The Fleeting Nature of Forms: Like with all bands that Bindrune releases, there seems to be a theme
running through all the releases in regards to nature and the
surroundings. Is this a conscious decision or does this happen
organically? Bindrune seems to focus on
excellence and bands with a similar aesthetic. How has it been
working with such a forward thinking label like Bindrune?
Marty
at Bindrune is very particular about the type of band he works with
and he has certainly nurtured a very apparent cohesion for his label.
It seems an organic process to me. All the bands do their own thing,
write the music they want to write, and if it's appropriate to be
released under the banner of Bindrune then that's that, so to speak.
It takes a percipient ear and eye on the part of Marty. I'm partial
to labels with a strong identity (think early 4AD, Drag City, Takoma,
ECM) so I'm appreciative of the way Marty approaches and presents his
own label.
The Fleeting Nature of forms: How does being from Maine affect the overall sound of Falls of
Rauros? What is that area like and is it receptive to metal bands?
The
population is pretty low in Maine, especially outside of the greater
Portland area. We all live in Portland, however, which is basically a
small city; pronounced emphasis on small. I have some difficulty
distinguishing what about Maine influences our sound anymore. It's
become integrated and transparent. Close proximity to rural, wooded,
and coastal areas certainly doesn't hurt. We're not hemmed in by some
heavily industrial metropolis nor landlocked and one can breathe a
little easier with that knowledge. Reception to metal bands? The
population doesn't really support a strong metal / punk scene but it
does exist here. There are a handful of good bands any given year but
most quickly dissolve. You can also expect to see the same handful of
people at most shows. It's tight-knit community and that's a
beautiful thing, but by no means is it large or thriving.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms:
Some would say the new digital age has murdered music, but I beg to
differ. It's allowed a huge audience for bands that may have gone
undiscovered years ago. How has the digital age of downloading helped
or hurt the music scene and your band in particular?
Being
an avid music listener and working class I have long supported the
"digital age." Make no mistake, I greatly prefer owning a
record or CD and I used to collect hungrily. The reality of being an
adult means I can no longer purchase ALL the music I want to hear, so
I download and listen to as much music as I want and buy whatever I
can afford of the music I really love, or to support touring bands,
like-minded musicians, and whatnot. I'd rather strike a balance than
forego hearing all the world's wonderful music in some martyric
display of commerce-worship. I don't think martyric is a word but now
it can be. I would say undoubtedly that downloading music has helped
our band, as well as word-of-mouth via the internet.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms:
I'm always interested in the mystery and sacredness of music. When my
friends and I were watching Neurosis play a few weeks ago, he said,
"this is the closest thing i get to church. This is my church."
Music is so important to me on so many levels, it's hard to explain
to someone that is a casual listener. It's an unspoken brotherhood.
How and why do you think it's become so enthralling for all of us?
What bands were the catalysts that inspired you to pick up the
guitar?
Underground
music in particular (and its concomitant community) is so important
to those involved for innumerable reasons. I think a lot of it has to
do with self-identity and social identity on an intimate and tangible
scale. It's a place of retreat in a world that would bar all exits
and lethally arm its sentries. In its ideal form, underground music
is as minimally influenced as possible by the ubiquitous wage economy
considerations and offers emotional or "spiritual" egress
from our daily anxieties. The creation and experiencing of music has
the potential to be something close-to-pure in a sea of impurity.
I
don't recall any particular catalyst for wanting to learn guitar. I
think it stemmed from listening to primarily guitar-based music back
when I was 12 (or whenever it was) and picked up the instrument. It
seemed like the most practical and accessible medium for expression
at the time.
We're
all on the same page about not wanting to repeat ourselves; not
wanting to churn out another album for the sake of churning out
another album. On the other hand we don't want to forsake the
personality of the band to achieve gaudy variety or a specious
maturity. Evolving the sound has been a pretty organic process and
the key is communication. We'll talk about where we see an album or a
specific song going; what direction it's naturally taking and in what
direction it may need to be urged and encouraged. Improvisation and
"happy mistakes" play a part early in the process, as well
as keeping an open mind and being willing to drastically rearrange or
entirely eschew ideas previously worked on.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms: One concept for creative souls was the idea that there is a well that
we are all drawing from. Some universal spring where all ideas rest
waiting to be discovered. I'm always curious where the ideas come
from, and when an idea or passage clicks, it's very surreal. There is
almost no better feeling than writing your way out of a corner or
discovering some new creative terrain. Where does Falls of Rauros
draw their inspiration from sonically, lyrically and musically?
