| Mr. Posford. I Just want to let you know I am a huge fan. Your music, and projects you have been involved in have been hugely influential to me. The soundscapes you have created have helped change me through the years, and for that I have always wanted to say thank you. My question is what artists and music have influenced you, or do you enjoy listening to? | So many artists... we often list them in the album credits... How about i make a Spotify playlist that shares some of my influences & what i enjoy listening to? |
| At your NYC Shpongle LIVE show at Hammerstein ballroom on Halloween 2011, I may have gotten a bit too "Shpongled" and decided to join you and the band up on stage not once, but twice. I wrongly thought the entire show was the culmination of my whole life and that I was going to be transitioning on to another dimension once the show ended. The first time the security was really nice to me and let me back in, but in my altered state of mind I figured I should go back up for a second go. Security was not so nice this time and dragged me out leaving me to wander the streets of New York Shpongled beyond all belief. Primarily, I want to apologize for making such a rude entry into your grand production... As for my question: Do you often listen to and/or produce your own music under the influence of psychedelics? Or are you naturally attuned to creating such incredibly mind bending music without the aid of substances? | I think that one is able to draw from the experiences of the past, which is enough to help inspire creativity in the present... But to work a computer whilst under the influence is too much of a Brain Bocca... so i stay off them whilst actually working.,... |
| Can you briefly describe the sound collection process for an album? I mean, do you go out in the street, cave, or wilderness with a microphone? | I have a handheld recorder made by zoom which i take with me when i go somewhere that i suspect might contain a rich seam of sonic ore - India, Bali, Japan etc. ... And i take as many recordings as possible. With some (like in India my ex-girlfriend and i recorded the singer and various samples that made it onto Ineffable Mysteries) it works very well... other times i will get the recordings 'home' and find that it is all wind noise... and i already make plenty of that myself! |
| Wow, so that was an original sample! Amazing. I had always assumed it came from a sample compilation. Where did you find that singer? How did it happen? | For the 1st two records we used sample CDs, but around the 3rd we decided it's much better to use only our own recordings... My ex-girlfriend and i found the singer through our rickshaw driver in Jaipur, India... we went to a local music shop and recorded what we could, before discovering the singer and inviting him back to our hotel room to record him properly... i gave him a lo string drone and a soft beat to sing along to... The story is in the CD booklet i believe... |
| Greetings Simon. Thank you for a great new album and a whole career of great music! You've influenced modern trance music in many ways that most listeners probably don't realize. What's your opinion on the current genre of trance and psy-trance? What do you see as the future of Shpongle and the future of Simon Posford? More big live shows at festivals? DJ sets? Something completely new? | I can't really offer an opinion on the current genre of pay-trance as i don't listen to it anymore. About 10 years ago it seemed to me that the music was sort of imploding - it was all starting to sound the same with very little innovation... The same basslines, the same Kik sounds and very little unique defining character that separated not just different artists, but different tracks... Very quickly i got jaded by the scene and lost interest in music that didn't appear to be progressing anywhere new... The trance musicians in the early and mid 90s had already performed all those tricks, played those riffs, and over-used those sounds... So if you show me the current innovators, i'll be better able to answer... |
| Do you use entheogens while actually in the studio during production? | I have done... but it has never been conducive to actually progressing with the track we are working on... it ends with me on the sofa, listening to tunes and spacing out... which is exactly what we make Shpongle for! But to actually make the music i need to be able to follow thought processes... Raj will usually give each tune "The Acid Test" when i am close to mixing it... |
| making first contact with an extraterrestrial species? | For this i think the best way is to use a chemical key, that opens the door to other universes & dimensions, allowing you to explore for a brief time... although it is difficult to bring back the treasures you can find there... |
