Message To Bears dives into music, nature and personal expression [interview]

Set the tone for us. Why the arts?

For me, creativity and the arts are vital for human sustenance. To connect with others and to understand oneself, where words often fail on their own I believe the arts are needed to feel and understand both the tragic and joyous parts of human existence.
Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

I never usually have a preconceived idea about what I’m trying to create, always experimenting with sound or an instrument trying to get into a flow state without knowing where things are going to end up.
Does your material feature any collaborations? 

I usually work very much on my own, everything is so personal it sometimes feels difficult to let others into my musical world. The new album, however, features some amazingly talented musicians who have been incredible in taking my often vague or simple guidance and performing and arranging the most beautiful parts which complement the music perfectly.

 

What’s on your current playlist?

Adrianne Lenker, Kiasmos, RY X, Vraell

 

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.

I don’t often play live, when I have my favourite performances have been when the whole room feels like it’s in a trance-like state.

 

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound? 

Sampling strange objects and nature, slowing things down, speeding things up. Texture is super important to me. Mixing granular effects with conventional instruments. Open tunings when writing on guitar.

 

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

It really depends on what I’m working on, I do everything in one space from tracking instruments, to producing and mixing, almost as a singular process. I might spend an entire day experimenting with tape-like textures and drones or recording a single nylon guitar loop.

 

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?

I’ve been interested in making music since I was a small child, in terms of making it a career I didn’t try and put too much emphasis on that goal as my focus has always just been on making art.

I’m about to start the film score for a beautiful documentary about a unique community in the foothills of the Himalayas which rescues orphaned and neglected children.

Any emerging artists on your radar?Daudi Matsiko is great, beautiful and delicate.

 

What gets your creative juices flowing?

Being outside in nature, hearing refreshing and unusual sounds, and self-reflection.

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.
I have a variety of guitars, including nylon, steel and electric which I do a lot of writing on. Juno 106 which I mostly use for pads and bass, there’s a particular patch I made on there that I’ve used consistently for the past 10 years. OP1 and Yamaha VSS-30 for strange sampling mostly, used with a variety of interesting guitar pedals which tend to be granular based. I’ve recently finally got a new working micro-cassette recorder, since my last one broke a few years ago, this is fun to record elements to then slow down or speed up.. Plug-ins by Slate and Ash, super creative with so much possibility for crafting weird sounds and textures.

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?
I’d like to think I’m more decisive about when something is working or not, I make a huge amount of music which I end up chucking away because it’s not quite right or good enough in that moment. Sometimes I’ll go back to old discarded projects and find one tiny element that I like, then build off that into something completely new.Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

Lots of new music, my first LP since 2019! It’s been so long but I didn’t want to release a new record until I was absolutely ready.

 

Famous last words?

Be kind to each other, we all share a human experience and so be compassionate whenever you can.

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