feel a confidence in my playing that I hadn’t felt in some time. Presences Of Absences would never have happened as it did with anybody else and in some way it is magical. The sessions were magical; we were driven, we spent hundreds if not thousands of hours on it, and we made this thing nobody else had made without sounding silly or quirky or pretentious. I suppose it helps that none of us have those silly, quirky, pretentious characteristics. Well maybe a bit of the silly one. We kept it bottled up while tracking.
– Talking about the line-up, you are the only former member reamining in ASVA; have your goals and expectations change throughout the years?
Absolutely. My approach to music and ideas towards fulfilling musical goals are evolving constantly, slowly in some respects especially regarding things like recording techniques and assuming the role of organist but I do try to better myself and do as good a job as I can and expect the people I play with to put their best efforts forward as well. My expectations of others whom I work with- although high- are still primarily motivated by enthusiasm, originality, and friendship.
– Beside ASVA, you have also played in SUNNO))), BURNING WITCH or GOATSNAKE, bands into a similar music style all of them. Have you ever thought about playing in a band outside the Doom etiquette?
I’ve not thought of Asva as being a ‘doom’ band for quite sometime now and I think that was the only criteria I had regarding Presences Of Absences: it will not be doom. That ‘doom’ stuff, it’s something I did a long time ago, did it well, and moved on. The fact that all that old stuff caught on in such a big way blows my mind… You can’t imagine how hated- almost universally hated- Burning Witch was and now we’re like fucking rock stars to some people. I’d be open to a reunion of sorts if it ever came up but I definitely don’t feel the urge to write one more doomy note. I tried maybe 5 years ago with Edgy 59 (The Poisoned Glass), came up with a pretty good riff and it seemed like it would be worth pursuing, like we might be able to make a record, tour a bit. The truth is I just don’t feel like I did 12 years ago and like all good music you’ve got to feel it.
– Finally, what are your near-future plans? What can we expect from you from now on?
Lets see… Philippe Petit and I have a full length coming out on Small Doses/Basses Frequencies, literally out any minute now and I just finished a score for a short film called ‘Sunyata’ which I’m hoping will find a home. The new Asva recording needs to get going and I’ve got several hours of music written for the next record, so we’ve got plenty to work with. Also I’ve taken on some additional ballet scoring work which is extraordinarily challenging but I’m finding that it makes a fellow think quite a lot about what needs to happen with music in order to reflect- directly reflect- a physical presence, action, or movement. I’m also involved with a pretty intense rock combo called ‘Brokaw’ here in Seattle; our debut recording ‘Interiors’ will be coming out on Good To Die records 23 January. I have no idea about most of what will happen from now on, these things however, they are for sure.
– That has been everything from my side, thank you once more for answering to our questions. If you now want to add some final thoughts, take the last lines.
If you do anything please do it as well as you can.
This has been a long interview! Thank you for it very much and for putting up with my tardiness.
