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
The Broken Wheel (2017):
Zeffon - Delete the Mouth and Inhale (2017):
LoFi Zeffon (2019):
