KEPLERS ODD
DRONE N' DIRGE
By: Brett Mittelstadt
Providing the 9th installment in the Desolation House Series, KEPLERS ODD is a trio of bass, guitar and noise hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden. With a sound rich in atmosphere and ambience, but also harsh in its use of electronics and noise, the group should appeal to those on both ends of the experimental spectrum.
RESOUND: For most people reading this, it will be their first time hearing your name. Give us a brief history of KEPLERS ODD and its members.
DANIEL JANSSON: “We started out in April 2001. By accident I met Kristina, whom I knew previously but hadn’t seen in several years, at a pub in Gothenburg. We found out we shared a mutual interest in noise and drone music such as MERZBOW, EARTH and so on. Magnus, who I knew from a previous black metal band we were in, came into the fold after my meeting with Kristina. My main project besides KEPLERS ODD is DEADWOOD, a power electronics/black industrial band signed to Cold Spring Records. Other that that I have a harsh noise project called STUG 218 and a doom/black metal project is in the works. Magnus has his own harsh noise band called CREST and Kristina plays guitar in a rock ´n roll band named VIPER TRAIL.”
RESOUND: Where did the name KEPLERS ODD come from?
JANSSON: “The band name was firstly taken from a street in Gothenburg that has a massive crime rate, murder and so on. The street in question has only odd numbered addresses, hence KEPLERS ODD. Later we found out about this guy named J. Kepler who was an astronomer, mathematician and was into mysticism and that conveniently worked well with the concept of our music.”
RESOUND: Desolation House has a reputation for putting out some pretty esoteric or just plain weird stuff. How would you describe your music to the uninitiated?
JANSSON: “We think of it as drone/noise with the improvisational spirit of jazz. While a big part of what we do is improvisation, we always have an idea of how the songs should turn out. It’s sort of 50% structure, 50% chaos.”
RESOUND: What influences you to make noise/drone-controlled chaos? Does most of the influence come from personal experiences and moods, or from listening to similar bands?
JANSSON: “A little of both, really. In the beginning we set out to create pure analogue harsh noise but soon it became dronier and darker. It sort of came naturally. We draw influence from bands like EARTH and SUNN O))) so a comparison in probably unavoidable. While we are talking influences we might as well mention bands like EYEHATEGOD and GG ALLIN as well as LOU REED’s cult album Metal Machine Music because they have that dirty street feel that we embrace.”
RESOUND: Naming all the songs only by the date you record them and the album GRO J1655-40 imparts an otherworldly feel that sounds like it might be explored on the album. How did you decide on the title of the upcoming album, and what does it mean? Does GRO J1655-40 explore any specific themes or ideas?
JANSSON: “GRO J1655-40 is the name of an unusually stabile black hole that doesn’t change its characteristics like other black holes. It’s something like structured chaos, which is very much like the nature of our songs. None of the songs have specific themes; instead it all depends on the type of mood we are in at the time of recording and how hung-over we are. We seem to time that shit just right every time.”
RESOUND: You guys finished recording the album about six months ago. Even as a relatively new band you already have a reputation for using some very primitive recording techniques akin to black metal. What can you tell us about the recording process for the new album?
JANSSON: “The entire album, as with all our music, was recorded on a single SM-58 microphone in our rehearsal space. We have recently begun experimenting a bit with other recording possibilities, but that’s still a work in progress. Sometimes the sound is filtered through a reverb, but that’s the only mixing that takes place. We strive to keep our music as primitive as possible because it adds an extra dirty feel to the songs. This time around we used some weird ‘instruments’ including metal scrap, effect/distortion pedals, contact mics and power tools as well as some other weird ideas that came up from time to time. In general, if we can put a contact mic on it, and if it sounds filthy, we will use it.”
RESOUND: As a genre, Drone has been criticized by many for being nothing but pointless feedback and outlandish noise. Others view it as one of the most challenging but rewarding styles of music around today. What do you say to those of the former camp?
JANSSON: “Those people probably don’t appreciate sounds waves the way we do. They want the killer ‘Breaking the Law’ riff and people like us just don’t do that. Everyone approaches music in his or her own way. JUDAS PRIEST in all honesty is cool too, we grew up on that shit, but some people are just more interested in the single tone of sound that can be found in a riff that has been hanging for a couple of minutes, or a wall of distortion where you can’t distinguish a single instrument.”
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