simvalcrvm teams up with static.grl for Light’s Out, a cinematic production where an enigmatic piano layer meets an atmospheric breakbeat groove, a score destined for digital realms. Read our discussion with the 2 artists below!
Describe your sound in 3 words:
simvlacrvm: Atmospheric, Textured, Intentional
static.grl: Experimental, Introspective, Emotional!
How did you two meet? How did this collaboration for Light’s Out come about, and what was the creative process like in developing the piano part to fit the single’s aesthetic?
simvlacrvm: I met static.grl in another producer friend, 4evrx’s Discord server earlier this year. We started chatting and found we had a lot in common and began to collaborate.
After a few fun and easy collaborative projects where we discovered how easy it was to work together, I asked static.grl to join in on a few tracks from the upcoming Album, “Shattered Self”.
static.grl: We met in a discord server called Digital Exorcism after I felt quite down and really wanted to collaborate. The moment we started working together we discovered a synergy that I’ve yet to find in collaboration with anyone else, save for my friend Alexis. Most of the album was written by Sim over a particular stretch of time and as he sent the demos to me, I became increasingly interested in offering up some piano for the project as I could hear the Yamaoka influence and Silent Hill is probably my favorite game series of all time. I’d actually tried doing the soundtrack for a Silent Hill-inspired fangame before (which never came to fruition), so I guess I’m not really a stranger to writing impressions of Akira. As soon as I heard Light’s Out for the first time a melody I thought would fit came rushing to my head, and everything kind of fell into place from there.
Given the strong thematic influences, what challenges did you face in creating something that pays homage to a well-known style while still maintaining your own unique artistic voice?
simvlacrvm: Well, with anything in the vein of Akira Yamaoka, it’s very easy to get lost in the atmosphere and eerieness of a piece like, “Light’s Out”. It was relatively fast to channel something that was in the ballpark,
but very difficult to land on something I was happy with in terms of the overall sound. If it’s too long, it can feel boring, but if its too short, the listener, including ourselves, crave more of it.
static.grl: I guess my biggest worry was that the piano would sound too ‘tropey’. I think by shooting for a natural acoustic sound and having the melody fluctuate throughout rather than repeat like a sample of the era, we were able to separate the sound enough from the likes of the Silent Hill soundtrack.
This is a single from an upcoming album. How does this particular track fit into the broader narrative or sonic landscape of the full album? Does it serve as an introduction, a representative piece, or something else entirely?
simvlacrvm: “Light’s Out, is absolutely a representative piece, and possibly the “mascot” song of the album. The other songs are all siblings to it, but are different enough that they remain their own unique pieces without detracting from what “Light’s Out” sets out to accomplish very early into the album.
static.grl: I would say it helps to ease the listener into the album’s atmosphere while also maintaining representation of the album’s vibe on the whole.
Artists and people that have influenced you?
simvlacrvm: I would say that Akira Yamaoka, Shoji Meguro, Yuzo Koshiro, Bill Brown, Jason Christopherson are some of my favorite musical composers that light up all the neurons for me, but I also have loved Daft Punk, Juno Reactor, Dieselboy and Trash80 for decades now.
static.grl: Chopin, Debussy, Koji Kondo, Vince Guaraldi and Bill Evans have all massively influenced the way I play piano. I can only dream of reaching their level of technical prowess in future. In terms of songwriting, Squarepusher, Sonic Youth, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Aphex Twin and Board of Canada are my big picks, and I’d of course be remiss if I didn’t shoutout Simpleflips.
In which place or state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
simvlacrvm: I have not thought about this directly before. I just make what I make, and hope other people can enjoy it. If I had to wager a guess, I would like to imagine people are listening at Home, or somewhere relaxed where they can take in the full sound of whatever they are listening to.
static.grl: I hope people will listen to my music while injecting themselves with estrogen, in the happiest state of mind they’ve ever been.
Can you share each other’s funny habits?
simvlacrvm: static.grl’s ability to name song stems funny or ironic things when we send things back and forth always is a joy to receive. She has a knack for reminding me of our past conversations via naming the stems standout converstation pieces we have shared.
static.grl: Sim has, on multiple occasions now, told me he’s going to take a break for a little while to recuperate, and without fail within 48 hours of him saying this I will always receive a new demo he wishes for me to peruse. I think he has that thing where there’s so much music in his brain, his head would explode if he tried to keep it all in.
A song you are convinced was written about you?
simvalcrvm: Closer to the Heart by Rush.
static.grl: Abused by Elliott Smith.
Thank you!
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