INTERVIEW: SOHN
SOHN began making serious synth waves in 2012 when he released a bunch of slick remixes of artists such as Disclosure, Lana Del Ray and Angel Haze.
SOHN aka Christopher Taylor began making serious synth waves in 2012 when he released a bunch of slick remixes for a bunch of really cool artists such as DISCLOSURE, LANA DEL RAY and ANGEL HAZE.
Since then he has garnered immense critical acclaim for his solo album Tremors, which highlighted that he was more than just a capable producer, he is also a captivating artist in his own right.
He is currently wooing synthtronica fans in the U.S.A with his minimalist yet vibrant set of live shows which he is bringing down under in June. He took some time out to talk to PS about life on the road, life in Vienna and a potential new bromance with TYLER THE CREATOR.....
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Hi Keya, How's it going?
Good, how are you?
I'm good, I'm good....I'm sitting outside a venue in Portland.....
Cool! So you are still in the U.S?
Yeah! We've got like, I think, 6 or 7 more shows...we're nearly at the end of a 2 month stint
Ah cool, yeah well I was wondering what you were getting up to in the U.S.A as I'd read rumours that while in L.A there was a chance you would be collaborating with some potentially big artists and doing some producing for them..... did that happen as part of the touring process or did it occur separately?
Yeah well I've been out about 3 or 4 times to L.A now and each time it's sort of slightly different...and possible working with this artist or that artist and doing some stuff with some people who I can't talk about...y'know and thinking that maybe it might become something but not really being sure it will. It's a funny industry from that point of view....but yeah I did come out briefly before the tour to spend a couple of days writing with a couple of people.....
.... But...you're not allowed to tell us who yet...?
(silence) I can't, I'm afraid!
Ahh that's okay! I was just kind of hoping that I was going to get confirmation that your dream of working with Tyler the Creator had been realised or something....
(laughs) No I can't confirm anything
That's okay.... I mean, I guess it's just that in Australia people know you for Tremors but also for the production work you did for Banks and it was also quite cool to see the work you did for Kwabs as well...I feel like you guys kind of have this cool little creative bromance going....
We do!
Yeah, it's really cool! Personally I wasn't that familiar with Kwabs work until I started exploring your back catalogue a little bit more and I kind of fell down a Soundcloud rabbit hole and now I'm a really big fan of his too!
Oh really? That's amazing!
Yeah, I definitely feel like there is this new generation of musicians who are utilising the power of social media in a really cool way to promote collaborations and tap into each others fan bases and I feel like you're definitely playing a part in that movement! Having said that I'm sure there are a few bands you love listening to that you haven't collaborated with yet...Are there any artists that you're friends with or know of that you would encourage your fans to investigate?
There's a few... and they're quite diverse as well....For example the latest track from anyone in that similar sort of field that I really like is Shura, it's a track called 'Touch'. I think it's really great, she only has the one song out but I'm really interested to see what the next one will be, I've met her a couple of times now...and then you know like, I'm really into Wild Beasts at the moment who are from the UK, well they're actually originally a sort of indie band but they've got this album out called Present Tense which is amazing which I'm actually going to get a remix done for in the next few weeks......so I was basically asked if I could remix something and I was like "Absolutely!" (laughs) Absolutely it was my favourite song of the last 6 months so I'm going to have a crack at that!
So has that been quite interesting now to be in the position where people actually come up to you and and are asking you to remix their work?
Definitely! Well actually it's been strange because it was kind of like that from the beginning...like the Lana Del Ray remix I did...well they asked and I remember not quite really believing or understanding how that had happened.....you know my manager called me and said "Listen we've been asked to do a Lana del Ray remix" and I was like..."What?!?" I was massively perplexed as to how that sort of thing happened!
YES! See it's the power of falling down the Soundcloud rabbit hole, you just click through from one recommended artist to the next and before you know it you've stumbled across someone really cool....
Yeah and the interesting thing with labels now as well, they're starting to think of me as someone who maybe can help to maybe harness or find the characteristics of some of their new acts who haven't released anything, which is really cool. I've done a bit of work with a couple of people who are on Atlantic and RPA and some of those labels really now start to come to me.... for example like the Kwabs experience was very good with Atlantic who he is signed on and now they think of me like "Okay, maybe send them to SOHN and maybe see if we can find out a bit more for the artists and find out what the artist really is" which I really enjoying doing.
It sounds cool! Do you think there could ever be a situation where you would be able to create some sort of cool indie super group where you guys could all get together and perform live!?!
I think that would be soooo sick!
Wouldn't that be amazing!!!!! I'm imagining like you and Kwabs on stage...Banks could make an appearance...
Haha yeah like the Fleetwood Mac of indie music, it could be so cool! I'd be well up for that as long as I don't become some cheesy Dave Stewart figure...I don't want to suddenly start wearing sunglasses all the time and playing a keytar......
It's been quite well documented that you spent some time in Vienna, would you say you're based there now or will you head back to London?
Yeah for all intensive purposes I am. I haven't been home for 2 and a half months but that would be home if there is home.....
Right cos I found it interesting that you made the choice to move to Vienna. Vienna is mostly known for classical music so it's interesting that through your success you have kind of put it back in the musical spotlight with a whole new audience...
