Take a Psychedelic Trip Across the Spectrum of Sound with Spooky Distance.
From the ashes of the veteran acid house/techno group Earth Leakage Trip has risen a new and mind-blowing experimentation of music. Both members, Tony Lobue and Neil Sanford are now at the helm of Spooky Distance , who along with fellow musicians (Adam Fras, Pete Corbolan, and others) are pushing the boundaries of music and redefining not only the production of music, but also the ways that we listen.
Their sound may come across a little strange at first – but once you've heard them and really absorb what the Spooky Distance project is doing, you'll understand the talent and direction.
Tony and Neil are driven by a innovative concept for performances that sees them produce music with a fresh approach. They focus in on jamming sessions and record absolutely everything. The concept was a progression from the pairs' joint experimental and technological advancements with the tools they could use.
"Tony and I were jamming together and we started to record it but didn't have the equipment to make it sound releasable. Nevertheless we found ourselves sampling bits of the jam just for fun and actually finding we could loop them up and do some pretty interesting stuff with it. It kept drawing us back, knowing that one day we could record this more professionally and have something that we could release." - Neil
Now they are in the position that these recorded jam sessions can sound releasable, and the results are beautiful. The passion for the jams have led them both to picking up instruments and learning, this fused with their previous experience in electronic music production as Earth Leakage Trip - has meant the sound that they create is something beyond imaginable.
It's an entirely immersive experience where all the flavors simmer over leaving your mind feeling fully nourished.
"We melt dub, drum & bass, jazz, rock, folk, acid all together. But it's not about that, it's the principle behind what we are doing and the energy we try to create" - Tony
"I think it helps that we've had experience in all those genres. We've produced that music, we've really explored the different genres and it feeds into what we do." - Neil
By looking back, they take several steps forward. A combination of their own creative growth and technological growth means that the Spooky Distance project can delve into uncharted territories. They have limitless scenarios that can come from their live recorded jamming sessions, and their music is continually developing and always in post production.
"We don't ever dry up, that's the good thing about keeping things like this. For a lot of artists it's difficult to keep thinking of new ideas. But with us we have such an endless supply of very interesting moments that you can instantly be inspired by. By just simply sampling it, adding another beat on top of it and twisting it a little bit you've got something really cool that you would have never conceived if you started with a blank piece." - Tony
The jam sessions are great. They transport the band to another world, giving them time to trail their individual investigations of sound and fusing everything together. Though don't be fooled, the music is the primary ruler here. The concept of going with the flow is quite literally the case, as organically their jams progress through.
"It can be deceiving to be too knowing about what you are doing. You don't want to be in charge of it, or try and control it - it's quite a delicate affair." - Tony
With so much material the Spooky Distance project now has a number of ideas that it's getting ready to do. Firstly get a jam, release as an album. Another process for Spooky Distance is taking sections of jams, twist them around a bit and create something new from the recordings, as a mashup. These mashups can be used as individual tracks and be mixed in a DJ set. Just because they have a whole load of material, you can still rely on them recording more jam sessions as both members have been looking into more sounds that can be incorporated in. Expect greatness from this new outfit in future!
Check out Spooky Distance releases here