| What's your normal life like? Is it like the average persons? Or do you do something different like shop at farmers markets or anything that would differentiate someone? | Unremarkable. I live in a small town, i go to supermarkets buy junk food and consume it in bed while watching junk TV. Those are the good days. Other days i am racked with guilt at achieving nothing but completing a whole season of 24 on Netflix... my studio is calling but i'm not listening. Some days i'm typing absolute drivel into my laptop, humbled by the fact that a few people somewhere actually are mildly interested in what i have to say. Very occasionally i am on a stage in front of thousands of people... but that isn't really me... I'm out of my body by that point. I wish i could be out of my body when my physical form is sitting uncomfortably on a plane, about to be probed by an un-enlightened security guard who gropes people in an airport for a meagre wage. We are all the same but different... aren't we? |
| So what is the Kugla effect? The song titles on each album offer a lot of visual representation of the journey one goes through while listening to your music. How does that process come about? I imagine Raja Ram laying on a couch spitting out angelic banter while you're working away. | That is very much how we work :) Raj fills books and books with drawings and entertains me with stories about growing up as a young Jew in Melbourne in the 40s... he tries to make me laugh & put me off my concentration, so sometimes i'll stick a microphone in front of him while he does it, to provide more sonic fodder for the track. He once told me about a housekeeper his family had called Mrs Kugla who cooked with preposterous amounts of oil... Even to boil an egg she would use pints of the stuff... One evening Raj decided to cook dinner at my house, and whilst it was delicious, he had definitely studied at Mrs Kugla's school of cooking... i started calling him "Mrs Kugla" as a joke. There are many boring hours during the making of an album, where i am engrossed in programming on the computer and Raj is clearly getting impatient and twitchy, so he will come up with a few ridiculous song titles or anecdotes that will lead to song titles... |
| Any chance for us to see Rajs drawings? | Sure... they are all over the CD booklet! LOL... I might photograph a few also. |
| What's the story of how you met Raja Ram? | We met at Butterfly studios, enjoying some home-cooked Indian food with the other artists that were recording there. We became instant friends and went to many parties and festivals together, making music under a variety of names. Raj provides the inspiration and running commentary, while i compose all the parts on the computer. It's a winning combination! If i can get him to stop talking for a moment :P |
| He does have a way with words. | He certainly does... he is a cunning linguist, you might say... |
| Could you please ask Raja how to grow such a majestic mustache? | I believe we posted a video explaining: Link to vk.com |
| What psychedelic experience/drug has influenced your musical composition and creativity the most? | Marijuana. |
| What is your favorite song you have produced? | Shpongle - And the Day turned to Night. Younger Brother - Your Friends Are Scary. Hallucinogen - Shamanix. |
| > Shpongle - And the Day turned to Night. Younger Brother - Your Friends Are Scary. Hallucinogen - Shamanix. |
| Is there any truth to a US live band tour? I recall you hinted at a live show at Red Rocks during Feed the Rocks. Also, your sunrise set in the Negev Desert a couple years ago blew my mind something great. Thanks for being the man! | None at all. We will never tour with the band - it's too many people, too expensive, and too complicated. But we all would love to do a couple of one-off shows in the US... Red Rocks being one of them. If we can find anything exciting, fun and different that will persuade the 13 musicians we employ in the band to all give up their day jobs for a moment (which range from touring with Further, Bjørk, playing West End shows, to writing scores for 300 musicians in Dubai) then it becomes feasible... but most of the time it's just not practical, I'm sorry. |
| None at all. We will never tour with the band - it's too many people, too expensive, and too complicated. But we all would love to do a couple of one-off shows in the US... Red Rocks being one of them. If we can find anything exciting, fun and different that will persuade the 13 musicians we employ in the band to all give up their day jobs for a moment (which range from touring with Further, Bjørk, playing West End shows, to writing scores for 300 musicians in Dubai) then it becomes feasible... but most of the time it's just not practical, I'm sorry. |
| Thanks for doing this AMA Simon! What's your favourite genre/artist that people would find surprising? | Probably the album "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp... part of the soundtrack of my childhood... I've always loved The Cure since i was 13... |