Yeah... it's funny like theres a certain part of me when I moved to Vienna who had this very egotistical vision of what I could do when I moved there (laughs) but it felt like....yeah this city is sleeping and I'm going to go there and I'm going to help shake it up in some way......you know I've done a little bit which is nice, finally.... after all this time. And of course there are a lot of bands who are just German speaking as well in Vienna so we wouldn't ever really hear those as English speakers as we wouldn't understand anything that they were saying a lot of the time but there's definitely been that thing in the last two years or so were suddenly Austrian bands and musicians are getting their confidence going a little bit which I think is really cool and it could be potentially a great place for a musical movement to come from.
Are there any Austrian bands that you kind of connected with or that you started listening to, even if they weren't English speaking while you were over there?
Yeah, there's some very close friends of mine who have a band called Bilderbuch which is like 'Picture book' in German who I've known since I first moved out there they were like kids to me and in the last year we've been in contact loads and loads and they've showed me their early demos which has become their new stuff now and thats taken off massively in Germany for example and they are really really doing well, they've sort of become like Austrian heros! So thats been really cool! And there's lots of older electronic things as well like Kruder & Dorfmeister who were quite sort of big in the early 2000's for dance music...there's some cool things there...it's interesting to see what might happen!
It's interesting that you have such strong ties with Vienna and the kind of role it's played in helping you make your music because when I first heard the song 'Artifice' on the radio and then subsequently listened to Tremors as an album it resonated as having a very London sound to me...like it definitely reminded me of being in London and the current vibe there so I was quite surprised when I read that the album was actually written and recorded in Vienna!
I mean I lived and grew up in London so thats massively in me and will never leave and I think the one thing which I really learned from going to Vienna was that I learned more about getting comfortable with myself which made a huge difference to what the music ended up being because I suddenly stopped. I'd say I was the kind of person who was a bit sort of, believe it or not, hyperactive and quite....ahh...try hard and now I'm this very kind of peaceful person...I think....and through that process of moving to Vienna and that made a huge difference to how the music ended up being as it didn't end up being too cluttered or too over the top..I think... I hope!
No definitely it's actually quite interesting because your music has that....bravery in a way to let certain songs be, not necessarily quite but to give the sounds space to breath. It's evident throughout the entire album as well that there are moments where you just let the noise permeate on its own but I was curious as to how you'd transfer that space when you start putting together the live show, you know, to ensure you're keeping the audience engaged during those less cluttered moments?
It was definitely a concern before I started doing it.... because audiences are very settled and patient enough to cope with that, to cope with long long quiet pieces of music before building up to something and it was definitely a consideration when I first started putting together a live show of how am I going to do that? How is the audience going to be engaged enough because I've had experiences being a musician over time where you play in a bar where no one will shut up and now I'm making it even harder because there are some really quiet sections. I think a lot of it comes down to how you engage vocally, like how you engage the singer with the space. And theres a lot you can do very simply based on that, like how you treat the dynamic of the room with your voice, so that's definitely a big part of it. And then the other thing was the live set was ever so slightly different and you'll see it if you happen to be at one of the shows, its actually got more power than the records got. At the same time it's also quite demanding of the listener as well.....I put together the live set the way I put together the album; with an idea of how that dynamic can work from one song to the next and what space one song leaves for the next song so you know it's a big consideration in terms of, okay, can we afford to for example.... like at the moment the beginning of the set starts with 'Ransom Notes'....which I think at the moment is the only place it could go because once you've sort of got the mood of the room up with something like either a 'Bloodflows' or 'Tremors' you couldn't really go back to 'Ransom Notes' the same way you could in a record. So we wanted to make 'Ransom Notes' this kind of washing thing which gives people a chance to take in what's happening and take in the fact that the show's starting and then moving the pace up and bringing it back down, I'm very interested in that whole sort of pushing and pulling with the audience, I try to push and pull them a lot!
It sounds great, we can't wait to see it! So the live show that you're currently touring in the U.S.A, is that what you'll be bringing to Australia? Do you tend to tweak the shows between different countries or does it kind of stay the same throughout?
No well we will bring the whole production! We'll bring the whole lights and the whole shebang!
Sweet! Is this your first time touring in Australia?
Yeah! This is the first time I've ever been there!
Oh wow awesome! Can I give you a tip to woo over your Australian audiences?
Haha yeah sure!
Okay.... the thing is we kind of love it when international artists do ironic covers of like iconically 'Australian' songs....
(laughs) Okay...
Like.... you should do like a cool Kylie Minogue cover or maybe an INXS song if you want to be more edgy.....
Haha okay cool yeah, yeah I get it. Okay that's cool, that's a good tip! You know now that if that does happen that is your doing...
Yes I will be so chuffed if you do...just saying....
Haha got it!
Okay I think we are out of time but I always like to ask my guests a 'Would You Rather' question. Are you ready?
Yeah...
Okay....would you rather.... Get stuck in an elevator for 20 hours on your own or be stuck in an elevator with an angry Solange Knowles for 20 minutes?
(laughs) ooh that's a difficult one..... hmm I think probably an angry Solange Knowles because it could be fun... (laughs)
Yeah I feel like you could almost turn it into a collaboration by the end of the twenty minutes....
Yeah definitely, we'd definitely manage to find something.....
Yes! I can't wait! Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with PS, we're looking forward to seeing your shows down under!
Cool, thanks very much! Bye!
Thanks to I OH YOU and LANEWAY PRESENTS, SOHN will be doing two headline shows in Oz:
Tuesday, June 24
Sydney, Oxford Art Factory
Wednesday, June 25
Melbourne, Ding Dong Lounge
Head to www.sohnmusic.com for more info.
Words by Keya Muk
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