from freak fighter to lamp lighter

grindy · 11-14-2018, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

If Frown said that everyone would call for an end to his modship

They do anyway.

Key · 11-14-2018, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

interview with MB member Kiiii (AKA Cats With Hats)

subject: Grey by Cats With Hats

https://catswithhats.bandcamp.com/album/grey

Q: I would describe Grey as an experimental dark ambient record. Do you concur with that categorization?

Spot on. Grey is an album that I thought of doing for a long time. Kind of a throwback to my old stuff. It's probably my favorite album I've ever done because it allowed me to really do something that I loved doing. The idea behind it came from a walk home at night one day and I decided that I wanted to make an album that reminded me of the rainy and cold seasons that I tend to enjoy more. The more I thought about it, the more the album cover, name, and music within made sense. I wanted to give the listener an idea of what goes on in my head and I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do. This will be an album that I'll eventually create a sequel to as I do with Songs For the Dead and Songs for the Living.

The album title specifically is meant to follow the theme of depression, anxiety and dark stormy nights.

OccultHawk · 11-14-2018, 04:19 PM

It’s only about 25 minutes long. I feel like you’re part of a movement that is redifining and adding ambiguity to music as an art form that takes place over the course of time as opposed to say paintings that exist in time instead of for an amount of time. An obvious example of what you transcend is a slow blues track that’s only longer because it takes more time to get through the repetition of notes. What I’m saying is it seems to me that any of the tracks on Grey could get away with being much longer if you wanted to let the mood linger but instead you settled on a less is more approach and move on once the sonic statement has been established. What can you tell us about the length of the tracks from a compositional standpoint?

Key · 11-14-2018, 04:34 PM

I'd say it could be a number of things. I've made songs that are 5+ minutes long and sometimes more but with the way I make music, I feel like length just allows for more repetition and less focus on what I'm trying to convey. Not to say I couldn't make longer tracks, but the tracks I make are more often than not meant to have an immediate push, somewhat. Along that, I tend to get bored if I work on one track for too long because I begin to lose sight of what I want the song to convey. In a lot of ways, I make the music that I hear in my head, and if it sounds like what I want, I go with it. There's rarely any cutting or shortening of tracks especially if it turns into something I really like. I tend to not worry about structure as much either because I've found that mixing together different sounds and turning them into something else is far more gratifying than going with something that is noticeably familiar. Sometimes my tracks will skip, sometimes there'll be a slow pause before something else happens. And sometimes I just add more to a track just because I want to. No real reasoning behind it in those cases.

In other cases however, I have made tracks that I had little to no idea of what I wanted to sound like. I just think of a certain sound from an instrument and try to implement that in some way. You'll sometimes hear synths, or violins, or something like that. It all really falls under the concept that I just want the albums that I make to sound like what I thought about.

That is also not to say that I won't have themed albums. I've done them a couple times.

OccultHawk · 11-14-2018, 04:49 PM

Quote:

The idea behind it came from a walk home at night one day

What kind of terrain were you walking through?

Key · 11-14-2018, 05:03 PM

I live in a wooded area so trees all over the place. One long road from the town I live in to my house and lots of trees.

OccultHawk · 11-14-2018, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiiii

I live in a wooded area so trees all over the place. One long road from the town I live in to my house and lots of trees.

Near Seattle? I used to live in the University District.

Key · 11-14-2018, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Near Seattle? I used to live in the University District.

I'm a freeway away from Seattle basically but I'm much closer to Renton and Kent. I saw Sparks at a venue in the U District. Not my favorite place to go but it has a lot of cool shops.

OccultHawk · 11-14-2018, 07:39 PM

Quote:

The album title specifically is meant to follow the theme of depression, anxiety and dark stormy nights.

Is anxiety and depression channeled into your music?

Key · 11-14-2018, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Is anxiety and depression channeled into your music?

Yes. Probably the biggest inspiration for the music and how it sounds. I used to write poetry as a kid and was almost published at one point. After I fell away from that, music was the next thing I wanted to try. I saw members here doing things with music that I thought was so cool. That's what pushed me to start #####, my previous noise project. After that, I just kept trying to do new things and eventually I began really really enjoying what I was doing. I don't think the sound I go for is anything unique or special but it's the type of music that again, let's me express how things feel in my head. Sort of a bridge between my problems with anxiety and depression and my love for music. I get some of the most satisfaction out of making a track and finding myself loving it more and more. I typically will listen to the tracks I make at least 3 to 4 times. Sometimes it's to decide if I wanna release it and other times I think of things I wanna add. My mental state definitely has had and continues to have a pretty prominent influence in my music.

I'm also a big fan of taking hikes and walks and when I'm out and about, I find a ton of inspiration. It could be simply looking at a batch of trees and thinking of how that particular area would sound, if that makes sense. I'm born and raised in Seattle so that's why you'll notice that I favor themes that have to do with cloudy and dark weather and forested areas. My Songs for the Living album is a pretty good example of this.

All in all, anxiety and depression give the most inspiration out of anything.

11-14-2018, 04:19 PM	#723 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,006	It’s only about 25 minutes long. I feel like you’re part of a movement that is redifining and adding ambiguity to music as an art form that takes place over the course of time as opposed to say paintings that exist in time instead of for an amount of time. An obvious example of what you transcend is a slow blues track that’s only longer because it takes more time to get through the repetition of notes. What I’m saying is it seems to me that any of the tracks on Grey could get away with being much longer if you wanted to let the mood linger but instead you settled on a less is more approach and move on once the sonic statement has been established. What can you tell us about the length of the tracks from a compositional standpoint? __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

11-14-2018, 04:34 PM	#724 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	I'd say it could be a number of things. I've made songs that are 5+ minutes long and sometimes more but with the way I make music, I feel like length just allows for more repetition and less focus on what I'm trying to convey. Not to say I couldn't make longer tracks, but the tracks I make are more often than not meant to have an immediate push, somewhat. Along that, I tend to get bored if I work on one track for too long because I begin to lose sight of what I want the song to convey. In a lot of ways, I make the music that I hear in my head, and if it sounds like what I want, I go with it. There's rarely any cutting or shortening of tracks especially if it turns into something I really like. I tend to not worry about structure as much either because I've found that mixing together different sounds and turning them into something else is far more gratifying than going with something that is noticeably familiar. Sometimes my tracks will skip, sometimes there'll be a slow pause before something else happens. And sometimes I just add more to a track just because I want to. No real reasoning behind it in those cases. In other cases however, I have made tracks that I had little to no idea of what I wanted to sound like. I just think of a certain sound from an instrument and try to implement that in some way. You'll sometimes hear synths, or violins, or something like that. It all really falls under the concept that I just want the albums that I make to sound like what I thought about. That is also not to say that I won't have themed albums. I've done them a couple times.

11-14-2018, 05:03 PM	#726 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	I live in a wooded area so trees all over the place. One long road from the town I live in to my house and lots of trees.