For anybody in the metal, extreme music or experimental music world Greg Anderson is no stranger. From his hardcore band Engine Kid to his legendary experimental act Sunn 0))) to his Southern Lord record label Greg Anderson continues to do it the right way. Motivated by art not commerce and striving to expand the parameters of what extreme music can be he never ceases to be part of something new an exciting. I got to talk with Greg about himself, the label, Sunn 0))), Wino and lots of other stuff. Here’s how it went down.
CRAVEONLINE: So What’s new with Sunn 0)))?
GREG ANDERSON: Well we’ve been working on this new album since October of 2007. It’s been a long road to get it done mostly because of logistics. Steven lives in Paris and I’m here in LA. Add to that the fact that we recorded the album in Seattle and just getting everything together became a struggle.
CRAVEONLINE: Sunn 0))) always seems to be pushing into the next phase of extreme music with each album. Do you continue that trend here?
GREG ANDERSON: I’d like to think so. The new album is definitely one of our more adventurous outings. We’ve incorporated things we’ve never used before like strings and stuff like that. I mean, we wanted to make sure it didn’t come off like Sunn with strings the way Metallica’s string stuff just sounded like them with strings over it. (Laughs) This sounds more experimental and I guess avant garde than Sunn jamming Bach tunes.
CRAVEONLINE: Is it hard in a band like Sunn 0))) to keep trying to shake it up from album to album?
GREG ANDERSON: No not at all. We’ve always wanted to make sure we’re doing stuff that’s not obvious or repetitive. Some bands do their thing over and over and while that may be a cool idea to them they aren’t really progressing as bands. We’ve always been the outcast because we’ve always been more “extreme” in doing something new and different. We also don’t have the typical set up of drums, bass, vocals. Sunn tries to incorporate various elements and styles every time we make an album because genre tags can be restrictive.
CRAVEONLINE: Speaking of Genre Tags does it bother you to get lumped in with other “Heavy Metal” bands?
GREG ANDERSON: No because that’s one of the places that we come from and we’re not ashamed of that. I’m a huge music fan and there is all kinds of great music out there. When I was young I was only into superfast hardcore or metal. I was focused only on that genre. As I got older I discovered more but never stopped loving the records I grew up on. I think on of our key dynamics is that we’re really into the cave man stuff and the intellectual stuff.
CRAVEONLINE: Moving on. The Ascend record you put out with Gentry Densley (Iceburn, Eagle Twin) was one of my favorite albums of last year. How did that whole idea get started?
GREG ANDERSON: Thank you so much man, that project is really something I’m excited about. The history there goes pretty far back to. Gentry was in Iceburn and I was in Engine Kid, which were both kind of coming from the same place. Both of us were involved in the hardcore scene and then we discovered a lot of new music like Jazz, Coltrane and then Big Black, Slint and that kind of stuff. Both of us were into exploring the dynamics of music and what could be done with them.
I really respected Gentry and we kept in contact after Iceburn and Engine Kid ended. We had always wanted to something together but it didn’t happen. Finally with Ascend we got a chance to work together and it was great. I’m in another band called Goatsnake and I really wanted to combine the elemental stuff Gentry and I worked on with the grooves and riffs of that style. I wanted to put all of that together and I think we did a great job with it.
CRAVEONLINE: Please tell me there will be more Ascend stuff in the future.
GREG ANDERSON: (Laughs) There is more material recorded and we’re talking about doing another full length, which will hopefully be out by the end of the year. Gentry’s busy with his band Eagle Twin who have a new album out on Southern Lord and of course I’m in Sunn 0))) but we will be getting back together.
CRAVEONLINE: On the topic of Southern Lord records your label has a nearly perfect roster of bands. How do you choose what makes it and what doesn’t?
GREG ANDERSON: There’s really no set formula for anything we do. If hear a band and they hit me over the head and demand my attention then I want them for Southern Lord. I just follow my gut and I’ve been super fortunate to work with amazing bands. I’m also lucky enough to own the label so I can really put out quality stuff not just with the music but also the packaging. It’s a nice platform to be on.
CRAVEONLINE: One of Southern Lord’s new projects is the solo album (Punctuated Equilibrium) from Scott "Wino" Weinrich (guitarist Obsessed, Hidden Hand). How did you get involved with Wino?
GREG ANDERSON: We’ve been working with Wino for a long time. One of the first releases from Southern Lord was of unreleased Obsessed material plus we had two albums from The Hidden Hand. He’s one of my favorite guitar players of all time and it’s been an honor working with him.
CRAVEONLINE: What made Wino decide on a solo album and how has working with him as a solo artist been?
