1. Was this CD really recorded in
a basement and remastered in your apartment? That's incredible!
YES,
about half of the CD was recorded in a friend's basement, and remixed
on a four-tracker in our apartment. The other half
was entirely
recorded
using the four-track, which created endless headaches trying to get
CD quality sound out of the low-tech equipment. One song, "Garland",
was actually mastered to DAT using a demo copy of the original, which
was lost with all of my master tapes in a fire that destroyed my studio
about a year prior to the CD release.
2.
Curt and Holly are married is the working relationship made easier
or more difficult by the personal relationship?
The
personal relationship actually stems from the working relationship.
I had known Holly in
high school, and knew that she sang back then. After running into
her again
a few years later, I asked her if she was still singing. I mentioned
the project I was working on for several months, and that I desperately
needed a vocalist. She instantly turned my music into magic. Suddenly
my music gained new life, and thus I thank her "...for making
my soul come alive." Through the course of opening up my heart
and my emotions through music, we became very good friends, and understood
each other on a level never achieved before. Suddenly, this new love
was developing which far surpassed the emotions of the lostlove my
music
was devoted too.
3.
Are comfortable or uncomfortable with the tags "gothic-ethereal" or "dark-ambient" to
describe the music?
Tags or labels aren't that important to me. I don't mind any of
the terms which people use to describe the sound or emotion I create.
What's
more
important is that people are at least talking about my music, my
art. Honestly, I can't understand so many people's objections to
being placed
in a genre of music. Let's face it, every artist has a sound, vision,
or inspiration taken from a previous work. This is true in music,
painting, architecture....any facet of creativity is just an outgrowth
of one's
past judgments and experiences, developed with a personal flair.
To be placed in an artistic catagory to me is simply describing
similar
visions
or inspirations, for others to gather a sense of what the message
is all about.
4. Many of the songs suggest strong imagery. Do the ideas for the
songs come to you first as sounds or images?
The
ideas come strictly as images,
which are recorded in poetry, then transformed to music.
My first love, and first form of expression is through poetry. Only
when
I rediscovered
a passion for the piano did my thoughts turn to music.
5.The lyrics for the songs are so pained. Was it difficult
to put that much personal pain to music for everyone to
scrutinize?
I
don't think about the opinions of others when I create poems. My
words are honest emotions that I personally
want to capture
and record.
I used
my writing as a form of therapy, to recover from the
loss of a love I thought would never end. Today, those
thoughts
still
haunt
me,
but more
so in that I never want to lose the love that I have
now. I took for granted the love I lost, now I use
my writing
to remind
myself
of the
feelings of true love, and to never lose that feeling
or take it for granted. >The next BLM release is tentatively titled "10,000
Years...or Tomorrow", which represents to me this
ideal of never taking love for granted, because it
could be lost
at any time, if
you don't always treasure it.
6.
Apparently Curt is "poly-instrumental".
What instruments do you play? Are you self-taught
or formally
trained?
On
the first CD, I play piano, sythesizers, bass guitar,
samples and percussion.
On the
next release, I may be adding hammered dulcimer,
trumpet, and even a small accordion piece. I had 1 year of piano
lessons when I was
7 years
old, and 2 years of trumpet when I was 11. Other
than that, I have trained myself. I don't believe I am technically
a
very
good musician...
since
I have very little experience or training. But
what I do have is emotion, which I try to convey through
use
of sounds
and
dynamics,
rather than
technically brilliant lines. My music is honesty,
from
my heart, and I only gather musicians who are as
affected by
the creation
of
sound
as I am.
7.Who are some of the musicians/writers/artists
that inspire and influence you?
My
favorite writer is Edgar Allen Poe, because he can convey any emotion
he feels, and make
the reader
feel
the same.....
My favorite
artists
are the painter Hieronymus Bosch, and the architect
Antonio Gaudi. Their works convey such obscure,
almost horrific
beauty, and
make the viewer
look far beyond the surface and think about
what the artist was feeling, and how the viewer is
moved by
the work. In
a way, I
feel the same
way about my music....creating beauty from
horror (or sadness). Oh yeah,
my favorite musicians....I nearly exclusively
listen to Dead Can Dance, Elijah's Mantle,
and In The
Nursery. I
would call
Black
Tape for a
Blue Girl an influence, because I discovered
the CD "A Chaos of Desire" just
as I was rediscovering the piano, and this
CD in a way gave me permission to create emotional
music
in
the vein
of '80s
ballads
(sounds silly,
but honest....), with an atmosphere of sadness
circling above.
8.
Songs like "nothing seems the same" and "shattering
a silver sky" use a bit more percussions
and even a tribal/Middle Eastern rhythm.
Is that a sound
you
would like
to work more
with in future?
The
sound was not intentional, as I create all of my songs as improvisations.
I guess
these
lyrics just
called for
this type
of sound. I think
that Holly's vocal style also translates
into the MidEast sound, especially
on these two tracks. Yes, there will be
more percussive tracks on future releases, but
I can't say what
the "feel" will
be like. I don't target a particular sound
when I'm writing.....I just
search for my emotion,
or my vision, hit record, and play.....if
something beautiful comes out of it, that's
great. If
not, I leave it, and
return to start
again when
the same or another inspiration strikes
me.
9. Everyone says Projekt Records showed pick up
BLM. Has there been any interest from American
record companies
including though
not exclusively
Projekt?
Projekt,
and Sam Rosenthal in particular, has a vision for his label. Though
I
had approached
Projekt,
I
apparently did not
fit in with
Sam's vision. I am not hurt by this,
because Projekt is an
outlet of artistry
for Sam. I would not want to blur the
vision for someone elses art, just
as I would
not others to
step in the
way of mine.
I am just
thankful that Projekt has picked up
my disc for distribution, which means BLM
will be sold through Projekt, though
not included on the label's roster.
Through Projekt's "of These Reminders" compilation,
I was approached by Palace of Worms.
This label is a dream relationship,
because I am
allowed to create the works I want
to create,
and am not under any pressure to please
a label or producer.
I could
not be
happier with
POW, and have
no intention of ever taking BLM to
another label.
10.
What are the future projects for BLM?
BLM
was recently released on a
German compilation
called "The Dark Ages", and will be released
soon on a new US label compilation called "Precipice".
By the end of the year, or early
next year, BLM will be doing a song
for
a benefit
compilation in Switzerland, to raise
money for PaPau New Guinea. AND hopefully,
by
the spring
of 1999,
the next BLM
CD will
be released on
POW.
11. What is the one feeling you
want listeners of BLM to come away
with?
For those who have lost love, have
faith in that you're emotions are
notunique, and that love may
turn up when
you least expect
it (it may
even be right under your nose).
And for those in ideal love, never
take it for granted......
|