| What inspired you to include a tribute to Pink Floyd's On the Run in your most recent album? I turned to my friend at the Atlanta show a few weeks ago and said "is that, is that Pink Floyd???" Then I hear you say something like, "here's some Pink Floyd for ya!" Good times. | In Atlanta is actually was Pink Floyd... with a Kik drum underneath... I have written many tracks inspired by On The Run... it's a great piece! |
| When are you going be working with Ott next? | Ott and i recently discussed working on something... he lives quite far away though. |
| Are you performing at Burning Man this year? If not, do you plan to in the future? | Working on it, but it's looking unlikely right now. |
| How much of your music is sampled vs composed? Like are the horn parts in "my head feels like a frisbee" sampled from something else is or did you and raja compose it? | That was one of the last commercially available samples we used... We probably tweaked it around quite a bit, but a couple of times i have identified the original samples on other tunes... so eventually we realised, "Wow - everybody is using samples! Let's never use them again... and only record our own stuff from now on." |
| Follow up: who played the bass clarinet and bari parts on ineffable mysteries? was it raja or just some virtual instrument? | I wrote that on the keyboard, using Vienna Instruments for the sound. |
| 1) You always have an awesome bass tone, usually carrying the song, what machine makes that guy? 2) Any good DMT stories? | 1..Whatever is convenient... On the first album i strung a massive elastic band across a wooden chair and used that... Often i will play bass guitar, sometimes i'll play the sh101 or another synth... Moog is good... 2... Yes, loads! |
| Hi, Thanks for doing this! What is your creative process? To clarify: When making music, do you start with some kind of a seed, an idea, or even emotion? Or do you start de novo, trying anything and expanding it when you start to feel it? What layer do you prefer to start with (bassline? main theme?) | Amost always i begin with a blank canvas. Once i've chosen a tempo and a key, i like to start with the drums, then bassline, then synths and vocals and other stuff... I'll usually work with whatever is easiest and to hand: if a synth isn't plugged in then i won't use it... but if there is a crisp packet lying around and a microphone plugged in, i'll use that... I'm fundamentally lazy. |
| Mr Posford, Your music uses influences from cultures from all over the world. I have never run into another shpongler in the wild here in the us.So I was wondering what countries have given you the biggest reception to your music? Where are some of your largest concerts held? | Without a doubt, Israel. Then there are pockets around the world: Russia, Japan, Colorado, Hungary... |
| Haha awesome! Hopefully you tried out the experiment to feel your nose a few feet in front of your face. It's such an unexpected experience. Again, thanks for the new album. It's nice to hear the finished project after all of those shows on the Masquerade tour. Stay Shpongled :::) | I tried the hand one many years ago... It's extremely disconcerting! |
| Simon, I have every album that you and your music collaborations have released. I have to admit though, I have paid for very few of them. As someone that owns your own record label what is your opinion on piracy? How do you think it has affected your music and label? | Don't get me started! Really? |
| Simon, What is your favorite type of pie? Also, what other types of music do you listen to on the reg? | 3.14159265359 ... What's the reg? |
| I remember seeing half a promise of a new Hallucinogen album on the Twisted forums long time ago. Will it ever happen? Thank you for being great! Bought the new album, and can't wait to see you on the Troxy in October! | Half a promise yes! The truth is i don't know if i will do another Hallucinogen album... I notice with Shpongle that some people's reaction to a new album is "I'm disappointed - it doesn't sound like my favourite earlier album" or "I'm disappointed it sounds too much like earlier albums"... in any case there is so much baggage associated with previous albums that it can weigh you down, so i'm more likely to release under another name... maybe even 'Simon Posford' :) |
| Who are some of the newer electronic music artists that you enjoy? | Depends what you mean by new... Does Delia Derbyshire count? |
| E: favorite ways to process vocals? | Favourite was to process vocals... mmm i spend not hours doing this, but possibly days! I love processing... If i'm feeling exceptionally brave, i might dig out Kyma, otherwise it's usually plug-ins... UAD, Waves, AutoTune, SugarBytes, Reaktor... for Filtering i'll use my hardware MS20 or Moog Voyager (or the UAD moog in software), for compression my hardware Distressor or LA-3A are unbeatable... For reverb, the Eventide H3000 or Lexicon PCM 91 hardware units, or Altiverb and UAD EMT plates in software... EQ my BAE audio 1028 or Thermionic Culture Rooster cover the hardware... Software would be UAD - Never or SSL or Sony Oxford. For mangling i usually use Reaktor. |
