Interversity: Chris Connelly

Multi-dimensional singer/songwriter Chris Connelly is the concentration of this week's Interversity. After gaining recognition as an integral member of the late 80s/early 90s industrial scene (Ministry, KMFDM, Pigface, Revolting Cocks, Murder, Inc.), the Chicago-based Scot turned to more intimate recordings culminating in the acoustically dense and hypnotically plodding The Episodes released in late May. He graciously took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for us.



Chris Connelly - "The Son of Empty Sam" - The Episodes (Durto Jnana 2007)

1. In the last twenty years, you have evolved artistically from being an elite player in the highly productive industrial scene of the late 80s/early 90s into a highly lyrical, avant-pop singer/songwriter; has this musical progression been a conscious stylistic shift through the years or was it more an unconscious maturing process as a musician? Do you ever look back and try to decipher how exactly the evolution took place? Any significant turning points?

It certainly has never been a premeditated or conscious shift, I have always been a lover of melody, and a lover of poetry, as well as a lover of extreme noise, before I was involved with bands like ministry, I had been friends a frequent correspondent with bands like Throbbing Gristle, Nurse With Wound and Current 93 (and still remain so) these were bands (or artists rather) who I thought managed to combine great beauty with really horrific imagery. It was actually through Genesis P Orridge that I discovered the music of Pearls Before Swine, Tiny Tim, Leonard Cohen.. and Muzak! I spent my teenage years listening to a lot of Throbbing Gristle and Barry Manilow!! often at the same time!

2. Personally, the most stunning characteristic of The Episodes is how such urgent, enigmatic and intense music can be created with solely acoustic instrumentation; was this a sound you were seeking from the get-go of production, or was it a welcomed by-product of a particular songwriting process?

This was all very spontaneous-we were (most of the time) all playing at the same time in the same room-or in the same forest, the urgency generated by being empathetic to what the other musicians were doing, and reacting to this, a lot of giddy heights can be obtained by playing with just the right people in the right situation, it does not happen often, in fact, I had not felt like that since the Shipwreck album of 1994, and before that, my first band THE FINI TRIBE in the very early '80's.

3. How much influence has working with musical innovators Tim Kinsella and Ben Vida had on your own songwriting? Was it more of a collaborative process or an elaboration on previously written songs?

Well, Tim and Ben helped me ditch my inhibitions, they also-especially Ben, helped me simplify what I had written -I came to them with the songs first- you know- "why is that chord change there? does it have to be?" and I found that yes, I have thrown in chord changes because I felt I should, with The Episodes, I think I discovered repetition as a way to perhaps enhance what I was singing, it meant I started paying a lot more attention to the lyrics, and they made me feel that I did not need to be restricted by time, traditional song structure, and editing of the words.

4. The loose, spooky “Soul Boys/Hard Legends” was field recorded deep in the woods of Wisconsin; what spurred on this exploratory recording technique? Was the song performed written particularly for that setting and session?

"Son of Empty Sam" was also recorded mostly out doors too- this was Tim's idea: we had decided to record a few versions of a couple of the songs, in different situations and with different people, the idea being that we would edit together definitive versions later-A trip out to the country for a weekend meant that we could really fly without a parachute, and also get away from any of the usual connections that we have at home, we could play as late and as loud as we wanted. "Soul Boys" was a mixture of recordings from the forest, and a studio improvisation, along with a poem read by a Scottish friend, it actually was the most radical piece of the album because we abandoned so much of the original concept-which was kind of a soul song! I walked into the whole recording with an attitude though of NOT being so attached to what I had written that I could not see the material ripped to shreds and reassembled, I am very happy about that.

5. For your next musical venture, do you plan on continuing to explore a similar tribal, collaborative sound heard on The Episodes, or are you planning on heading in a different direction? Is it that premeditated or more of an in-the-moment songwriting decision?

I enjoyed the process of making the episodes so much that I am sure to approach the next album with perhaps the same attitude, and probably an attitude of "well, how can we make this more extreme?" Everyone who worked on the album had a great time, and I want to see us all having the same enjoyment again, and, yes, I have written a lot of what will become the next record.

Audiversinquiry (10 questions we ask everyone)

1. What did you specifically remember listening to as a child that triggered a notable response?

Hymns.
2. Let’s say you are heading across town this moment and will have time to listen to one complete album during the trip, what would you listen to?

E.S.P. by Miles Davis.

3. Are there any other media that you draw inspiration from? Books, authors, painters, actors, movies, celebrities, etc?

I draw most of my inspiration from crime fiction these days, the song "Mirror Lips" from the new album is inspired in part by "The Sculptress" by Minette Walters. I also really like Highsmith, Ian McEwan, Dorothy B. Hughes, Cornell Woolrich, Ruth Rendell, James Lasdun, Hugo Wilcken, Jim Thompson & Ian Rankin, to name but a few.

4. Where do you go to discover new music and sounds?

Listening to music is a pleasure for me, I enjoy it tremendously, but it is no longer a source of direct inspiration for me musically, I do a lot of my writing whilst riding the train or walking around, or as I am falling asleep at night, then later, in silence, I can piece together a composition. I tend to not discover new music or sounds, I certainly hear things I like, but I am too focused on trying to make sense of my own methods to take anything else in-However, this did not used to be the case, it was different when i was younger.

5. What question do you get most often that you hate answering?

Why I no longer play the music that I used to, and when am I going to start doing it again?

6. Favorite instruments or specific sounds?

Bagpipes!

7. The record store is closing in ten minutes and you are hell-bent on buying something before they close, what section do you head immediately towards?

Jazz.

8. What is the last notable daydream you had and where did it take place?

Walking by lake Michigan this morning at 7 a.m. with my son.

9. What is the perfect album to you? Are there any? Is it possible?

There are different kinds of perfect album, I think The Drift by Scott Walker is perfect as it is an incredible & visceral journey into the psyche of one man, and then way beyond. I think Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt is perfectly beautiful, as do I think is In a Silent Way by Miles Davis and The Sinking of the Titanic by Gavin Bryars, but all for different reasons.

10. Do you keep up with blogs? Which do you read if so?

I do not, I have not ever read one, I am very, very economical with my time so when I am not working or looking after my son, I am writing, cooking, or reading a crime novel!