Sound Animal

Story

I consider Sound Animal to be a band, though it's primarily me (SA) However, sometimes there are collaborations in certain songs, and there's a full album coming up with XAW on drums and guitar. I make the art and videos, mix/master the songs, working with large numbers of tracks regularly -- like eighty on a song. Most of the songs released are made with instruments, though recent ones include work with a MIDI controller. I also use quite a few found objects.

Profile

Instruments

Genres

Influences

Equipment

Languages

What is music to you? What does it give you?

Nature is always music. I like to whistle to house finches. For a while, years ago, I quit listening to music because nothing lived up to the sound of my housemate's cat, Lester, having sex. I'm fortunate enough to have lived gloriously feral in the wilderness for long stretches. I like to make music as the primate that I am, so most of my songs don't have coherent words or traditional structures.

What is your music dream?

To touch ever more people with my work. To make them laugh with delight at the silly songs, feel their profundity deep inside when hearing the serious ones. To inspire freedom, radiating the natural human frequencies in response to the dramatic situation in the world. To sell music to movies, TV and games.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

Paint more doors red. More cobb houses shaped like animals. Make newscasters wear clothing made out of their lies, so everyone kept them in mind while watching TV.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

Arenna, Comacozer, Wet Cactus, Boris, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, Ty Segall, Sunn O))), Swans, 1000mods, Russian Circles, Bardo Pond, Wand, Om, Earth, Villagers of Ioannina City, Free, Zone Six, Yuri Gagarin, Pilot Voyager, My Bloody Valentine, Samsara Blues Experiment, My Sleeping Karma, Rodion G.A., Pelican, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Angels, Trip Hazard, Sunface, Daniel Johnston, Sons of Oitis, Shjips, Husky, Dead Meadow, The Marlboro Men, Barn Owl, Pearly Goats, and lots of Experimental bands most people aren't familiar with by name.

What inspires you to make music?

The inspiration is pretty constant, especially since I picked up an electric guitar; I had to do that after listening repeatedly to "Eclipse" by the Spanish band Arenna. I wanted to deconstruct the relationship between the notes the way they do in that song, by living inside sound, especially the music that gives me that orgasm-face.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

Great question. It's different from song to song. For example, in some, it's a reminder to go full on into playfulness. In some, it's to create a compassionate soundtrack to world events. I like to talk with musicians a lot and our music is part of our language that says more than words. My songs are ways of opening back and forth conversations.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

I like to make people dance, because I also love dancing and know how great it feels.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

We have lots of advantages and opportunities now with all the equipment, websites, technology, etc.

What do you think of Drooble?

I'm new to it, but so far -- it's pretty rockin'.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

The amount of money required to create and widely share what I offer as a gift to the world, which my listeners do enjoy.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

I like to go dancing to live music.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

Truly caring about other musicians and networking authentically, really listening closely to other people's music and commenting on it creatively. And being able to do a ton of paperwork, I guess, for the business of sync licensing, kind of daunting, but: hold my free time: I'm goin' in.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Cool question. R Duck, Lost Aliens, My Limbo Side.