| Hi Simon, You recently posted a video on your Facebook page of a Logic Pro session, I beleive it was one of your new tracks. This session had over 200 tracks in it, is this normal for you guys to produce a song with so many tracks? | Yes... Normally we have between 130 - 250 tracks before either the computer or my head caves in... On one tune i remember recording 75 tracks of guitar!! Of course we only used about 12... |
| Is Logic what you use primarily? Do you use Ableton as well? | I use Logic in the studio and Ableton on the stage. |
| I'm a huge fan of Shpongle and Younger Brother in particular (like tons of folks here on this IAmA). What do you think of the Israeli crowd? What do you think is the reason Twisted and Psybient in general are so insanely popular down here? | My biggest fans! I think there are possibly many reasons why psy-trance took off so massively in Israel, too long to go into here... but it's to do with oppression, national service in the army, escaping authoritarianism but through a heavily bonded bunch of people that leave the army and go to places like Goa, & experience freedom and counterculture with their friends... |
| What does a good idea taste like? | Deliciously sweet, but not sickly... slightly tangy with surprise and a full-bodied satisfaction. William James describes somebody on laughing gas or laudanum or something who discovers the secret of the Universe... He fully understood the divine plan, why we are here and the answer to everything... luckily he had a pen close by and managed to scribble down his thoughts before they were lost forever... When he finally sobered up, he rushed to see what pearls of wisdom he had captured... on a piece of paper, he had written "A smell of petroleum prevails throughout." |
| Is your October gig in London Troxy a full live experience like the one in the Roundhouse or a dj set like last year's Twistival? I absolutely enjoyed Twistival, but would be pretty stoked if it was a live concert! | It is one of the rare full band shows... |
| How is your relationship with Ott currently? What is the reason he split from the Twisted Label? (I understand if you would like to refrain from answering this one) | We are still friends... there were no hard feelings and Twisted are proud to part of Ott's transition from recording engineer to successful musician. |
| Any future plans for Shpongle? What's next, album/sound wise? Any anniversary treats coming up? | We are already talking about Shpongle 6! |
| How did you meet Michele Adamson? What's she like? | I almost ran her over with my car leaving a party. She's one of my best friends. |
| What do you feel like when you're playing for a group of people and you look out over the crowd and just see a ton of teenagers zoned out on ecstasy and LSD at your shows. I mean, I personally am glad that MDMA and LSD exist on this Earth because I think they can be a positive influence when used correctly by the right people, but I also know that they are abused to ridiculous, extreme lengths every single weekend at shows across America. I think you make amazing music and I wouldn't want you to stop, but has there ever been a point where you look out at your crowd and think to yourself that for once in your life you'd like a play a show to a crowd that isn't 6 pills deep and completely zoned off various amphetamines, research chemicals and piperazines? | I don't mind. I certainly don't condemn people for escaping their usual reality for a few hours... It works for me :::) Everything in moderation...INCLUDING moderation! I'd rather play to a crowd on LSD, or psychedelics, than a crowd on amphetamines or stimulants. |
| Simon, you have influenced how my roommate and I live our life more than any other source. What sources influenced you early in life to become the producer you are today? | Robert Anton Wilson. More than a particular person however, i would say it's the friends we hold dear, the natural world around us, the books we read, the music we listen to, the stories we share and the culture that we absorb that influence us... Try to dive deep into the pool of creativity that mankind has sprung... and revel in Nature and Nurture... |
