imaginal FREQS: January 2011

Jokterview

Joe Moresi is a drone musician from Georgia, who, if you haven't heard, is one of the most exciting musicians around these days. One half of the incredible group PLAENS (formerly ethereal plaen) and founder of the tape label MABA, Joe is a busy guy. He is also very enigmatic. Despite being hailed as one of the most important musicians of the twenty first century, he rarely makes public appearances. I have heard that he has, in the middle of a thirty minute dronscape buildup, slaughtered a chicken onstage. But I have also heard that he never makes live appearances, unless accompanied by hookers. I'm not even joking. You can read it over at Pitchfork.

So, to my surprise, Mr. Moresi actually answered an interview request I sent him seven months ago. We agreed to meet at a diner in downtown Atlanta, of his choice. Even though we had agreed to meet up around twelve a clock, he did not show. I had waited around until two, then decided to leave, sad I was going to miss my only chance to interview such a strange being as Moresi. Though right when I'm about to stand up, I see a goofy looking figure through the glass paneled entrance. I recognize him from the few photographs there are of him on the internet. He's wearing a large over sized sweatshirt, tattered with holes. He has gold curly hair and a goofy looking grin on his face, and looks wild eyed, like he just robbed a bank. He bursts through the doors, the whole diner immediately reaking of marijuana smoke.

Even though we hadn't met and I hadn't introduced myself, he somehow knew I was there to interview him and sat down quickly, shouting into the kitchen for " An eggs and coffee girlfriend." Smoke seems to be stuck around his hair and body, giving him a strange hazy aura.

"Let's begin shall we?" He asks, grinning. I nod, then start asking my questions.

IF: Tell me your life story.

JM: Right here, right now, in the nude?

IF: Yeah

JM: I walk with jesus yessiree (note: I have no clue why he began to trim at his nose hairs when he said this)

IF:Thats cool and all. When did you start making those tunes?

JM: About a year ago my friend Ali and I decided we wanted to start making noisy drone music. I've always loved the idea of recording and producing sound, I've had my mixer and learned to use it long before I ever got serious about any instrument, it was initialy used for a "comedy" podcast my friends and I did back in 7th and 8th grade. Anyway, I think Ali and I were both kind of naive about it at first, we had minimal equipment (an old half-functioning Casio which died after the first week, my guitar and a shitty pedal or two, the mixer, and Garageband) and minimal talent. We would coop up in my room for several hours and just annoy the shit out of our other friends with our "jams". (He laughs incredibly loud at this, making me uncomfortable. Then after he calms down, he continues). I've gone back and listened to those first couple recordings, and while some aren't as abysmal as one would think (some are), it's still pretty amazing to see how far we have come. Oh and I don't really walk with Jesus, that's just something I say sometimes.

IF: Would you like some water?

JM: No thank you, I prefer milk please.

IF: I wish I got that Washed Out kid. This is awful. Oh shit I'm saying this out loud aren't I? Hold up dude, Im so sorry. (I wish I got that Washed Out kid. This is awful.) Is their a particular artist that turned you on to the drone sound? I can hear clear influences in PLAENS (I forgot to mention, Joe made it very clear I have to shout this everytime I say it.) but there is also that unique voice.

JM: Trust me, putting up my high maintenance nature will pay off, I'm MUCH(shouts this) handsomer than Ernest Greene. Fuck him man. This is ridiculous. I thought I specified you weren't to mention him? Fuck you man. If you love him so much go marry him.

Anyways, to answer the question, Psych-rock/drone artists like Sun Araw and Pocahaunted have helped influence me as far as wanting to make music goes, but PLAENS' (shouts) sound was really influenced a lot by colorful ambient stuff like Sundog Peacehouse and Caboladies, even Ducktails to an extent, his early ambient shit is unbelievable. We also draw influence from the more pensive, slow-crawl stuff that most people think of when they hear drone, Marble Sky, Treetops, etc. (he actually says e tee cee).

IF: Actually I can really see the ducktails influence. The colorfulness and visual based music really is apparent in PLAENS (shouted, also the last sentence was not grammatically correct)What is the usual method of writing a PLAENS song?

JM: Thanks, that's always been something that's really important to me, because it's such a major part of this music. Did I mention I once through a bottle of my own urine at Green from Washed Out? So worth the beatings by the ushers, and the lawsuits by the lawyers, and the shunning by the family.

Hmm, well, it's certainly evolved. For the longest time it was all improvise, and then when we hit something good we'd isolate it. Then i began building loops on the computer, which is pretty painstaking. But I like crispy pain, some say I'm a maschochist, but does a mschoschist choke himself with his own feces? Because if they do, that's neat.

I recently got a Roland 404, which has made the song-writing process a lot easier and given me more room to experiment without being too time-consuming. I've been writing songs solo recently, ever since Ali got in that fight with Dan Deacon and broke his arm, so I really depend pretty heavily on the sampler. Once I've made all the loops for a song, I'll record them, a few at a time, according to how they sound together, so I can still have multiple tracks while I edit. It's a bit of a pain, but I used to just record it all as one track and it's a lot harder to manipulate everything and impossible to fade stuff in if it's all one single entity. After the loops are in I usually record a few live tracks over them, at least one is typically improvised. I feel like there was probably a much shorter, less convoluted way to explain all of this, but I don't really care. (After he states this, he pulls out a cigarette and lights it, not caring that the diner is non smoking.)

IF: Now on the first PLAENS release (back when the group still had ethereal in the title) you had a song called Lysergic Dawn. Do drugs play any role in the creative process? Do you use them to inspire?

JM: Drugs? I was told lysergic acid was a cleaning solvent, like the stuff they use in Lysol. Is it not? Also I do alot of pizza. Come back you bastard (don't know why he said this).

IF: Tell about the visuals you like to look at when you write songs. What are your favorites? I read on your wikipedia entry you write songs to them.

JM: There's a direct RCA feed in the back of my head. (Joe turns his head to show me, parting his hair. There is just the back of his head, nothing else.) Whenever I'm about to play I just plug in my VCR and watch the Minds Eye series.

(At this point of the interview, Joe suddenly stands up and runs out of the diner, despite my protests. He returns five minutes later)

JM: Sorry, I had to get food. (He has untouched eggs and coffee in front of him)

IF: Uh.... so are their any cool projects of yours being released anytime soon?

JM:Well, other than another PLAENS cassette in the very near future (SPCZDPLC comes out before the end of the month), I have been in contact with several dudes that wanna release stuff on my label, MABA tapes. CUE THE SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION. (Shouted at such a level I think Joe actually hurt his vocal chords) This dream-hop/psych producer character Lockbox, he's alright I guess (he sucks), another, actually probably the only other drone artist from Atlanta, known as Warning Light, loner freak pop bro BOY MTN, and some hypnagogic absurdity from a mysterious duo (?) know as the Sky City Cruisers. Should be an exciting couple of months.

With this, he picks up his untouched coffee and omelet, throwing them both away, then leaves without saying goodbye.

This was my first, and considering how hard he is to track down, last encounter with the legendary ambient psych god himself.