Devin Townsend returned to the scene this year with the Devin Townsend Project, releasing two albums both of which placed in the recent top 20 albums of 2009 here at Soundshock. 'KI' was a new direction for the veteran of heavy music, the album featuring a distilled, straightforward mix and subdued, spectral emotion. Recently he has followed up with the combustive 'Addicted', which takes piles of highly produced sound and channels it into powerfully charged tracks, each one bouncier than a ping pong ball and catchier than Velcro. In keeping with this light-hearted approach, Devin sounds upbeat and positive as he updates us on the dynamics of this latest entry in the project’s planned quartet and why his return to the stage in 2010 is going to be… awesome.

  So, after the minimalist approach on the previous album, why does 'Addicted' revert to the heavy wall-of-sound that was shunned on 'KI'? ‘Addicted' is basically a real high-tech thing. I worked out every bit, I sat with the drummer and worked out everything, every cymbal hit, every bass slide and then I made them perfect and then I quantised and put the loops on and I got really deep into the frequencies and I used tons of crazy programs, space-age delays and all that sort of stuff, right.

  ‘The whole four-record project is a story in and of itself. And a lot of the story is what the nature of addiction is and why humans in general are so fascinated with violence and chaos and aggression and all these sorts of things. It’s not like I’m not, it’s an observation, right. One of the reasons that I did make 'Addicted' such a throwback – obviously I love the music and it’s as personal to me as any of the records – but one of the reasons I did it was to see what peoples reactions are. It’s so funny because… I love 'KI'. I think 'KI' is one of the greatest things I’ve done. And the thing that’s funny about it is when it came out so many people were like It’s a weak album. It’s a bad album. I don’t like it; it’s got no redeeming features. It’s a boring record.”

  ‘What people think is: “what we want is a certain thing,” and the idea behind “Addicted” is just that same sentiment. I don’t want subtlety; I don’t want to slow down. I want the stimulus, I want the adrenaline, I want the excitement, I want the colour – you know what I mean? That’s why it’s so funny that when Addicted comes out people are like “yeah yeah yeah that that that!”’

  ‘I guess through this process what I’ve been trying to make an observation on is “why?” Some people are just like “I just like it. I like the energy” and that’s it. The thing is as I find I’m picking myself apart “because” never seems like the best answer. Now what I found at the end of “Deconstruction” is that essentially “because” is the only answer. But there is a process I had to go through artistically to make that realisation. Basically it’s like the quote “there’s an ass for every seat.” Some people like jazz music, some people like black metal, some people like techno – who are we to pull that apart or decide? However on an artistic level myself, I needed to kind of make those discoveries and the best way for me to do that was to present a bunch of different things to the audience and not even just gauge their reaction but gauge my reaction to how people respond to it, right. It’s been a very interesting thing. To summarise this part of the interview is to say that the next record “Deconstruction” is – I mean I think its amazing man – and it’s a heavy record. It’s a lot more dynamic that “Addicted”. “Addicted” is like a fun kind of commercial version of what I do’.

  Devin’s obvious excitement and commitment to recreating the dynamics of his music on this larger scale are infectious – but there is a subversive element to his creativity. ‘From a sadistic artistic point of view, which has always been inherent with me, to try and get a lot of people interested in “Addicted” and then present them with something like “Deconstruction” is hilarious to me because you get a bunch of people who are like “Oh wow, this Addicted thing is great, I can really get into this” and then the next one is a symphonic, crazy, progressive, chaos record, right, and there will be a lot of people who react to it a certain way and a lot of people who react to it another way. But then the best part of the whole thing is the last record because it’s this beautiful acoustic record that has nothing to do with any of it.”

  In many ways “Addicted” is very different from familiar Devy material. Most notably the album features collaboration with singer Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering) and her powerful yet sweet voice is all over “Addicted”. This is the first time Devin has used another voice to such an extent.

  ‘Here’s the thing, because it’s gonna be four records in under a year and a half, I think that there’s going to be more than enough of me. For myself, and if I’m alone in this I’d be really surprised, as an artist sometimes you can get sick of yourself. I know what my voice sounds like, I know what I do and I know what I represent and I appreciate that. But some artists put out one record every five years; you get what, ten songs with their voice? But four in a year and a half, that’s like 50 or so songs, and I think the vast majority of those 50 songs will be my voice. Also, going back to the nature of the theme, the idea of addiction and what is trying to be deconstructed here are very meaningful. There’s a new fascination with the idea of humanity and what it means to be human and I can represent one half of that vocally. I’ve always been really interested in female vocalists, specifically in heavy music, but for my music I’ve never had the opportunity to have that strong female presence that represents half of the equation. So “Addicted” was very consciously a half-and-half vocal distribution.’

