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First of all - please introduce your band to the world.
Steve: We are Post Death Soundtrack. We are music lovers, and as such, we want to get heavily involved in the musical paradigm as an option for people who want something that reaches in further than the typical (you know who I'm talking about. If not, you probably wouldn't be on this website). And I'm not talking about hanging around planting seeds on the outskirts either. We want in - jump in this cesspool and bring some good news. Tear some greedy faces from the wall and raise the frequency. We hope you can all relate.
How did things get started?
Ken: About 7 years ago I came across an ad in the classifieds regarding an open guitarist position in a band called Inner Surge. I decided to respond, and ended up having a tryout at Steve’s house. I knew right away that he was serious about the music. Before we even touched the guitars we first sat down and went through the lyrical content of the album. He wanted to make sure that I agreed with the message that he was trying to present. We eventually went through the riffs and I was offered a position in the band. Unfortunately I only stayed on board the project for about half a year because I was still in another band at the time called Redswitch. I wasn’t able to keep up with both projects, so I left Inner Surge in order to be fair. Luckily this didn’t hurt our friendship, and instead Steve and I did our best to support each other’s respective bands. Later on him and I started recording music on the odd weekend, because we loved the process of creation, and our sessions always produced work that we were proud of. Eventually we built up a bit of a catalogue and realized that we could take the music further as a formal project. That was a couple years ago, and the official beginning of Post Death Soundtrack, even though some of the songs are at least five years old now.
Steve: Things really took off when we started breaking our own patterns and sense of style. Songs like "War Song" and "Hegemonic Bastards Network". That's when the band became more formal and it's growing far past our initial map at this point.
What are your main influences?
Ken: It’s hard to pinpoint any specific influences because there is always so much going on the in world. Really though, I think passion is a big one. I’ve always admired people who put passion into the things they do. A routine by Bill Hicks stands out in my mind where it he goes berserk on stage demanding that everyone “play from their fucking heart”. I think that sums it up well.
Steve: The culture, the world, our own visions. Tearing apart our own visions in fact! It's refreshing and inspiring sometimes to get right into the center of things where there's no ration and no structure. Some songs such as "War Song" were inspired by indigenous culture survival in a world that at times appears to want them dead. Not the world as a whole but certainly the bulk of the one's making the real calls. Let's be honest. Speaking our truth is the biggest influence that comes from people who have done it in the past, and sometimes were murdered for it. In fact, "Axe of Fiction" was partially inspired by the story of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was murdered after the release of his documentary on the mistreatment of Islamic women titled “Submission". To us, it becomes more than just picking up your instrument and playing a tune. We want to prove a point. We want to speak those dangerous truths, as close as we can get to them. We realize it's not so common these days, but there are plenty of indie bands wearing striped socks singing cartoon music to choose from. Karaoke and radio are available too, so I think it's fair game we take over in our own space and work to spread that aggressively.
How would you describe your music?
Ken: An exorcism. A therapeutic release that takes whatever form it needs to in order to be properly expelled. I think its tough to categorize what we do, other than to say its mood oriented. The style changes from track to track, but there is a common vibe that ties it all together.
Steve: Definitely therapeutic and also trying to go beyond the part of the brain altogether. We're happy to work with elements of rock, industrial, metal, progressive, electronic, acoustic and just plain noisy sounds. Our music does not include 'posturing', one of the things I dislike about much of music today. There's no front, really. Just communication, and I think people get the wrong idea sometimes from our photos, for example.
Your latest album, 'Music as Weaponry', received a good review on our page. What are your opinions on the album yourself?
Steve: Thank you for that. I think we're both still quite happy with the album. We're always inspired and have been working on new material constantly. To date, I feel it's one of the best works I've been apart of and I think I'll always love it for personal reasons.
What is, in your opinion, the best track on the release, and why.
Ken: To be honest, my opinion on that changes from day to day. I think every track has something to offer people who are willing to listen. I feel closer to a particular track depending on my mood and current life situation. There are times when I want to take on the world, and HBN reinforces that for me. Other times I feel weak and vulnerable, and relate to a track like Serenade. However, I guess the one that I have enjoyed the most overall is Euchreist. To me that song marks one of the first times that I was able to get something out lyrically that pleased me. I also like that even though its downtempo, it’s still puts forth a strong, aggressive drive.
Steve: I feel a strong connection to "Axe of Fiction" - it's an emotional song about the state of the world and where religious faith is taking us collectively. There is a hats off to John Lennon's "Imagine" later in the song that I don't think anyone has caught yet. My other favorite would be "HBN". Some of the final lyrics were inspired by an incident of racism I witnessed in downtown Calgary. There is a huge portion of the population that will never shut the tv off, never adopt new ideas and drop old ones, never evolve into something useful for themselves or anyone else, never learn. And it's letting go of that that gives you detachment. I'm working on it, but don't call me detached just yet.
In your biography we read: "A conceptual album, "Music as Weaponry" focuses on the process of belief, it's role in the development of ideological institutions and their relation to ongoing violence, including the death of modern music." This already gives us two questions, why "conceptual" and why this concept for the album?
Steve: It's funny. The concepts came together naturally. I mean, they just happened to be the group of ideas that we were most concerned about. And really, what else is there? How you feel as a person, your place in the world, your connection and growth within yourself, your perception and feelings towards the outer world, your hopes and intentions for it and other people/beings of course. The concepts just came together - also because we tend to have some similar viewpoints. "Music as Weaponry" - well, exactly. This is our weapon. The music, the message, the power of words - we took the attitude that we had this small medium, recording ourselves in a home studio, and we were going to go to war. Sometimes all you have is a pen, and that's enough. And as I said, we love music. So witnessing the death of modern music is a sad thing - turn on the radio. Who are these people and what are these sounds? We don't want that.
How is the industrial metal / alternative scene in Canada?
Steve: It seems we're reaching the end (hopefully) of the indie emo rock phenominon, and hopefully there will be a revival of important work coming through Canada. Am I wrong or has this indie 80's pop emo crossover phase been going on for a long, long time? Let's wake up! I'll give you a pinch!
What are, next to music, your other passions in life?
Ken: I love to learn. It’s my passion for learning that becomes my main drive to do the music we do. I want to share what I have learned, and hopefully create an ongoing dialogue between people. I also really love to travel and experience other cultures. When I was in school I had the opportunity to do an exchange to Singapore, and I have been traveling ever since. It’s nice to go the beyond words and pictures I see on page or website.
Steve: Philosophy, spirituality, politics, travel, martial arts, wing chun kung fu. Moving forward in general. It takes quite a mix to feel fulfilled. You have to be putting effort in on a few different fronts and that's something I've realized lately.
What can we expect of Post Death Soundtrack in 2009?
Ken: Our every effort to expand and get out into the world. We are going to work extra hard to produce more material for everyone to listen to, as well as play a lot of shows. We also have our first music video coming out around the end of February or early March.
Steve: I second that.
The interview ends here, thanks a lot for your time. Got any final words?
Ken: We have a forum at www.postdeathsoundtrack.com for people to get together and communicate, whether it’s about Post Death Soundtrack, or any other topic of interest. We really want to continue building a community , so we encourage you to check it out.
Steve: Now that you're done reading the interview, support the band and buy the album. We'd also like to acknowledge all the Dead can Dance fans across the globe who have been downloading our DCD cover and giving us positive feedback. See you at www.postdeathsoundtrack.com. And Viva 09.
Interview by: Gerardo (January 2009) |
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