The Beach Boys: "Mama Says" (1967) from Wild Honey (Brother/Reprise)
Jones: That's amazing.
Bootsy Holler
Randy Jones, sitting in a tree.
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SW: You've mentioned Brian Wilson as an inspiration. I wanted to talk a little bit about nondance production and how it has or hasn't affected you as a producer.
Jones: Actually, it's weird—and in a way I've been regretting that I didn't do it again on the album or try and follow that path more—but there was a guest vocal I did on Bruno Pronsato's album, and I did this crazy four-part harmony breakdown on there. I didn't really try to pull off anything like that on the album because I wanted more of a consistent groove for most of these tunes. There's nothing that pleases the ear more than vocal harmonies like that, and techno music, a lot of it is about sonic hedonism, so I think that it's a natural action.
SW: When you were growing up and listening to music, were you aware of Brian Wilson? He tends to be a very early kind of a thing for people who are cognizant of producers.
Jones: I really don't think I was. It was actually my friend Carl that had the bootlegs of [the 1967 outtakes of] Smile that a lot of producers seem to have. And I thought, "Yeah, this is amazing." I liked the homemadeness of it more than anything, the removed quality of it.
SW: What did you think of [Wilson's finished 2004] Smile? Did you buy it when it came out?
Jones: I did, because I wanted to see what it sounded like and I wanted to sort of add another vote to the doubtless many votes rewarding the work in some way, with a purchase. Although I was perfectly happy with some of the more fragmentary versions I'd heard that had, I think, even some more, how would I put it . . . just more authentic sounding bits that weren't on the final.
Ricardo Villalobos: "Serpentin" (2004) from Thé au Harem d'Archimède (Perlon)
Jones: [after about a minute] I just want to make sure—this is Villalobos. At first I thought it could be something else, but then you can start to hear, it's just the kick at the beginning, there's a few records that start that way, but then you can start to hear the watery sound, so I know that it can't be anyone else.
SW: He seems like the guy to beat for a lot of producers right now. Most of the producers I've talked to are kind of in awe of him in a way.
Jones: Yeah, I think he's appeared on a lot of people's radar all of the sudden. It's got this amazing mood to it, this haze that hangs over pretty much every album, that's like a certain kind of drug experience that you're on.
SW: If you listen to Perlon's other records, like the Superlongevity compilations or Pantytec's Pony Slaystation (2002), they're insane—you can't get freakier than this or much more minimal without it just kind of turning to dust. But this outdoes them all in terms of minimalism—it's so sparse, he can't possibly strip it down anymore.
Jones: I agree. It's very patient, but communicates a lot of feeling, too. As far as people chasing him, I don't know; it's so personal that you can say this is a great record and I'd like to make a great record, too, but I don't know anyone who would say, "I'd like to make a record like this." I think this is more suited for German dance floors than the ones we have here. If for no other reason, it's good to dance to it at 4 or 5 a.m.
SW: After your senses have been completely deranged.
Jones: Everyone's done with their "Oh my God, we want to have a dance party" thing. Then there's room for something else to flow.
SW: Going back to "My Little Castle," it's very long, it's very layered, there are about eight separate movements—you could isolate those things and have them be themselves for a while, but they work together. It sounds like a kind of end-of-the-night thing.
Jones: Yeah, I was definitely influenced by this stuff on that track in particular. Mine's a different sound, obviously. I wanted to explore the space, as Christopher Walken would say.
mmatos@seattleweekly.com
Caro plays Lower Level, 1621 12th Ave., 206-322-3569, with Bruno Pronsato, Jerry Abstract, and Ted Dancin at 9 p.m. Fri., June 24. $7.
