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Sonic Boom: Is this an alien? You decide. |
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Spectrum, Jessamine, Magnog
The mother of the artist currently known as Sonic Boom does not call her son "Sonic."
Sonic Boom is a big fan of collaborating with other musicians; some of his past partners include members of My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab and Jessamine. |
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BY ALYSSA ISENSTEIN, 243-2122 EXT. 329 |
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Sonic Boom has never made a secret of his penchant for exploring mind-altering substances and the influence they have on his work. "I think people should be able to take what they want to take," he says. "I don't think prohibition is an answer to any drug problem." These comments came as no surprise, but what happened next during our phone interview did. My Sony tape recorder has always, even under less than ideal circumstances, faithfully recorded conversations. During the conversation with Sonic Boom, it showed no outward signs of malfunction. But when I went to transcribe the tape I discovered that, while my questions and his answers about legal and musical pursuits were perfectly intact, just about everything he said that could be construed as controversial--especially his candid comments on illegal substances--was fuzzed out on the tape! I have since used this same tape recorder without having any similar problems. I could shrug this off as bad luck, but with Sonic Boom? Accidental...or aliens? You decide. Now on with the story. In the early '80s, two young British lads who called themselves Jason Spaceman and Sonic Boom formed a band called Spacemen 3. The moniker was appropriate, as their music sounded like it came from outer space. Combining influences as diverse as gospel, ethnic music, psychedelia and the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3 created a body of work many consider the bedrock of the current space-rock/post-rock/electronica wave. The band's infamous motto was "Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to," which eventually became the title of one of its albums. But in the early part of this decade, due to "irreconcilable differences," Spacemen 3 split into two camps. Jason Spaceman reverted to his given name of Jason Pierce and formed Spiritualized, while Sonic Boom kept his stage name and birthed Spectrum. Spiritualized continued to explore the gospel/rock side that Spacemen 3 had delved into and took the overt and obvious from Spacemen 3--Pierce's vocal and musical delivery. Sonic Boom, on the other hand, took the underlying mood and feel--the "psychedelic" aspect--and applied it to Spectrum, as well as his parallel band/project E.A.R. On a commercial level, Spiritualized has realized more success than Spectrum, but both offshoots have created significant and influential bodies of work. Sonic Boom, the man behind all the noise, quells rumors that he and Jason Pierce are arch enemies. Of Spiritualized, he says, "They're OK." With Spectrum, Sonic Boom straddles the fine line between music and sound in his sonic creations. "Music involves more melody than sound," he says. "Music is made up of two basic elements--change and repetition--and sound can be just repetition. It can be just change as well, but I think music is defined by melody in some way." Spectrum's latest album, Forever Alien, is as much an exploration of the flexibility and tenacity of sound as a record of Sonic Boom's latest musical wanderings. The tools used on this album were almost entirely vintage synthesizers, theremins and oscillators. The sound leaves the listener with the impression of having just visited a psychedelic, outerworldly haunted house. Sounds to Sonic Boom are like colors to painters. "Everything I do is soundscape-based," he says. "Sound is more important than melodic content." Though sounds are his main tool, words are also important. Sonic Boom's ominous, straight vocals dispel notions of doom, confusion and alienation, both psychic and physical, while simultaneously dripping with said notions. "Usually, [the lyrics] are an assist to the music to try and underline what the music is about," he says. Sonic Boom is quick to point out an important difference between what he does and what others, such as John Cage and Stockhausen, have done. "Often, I find the concept better than the actual sounds," he says. "I think the concept should be good, but I think the sound should be just as good." Forever Alien is not an easy album to listen to; it can tax the patience and nerves. But Sonic Boom fulfilled his goal: The execution of sound is just as tidy as the concept--exploring the life of a wayward alien who has spent his entire life on earth. Fact...or fantasy? You decide. |
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