| I have seen you perform at the aggie and the Mishawka in fort collins and i have also seen you perform at red rock. You shows are all vary unique and each had its own touch, from the black light dancers at the aggie to the masquerade set up at red rocks. You have done a lot of visual artistry with your shows. Who does the Lights for your shows? Are you a big part of the visual performance? When you set up for a show, do you mainly use turntable, or do you incorporate other gadgets into your sets? DO you also do midi controller sets? What would be a normal Sphongle DJ set up any what would be a extravagant set up? For home production i know you work closely with Raja Ram, who is Bad Ass by the way. I was wondering what recording tech. do you use, both digital and analogue(Mic's, AMP's, Synths, D.A.W.'s, vst's... ect) Do you find any Big differences between the use of analogue and Digital and how do you like to incorporate these into your producrtion style and music? | I'm not a massive part of the visual look... Zebbler has done visuals for the Shpongletron tours, and Xendarboh for the Masquerade tour. On stage i use Ableton running on a laptop with an Akai MIDI controller, an SH101 analog synthesiser, Eventide Time Factor and Eventide Space FX units. I tried using an OP-1, but didn't get much joy from it. The computer runs 10 outputs into a mixing desk, which i tweak and arrange on the fly. Occasionally i'll do a DJ set with good old fashioned CDJs, but this is increasingly rare. |
| Lastly what tools do you use to master? Other then your ear of corse, that is always number one haha. What is your home studio like, and do you use it for mastering or do you tend to go and master at other studios? | I like analogue & digital. I love my BAE audio pre-amps, Distressor compressors, Eventide, Lexicon, Sh101, OScar, SH5, Moog voyager, Arp 2600, and Alesis Quadraverb. I run Logic on a Mac. For plug-ins i use UAD, Waves, Soundtoys, Melodyne and Native Instruments. |
| A mastering engineer! Another set of ears is vital... and not a mix engineer, either... I use Kevin Metcalfe at Soundmasters, UK. |
| Who would you pick as the emissary of our species if we're ever contacted by aliens? | Great question!! I'd happily send Raja Ram... the right combination of Love, Humour, Fun, knowledge of art and music, and smooth talking... |
| Hi Simon, I'm a huge fan (my username is part of a line from a Younger Brother song). Can't wait to hear the new album! Where has been your favorite place to play in the US? How did you and Raja Ram meet? | Colorado... and I answered the Raja Ram question earlier... |
| Thanks for all the great music over the years, Simon! I have only one question: Where did you get the audio of that hippie guy from "Even Dwarves Start Small?" The guy who doesn't like to work too often unless it's for something groovy... | That was from a documentary about The Isle of Wight festival... in the 70s i think... the sample was from a carpenter who helped build the stage. I'm sure it's on YouTube... funny documentary, complete with a desperate promoter getting on stage and telling crowd to "F*ck Off!" and warnings about bad acid etc... |
| How is Raj doing? :) | He is good... He's going out for Pizza with his grand-daughter tonight, i believe... |
| What Shpongle album do you and Raja Ram sit back and listen to the most? | I will usually listen to whatever i've just completed a lot, until mastering... by the time it is released i have stopped listening. Occasionally i'll hear something in someone's car, for example, years later and for the first time i'll be able to hear it without all the mistakes and errors in judgement that i was so concerned about at the time... If i was going to put on a shpongle album right now, it would be the new one... |
| What's some of your favorite music you're listening to right now? | Trentemoller, Flanger, Placebo, massive attack... i'm into audiobooks right now... David Sedaris, Alan Partridge... |
| Younger Brother has been one of my favorite groups to listen to over the last couple of years. I know the vocal tracks on the Last Days of Gravity were some of the most popular. Vaccine switched to a style that was much more focused on vocals, and a more mainstream sound. Has that effected the popularity of Younger Brother? Did Ruu Campbell write a lot of the lyrics for the songs? | Ruu wrote the lyrics yes. I don't know how you measure popularity... We have only ever done what inspires us at the time... back then it was Indie Bands, now it is Electronic music again... who knows where we will end up. I have little time to work on YB, with my Shpongle duties... and Benji is now CEO of a multi-million dollar app company! |
| Have you ever seen someone frown at a Shpongle concert? From my experience at one I believe it is the happiest environment and people you can ever be around. Still the best night of my life. | No, but i don't like it when people in the front row are just staring at me like dogs being shown a card trick! |
| Does the Shpongle "mascot" have a name? (Kind of like how Iron Maiden's mascot is named Eddie.) | We just call it "the shpongle mask" |
| As someone who also recently turned their project into a live band I have a few questions to ask... What is your decision process for deciding what stems you separate for the backing tracks? What performance advantages come from a 20+ channel ableton mix? Also what's your workflow like for transcribing the sheet music for the string players? -Supersillyus. | Ahhh, Supersillyus! How are you doing? I like to split the stems into Kik, Bass, Hats, Drums Lo, Drums Hi, Perc Lo, Perc Hi, Synths Lead, Guitars, Vocals, Strings, Horns, FX, Pads, Synths other... i'll space it over 16 outputs into a mixer, and this allows me to mix on the fly - to mute stuff or start with different parts or whatever and to bring out certain parts. As for the score, i can't read music so Harry Escott our cello player will transcribe the string parts, and Pete Callard our guitarist will do the guitar parts. All the musicians do their own notation once we have discussed what they are going to play. |
