K-Group: Abstract experimental music in a pop format
Paul Toohey, the man who went out shopping and came back 16 years later.
Paul Toohey, the man who went out shopping and came back 16 years later.
You recorded a 7" for I Dichi Del Barone. Why are there 16 years between the last K-Group release from 2003 and this new 7"?
Paul Toohey: I don't know. I could say family life, work, going to the shops. A lot of spare time got used up on house
renovations, playing football, that sort of thing. But I kept recording
all through that period, and I was trying out some new ways to make
sounds and record with a computer. It was only moderately successfully
and even when I made something I liked, I was in no hurry to release it,
because I was out of touch with the music world. But I knew the time
would come again so I never really went away. I definitely missed
playing with Surface of the Earth. When I moved to Auckland Rosy Parlane
and Torben Tilly encouraged me to resurrect K-Group for some live shows
so the last two years have been quite productive. A few shows, lots of
recording.
Can you tell me, in your own words, what am I listening to when I listen to this 7"?
Side
A - processed guitar. The flip side came about after applying a
computer effect to a sound that I can't quite remember the source of.
Possibly some synthesiser that has been pitch shifted and had its tempo
dramatically altered.
Do
you think the 7" format fits your kind of drone music? Because one of
the things I like about your drones is that they don't go on forever.
When
we had our label World Resources one of the ideas that appealed to me
was making abstract, experimental music and presenting in a 'pop' format
- the 7". I'm still interested in that idea. Same thing with albums
really, 8-10 tracks around a 4-6 minute mark. Trying to work with the
format of music I grew up listening to in the late 70s and 80s.
Sometimes it's possible to do longer tracks but in general I prefer
short ones. Live I think it can be a bit challenging for the audience
because the music sometimes ends just when people seem to be drifting
off with the sound and getting comfortable.
How did you get into ths kind of music? Was it a record? Or an artist? Or an instrument?
Most
of the stuff I really liked when I was kid had some kind of drone
element. I was listening to the obvious stuff so guitar players like
Bernard Sumner, Bruce Gilbert and Johnny Ramone made their mark on me
when I was in high school, particularly the sound of their guitars and
the economy of it all. I liked the synthesiser too and remember
'Autobahn' on the radio. I loved it, and of course much later discovered
all the German music like La Dusseldorf. Back in the mid 80s I was
making recordings with Tony from Surface of the Earth and also on my
own. Some of the drone elements were already there, and largely because
of my limitations as a guitar player. Some of the classic New Zealand
Flying Nun 80s bands always had some kind of drone going on. I'm going
to see Michael Rother in Berlin in three weeks in Berlin, I can hardly
believe it.
What is it that attracts you in drone music?
I
don't think I can say I listen to a lot of drone music, but I like
hearing people using drones in rock or pop music. Someone like Dean
Wareham has been doing it for years and he's very skilful and I already
mentioned the German stars. I suppose the idea of getting lost in sound
appeals to most people who love music. As for playing it, I think it's
all I can do really, as I am limited as a guitar player.
Which gear do you use, for making your music and for recording?
The
K-Group CD on Corpus Hermeticum was a guitar album, recorded to
cassettes, like Surface of the Earth. It took me ages. In the last few
years I've been using the computer a lot, but not really in a high tech
way. So now I generally I record guitar drones - using the overdrive
pedal I've had since the 80s, a basic practice amp and a little reverb -
onto a little handheld recorder. I transfer the sounds to computer and
process them. I sometimes layer a couple of tracks, but because the
recordings are quite low fidelity, there's already a bit of texture and
there's a lot detail missing. This is generally a good thing, as it
gives me something to work with. I don't like too many layers - overdubs
stress me - so I try to keep it as sparse as possible.
Did the music of Surface Of The Earth influence your solo work?
Well
I play a similar role in K-Group to the one I have in Surface. I've
really only got a couple of moves on the guitar so it's difficult for me
to come up with something different, but I still try. Some
recent K-Group recordings are probably not drone music so I'm finally
branching out a bit. One of the enjoyable things about Surface
of the Earth is we don't talk about anything, we just record. Because
of the guitars of Donald and Tony, Surface recordings are more detailed.
In K-Group I spend hours and hours over things and often end up nowhere
anyway. K-Group is more 'controlled' and 'constructed' I suppose but it
definitely contains less elements.
Why did you want to do K-group as a solo thing?
Mainly because I moved from Wellington in the mid 90s, and because I've always recorded on my own anyway.
What does the name K-Group refer to?
I can't remember, exactly - probably obfuscation. I'm stuck with it now.
You tour Europe in this autumn. Is this your first European tour?
It's my first tour anywhere.
(interview by joeri bruyninckx)