GREG ANDERSON: Wino’s had problems keeping bands together both with Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand, which ended kind of abruptly. After Hidden Hand Wino had a bunch of ideas that he wanted to pursue but doing it as a solo project. Punctuated Equilibrium is all Wino writing the songs, the guitar parts, the vocals, everything. He found some great musicians around where he is and also managed to snag John Paul from Clutch to play drums for him. That was huge because John Paul is an amazing drummer.
It can be a little intimidating talking business with Wino who is a hero of mine. Luckily he’s a realistic and down to earth person. I work with artists sometimes who let Internet buzz go to their head about their records and popularity. They become completely unrealistic about what to expect from the release of their records but Wino isn’t like that. It’s no secret to him that he isn’t a household name even though he should be. Wino has a core following who are always there for him and that’s more important. Wino knows where that’s at.
CRAVEONLINE: Is this album a complete departure for Wino?
GREG ANDERSON: It’s not too different than what’s he’s done before except that it’s really focused on his vision and his writing. It was another honor to be able to release his full vision on the label.
GREG ANDERSON: When I first heard them it was this super intense and dark music and I loved them instantly both on record and live. They were largely unknown when we started working together but now people are really starting to connect with them. Right now they have an EP on Southern Lord titled Malevolent Grain and a new full length coming out at the end of March called Black Cascade. They are easily one of the most exciting things we have going on at Southern Lord.
CRAVEONLINE: Black Metal can be largely repetitive and boring. What sets Wolves In The Throne Room apart from the herd?
GREG ANDERSON: Well first of all they live on their own farm and have some very sharp “Earth first” type leanings, which is very different from most Black Metal bands. They also have a really great sound. A lot of the older Black Metal has that seriously low grade production, which is great for that time, but Wolves really put new thoughts and energy to it. That’s what pushes them over the top, they have that same experimental angle and desire Sunn have.
CRAVEONLINE: Talk to me a little about the new Earth album.
GREG ANDERSON: Earth is another one of my favorite things to happen to the label. Earth was a huge influence on Sunn and everything we’ve done. They opened my eyes to a whole new way of writing music and helped set the direction of where Sunn 0))) would go. It’s an amazing thing to watch Dylan (Carlson, founder of Earth) work and watch him take the band in completely new and different directions.
Dylan flipped the music on its ear. Instead of repeating the over saturated heavy tones of past albums he went for a clean approach and it’s just as heavy as anything they’ve ever done. As far as an actual new album they’re working on it. It’ll be finished this year but probably not out until early next year.
CRAVEONLINE: Is it bizarre that you and Sunn 0))) are seen as legends in the world of extreme music?
GREG ANDERSON: It’s bizarre if I think about it but I don’t. I don’t analyze what I do very thoroughly and neither does Sunn. We never expected to be where we are because our aspirations have always been very minimal which is the best way. When you do that the things that do happen to you are extremely rewarding.
CRAVEONLINE: How do you feel about the rabid love of Southern Lord records?
GREG ANDERSON: I’m extremely grateful that people have connected with what we put out. The main reason I do this label is to turn people onto music. It’s like tape trading from back in the day magnified one hundred times and turned into a career. I know it sounds cliché but everyday I wake up and I can’t believe my job is turning people onto music. I think what the label does works because it’s about going with our gut and not putting out records to be rich and famous. If we wanted to do that we’d have to put out a lot of albums we don’t care about.
CRAVEONLINE: What bands, outside of your own and Southern Lord stuff, are touching you right now?
GREG ANDERSON: For some reason I started getting back into the old hardcore I grew up with. I was searching out stuff on those bands online and finding a treasure trove of stuff. With that I was also made aware of newer bands like War Cry who are one of my new favorites. It’s a band made of guys from Tragedy…
CRAVEONLINE: (Interrupting) You mean like Tragedy as in the band formed from guys in His Hero Is Gone?
GREG ANDERSON: Yeah that’s them.
CRAVEONLINE: His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy are awesome. I haven’t heard War cry though. Have you heard Trap Them?
GREG ANDERSON: Yeah I liked Trap Them a lot. I found them on a blog about hardcore I was going to download stuff from. I saw them live to and loved them.
CRAVEONLINE: Finally, do you find there is a true lack of open-minded creativity within heavy music today?
GREG ANDERSON: I don’t think there’s a lack of it but I wouldn’t say there is a renaissance either. I guess I’d say it’s somewhere in between. Right now I think there are way too many bands and way too many labels and the Internet is largely to blame for that. The Internet is a blessing and a curse.
Sure you can put your own stuff out through it but now there’s too much information and too much other shit. You have to dig even harder for the good stuff and while some people like doing that some people have no interest or just don’t have the time. There are a lot of good things happening there is also a lot of bullshit. I hope Southern Lord can be a beacon for those looking for something different.
CRAVEONLINE: Great Greg. Thanks so much for taking the time out to do this.
GREG ANDERSON: My pleasure Iann. Take care.
For more on Southern Lord check out SouthernLord.com
