Hey Ben, was this your first appearance at Decibel? If not, why did I miss you before? How did this year stack up to previous years?

This was my third time up at Decibel. I played back in 2005 for the Merck Records showcase, then I did an ambient set the following year with Thomas Fehlmann and Mr. Projectile. To be fully honest with you, I’ve had big fun every time I’ve played up there. There’s something about the Seattle audiences, and especially during Decibel Festival, that’s pretty incredible. So I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite between the Ghostly Showcase this year and the ambient night in ’06. They are both really special in my mind.

It’s interesting and pleasing to hear someone from out of town compliment the Seattle audiences on their level of energy, particularly due to a stigma I learned from hip hop shows that portrays Seattle folks as cold and non-participatory. Do you have any idea what the difference might be at Db Fest? Or, do you think you just rock it that hard and make people groove?

Well I think Seattle is pretty unique, and in lots of ways ideal for an electronic music festival. First of all, it’s not jaded. The people in lots of bigger cities can have a sort of “seen-it” attitude, so I think Seattle-ites don’t take for granted what they have (as they shouldn’t. It’s one of the best electronic festivals I’ve been to). Also, the size of Seattle makes it really convenient. It’s easy to get from the ambient show to the club, to the afterparty. But fuck it, this is all conjecture on my part, I should’ve said because the crowds are the shit and I slay them, edIT style.

Haha! Well, by my estimation you did slay. Speaking of edIT (& Glitch Mob), I felt a return of some hip hop aesthetic and approach to electronica in both of your styles and you cite hip hop as a major influence on your music. What era of hip hop touched you the most? And do you think hip hop is on the verge of requiring Federal Protection from extinction?

Hip hop was my first love and obsession. It’s really what got me into music, first as a DJ and then a producer, and it definitely cemented a lot of my sensibilities. It was the mid-90’s stuff (I could list, but I bet most people know what I’m talking about). I’m always amazed when I think back to that time when major labels were putting out the dope shit. Like Souls of Mischief saying “if you’re really dope why ain’t you signed yet?” Look at what the major labels put out now. It’s a fucking joke. There is still good underground hip hop, for sure, but it’s clear that the golden era is over. All music goes in cycles, and hip hop is definitely in a valley, in my mind at least. But you could kind of say the same for electronic music. There will always be people making the real shit, making music for the music, the difference becomes what surrounds it.

Word. That was a great era and I guess you’re right on the money when you identify cycles in creativity, output and what is consumed as opposed to the media’s favorite, the genre-death imminent declaration. Could you expand on what you mean when you say, “The difference becomes what surrounds it.”?

Well, I guess I mean there will always be people making good music, the difference in the cycles is who pays attention – whether it’s the masses or the underground. It’s really just one of those things though, isn’t it? Nobody can decide the timing of this kind of stuff.

Just for fun, if you were doing a DJ set of early-mid 90’s hip hop, what would be the first five albums you pull off the shelf?

Hmmmm, well these aren’t necessarily “party tracks” but I’m gonna answer like this anyway.

De La Soul Is Dead
Souls of Mischief – 93 Till Infinity
Pharcyde – Bizarre Ride
Common – Resurrection
Aceyalone – Book of Human Language

That’s really hard to do. I could think of hundreds.

No, nobody can decide. Instead, hopefully we can be active observers as well as participants…So, moving on from the hip hop discussion, as I think we could go on and on ‘til the break of dawn. You discretely disassemble some of the normal electro-hip hop song structures in your music. What informs that, musically or imaginatively?

That’s a hard question. You mean what are my ideas for composition? They are constantly changing, and a lot of times they’re intuitive, though I’m always trying to learn more about composition (traditional composition, that is). I’m trying to learn how to get my ideas across in the clearest way, which is hard. It forces you to think about what it is you’re saying. It’s my theory that learning is the antidote to staleness and loss of creativity, and I don’t want to make two records that sound like the same thing being redone.

I guess that is what I’m getting at with that question. By intuitive, what do you mean though? Is there an image or emotion that intuitively brings forth a sound to you? Or is there a sound you feel that bubbles up out of you? Not to pile it on too high, but this also leads ot my next question. What one artist would you like to be intrinsically linked to in your listeners’ minds and, conversely, what comparison would make your skin crawl?

This is all very abstract, but typically a sound will suggest something to me and I’ll attempt to pull it out. Other times I just fuck around till something cool happens. Other times I have a song going so I’ll need a certain element. By intuitive I mean that historically I haven’t started a song with its composition already determined. For my next project I’m going to try this though; to write the songs before I produce any sound for them. I’m curious if these will end up stronger.

I’d rather not compare myself to other musicians. I think that’s something for writers and listeners to do.

Haha! Well played sir. I certainly like to make comparisons in my writing, but for the purpose of constructing comfortable links for people to bridge across and try new things. Alright, let’s wrap this up with a quick salvo of easy little ones, shall we?

On “You Haunt Me” from Pushing Air, is that a vocal sample of Louis Armstrong? Or, if not, how did you get it to sound exactly like a lamenting Louis? By the way, I had a music prof in college who always said “Lewis” instead of “Louie” and that bugged the shit out of me. Ever have a college prof drive you nuts? You did say you went to Cal Arts, right? (Or was that somebody else during that insane weekend at Db??)

It is Louis Armstrong. It's processed, but that's him. He's got an unmistakable voice for sure. I did go to Cal Arts, and I did have a few professors that bugged the shit out of me (and a lot that I loved). In one of my music history classes the professor asked me if I made electronic music (she played the flute), I said I did and she asked, in front of the whole class, what I was going to do if all the electricity ran out. What? I told her we'd all have bigger problems.

You mentioned scoring a film, what was the film?

My business partner, Jeremy Zuckerman, and I just scored a film called "Just Peck". It's an all acoustic score of guitar, glock, melodica, drums, and bass. We also worked for the past four years on a show called "Avatar: The Last Airbender". I also scored a ballet (of all things) for the Paris Opera Ballet with classical composer Joby Talbot. It's choir, string quartet, and electronics. It came out great and we're in the process of releasing that right now, so stay tuned!

Have you picked up that Deaf Center album that we all melted to at the Ambient Showcase?

I haven't yet! But I will. I really liked their set.

When is the new record droppin’?!?

First quarter 2009 is my best guess for now, though I don't have the label 100% squared at this point. I'm crossing my fingers that I can sort it out quickly.

And…do you sit in the kitchen and watch the meat marinate?

Hahaha! Nice one.

The Silent Ballet would like to thank Benn Wynn for the interview. Photographs are courtesy of Nathan Howard at Resident Advisor.