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There
are two versions of this interview. The first is a "proper"
the second a Q&A type thing. Read them both, then buy the album... Coming as if from nowhere, cutting a precise swathe through thin air. Seppuku are a mysterious, deadly serious ensemble from Ottawa. They tread the dusky hinterland between avant rock and contemporary classical. But while the band's music lurks in the sonic shadows where sound can fade away into silence at any moment, their creative mainman Mark Molnar is extremely forthcoming and articulate about the origins and aims of his music. The band, which has a fluid line-up of musicians playing metal percussion, guitars, piano, contra bass, drums, cello and samples, has been around since 1997 and released its debut album the awesome houses of earths innocents last year. Although Molnar emphasises the importance of group play, Seppuku is clearly very much his baby. Consequently, like any protective musician, he's unwilling to have his music lazily shoved into a category at an early age and he's uncomfortable with any attempt to describe it in words. "The descriptions that get pasted onto the music often mislead people", he insists, "I respect and appreciate it when people hear the record and relate it to something in their music collection, or to any loosely defined genre, but ultimately it is a misreading, not because what I am doing is so intangible or so far into left field that it defies labels but because putting it into any one genre will alienate certain people from it." Moreover, Seppuku's music draws inspiration from such a wide range of sources, from Harry Partch to Prince, that any simple description or label could only ever be trite. "I don't feel any loyalty to any one genre", explains Molnar, " I have a huge music collection and I have been studying a lot of different styles for a long time but I don't feel that any one of them represents me." Again, he is eagre to point out that this isn't someone showing off about how wild or unique there tastes are: "I am a product of my generation, where vast amounts of cultural experiences and an unbelievably wide scope of music is available to me and I am trying to make sense of it all for myself." With such a huge range of influences vying for creative attention it is remarkable that he arrives at such a restrained, uncluttered sound. "I only put in what needs to be there", he explains, "I've always tried to start with a blank page and go from there... It is constructed so that the music can have its own life, its own heart and spirit." Fundamentally, it seems that, in making Seppuku's music, producing something aesthetically powerful is more important than paying homage to Molnar's myriad influences. "I don't feel any pressing need to reference my influences in the music at this point as I don't want to imitate them", he agrees, "I want to use what I've learned from them to do something for myself." Still, he doesn't claim to be doing anything "groundbreaking or revolutionary". Rather, it's "an attempt at creating a sliver of light in the face of a culture that predominantly uses music as wallpaper or coloring for life." This explains the use of quiet and silence on the awesome houses... Rather than to make nice background music, it is to draw the listener in, too demand concentration, lest the music dissapear altogether. "The music that has made a difference in my life is the stuff that demanded my attention and sucked me in and, if I'm lucky, maybe someone will get that from what I'm doing", says Molnar. This is indicative of a meticulous approach to composition. It may come as a surprise that, although it contains elements of improvisation, Seppuku's music is largely composed. In fact Molnar has been trained in classical methodology since the age of four and he still drops classics of 20th-century composition into live sets. "My background is pretty dry and typical I'm afraid", he confesses. While his musical background may be dry and typical, his own music is anything but. It's incredible that music as sparse and understated as Seppuku's can express such extremes of drama and compassion. Mark has several works in progress right now and one gets the impression that his best is yet to come. Here's the Q&A version... Seppuku are a mysterious, deadly serious ensemble from Ottawa. They tread the dusky hinterland between avant rock and contemporary classical. But while the band's music lurks in the sonic shadows where sound can fade away into silence at any moment, their creative mainman Mark Molnar proved to be extremely forthcoming and articulate over the course of this e-mail interview. Perhaps
you could begin by giving details of Seppuku's releases to date. Who's
in the band apart from you? What existing
label best fits your music? Your music
has been described as avant-jazz, dark ambient and post-rock. Which
