Interview with Gabriel Griffin

Interview with Gabriel Griffin

(Sewage, Combat Freak)

Gabriel Griffin is a local musician and the drummer of the experimental jazz trio, Sewage. His playing style is eclectic, calling to mind percussionists like Zach Hill, Noah Lennox and Brian Chippendale. Critic caught up with Gabriel to discuss drumming, sci-fi and his latest musical endeavours.

Q: How long have you been working as a solo artist?
A: Since 2011, when I was in seventh form. I made a recording of drums and noise and released it under the name Combat Freak. The name came from some graffiti I saw in Port Chalmers that at first I thought said “combat freak”. In truth, it probably said something completely different. That recording was very Lightning Bolt, Brian Chippendale-inspired. A very grainy cassette recording. I was heavily into that sort of thing back then.

Q: What has been inspiring you recently?
A: I get a lot of inspiration from fantasy video games like Skyrim and from science fiction novels. Those would be my fantastical, detached-from-reality examples. I walk a lot and I don’t have an iPod, so the sounds of nature can be really inspiring too. In terms of music, I’d say rock music percussion is influencing me more now than it did a few years ago. When I was a young teenager, I loved verse-chorus-verse bands like Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, but that interest kind of dropped away. I’ve been getting back into the idea of “band music”, as strange as that sounds.

Q: How does this rediscovered interest in rock music fit in with the improvisational nature of your band, Sewage?
A: It’s more about style, I think. I’ll be listening to something super structured, and there will be a feeling to it that I can pull out and use myself. I’m definitely still an improviser. I love experimenting with different ways of making sound, different methods of recording. I said before that I love the sounds of nature, wind and birds and stuff. Trying to recreate those sounds with instruments can be fun. I love it when you are messing around with feedback and pedals and you might create something that sounds like waves. Recently in Sewage, we’ve been experimenting with electronics and pedals.

Q: Has that been a direct influence from something you’ve been listening to?
A: It was born more out of necessity. Our guitarist, Sam, left to [go to] Wellington, so we needed to fill out our sound in some way. I got a Korg drum machine called the Volca Beats, which is really nice for creating a pulse to play over or behind. I put it through a synthesizer pedal that Sam left behind, which can make really nice background textures for me and [Sewage saxophonist] Rowena to play over.

Q: Do you believe that drums are inherently a supplementary instrument?
A: They can definitely be at the forefront too. You can create different relationships or textures depending on how you play. I really enjoy playing drums like a guitarist solos on a guitar. Drums are rhythm, and rhythm isn’t a super special thing. It can be found everywhere. It’s the basis of most hip-hop, electronic and dance music. Drums definitely don’t have to be relegated to the background.

Q: Have you made any more solo recordings recently?
A: I made some really good ones a couple months back, and plan on making more soon. I record onto my laptop, which compresses the fuck out of a lot of the sound, but most of the time it really works. It gives it its own unique flavour. Your song is one thing; the manner in which you record it is something else entirely. There are infinite possibilities.

Q: So lo-fi production is both an economic and an aesthetic thing?
A: Well, historically indie bands have used lo-fi recording and, with noise artists like The Dead C or Cabaret Voltaire or Aids Wolf, the crunchiness and graininess is part of the appeal. Sure, you could say it’s a fashionable thing, but so is every other sound or style. It is just another ethos you can apply to your music. People like Aphex Twin or Venetian Snares have the philosophy to make music entirely from computers. I have recorded things in high fidelity before too, and have been really happy with it. Again, with all of the different styles of recording and production, there are infinite possibilities. In the end, it doesn’t matter which approach you take though. It’s all just channelling creativity.

This article first appeared in Issue 17, 2015.
Posted 2:26pm Sunday 26th July 2015 by Basti Menkes.