INTERVIEW TO ZEFFON

This time in our section of interviews we know more about the prolific and creative soundtrack, musique concrete composer Zeffon.

How you define the concept and the name of your music Project?

I would say I define the concept of Zeffon as something that is meant to stop people from fighting about trivial matters. The thing that I wish first and foremost that Zeffon would show the world is that life is worth living, and it’s okay to have fun when you’re in a bad place economically, socially, or politically.

Zeffon also follows the character I created a long time ago named “Dränsilane”. That name originates from a map I drew in elementary school that marks a place west of a mountain range as “Castle Drans”. The -ilane part of it was added in 2011 to make the name less like a Swedish word that apparently means “drain”, and I had a very large desire to avoid making up words that meant something else in another language at the time.

Zeffon comes from two words: zephyr and griffon. Zeffon is the name of a dimension, but also is my name for a strange beast with a large head that turns people to stone.

Another concept Zeffon and Dränsilane represent is pulling logic and reason out of chaos, and that’s been my source of inspiration all these years. To pull reason and logic out of chaos, you need to be very spontaneous with your music, or else it doesn’t work! So for me, I often improvise or use the first idea that comes to mind when creating a piece. When I do this, I find that a lot of the random names or sounds I pull out of my mind line up with each other. For example, one of the significant numbers in Zeffon’s theory is 48. I didn’t realize why until later when I realized another significant number that I came up with for Zeffon, which is 10,707, can be factored into three pieces: 3, 43, and 83. The number 48 is in there, divided by threes. Therefore, I came up with the idea that the Third Eye is what can divide the being represented by 48. In any case, anything to do with Zeffon is connected with each other in this way.

Do you play live performances? Or you have a future interest in do it?

I have played a total of two live performances, both at talent shows. I don’t have too much of an interest because I don’t have a lot of people around me in the Renton-Seattle area who love the same things I do!

How you define your own music in genres? Which are you favorite genres or whice genres you mix in your music?

I think the closest phrase I can think of that would define my music is “80s cassette culture” because of the similarities in aesthetics and sound. In terms of genre, I like pretty much everything, so each year I mix something a Little bit different in my music. In 2018, it was vaporwave. In 2019, it was dub reggae and chiptunes. In any case, every time I discover something interesting, I have to try my hand at imitating it.

You mention in the description of your releases some polytical thoughts, can you explain the relation of your ideology with your sound?

I mention political thoughts such as anti-fascism, anti-communism, etc. because to me, it’s important to poke fun at people who believe they’re morally superior to everyone else because of their political ideology. I originally commented on politics around 2011-12 because of how I felt common people were just used by social elites to carry out their bidding. It could be a leader of a country or a teacher giving extra credit to students who protest at an event. At that time, my music’s sound started becoming especially dissonant.

As politics have continued to become increasingly divisive (especially here in the United States), the whole idea behind mentioning politics has evolved. The reason I began to sample policial speeches like Mao Zedong’s 1949 address is because I wanted listeners to realize that politics can be made into art and weird tape collages. If people’s first reactions are to sample and cut up a speech as opposed to reacting to it, it makes politics much bearable and even serves to de-radicalize individuals, because they stop taking it so seriously.

Favorite composers, or inspirations?

In the older days (pre-2015), I was more inspired by movies and books: Lovecraft, Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, and one of the things that started Zeffon in the first place - the Castle Series. That’s where I Heard Hecate Enthroned for the first time and the track “Goetia”, which inspired me to create Zeffon. I was also inspired a lot by Legend of Zelda, old PS1 JRPGs like Legend of Dragoon, and my first Final Fantasy game I bought for the GBA. One musician that was very instrumental in inspiring to start writing music however was Vim! and a lot of the other artists on the old Monotonik netlabel - I found Vim! because of a Newgrounds animation I watched called “The Rotten Antenna”, which uses his track “01” to help set the mood for a desolate wasteland.

After I made albums like “Proteins” in 2015, I became more concerned about how the music was made, rather than what it caused the listener to envision. This was inspired first by Tribes of Neurot, Neurosis, Kekal, but grew to include artists like De Fabriek, Mission Papua Holland, Daask, Het Zweet, Narwal, and The Lost Attic / Technological Aquiver.

Why most of your tracks have a long duration? Do you feel it like a soudtrack or an interpretation of a movie soundtrack?

To me, if you’re making a big statement in your music, the track should be longer. I think initially the idea for making long tracks came from weird macabre influences like Castle or Legend of Zelda, where you might be trapped in a world where you’re in stasis - mostly dead, but slightly alive. I try to envision how much slower things would progress for a being that was undead, and the tracks’ length can be interpreted as a simulation of that.

Do you feel that your music is dark? Or you feel it in other direction?

