Culture

L eon Jory is a Dunedin musician, and one of the minds behind local music label Charisma Collective. Critic caught up with Leon recently to talk about his new solo release, EP 24b.3Q, and what is on the cards for the collective this year.

Critic: For the many readers who won’t be familiar with it, how would you describe Charisma Collective?

Leon: Charisma Collective is a relatively new collective run out of Dunedin. It’s primarily based around electronic music, my new EP being an example, but we’re not limited to that. Our thing is that we’re about electronic ideas. Digital ideas. We’re trying to make a nice neutral space for musicians to release their material and cultivate something distinct from the Dunedin pop scene. I love Dunedin pop, but we don’t make that style of music. I fucking love bands like Dinosaur Sanctuary and Astro Children — they’re amazing. But we want to work alongside that culture, to broaden the spectrum a little.

Critic: How would you contextualise your new EP in your personal musical evolution?

Leon: With this particular release, I was trying to make pure electronic music. There’s real recordings and field recordings in there, but it’s predominantly digital. My past releases had more songwriting, vocals and acoustic guitar. This is more straight-up drum machines and synthesizers. Over the last year, I’ve been getting more immersed in New Zealand’s rave culture, ending up in dance parties in Wellington and Auckland. This EP is my take on New Zealand’s current dance music scene.

Critic: Were there non-musical inspirations for the EP?

Leon: One of the first songs I made for it, “Construct”, really captures the super bright lights, fast-paced city buzz I was going for. I actually got the idea for EP 24b.3Q when I was walking home from work late one night, passing some roadworks and through a really seedy part of town. I just starting hearing beats in my head. I went home and banged out most of “Construct” that night.

Critic: So your EP was inspired by a kind of twenty-first-century sensory overload?

Leon: Absolutely. Everything on the EP comes at you at once. It’s only half an hour, but you experience so many different sounds and tempos and colours; sensory overload is exactly right. I think in today’s world we have a need for constant stimulation. I don’t see that as a negative thing as such; it’s just bizarre. This is the first time in our existence that we’ve had such unbelievable access to information and culture.

Critic: Does the sound of each of your releases reflect your musical tastes at that time?

Leon: Actually, many of the genres on the new EP aren’t ones I’d normally listen to. It’s funny. There’s no one single genre I like to stick to. Lately, I’ve realised my releases have been really all over the place previously. I wanted to make a more focused album this time. It still dives between heaps of electronic genres, but it’s all anchored around the dance music theme. It also spans a lot of different moods. “Blue Pill” is a really jarring song that almost goes dubstep at one point, whereas the ambient track “Submerge” at the end of the EP is totally different.

Critic: What else can we expect from Charisma Collective in 2015?

Leon: I’ve already started working on something new. Much more Animal Collective-inspired, it’s gonna be a real psychedelic EP. I’d say it’s six months away, but I might release a single earlier than that. The big plan for this year is to have Charisma Collective house parties. Our first one is in two weeks with [Wellingtonian band] Thought Creature, who are having a reunion show. I’ll be playing too.

Check out charismacollective.bandcamp.com to hear all their releases so far.

Want a Charisma Collective CD? Critic has a selection of Charisma Collective releases to give away, including Leon’s fantastic new EP and the other albums below. Drop by the Critic office before they’re all gone!