Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor collaborates with Killick
May 4th, 2009 by Chad Radford in Listening Stack, Music news
Athens-based Appalachian trance metal guitarist/improv artist Killick’s (Erik Hinds) forthcoming full-length Exsanguinette (sic), features an impressive lineup of like-minded players accompanying his guitar playing, including Brann Dailor of Mastodon (drums), Liz Allbee (trumpet) and Larry Ochs (of Rova Saxophone Quartet) on sax. For lack of a better term, the music is insane. The CD will be released in a limited press of only 1,000 copies, featuring artwork by Watson Atkinson, photos by Rinne Allen and an old-school trash metal cassette demo J-card style insert. The recording is due out in June on Killick’s Solponticello label.
The idea for the project came about shortly after Killick suffered through a nasty bout of internal bleeding that left him hospitalized for several days, and greatly influenced this forthcoming release. According to Killick, “The music explores the idea of bleeding as purging, change, and renewal.
Chad Radford: What happened to you in June?
Killick: “I woke up one day feeling “lazy” for lack of a better word. My physical state deteriorated rapidly, and by 6 p.m., I was in the hospital where I stayed for five days. I had a bleeding Duodenal ulcer … silent, painless caused by a bacteria called H. Pylori. I could have gotten the bacteria anywhere at any point from when I was born until right up to then. I lost over half my blood. It’s thought that many, many people around the world have H. Pylori, though it typically doesn’t cause any problems. Having Celiac disease may make me more susceptible than the average person. Celiac disease is a lifelong intolerance to the gluten protein Gliadin, found in wheat, barley and rye plus there’s a closely related protein in oats. They are poison to my body. The trick is avoiding not only the obvious foods, but almost all processed food has small amounts in it, which is too much for me. I’ve been gluten-free for four years. … I’m used to it. The social dimension is harder on other people than it is me. People feel bad that I can’t eat what they prepare. I also can’t drink alcohol or eat spicy foods, or tomatoes or oranges or almonds, or refined sugar, or caffeine. I also can’t take any aspirin or Ibuprofen or anything like it. I tell people I’ll make up for it in another life.
So you channeled this, as well as your experience with the bleeding ulcer into a recording project that yielded “Bloodletting?”
I wouldn’t say the music is about Celiac disease. I know what you’re saying, though. The impetus was definitely about “the bleed.” Not just how it effected me physically, but emotionally, spiritually.
Did you actually write notes and cues for the other musicians or is this a piece of improvisation?
It’s structured improvisation. I tend to avoid describing it as improvisation. That seems to be a barrier for a lot of people and I’d love more people to give it a spin. Music is just one sound after the next, and if it’s good, hopefully it transcends categorization.
Tell me more about the structured aspect of it.
The way I approached it was to create two simultaneous architectures: one to keep the music moving in the moment, the other to ensure there is balance from the beginning of the recording to the end. The directions were specific as to timing, instrumentation, dynamic levels, entries/exits and tonalities, though ultimately it depended on the openness, skill, and focus of the players. Also, I wished to bring out a lot of the aspects of teetering between life and death. The wild colors and experiences I’ve had. The others worked very well with this intention…
(Photo by Rinne Allen)
May 4th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
celiac disease symptoms-gluten-free diet is recommended amongst other things in the treatment of celiac disease and wheat allergy. It is a diet completely free of ingredients derived from gluten-containing cereals…
Watch the video-instruction:gluten-free diet-instruction !!!