of these descriptions turns your stomach the least? I really don't know what you mean by dark ambient. My understanding of that has always been from people like Mick Harris (Scorn), Kevin Martin (God, Ice, Techno Animal), Tricky and others. I have profound respect for their work but it's distinctly separate from mine -conceptually and culturally. I have a particular problem with the use of the word "post". When I hear people stick that word in front of "rock" or "classical", "jazz" or any genre title, I get worried. This tendency to reduce the past to aesthetic references and short formulations really does it a disservice. The idea that there has been a separation and that what we have now in rock or punk is meta- or post- just doesn't hold up and, most importantly, it doesn't help people to listen to the music. It just creates a cultural obstacle. I realize when you used post-rock, you meant it as an umbrella term but I don't see how people align the Seppuku material with any one group or movement. To ascribe it to any genre leaves me uneasy and it excludes certain people. I am not trying to rant here, I am just trying to articulate this so that there is no misunderstanding. That said, what I am doing is creating MUSIC. If someone gets something more than that out of it, then I am very fortunate. But I don't feel any loyalty to any one genre. I have a huge music collection and I have been studying a lot of different styles for a long time but I don't feel that any one of them represents me. I wish there was one style so that I could just stand up and proclaim that I am this or I am that but there isn't. I am a product of my generation, where vast amounts of cultural experiences and an unbelievably wide scope of music is available to me and I am trying to make sense of it all for myself. I am trying to develop my own expression on top of it. If I am a representative of anything it is of my influences. Clearly
then, you have a huge range of influences vying for creative attention.
In light of this, how do you achieve such a restrained, uncluttered
sound? Producing
something aesthetically powerful is more important than paying homage
to your myriad influences? That's not to say what I am doing is groundbreaking or revolutionary. It's new to me and it's an attempt to step forward with what I've learned and to give body and voice to something that I can hear in my head. It is an attempt at creating a sliver of light in the face of a culture that predominantly uses music as wallpaper or coloring for life. I never wanted to make music for people to listen to while they're worrying about the cut of their pant. The music that has made a difference in my life is the stuff that demanded my attention and sucked me in and, if I'm lucky, maybe someone will get that from what I'm doing. Music
this restrained must be hard to replicate live. How do you A lot
of what you're saying seems to be suggesting that your music is quite
strictly composed, whereas a lot of it sounds improvised. I try to encourage improvisation within the structure and cues of the pieces, so that the players can express themselves but I do not want to play "improvised music". When people are improvising, they are expressing themselves and they are raising the bar each time they do something; pushing forward and not relying on an existing vocabulary. That is really exciting. "Improvised music" I find to be rather stale and boring most of the time. By improvised music, I mean music made by people who find a few clever things they can do with their instrument and then force it into any situation as if they're doing something important or interesting. It usually ends up being neither of the two. It should move forward, always forward. The players should always chose sounds in relation to what they are hearing in the moment and they should try to add to the piece, not take away from it. Also, each person should be doing something different. If two people are playing the same thing in a trio, then it reduces it to a duo and there's little point to that unless you are stacking frequencies for a desired effect. In improvising and expressing ourselves, we should be learning something and not just relying on the same old thing. Improvising I love, "improvised music" tends to bore me to tears. Do you
have a "classical" training in composition and the performance of composed
material? I played in orchestras and ensembles until I was 14, at which time I stopped playing classical music because I couldn't relate to it. In orchestra's there'd be a pit full of people plowing through Mozart's Requiem for the N'th time and they all played like it was their last day on earth, while I was frequently bored and thinking of other things. I just didn't feel it and I felt like I was cheating people by going through the motions. Since then, I've mainly been playing 20th-century work, pushing composition techniques as far as I can and learning how to communicate with people to create music. I listened to my parents' record collection until high school, which consisted of a little jazz and a ton of Motown. In high school I became incurably addicted to rock, punk and pop culture. My background is pretty dry and typical I'm afraid. While his musical background may be dry and typical, his own music is anything but. It's incredible that material as sparse and understated as Seppuku's can express such extremes of drama and compassion. Mark has several works in progress right now and one gets the impression that his best is yet to come. Watch this space.
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