Dalglish Sound, Risk and Responsibility

Time gets lost in everything doesn’t it? I find that comforting. If something comes out spontaneously, and then when you listen to it, you can be absorbed in a time removed from present time. I do borrow from my older compositions and bring them into newer ones sometimes. So, I suppose it is a mixture of past, present and future.

My work is a reaction to all the unfiltered things I experience inside and outside. I have great difficulty to filter all things around me, so, of course, human emotion is an integral part of the work. Life is contradictory; it’s simple, complex, chaotic pleasure. There is no separation between my life and my work.

With this one and all my other works, beyond the personal aspects of it all, I try to display what is possible and where things should be by
 now; everything has to evolve. I find it disgusting and sad what has happened to Electronic music in last ten years, and especially Techno. Never thought it would become dominated by such bland ideas.

As mentioned before, I find this is the artist’s job to do so – to evolve – otherwise you are the equivalency of a tribute band. Something that originated with such innovation seems to have gotten completely
 stagnant, too comfortable. Without this sincerity and evolution, we will 
become stuck in a never-ending loop of mediocrity where all is accepted, no one caring or questioning anything, and the work will be no different, just a repackaging of faked rebellion and simulated diversity that is already shaping today’s so-called subcultures.

Again, there’s no real separation. Sometimes dreams seem more realistic than waking life. There are always noises in the background of my dreams, and they’re probably mine. I’m not necessarily making music in dreams, but there’s a lot of background sounds in them, and I’ve tried emulating them before.

I have a great interest in all these things, of course. I don’t like talking about specific references. Using direct references feels a bit desperate and meaningless these ‘parasitic” days. I think there’s no separation between those subjects and music.

I find that constantly questioning, searching and endlessly experimenting is essential and should be instinctual. Through my personal studies, I’ve found a lot of inspiration in people who have used these influences inter-connectedly.

I was reading an article the other day online comparing an artist who has just had their first release compared to a revolutionary computer music pioneer working in the 70s. Essentially, this new artist proclaimed using a laptop as an “underused” instrument. This left me confused, and slightly scared.  I think it is a problem that anyone can do it now. I do miss a sense of responsibility and labour in music. Historically, this is nothing new, of course; when any genre reaches a certain level of popularity, sincerity can appear to become lost. This is obvious in mainstream music, but seems now to be reaching the more experimental/Electronic scene. We are forcefed a lot of shit, everywhere – especially in music — and I’m amazed that people aren’t angrier about this. People should demand more. That’s the responsibility of the listeners, the journalists, and the artists.

I think that a lot of classically trained people have a lot of restriction on their “individual” creativity, but I do appreciate when they can break away from their training to incorporate more personal expressions. I think the mind cries out for unpredictability. We need to be more entertained, surprised, and emotionally enveloped by works. When it comes to my own work, it’s more of a spontaneous documentation, which may or may not be edited afterwards. Perfection is never attainable — it should always be challenged. If by some chance, you reach perfection, life is over, or at least rather boring. No?

But, seriously, I think a lot of technological advances by software and hardware companies have homogenized sound, mimicking what we used to have to discover for ourselves by experimenting with tape, synthesizers, pedals and other hardware. This is not a bad thing for people who already know how to use these tools, of course, but i feel that a lot of things that used to take more effort to achieve in the past can now be arrived at with simple presets. With this recent regurgitation of the ‘darker elements’ of music, it is hard to detect what is authentic anymore. If anything. People should demand more effort, honesty, more vulnerability and true risk and respect for history. It is dangerous when ignorance and egotism rule with no respect or need for experience.

So, you ask me what is the future of intelligent music? I’m not really sure what you mean…