Jack Ellister is an artist crafting experimental psychedelic music, who has garnered support from 6 Music, TimeMazine, Shindig! through his own releases, and collaborations with Fruits de Mer. His latest record Lichtpyramide II continues his successful foray into the path pioneered by krautrock. The Strange Brew asks Jack six questions.
Is Lichtpyramide II part of the same work as Lichtpyramide?
In most aspects the new album is a continuation of the previous one. I’d like to make new sound combinations without getting too much into muddy territory. So I give myself a sort of frame to operate in, but I try to be not too restrictive. It all started as a practice to work with the loop station and it turned into an instant composing workshop for myself.
How did you write and record?
Everything is improvised. I use a four-channel loop station to layer acoustic guitar or synth parts. Then I add effects and create a simple structure in real-time when recording it onto tape. Sometimes I’ll add a melody on top or some spoken word that I make up on the spot. Occasionally I grab a random book and read a line or two from it.
What artists old and new inspire you?
I like diversity but I feel totally overwhelmed by the huge amount available online. So even though I sometimes sit down for a few hours and dig for new music, I tend to stick to my record collection when it comes to recreational listening.
For example classical music in general, electro by Gerald Donald, early Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance, Dungen, Soccer96, experimental electronic music from the 70s and 80s, Astral Industries releases, Zappa live shows, John Johanna, Robert Wyatt, mid-career Prince Rama, recent Zongamin and Simple Symmetry, world music. Pretty much all over the place.
The lyrics of ‘Genesang: Der Mensch’ you’ve drawn from a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin. What was it about this poem that you felt would fit?
For the first Lichtpyramide I used excerpts from Odysseus and Jules Verne’s ‘5 Weeks In A Balloon’. I find Hölderlin’s work very inspiring due to its humanist element combined with a spiritual naturalism. Although for the second half of his life he lived very isolated -apparently he had some mental or emotional difficulties – in his writings he kept offering a positive perspective on creation and on life. His poems became slightly fragmented later and might appear chaotic, but I think they do make sense. He must have been just very far out.
This poem in particular deals with blessing. It lauds the human who acknowledges good, which in return increases his own wellbeing.
What’s got you through lockdown – has it been your music?
The sun last year was great. That actually helped a lot with getting through the first handful of months. I watched many films and read books about cinema, for example Bresson’s ‘Notes on the Cinematographer’, and Paul Schrader’s ‘Transcendental Style In Film’. I increased my soldering skills, repaired a few synthesizers, built my first guitar effect pedal, upgraded my studio a bit, and started working on a Lichtpyramide live set.
What are your future plans?
Playing shows and releasing Lichtpyramide III. Reading more books, further upgrading my studio and getting better at soldering, video editing and at solo’ing on synthesizers.
Lichtpyramide II is available on blue marbled 180gr vinyl, gatefold (500 copies) and digipak CD (300 copies).
For more information visit jackellister.com