| A while ago I read 'the Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern after seeing you recommend it, and massively enjoyed it. What did you like about that book, and what else would you recommend to the Shpongled reader? | I liked the magic... the atmosphere of the book. Other recommendations: anything by Robert Anton Wilson, The Dice Man by Luke Reinhardt (and the sequels), The curious incident of the dog in the night... I'm just finishing "The Sense of an Ending" which is pretty good although i'm not at the end yet... |
| Is the accordion sound on 'My head feels like a frisbee" a real accordion? If so what post-processing made it sound that good? | I don't remember... surely the best processing for an accordion is the MUTE button...? |
| of all, thank you so much for the new album. It is absolutely incredible! It makes me very happy and I haven't been able to stop listening to it since we got the download early! It's really sucks that you didn't get to play at Wakarusa this year because of the storm! My question is, on Divine Moments of Truth what did you use for that amazing springy/jiggly sound around the 2:10 mark? | It was a drum loop through a buckety old phaser made by AMS. I turned off the LFO and tweaked it on the fly, to try and get it in tune and flow with the song... |
| I know that you like exploring new genres and I've loved watching your sound evolve. However, I live in Portland, Oregon and I live for true old-school Goa and Psytrance. Twisted introduced me to electronic music and remains my favorite electronic album. Your Shpongle sets do tend to get a bit heavy towards the end, but I am wondering: Do you think you might be inspired to play a true Hallucinogen full-speed psytrance set in the Northwest USA at some point soon? | I'm certainly not against performing Hallucinogen anywhere there is demand for it. |
| At the live Halloween show you did in NY I remember seeing you outside the venue recording on a video camera all the fans that were in line around the block. Were you gonna release any behind the scenes footage of that, or did it come out somewhere and I missed it? I'd love to reminisce!! :::) | My ex threw me in a swimming pool and i lost everything on that phone :( |
| Will you be releasing the song you did for the Magic Ball anywhere officially? | Probably not. |
| I know you said a US tour is not in the cards, but is there a chance/plan to do what you did last time and play a couple of shows in NY and LA? | Maybe Red Rocks. I don't think Raj is interested in repeating ourselves... |
| What inspired you to start creating music? | The urge to create... |
| Simon, Where do you come up with your amazingly awesome percussion patterns? It's my favorite aspect of your music. Is this done via improv instrumentation in the studio? Or preconceived in your head? | Made up as i go along... |
| A while back, you had mentioned an interest in having a subscription service app that would give subscribers access to the stream whole Twisted catalog. Did you scrap this idea? | No, it has taken off in a BIG way... Benji is now CEO of a multi-million dollar app company, and it will be used to supply content from many other people... Twisted have rather been left behind by Benji now! |
| Thank you for many transcendent times, especially the few times you've blessed us with unexpected visits in Atlanta! :::) Where do you go to, physically, geographically or otherwise, for inspiration and relaxation? | My bed, India, New York, Tokyo, Cornwall, my studio and my fridge. |
| When does the Museums of Consciousness US tour start? | Not yet. |
| Simon, What's the best book you've ever read? Also, send my regards to Raja Ram. Oh and see you in at the Troxy in October! | Cosmic Trigger by RAW. |
| Why, why, whyyy was Shpongle not at Bisco this year!? You guys were literally the only reason I even went to year prior, and y'all never even showed up:( | Because we weren't asked. Simples. |
| You should look into playing at the Gorge in washington, absolutely the best venue in the world. | That looks amazing! I'm not sure we could fill it though... |
| Hello, I remember seeing you at the Masquerade on May 21, 2011 which was the supposed date of the Rapture. I remembered when you walked back up for the encore you just simply said "unlike Jesus I'm back". That was cool. | Lol... wasn't the venue called "Heaven", too? |
| I've never stumbled upon another Shpongler in the U.S. either. I find this strange. I'm from Oklahoma...not the most cultured state in the union, but still... | I've stumbled across plenty! Maybe it's the hat ;) |