I guess it can be dark, but I like to balance it out with a little light every so often. If some of the music is meant to simulate what it’s like to be undead, then I like to contrast it was light-hearted tracks of those who are alive.

One thing the music is supposed to represent is being a better place than you were before, so yes, it does have darkness, but that’s supposed to be reserved for the start. As the listener moves through the music, it guides them to a better space of mind.

How is the place where you live? Do you have some inspiration on your music from your city of residence?

A lot of my earlier album covers were pictures I took of my place of residence when it was dark, foggy, or somewhat dreary. Part of the reason my tracks have nature sounds in them in because of the fact that I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It’s very green and lush here, it rains a lot, and the spring colors are great, vibrant greens.

At the same, my house is surrounded by alder trees. Because of the moderate humidity around the Renton-Issaquah area when it rains, it usually causes the trees to rot on the tops, and those parts of the tree eventually fall off with the tree still alive below. This is another image that’s stuck with me all these years, that beautiful nature can obscure an unpleasant, but somehow divine ugliness. The forest may look good from the outside, but there’s something decaying while struggling to live on the inside. I don’t think it’s a bad thing; being an alder tree that decomposes and slowly becomes part of the forest is a peaceful feeling for me.

Which are your favorite Zeffon tracks and why?

My favorite tracks are the ones that make an image for me in my head. I would say that some of my most favorite tracks I’ve ever done are the longer tracks from 2018-19. The first untitled track on “Zeffon Continues to Travel” is a favorite of mine, as well as “Bloody Eye”, which is present on “Mint Leaf Understood By Exploitation Films About Cannibals (Christmas Time)”.

What music genre you think that is the worst, and why?

I definitely like most genres, but pop-country music is probably my least favorite, since I don’t feel like it pushes any boundaries. I may be wrong though. Another genre I don’t like as much is Harsh Noise Wall. I like the community around it, but I always felt like I had dusty gravel in my ears listening to it, so I couldn’t really enjoy it aesthetically. I HAVE made a few attempts at making it though.

Why you choose mainly release your music in non-profit netlabels?

I do that because I remember listening to a band called Freakhouse when I was starting Zeffon in 2009. I had money that I wanted to give to the band so I could buy their álbum, but that money wasn’t on a credit card, so even though I could afford it, the only things I could hear were the 30-second excerpts on iTunes. I didn’t want to do that to anyone else who would be in the same position, so I felt it was necessary. In any case, it helps people hear experimental music that maybe they wouldn’t have heard otherwise.

You agree or don’t with have some of your music in the popular streaming platforms (spotify, i tunes, Apple music, etc) why?

I’m okay with it, but only in limited amounts. I know that streaming platforms take a HUGE chunk of the revenue that comes from streaming, so I really wasn’t interested in helping Spotify profit off my creativity. As far as I know, their CEO hasn’t written a song in his life, but he’s far richer than I’ll ever be.

What you think about the current experimental music movement in the netlabels?

I like the fact that people are experimenting more and more - almost every netlabel I see wants something more experimental, which I think is good. I just wish I could meet these people in real life, as opposed to through a computer.

Any other not massive artists who release music in netlabels like you that you like listen it?

Vim! is one of my favorites because of the now-defunct Monotonik netlabel, but I’ll have to do some additional digging before I can answer that fully. I don’t spend a lot of time listening to netlabel music, but thanks for reminding me to do that!

You make collaborations with other artists? Any good experience or recommendation to some artists that you want to tell us?

I’ve collaborated with Grozny 93, of which I’m also a member. I’ve also collaborated with the sinister avant-garde black metal project Salqiu, from Brazil/Portugal. More recently, I made a track called Light-Footed Knee Dub with Greathumour, an experimental project from the US.

I particularly liked Daveli’s Cave from Greece, mostly because that project reminded me of what I’ve tried to accomplish on an abstract level with Zeffon. That’s the recommendation I have right away.

Any anecdote in the creation of some track or an album that you want to share with us?

I’m not entirely sure I have anything for you except what I’ve described in my answers above.

Tell us more about the concept and the main inspirations about your latest work in Cian Orbe: LoFi Zeffon.

As interesting as I hope people think this album is, it’s not very complex. The name “Manipura 7” is derived from the Manipura chakra, and at the time, it was meant to be a generic name for all Zeffon albums moving forward, except for singles. This didn’t come to pass, since I’ve obviously named albums things other than “Manipura”, but it was the main idea, much like how Narwal named their albums “Nirvana”.

Any additional Words to your listeners?

I would say that everyone needs to remember to have fun. That’s the main thing I hope that everyone can take away from listening to Zeffon or Reading this interview. Life doesn’t have to be upsetting or boring.Ç

ZEFFON RELEASES ON CIAN ORBE