Member Since: 11/1/2006
Band Website: This is the only place I present my music.
Band Members: Most of the time I record and perform alone.
Influences: There are many, so I will keep it down to the most important.
David Bowie for albums such as 'Heroes', 'Lodger' and 'Low'. I love the harshness of the sound on 'Heroes' A side, and the energy and grit of 'Lodger'.
Lou Reed for all the songs he did with The Velvet Underground, but mostly for 'Berlin', which is one my favourite pop albums of all time.
Morrissey for all the songs he sang with The Smiths, and for the honesty and emotion in his solo work.
Leonard Cohen for always being there to sulk with! The atmosphere he creates is second to none. I adore 'Various Positions' but I am also very fond of the synth pop he dabbled in. Tracks such as 'The Future' and 'I'm Your Man'.
Olivier Messiaen for the vivid colour of his music. I prefer his chamber music to his orchestral stuff. 'Vingt Regardes' (spelling?) and Quartet For The End Of Time are my favourites of his.
Charles Ives for the bravery and power of his music. I love it's ability to make your jaw hit the floor when you realise just what he is doing in the piece. If you've never heard his music, you should try his fourth symphony. It deserves to be played louder than hell!
John Cage for introducing me to silence and abstraction in general.
Sounds Like: I make a great effort to keep my classical music and my pop seperate. I have never heard the two combined successfully and have no plans to try.
Concerning pop songs, I have always felt that lyrics are the most important thing. I have always liked artists who use sparse and simple music as a blank canvas onto which the words are painted. Other times my pop songs are musically alarming, with unusual melodic and harmonic ideas. It depends, really, on what I'm trying to express. Sadness is usually expressed in simple music, whereas emotions like anger or madness are usually expressed in alarming music.
If pop is where I express myself, classical music is where I don't. Abstraction and experimentation are important to me.
Record Label: Ha ha. None.
Type of Label: None