  One of the catalysts for that collaboration and for the re-recording of Hyperdrive from Devin’s “Ziltoid the Omniscient” album was Anneke’s cover of that track with her previous band. However it seems a curious decision for the ultra-productive Devin to redo a song written and recorded previously. ‘When I did “Ocean Machine” years and years ago, there’s a song on there called Life. I remember someone told me ‘if you just write ten songs like that you could make a million dollars’, of course this is like ten years, fifteen years ago. And you know what? I would if I could. But I can’t. If someone said to me today ‘write a song like Life’, I couldn’t. Because the way that music comes to me is I just wake up on day and there’s Life. I wake up another day and there’s Oh My Fucking God, it’s not like a real conscious decision and in all honesty the way that these songs come together is kind of automatic. I’ve never really been in total control of my writing. So 'Hyperdrive' is a song that came through in the Ziltoid writing and typically the Ziltoid stuff is a complicated, spacey, bizarre type of metal. But to have written 'Hyperdrive' at that time was strange for me because I felt really connected to the song but it didn’t really fit with Ziltoid. I found a way to make it work within the context of that record and I’m very satisfied with the way it turned out. However, I always remember thinking: if that song had come at another time, if that song had come amongst a group of songs similar - it could be a real standout euphoric type of confirmation, right.

  So when Anneke sent me an email asking originally if I wanted to collaborate with her the youtube clip she had sent was her singing 'Hyperdrive'. That among other things was an indication to me that maybe this was that opportunity because if I do 'Hyperdrive' again with my voice it would just be another version of the same song. But to have an entirely different key and energy and tempo and vocalist, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to revisit that song and give it the justice that I think it was denied at the time. It’s not like you’ll be seeing me do versions of a lot of songs, that one in particular was an anomaly.’

  Recent announcements that Devin Townsend will be playing some shows in the coming year (including a confirmed slot at Bloodstock festival in the UK) have excited fans and incited speculation. Will the “Addicted” line up will be the band that goes on tour next year? That would surely promise an energetic show! ‘If the record sells enough to warrant what it would cost to do it properly then absolutely. I’ve got plans for either eventuality so I’m not super-concerned about making that call quite yet.’

  But Devin himself sounds excited about the prospect. ‘I can’t wait, in honesty, I can’t wait, it’s gonna be a cool thing. Basically the one thing I’m really trying to get done - it’s very difficult in terms of money and time and all that – I want a choir. That’s my goal, to have visuals and a choir of six women that sing with the whole set. I’d love to take a week in advance and rehearse with six singers. All the songs throughout “Physicist”, “Ziltoid”, “Ocean Machine”, “Terria”, “Infinity”, “Addicted”, “Deconstruction” and “KI”, there’s always been this choral element that I’ve had – me in the background, or samples or something. But man, if I can do these shows and represent it with just a ton of voices… You know I’m thinking about it and I really think the shows that we’re gonna do, specifically Bloodstock and a couple of other ones are gonna be awesome, dude!’ If fans were worried about the creativity and the ambition of Mr Townsend running low, 2009 should have reassured them plenty. ‘Ultimately my vision is pretty extreme, right. If I ever had the opportunity to take my music to the next level (and I’m intending to try) then I would have a hundred people, choir and orchestra, the whole works, right. We’re not there, but we’re getting there.’

Addicted is out now on InsideOut

Interviewed by Mike Gilpin

 

As usual, Devin has a lot to say! For further insight into the workings of the Devin Townsend Project read on.

