[Moshe]

http://www.noisemag.net:80/?p=1119

[sonicl]

'La Politica Institucional de Seguridad en la Informacion XXXXX, restringe actualmente el acceso a esta pagina web.

Reason: The Smartfilter category "Entertainment/Recreation/Hobbies;Personal Pages;Streaming Media"is filtered.

URL: http://www.noisemag.net/?p=1119

Grrrrr. Bloody firewalls.

[SYRFox]

Yeah! Noise is the best french magazine, by far, I own all their issues (including the ones with the previous names, Versus). They had already done a SY interview for Rather Ripped, it was really cool, their interview are always great

[Moshe]

please let us know what thurston says.

[SYRFox]

Okay I just read the interview, I'll translate it later. Thurston talks about Trees Outside The Academy and the creation of Trees' songs. He then says he's ready to make another LP, called "3". After that, he speaks about Magik Markers and Ecstatic Peace, saying that the label's gonna release an Emeralds/Tusco Terror split, then a Dylan Nyoukis & Jaap Blonk double-LP, the Leslie Keffer live cassette, and Tall Firs, Awesome Color, Be Your Own Pet, and finally Free Kitten and Andrew WK albums.
After brief questions about Arthur magazine, Magik Markers again, Coco, he speaks about Sonic Youth, saying that "After the New Year, Sonic Youth will get together to record fuckin' good music, Kim and I also worked on new Mirror/Dash tracks that we're going to record soon."
Full translation coming...

[SYRFox]

Here it is, the translation is not perfect at all but I think the main thing is understandable

Trees Outside The Academy sounds very calm and intimate with that violin and feminine choirs, but we still recognize your composition method that we find in Sonic Youth, which differences exist between the two processes?

There's no difference in songwriting terms, but in the execution/playing, yes, of course. With Sonic Youth, I usually bring my songs, transpose them on electric guitar, then I show the structure to the band and every member creates his part or makes modifications, the track becomes a collective work. There, I let the tracks at their acoustic state, I just changed instrumentations, chose a violin instead of a second guitar. I wrote all the bass parts but Samara Lubelski and Steve Shelley brought their contributions, respectivly on violin and drums, with some "commandments" from myself, sometimes.

Why did you choose a general acoustic sound?

I just wanted to create an acoustic space, in opposition to an electric space, but still staying on pop rock compositions in the Sonic Youth style.

"American Coffin' is a special track, a piano instrumentation that reminds a bit of Harold Budd's work, can you talk about it?

It's a piano improvisation finishing a noise guitar track that I was working on for a split with Italian duo My Cat Is An Alien. I think about releasing a piano-improvisation album in this style, it's an "insight". It was transcribed by a pianist and played under the title "From The Earth To The Spheres" - that's the one on the split with My Cat Is An Alien - in New York, on Pierre Boulez's (a compositor) birthday ceremony, a few years ago. But that's me playing the Trees Outside The Academy's version. I was thinking to the Bush administration, the pression it exercises on medias "for them not to show" dead soldiers coming back to the USA from the fiasco war in Iraq tombs.

On your album, we find Jay Mascis guitar solos, it gives it a very emblematic Dinosaur Jr / 90's connotation, what do you think about it?

I think that You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur Jr is one of the best discs ever, it was a major influence for us by the time of Daydream Nation, back in 1988, so if there's past influence, she'd be more of the 80's, not 90's.

A lot of time has flew between Psychic Hearts and Trees Outside The Academy, do you want to give more importance to your solo adventure on the future or do you want to continue at this rythm?

I'm already ready to make a third LP, it will be called 3. I have always wanted to release an album with a number as title, and three is the best number, at least before 7 and 666.

Magik Markers, signed on your label Ecstatic Peace are also on the summary of this magazine, Boss, their last album, is one of my 2007 favorite albums, how did you met them and decided to sign them?

