I’m sitting on the floor of a recording studio in Greenville South Carolina with the band, ‘Thread of Cyan’. They released an EP on March 15th.
The band members want to use pseudo names for this interview. In fact the studio is in a residential neighborhood and invite only. Konrad Konrad is relaxing on the floor in jeans and a sweater. He leans back on one arm. His computer desk with several monitors and recording equipment forms a tall, dark shadow in the background. In a black case on the floor lies a clarinet he found in a German grocery store “and it plays great” he smiles. He has an unconventional air of confidence, humor and superior musical intelligence. The genre for this collection is rock but after listening, it pulls you toward a mirror for a long look. It’s introspective. It’s brooding mood pivots into lively, bright beats then settles back down, giving listeners a chance to examine the metaphors and hear poetic phrases sung.
Psyoken reclines on a chair in the corner. An acoustic guitar is parked on a stand behind him. He tips the chair back balancing on two wooden legs. His trucker hat is angled, knees bent, intense expression on his face as he describes the process of musical collaboration. His manner is serious, passionate and logical. Psyoken invited me to write about the process of making an album from start to finish. It’s an intricate challenging web for two artists to merge their individual visions. It involves communication, active listening, voicing disagreement, hearing one another to compromise and finally the mutual acceptance of a finished singular work representing dual musical ideas.
Both members are humble about their talents and classical music abilities. Konrad Konrad is an accomplished clarinetist. He played throughout college. He also plays the guitar and piano. He’s been composing, making music and engineering tunes since he was seventeen years old. Psyoken is a trained pianist and percussionist. His natural ability for music allows him to try any instrument ranging from the harmonica to the accordion. He composed and produced his first album in 2010. Konrad Konrad compliments him as a “Renaissance man.”
The partnership of these two musical minds is fascinating. Their friendship allows freedom of expression. One may say a lyric is too dark while the other wants to take a song deeper into melancholic places. They find a balance and move forward. The effort is an honest made from scratch (DIY) labor including the album artwork, photographing the hand of someone dear to the band.
Thrift Ink: “How did you come up with the band name?”
Konrad Konrad: “Self titled. Seemed to fit the mood and music of the band.”
Thrift Ink: “How long have you been working on these songs?”
Psyoken: “About ten months, give or take.”
Konrad Konrad:”Some of my material is from years ago.”
Thrift Ink: “How do you put a song together?”
Konrad Konrad: (hands me a sheet of paper with lyrics) “Different ways but Psyoken usually hands something like this to me in a sort of stream of consciousness script and we start from there.”
The paper has lyrics penned in a write as you think freestyle. Not like a journal entry but not structured. Psyoken writes on the fly. He may jot lines down as they appear in his mind. They decide how to build the melody and if the linguistic cadence fits. They use ‘one note’ software and then master the recordings. They have two recording locations in Greenville chosen specifically for the building acoustics.
Thrift Ink: “This sounds like a challenging process. Merging two artistic visions and agreeing on the finished work ."
Konrad and Konrad: (Smiles and laughs wryly) “It’s not succinct. And this was made honest.”
Psyoken: “Yeah. We’ve had some tense times but more than that is the enjoyment of creating.”
The guitar melody in “Lonely Hearts” haunts. It feels lonely. It brings sadness to the edge of your ear before tunneling inside to take up residence. Psyoken sings, “...take the foothold slowly, you tread on the lonely hearts, lost and forgotten…”
They may shield their personal lives but they readily invite other artists in. Members of a local children’s choir provided vocals on the track, “Fare Thee Well” A song about chaos of life and how too much nonsense causes one to stall emotionally. We’ve all been there. Feelings are our driving force of what we choose to listen to and why. A rainy day playlist, workout songs, cruising tunes, music to lull a baby to sleep...Music brings to the surface memories and memories reflect the spectrum of our lives.
We talk about the cliche of naming top three bands and laugh about the ridiculousness of anyone agreeing on favorite albums by artists because of the nuance of age, social situations, demographics and musical preference. Everyone can agree the making of music should be respected whether the genre is your cup of tea or not. The amount of dedication it takes to create, refine and boldness of heart required to share with the world is an admirable badge.
Thrift Ink: “I’ll circulate this write up on my website and pitch to a few local music publishers but I have to say, Greenville doesn’t really welcome freelancers with open arms. It seems as if you have to know so-and-so just to get a chance to pitch.”
Konrad Konrad:”The need for community support for local artists is great. It would benefit so many to have a broad network which would create a welcoming and encouraging atmosphere for artists.”
Psyoken:”It would be cool for others to see the value of collaborations and what might come of discovering new ones.”
Thrift Ink:”Does your software give statistics of who is downloading your music and where they are?”
Konrad Konrad: ”Yes. Brooklyn, NY! First of all, I sent it there. Secondly, they gave it a fair chance which is the kind of reception and attitude we need here.”
Thrift Ink:” That’s what you offer. A studio supporting artists in new endeavors not following mainstream or music for bots projects...Blazing your own trail so to speak...”
Psyoken: “Yes. Music should speak for itself.”
Thrift Ink: “Tell me about the song, ‘Hush’ It quickly became my favorite.”
Konrad Konrad: “Really? Hush is a song about aging...if you listen to it alone...in the dark, you may not be very comfortable.”
Psyoken: “ I think it’s an archetype..patterns of emotions and behavior through your life..”
While they converse they build on the others input. As the interview progressed, subconsciously or perhaps consciously, their body posture began to mirror. They’re comfortably in sync while holding different opinions. There is nothing in the air but the high pursuit and deep interest in music, how it’s made and how it will be heard.
Thread of Cyan will return to the studio next week. They already have new tunes in the mix. Listen here!
https://threadofcyan.bandcamp.com/releases
https://m.soundcloud.com/threadofcyan