INKBLOT

Interview with Jeremy Ballard (USA)
by E*Rock
(see also: Array Gun)
10/00
www.tomlab.de

I first heard Inkblot when Tomlab had asked me to do some artwork for an upcoming release. I got a CD-R of snappy beats and subtle, textured arrangements. The album was by Inkblot, who was Tomlabís first American artist, and one that I immediately took a liking to. When my brother moved to town we wound up listening to the album on repeat for days on end, and I ended up interviewing Jeremy a short while before his debut album, The Language Game, was finally released.

So how did Inkblot come about?

I got my first synthesizer, well my only synthesizer, when I was seventeen, something like that. I guess it was 1995, like five years ago now. I got really into dance music at the time, started going to rave parties, a lot of my friends were DJing an stuff, so I would go over their house and mess around with their turntables. I also got some records and some belt-driven turntables. I started messing around with my synthesizer to see what I could come up with - it had a little sequencer on it and a lot of good sounds. Then I got more and more into it.

Did you play in any other bands or anything before that?

Yeah, I played bass, drums, and guitar before. I good friend of mine that I grew up with was a drummer, so weíd all get together and improvise and do whatever. Then somehow, I kind of dropped that music altogether for about three or four years and was totally into electronic music. I was into the west coast kind of stuff like Hardkiss and Single Cell Orchestra, stuff like that. Then I slowly started playing stuff. Iíd go to a party and I didnít understand what was happening up there, there was just all this music coming out. So I was intent on figuring out what was going on, and started messing around, trying to make my own... [end of sentence lost in a sea of phone static.]

Well, I donít think the stuff youíre doing now is very close to straightforward dance music.

No, not at all. Iíve really gotten away from that stuff since those days.

Yeah, the dance scene gets stagnant after a bit.

It was new to me then, but now when I look back itís very simple.

Well, also if your record is too different you canít mix it so easy with the others, so no oneís going out of their way to do something drastic.

There was a lot of formula.

That can be said of any ìgenreî I suppose. Do you ever play out live with the stuff you do now?

Yes, not very often. Austin is not a very big electronic music town at all - I think itís probably pretty similar to Portland though.

Iím not sure there are many big electronic towns in the US-as far as getting a draw for the experimental type of thing.

Yeah. I guess I play live about every three months, thereís not really any place in town thatís totally supportive of it, so if Iím going to do it itís going to be with more rock-like bands, or post-rock, or whatever. So Iíve played college radio stations, or at record stores, or at someoneís party. Other than that thereís not many places to go.

House parties are more fun anyway because people are there to have a good time.

Yeah, exactly, people are more receptive. Thatís the other thing - people donít know what to do at a show. Do I just stand here and bop my head, do I watch, or what do I do? So they end up just talking amongst themselves. Thereís really not much to look at. ìI canít tell what heís doing.î Iím trying to get more visual aid so that people can put their attention on something.

Thatís why I donít like to play rock clubs, because people expect to have a band to watch, and itís hard to entertain people by yourself, while operating your equipment.

ìWhereís the lead man?î Itís music to do stuff to.

You use pretty varied sound sources. Itís not all synthesized, thereís lots of natural sounds. Do you get out the mic a lot and just record things?

Yeah, on The Language Game I used a really crappy dictaphone mic. I would just run it into the mixer and sample from it and mix it in live - or Iíll sample my guitar a lot. Lately I have a process of just picking sources at random and sampling half a second or something, and then getting my bank full of samples. So I have all this different stuff to work with and now I try to make some structure out of it and it some architecture. Itís more interesting for me that way, because itís a little bit more random. I never sit down and say, ìOh, this is what Iím going to do today.î Itís more of a process thing.

You give yourself a palette to work with? Thatís more like collaging, because you take bits of different pictures and reassemble it.

I try not to sample anything longer than like a second, because it seems to be more interesting when you donít recognize what it is - or I canít even remember where I got it from...

Well, it takes the sound farther out of context. Youíre forced to give it an entirely new identity.

Right. Out of context, within a context of all the other things that donít have any context as well.

How old are you?

I just tuned twenty-three.

Did you ever have any formal music background, or was it just from playing with friends.

Yeah, just from playing with friends. I took a music theory class in high school and totally failed it. I donít know, I guess I wasnít ready to concentrate on music like that. So getting into music was just from listening and more from wanting something to do.

How long have you been in Austin, Texas for?

Since I graduated high school, almost five years ago. I like it. Itís the best place in Texas.

Thatís what Iíve heard too from friends. You do visual art also?

Yes, Iím an art student at [University of Texas] majoring in studio art, mainly I do multi-media stuff. Iím trying to get a portfolio together now to apply to graduate school, but I graduate in May unfortunately.

Do you have a particular school in mind?

Um, I know I want to get out of Texas for now. Iíve lived here all my life. Maybe Cal Arts, or Chicago Art Institute, Iím not sure yet - anyplace that will accept me, and where my girlfriend feels like moving to also.

Is the Language Game your first release?

Yeah, well I put out one here that I pressed maybe 100 of. It was before I had a sampler, so it was all synthesized off of drum machines and was a lot different sounding. Now when I listen back itís really distorted and hot and I did a terrible job on the production. Itís nasty and brittle. It totally changed when I got a sampler. I have an Akai MPC 2000 that I use. Itís a great machine.

Was that first release a CD-R?

I actually got it manufactured. I found a place that was able to do a really small number and I just sold them around town, giving them out to friends...

How did you end up hooking up with Tomlab?

Actually, I finished The Language Game here and was going to release it as another thing like the first, but then I decided to send it off to a few labels. Tom called me back like a week later and said, ìI like your stuff, letís put it out.î

I like the piano sounding melodies on The Language Game CD.

Iím trying to give more of a live feel to it. If I record it live, then maybe I can pull it off live too.

Especially when youíre playing by yourself, you have to figure out a way to perform it all live.

Yeah, itís a hassle getting ready for a live show. You spend forever working on it that it makes you go, ìI think Iím going to rent a power book or something, just dump everything into it and make it really boring.î

I always wonder if Aphex Twin was actually doing anything at those shows, when it was just him and his PowerBook lying on the stage.

Did Aphex Twin come through Portland? We donít get any good shows here. Tomís trying to set up some sort of European tour next year. That would be pretty fun. Itís kind of weird because Iíve only played a few places here, then Iíll get to go over to Europe and play all over. Itís also strange because the whole thing takes place electronically. Iíve talked to Tom on the phone one time. We always emailed and I said, ìIíd like to talk to you personally sometime if weíre going to do this.î So he called me and he was a nice guy.

I can hear your dogs barking back there.

Yeah, you can hear them? I have two Pugs and every little thing that goes in from of the window freaks them out. Itís kind of annoying.

[end]