We
try to maintain an egalitarian dynamic in the band which ultimately
makes pinpointing inspiration difficult. The four of us have our own
motivations and fascinations which are, more often than not,
compatible with a little work and thought. We're not of the mind that
music springs forth in a passionate fury from some sleepless genius,
fully realized and epoch-ending. That's a romance perpetuated by
entities like VH1 in the interest of myth-making (and entertaining TV
specials). This is especially true if you're working as a band, and
not one individual, to compose an album. We proffer ideas and tinker
with them. Discuss and experiment. It's less of a "well" of
inspiration and more of an entire world of inspiration we pluck from
discerningly, stand back, observe, and press on until some semblance
of satisfaction is detectable.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms: I've been writing novels, short stories and flash fiction pieces
after writing musical passages. What I've found is that the piece
itself can be fairly effortless to write, but coming up with a title
is always the most challenging. How does Falls of Rauros decide on
the titles for albums and songs?
I've
used a pretty wide range of approaches to titling songs. Sometimes
they are pulled from a phrase or line in that particular song; other
times it's an idea related tangentially or in an abstract manner to
the song. For example something that conjures an image, or feeling,
texture, anything of the sort. Other times I've pulled titles from
writers or other musicians. "Awaiting the Fire or Flood that
Awakes It" is a line from Gary Snyder's "The Practice of
the Wild" that I felt represented the lyrics of that song
perfectly. "The Light that Dwells in Rotten Wood" is of
course from H.D. Thoreau. "Ancestors of Shadow" and
"Ancestors of Smoke" were both adopted from a song by the
late Jason Molina in a gesture of commemoration of his life and
music.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms: There seems to be a giant stick up the ass of the black metal
community. The purists of this genre are some of the most vocal
critics of just about everything. Being a band that doesn't rely on
several hundred blast beat passages, have you experienced any
backlash from the black metal community?
To
an extent, certainly. The deification of orthodoxy and the
exclusionary attitudes prevailing in the black metal scene are, in my
opinion, glaring faults while simultaneously alluring and endearing.
It's an art form people hold very dear to the extent of lashing out
exaggeratedly at any perceived insurgency or incursion by outsiders.
This has resulted in tiresome (largely internet hosted) slander and
persecution by the scene's affronted and scandalized adherents. We've
never considered ourselves strictly a black metal band but I would
say that's the closest point of reference if you don't want to get
too pedantic about sub-genres. As someone who fell in love with
Bathory and Ildjarn when I was 14 and earlier cut my "metal"
teeth on, let's face it, uncool bands like Blind Guardian and Jag
Panzer I wouldn't consider myself to qualify as one of those
pernicious outsiders.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms: Aside from metal, is there any other style of music that you like?
What bands are you currently listening to? Favorite albums of the
year?
The
four of us listen to plenty of seemingly disparate and "incompatible"
music. All of us in the band are pretty voracious music fans and that
demands branching out of your comfort zone at least some of the time.
Folk related music, early Country, early Blues, Jazz, songwriters,
Classical, it's a little ridiculous to name such broad genres of
music; nothing of substance is communicated. The bottom line is: the
four of us have our own taste.
Personally
I've been digging through late-era John Coltrane recordings and
finding some (then) rather iconoclastic gems. I've been repeatedly
visiting numerous Cecil Taylor albums the past month or two. As with
Mississippi John Hurt. That man was profusely talented. Art Blakey
and his percussive élan is worthy of celebration. Albums of the
year, off the top of my head, would have to include Obsequiae's "Aria
of Vernal Tombs", Akitsa's "Grands Tyrans",
Panopticon's "Autumn Eternal" and Six Organs of
Admittance's "Hexadic." I've yet to hear a note of it but I
can safely expect Joanna Newsom's "Divers" to be one of the
year's best, if not THE best.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms:
Drawing inspiration from suffering has been the traditional route for
most artists. There is an unlimited supply of heartache in this
world. Music is the light and the darkness. As artists, do you feel
that we have a duty to inspire or inform or simply provide a light in
the darkness? What is the overall goal of Falls of Rauros?
The
foremost goal for Falls of Rauros I would say is simply writing
music. Composing, arranging, recording, being creative with what
tools we have. Lyrically I usually draw from emotions bordering on
desperation, depression, anger, social impotence, and any armada of
clichés I could relay to you. Those are perfectly appropriate
emotions that inevitably accompany life in the world as we've come to
know it. Look around you. I've no pedagogic aspirations through Falls
of Rauros; the lyrics and their attendant message are primarily
personal outpourings which, as a human being in the greater community
of human beings, of necessity touch upon issues in the world outside
myself.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms: How was the Shadow Woods Festival? Will there be any national tours
in the near future?
Shadow
Woods was fantastic. It had an intimate, close-knit atmosphere and a
broad palette of musical variety on display. Camping is a favorite
pastime of ours so any opportunity to play a show followed by tenting
out shouldn't be passed up. Everybody there seemed to enjoy
themselves. As far as a national tour is concerned it's tough to say.
We're hoping to play out a considerable amount next summer, hopefully
quite far from home, but plan on few-to-zero shows until then. Winter
hibernation.
The Fleeting Nature of Forms: Is there anything you would like to say that hasn't been mentioned yet?
No,
I guess not. Thank you so much for the interview.
You can hear it at their bandcamp site ...
Falls of Rauros
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