Dear readers, we are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with one of the most eclectic and original bands of today’s music scene. With the new album “The Egg That Never Opened” just released and positively reviewed on our webzine, we welcome High Castle Teleorkestra.
Hi, how are you?
Tim: We are doing great thank you! Things have been very busy though lately.
Chris: Busy as always but feeling great. Especially happy to see our album released and being enjoyed.
Your genre is a mixture of various genres and styles, of Experimental matrix, where does your passion for this music come from?
Tim: I have studied and listened to many diverse styles over the years from rock and jazz to doo-wop, The Beach Boys, Italian sountracks, 60’s surf, largely unknown folk music from various countries as released by the label Sublime Frequencies, exotica, Mr. Bungle and so much more. Combining these styles feels normal and natural to us but probably seems very strange to others!
Chris: I love how music stimulates my imagination, and I enjoy pushing the boundaries of my imagination. Thus, it’s natural for me to enjoy an eclectic roster of genres, artists, styles, etc. To that point, the last couple of things that really inspired me in the past week: 1) a 1970 Brazilian fusion album by João Donato and, 2) seeing a video of an old Glen Campbell performance. As the saying goes, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” As long as I enjoy that journey I’ll continue to have a passion for music.
Experimental, Progressive, Folklore and much more, in which of these genres do you recognize the most?
Tim: It is hard to put a label on what we do. And what is this fascination we have with labeling things? I have no idea. Ha ha! We are definitely a progressive band although there is something that separates us aesthetically from most prog-rock bands. Perhaps “Progressive Science-Fiction Rock!” I have no idea what best describes us.
Your new album “The Egg That Never Opened” was released on June 17, 2022, how would you describe this work?
Tim: It was a massive 2 year recording process that features a ton of different music styles and bizarre combinations of sounds but comes together as a cohesive album with a narrative based on the book “Radio Free Albemuth,” by legendary sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. Despite there being a very surreal and dark dystopian narrative the album is somehow fun to listen to.
Many guests collaborate on the album, what did they bring to the sound and the compositional phase?
Tim: The members of the band can cover a lot of ground with different instruments but when there is a need we can’t cover we will bring someone else in. For example our song “Mutual Hazard” is a metal arrangement of a Romanian Folk tune. For that we brought in a violinist from Bulgaria because that style of music is highly specialized. For the same tune we also hired a cimbalom player because it is a VERY difficult instrument and that instrument drives the rhythm of Romanian folk music.
Chris: There were some instances where guest collaborators influenced composition or arrangement. We worked with guest vocalist Caitlin O’ Connor in one of our first songs. We liked what she brought to the songs so much that we ended up creating a more recurring role for her as a sort of mysterious Oracle character.
The deluxe version contains 40 bonus tracks, what did you propose in particular?
Tim: The bonus tracks and remixes give the fans a unique insight into aspects of the songs that may not have been apparent on the main mixes. In fact there is an entire set of radical remixes of the entire record that cast a radically different light on the songs and can change the way the listener hears the album.
Chris: Since we are not planning any live performances at this time. We want to focus on delivering “boutique” recording products. It may be another 2 years (hopefully not!) before we finish the next album, so why not give fans all of the goods now. While some listeners will ignore bonus tracks, many of our fans enjoy the “deep dive.” Having said this, I do urge folks to at least check out the first 10 bonus tracks on our deluxe digital release (or CD 2 of our Digibook CD release). As Tim said, those mixes provide a radically different listening experience that some may prefer to the main album sequence. Fans can even compile there favorite versions of songs and create there own custom mixes.
Refined sounds and intense vocal parts, what themes do the lyrics deal with?
Tim: Most of the lyrics were compiled from phrases in the book chapters and help highlight aspects of that dystopian narrative. We are mostly an instrumental band so there are times where we use the voice as more of a subtle background instrument, not meant to be the center of attention like it usually is. On Diagnosing Johnny we are clearly paying homage to the contrapuntal, muli-harmony style of the Beach Boys, specifically the legendary Smile-era.
Many of your fans and our readers are wondering if there will be the possibility to listen to your live music, do you have any plans about it?
Tim: At this time it is not super likely. Chris and I run the day to day operation so the band and make most of the decisions. We both have kids, families and full’time “real jobs.” We will see in the future if the band gains enough of a reputation to make us consider doing that but for now there does not seem to be a real movement in that direction unfortunately.
Chris: It would be logistically challenging and expensive to get all of us in the same place rehearse and pull off a tour. I personally have a full-time job, a part-time job, and a family at home. Maintaining that stuff plus HCT is a delicate balancing act. For now we are focused on creating world-class recordings and building our fanbase via recordings.
Music and the market have changed over the years, how do you see the future of the Experimental and Prog genre?
Tim: I have no clue. I hate to be pessimistic but the music taste of the general public seems to get worse and worse as time goes on and there is a very small percentage of the population that enjoys interesting, boundary-pushing. Music seems to have taken an increasingly superficial role in our society in general. Of course there are always exceptions and we try to be one of those. It doesn’t seem like the future is looking real good for those of us that play it other than as a hobby. It is a tough industry to make a living at and with the heavy use of Spotify, Youtube and other streaming services there is very little money going to artists. Money is not the goal of making music but if you need to do something else for full time work you aren’t left with much time to make music. Chris and I are both lucky to not depend on music as a way to make a living.
What advice would you give to young artists who decide to propose a more refined musical genre like yours?
Tim: I am not sure and like I expressed in previous a previous question the future for people who play interesting music is a tough one. It is hard to make a living that way. I would tell youngsters to learn not only how to play music but the art of recording it. Don’t forget to learn jazz even if you don’t want to play jazz because it will bolster your knowledge of advanced chord progressions that can be applied to your compositions to increase their level of sophistication.
Chris: This is going to come off a bit corny, but here goes…In addition to musical skills, make sure you keep your other “soft skills” are sharp: interpersonal skills, organizational skills, communication (written and verbal), etc. Try to keep your ego in check and strive to be someone that is easy to work with and is fun. Even if you’re a genius prodigy you are going to need help realizing a big musical project – and it’s a helluva lot more fun with a team. I think those aspects of our working relationships have been critical to whatever success we’ve had in finishing our first album.
I leave the last question free as usual to be able to talk about any topic not dealt with in the previous ones.
Tim: Please consider checking out our record which you can get on Bandcamp in a variety of formats (deluxe download, double LP, and 20 page 2CD digibook.
Chris: What Tim said!
I thank High Castle Teleorkestra for the pleasant interview, wishing the best for the continuation of their artistic career.