They come from Hartford, in Connecticut, near where I live (in Northampton, Massachusetts), so I saw them play at their beginnings, when they were called Black And Blue Magic Markers. I thought that they melted perfectly the rock primal energy and a more intellectual noise experimentation. I, too, think Boss is fantastic.

What are the label's next projects?

An Emeralds / Tusco Terror split, they're two bands from Ohio. A Dylan Nyoukis & Jaap Blonk double LP: strange vocal improvisation. A live cassette of the noise musician Leslie Keffer, on which she plays with Kim and me. And albums by Tall Firs, Awesome Color and Be Your Own Pet. A new Free Kitten album, with Kim, ex-Pussy Galore Julie Cafritz and Yoshimi (Boredoms) and a piano disc Andrew WK are also coming.

You write in the magazine Arthur, how is it going? What are your future publications projects?

Byron Coley and myself write a colon, with reviews of underground books and albums that we collect, we have a total liberty.
Abrams is about to release (Spring 2008) an illustrated history of no-wave, written by the both of us. It'll be different from the book released by Black Dog, because we focused on main founders of the movement, and because 98% of the pictures are previously unseen. It's going to be great.

In an interview, Elisa from Magik Markers said: "I discovered Sonic Youth the same year that I first got the tongue of a guy in my mouth and that I first got my "periods"... What a year!", I thought that funny, being of the same generation as her I wondered if it's the kind of quotes that makes you proud, because often the band you're listening to when you're adolescent have much more importance than those who follow.

The fact that Elisa had a so exciting year with us as soundtrack gives even more value to what we do, and I'm really serious!

I think that Coco is actually entering into the adolescence, what are her favorite bands? Have you two got common tastes?

Coco loves listening to big 60's bands as The Kinks, The Who, The Beatles or Tudor Lodge whose CD are all around our house. She also really loves the Ramones. She also likes actual bands, like Teagan and Sarah, The Shins, Yeah Yeah Yeahs: they are her bands of the moment. A few years ago she was into adolescent pop and it was really interesting for me to hear that because I would never have listened to that: good marshmallow and formatted sounds.

In Sonic Youth last albums review, we often find the term "Adult rock", for you is it a good or bad term?

I take it in a realist way, I don't want to be more than I am, and I am an adult, that's certain. However, I think we kept a childhood light in us, and it's really precious.

You always seem to be enthusiastic about the music, with Sonic Youth you still help new underground bands by taking them on your tours, what are your favorite bands at the moment?

When you discover new exciting bands, it's always influencing in a way. You're only new once, even if you can re-invent you you'll never find the primal force of the beginning. Those first "jolts" are always the most special ones. We like the bands that experiment with the concept of rock as artistic expression. These times, I'm into Prurient, Hush Arbors, Metal Mountain, Religious Knives, Mouthus, Emeralds...

Recently, you played the whole Daydream Nation album live on many festivals, why? You also released a book about cassettes, tape-trading, etc, but you don't seem that nostalgic, because you still listen to new bands.

I am nostalgic, I love looking back in the past and using this as inspiration, but I don't substitute the past to the present. It's really pleasing to play Daydream Nation, because it brings me back at a time that's now intellectually past, I wasn't a father, I had no responsabilities, in a sens it's just like a youth dream that would be hollistic.

What are your projects, Kim projets, Sonic Youth projects on the coming months?

After the New Year, Sonic Youth will get together to record fuckin' good music. Kim and me also worked on new Mirror/Dash tracks that we're going to record soon. Lately, Kim has dedicated herself to Art: she exposed a bit everywhere, and recently at the Iguana Pop gallery, in Barcelone.

[Moshe]

Thanks SYRFox! This is very informative. I should add some of the stuff listed here to the sonic 2008 thread.

[andrei]

Thanks both of you!

[Bal]

woohoo
nice!

[barnaclelapse]

Rock on.

Thanks.

[Everyneurotic]

notwithstanding the mars travolta on the cover, it seems like a sweet issue. today is the day, savage republic, pinback, dub trio, electric wizard, blut aus nord and the slits.

by the way: andrew wk?!