Devin on…

…DTP: The story so far:
  ‘The speed at which my creative mind works is faster than even this, right, but there’s the promotion and the touring and the wife and babies that come along with it too, so there’s a certain amount of life that is going to slow that down. However what’s really fascinating for me is to be able to say “OK in four months time I’ll be finished with this frame of mind – and this frame of mind can incorporate high-tech production, a certain type of drum sound, a certain type of programs which I used a lot on this one and when it’s done you’ve made this statement production-wise as well as musically. The last record for example we are doing on analogue and it’s all live off the floor. It’s basically eighty-percent improvisation, old fashioned mics and an old Gretsch kit, tape and all that kind of stuff. When it becomes a job, “OK next record, we’ve got a process, set it up we go to this studio we use these skins we use this drummer we use this guitar with the mid range control on 4 ½ and not 4 ¾ and then it becomes a factory, starts churning out Theory of a Deadman or Avril Lavigne or Creed or any of that shit right, and I shouldn’t say shit, it appeals to a certain genre and I totally appreciate it, but the fact of the matter is it’s definitely a process that is preconceived. For me, and again much to the chargin of my financial career I’ve never had the ability to say “Well let’s hone in on what it is that people like and just keep pounding that into them until we create a brand.” I just enjoy the process so much and I get so bored of the same thing after a while that it’s great fun for me to be able to say “Well what are we going to do on this next one? Let’s do something else, let’s go record it in a cottage, let’s do this one in L.A. with a bunch of death metal guys, let’s do this one in the hills with a bunch of buddies, we’ll go camping and we’ll bring a recording unit.” It’s fun, man, and I think that attitude definitely comes out in the music because the passion of why you’re doing it is ultimately what people are going to go on to whether it’s “KI”, “Addicted” or “Deconstruction”, whoever is the creator of the song really wanted to do it, and not just phoning it in.’

…recording four albums simultaneously:
  ‘Every record has been a reaction to the one before: “Addicted” I went so far into that aesthetic – the real colourful production, the kind of simplistic structures and the toe-tapping beats and all that stuff – that when I finally finished “Addicted” I thought well good, I’ve purged that, I don’t want to do that now. So when I start doing “Deconstruction” none of that came out. In fact I was sick of it by the time I’d finished, the same way I was sick with KI before that, the same way I was sick of Physicist before that. So as it is a reaction, while I’m recording 'Deconstruction' – it’s a complicated record, it’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever attempted - so I can kind of douse the flames every now and then having the opportunity to go play some acoustic guitar in the bushes. It’s a perfect way to bring the reality around. You know, if you engage in one thing to the exclusion of everything else then eventually you’re going to get hung up on it and that’s what typically ruined my complicated records in the past, like 'Infinity' or 'Alien'. I get so hung up on the process that by the end of it I lose the plot and then my original intention (which is ultimately controlling that) becomes this irony, where it controls you.’

…Hyperdrive:
  ‘As I listen to the record, when it comes on, just the sentiment behind the lyrics, with that strong voice singing it, I just find that it’s a very uplifting sentiment. And to kind of sandwich that amongst a bunch of other uplifting sentiments makes this record, to me, a real special one. What its saying is basically “hang on”, you know, “hang in there”, right. I think that is a great thing to say with heavy music, because typically that’s something you’d get in pop music or something. Then again it’s just one record of four. So there’s a certain faction of people who go “I don’t want to hear any optimism in my metal”. OK, well, next records coming! Hang in there!’

…Universe in a Ball:
  The records are all connected because it’s the same process and the same concept essentially and the kicker at the end of deconstruction, when the guy decides to go deep into his chaos to try and figure out the nature of reality, on some arrogant level he believes that he is capable of understanding the intricacies of infinity or God, or whatever we choose to express that metaphor. As he gets further and further into it he realises when he is presented with what he ultimately thinks is the ultimate truth, he realises that it’s a microcosm; it’s a metaphor for everything. To encapsulate everything all you have to do is look at the smallest thing. It’s like everything is in anything if I wanted to take apart the nature of co-dependency – you could draw that metaphor out of a cheeseburger, you could draw it out of a rubber boot if you looked far enough. Everything that you need to know about anything is right in front of you at all times. I remember some old hippy monk saying you could learn everything about the universe by just sitting in a room and being quiet. The idea of 'Universe in a Ball' is basically a precursor to that realisation on 'Deconstruction' where everything is in anything. Ultimately you can’t control what’s going to happen but you can control what your reaction is to it. I think that that realisation makes the point of 'Deconstruction' very funny because after making chaos and going so far into mathematics and infinity and fractals, sex and humanity and all this stuff, he realises that he never really needed to explore that because the nature of infinity is just that it’s infinite, right, so any direction that this dude chooses to go he’s essentially not moving at all, it’s like: it doesn’t exist. So in all honesty he would have learned the same amount if he had just sat down and chilled out, right. And that’s what the last record is; he sits down and chills out after he makes that realisation.