David Grubb‘s last album, Nano (reviewed here), offered an instrumental commentary on the dark side of modern society. He recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for his new album Circadia – a new concept album exploring the human subconscious, using sleep as a vehicle. At the time of writing, two days remain to get behind the album and enjoy some of those unique rewards. You can even be in the album – in his own words, “I’m looking for your strange experiences with the subconscious, from wacky dreams to out of body experiences. I’ll then weave these stories together to underscore moments in the record. What better way to support the project than to be in it!” More here.
“Nothing really prepares you for David Grubb’s new album, Nano, either musically or psychologically.”
Bob Fish, Folk radio
I’m genuinely excited by the concept behind David’s new album and, knowing how well he executes his ideas, I was keen to chat with David about the album in a little more depth.
If we can start by talking about the core theme of the album? You’ve titled it ‘Circadia’, referencing the 24-hour cycle or our body clock. Can you expand upon that theme and how and why you chose this as the focus for this album?
It’s a bit of an odd story as to how I came to this topic. Some years ago, I dropped my laptop on my foot; I must have hit a nerve as I felt faint. I lay down on the floor and passed out for about 30 seconds. My wife recalls me sitting up and staring blankly around the room; I have no memory of this. As I came to, I was hallucinating what I can only describe as metallic scorpions crawling around the room towards me, frequencies ringing in my ears, blending with the sound of sharpening knives. Curious as to why I had experienced this, I started researching. Vasovagal syncope; my body had essentially overreacted to the pain, causing my heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly. As I came back into a conscious state, I was experiencing hypnopompic hallucinations (likely accentuated by the suddenness of the accident), which transpires is a fairly common experience when waking.
The whole experience triggered my interest in sleep and the human subconscious, reading articles and books such as Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep”. I started mapping out an idea for an album in my head, using subconscious and dream sleep as inspiration for each track.
One of the tracks is called Hypnagogia, a reference to the state between wakefulness and sleep, during which we often experience body jerks, lucid dreams, and hallucinations or imagined experiences. When preparing my questions for David, I read that up to 70% of us experience them, something he expanded upon.
For the most part, I have experienced the phenomena portrayed in this album at some stage in my life. Hypnic jerks (the feeling of falling that jolts you back awake), Lucid dreaming (taking control of your dreams), Sleep Paralysis (a semi-conscious state whereby your brain has turned off motor functions, but you are still “awake”, leaving you feeling locked in your own body, often hallucinating), etc. All of these phenomena make for really interesting subject matter to base music on. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed bringing those concepts to life in a musical format.
Demo for Hypnagogia:
You mention in your campaign that improvisation plays a large role…What was the process of interpreting those stages? Did you find it a challenging experience?
Some concepts have been more challenging than others. I found a keystone for each track that could be based around and built from there. Sometimes this was a symptom of the phenomena; other times, it was something more subtle. For example, there is a track called “Exploding Tetris”, a merging of two phenomena: Exploding head syndrome (a large bang heard as you’re falling asleep which jolts you awake) and the Tetris Effect (hallucinating a task you’ve repeated multiple times that day). This track features occasional bangs from the drum that interrupt the flow, and the organised, falling melodies are inspired by the nature of the well-known video game.
You are aided by musicians who are no strangers to improv – Corben Lee, Aidan Thorne, Annie Perry, Daniel Whitting, Jon Reynolds, and Sam Barnes. Can you tell us a bit more about them and how/why you chose them?
These musicians are close friends of mine who’ve been involved with my music since my first album High Rise back in 2014. Many of them come from a jazz background which naturally lends itself to improvisation. However, there is also experience in klezmer, prog rock, and the indie scene. Everyone brings something interesting to the project, which I want to incorporate to embody the free and limitless nature of the mind. Their influences have helped mould my music into what it is today.
Are you planning to make use of acoustic and electric instrumentation again?
Yes, I experimented with electronic instruments in my previous album Nano, using electric guitar and bass to portray a sense of anger. Circadia will have an otherworldly, ethereal feel, so using alternative instrumentation to expand the sound seemed like a natural fit. Merging that world with fiddle tunes makes for a really interesting combination. Overcoming the acoustic/electric barrier and finding sounds that work together to make something new was very exciting and rewarding. A unique sound, I think it will have something for everyone.
Where are you now in the recording process? When do you expect to release the album?
We are booked into the beautiful Giant Wafer Studios in Mid-wales over the Easter break. There is a lot of ground to cover (17 tracks), so we have a jam-packed five days planned to get this album underway. I am hoping to release the album in early 2024.
And on Vinyl?
If all goes to plan, I’ll have everything released together. Like Nano, I’d like to use recycled discs made from offcuts and unused vinyl, further embodying the random nature of the mind. I’ll be posting updates on my social media platforms (@david_grubby).
You can support David’s album on Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davidgrubb/david-grubb-circadia