Gregory Curvey’s Custard Flux project sees him expanding the musical pallete he set in his group The Luck of Eden Hall. Jason Barnard speaks to Curvey about Custard Flux and his excellent new album Echo.
How has the sound of Custard Flux evolved over the past few years, culminating in Echo?
On Helium, last year’s release, I played every instrument, which wasn’t my initial intention but I wasn’t finding any local musicians that were interested in what I wanted to do, and I didn’t want to wait, so I dove in. Fortunately, this time I had the input of a couple of great musicians on Echo, and their individual styles have helped the sound expand. I’m very delighted.
Who’s in your current band and have you played with them before?
Just four of us so far. Timothy Prettyman on Double Bass, Vito Greco on Guitar, Walt Prettyman on Violin, and myself. Timothy and I played together in a project in the 80s that never got off the ground. Vito appeared on TLoEH’s version of Starship Trooper that was released on Fruits de Mer Records.
What was the writing and recording process for Echo?
I definitely wrote more songs on the guitar for this album. A lot of the Helium tracks were written while sitting at the Harmonium because it was a new acquisition and very inspiring. Extraordinary Man and Echo were the first couple tunes out of the gate, for this project. The basic structure of Extraordinary Man was written with my friend Tim Ferguson during a weekend of jamming in my studio, and later I added the lyrics. After those first two songs were written, I really tried to focus on more progressive melodies, and if a song sounded too typical I would scrap it, or deconstruct it and rearrange it, which was the case with Pink Indians.
Most of the tracks started with a scratch guitar, which I’d play drums to, and then I’d add instrumentation to it from there. Timothy laid down his Bass parts after I’d played the drums. Vocal tracks were usually last. Sometimes I delete parts to let other instruments shine. For example, on Gold I totally removed the guitar track after the first chorus and let the piano take over. I also wasn’t sure if I was going to get Walt into my studio in time, but he came in at the last minute and nailed his solos superbly!
How much have you used the harmonium?
It’s on every song on the album.
America is one of my highlights. Were you making a statement about the double-sided nature of the US at the moment?
Yeah, I’m pretty disgusted with the current potus and his, I use the term loosely, administration. What a circus. Doing exactly the opposite of what desperately needs to be done. Appointing people to run departments that they’re publicly known to have despised. The people I know that actually like him and his policies have been brainwashed by decades of propaganda, and there doesn’t seem to be a way out of this rut. So, I tried to poetically write about American cultural faux pas, using Baseball and Apple Pie, two of the most American things I could think of, as metaphors.
Did you have a particular sound in mind for the album?
I’d developed a sound while recording Helium and wanted to stick to that formula. I record everything acoustically, with minimal studio effects, and then play an electric guitar solo if I felt like it. I really had to hold back from playing an electric solo on Supernatural, and I’m glad I left the space for Walt. His Violin parts remind me of Eddie Jobson’s work with Roxy Music. One of my all time favorites.
Who influences you – then and now?
I can remember being really little, before fm radio, listening to my Mom’s am radio and wishing for the DJ to play songs like Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Temptation Eyes. Then changing stations and hearing Kick Out The Jams and Open My Eyes. So, Pop Set In at an early age. Sabbath and Jethro Tull were added to my mix of KISS and The Beatles in my Junior High years, then I discovered Prog on fm radio. Genesis, King Crimson, Yes had just released Relayer, Jeff Beck’s Wired album. I also went through a punk phase and just recently saw The Damned on tour. I draw inspiration from all of these genres but Psychedelic, Prog, and Pop are my true loves. Currently, I’ve been listening to White Denim and Tame Impala.
Is there any artists you’d like to collaborate with?
I’d love to work with Todd Rundgren. I’ve been fortunate to meet him a few times, and once my friend Patrice talked to his stage manager and he invited me backstage. TLoEH had just released Belladonna Marmalade, so I gave him a copy. We chatted while he and his family were eating dinner. I was shy as hell, but I did suggest my desire for him to produce my work. He laughed and said something like, “You’d be better off without me. I’m the kiss of death.” Rundgren just seems like he’d be a great person to work with, and I could learn so much.
The video and music for Supernatural perfectly complement each other. Did you give a brief to Shane Swank – how was it put together?
I pretty much let Shane do whatever he feels for the Custard Flux Music videos, because I love the aesthetic in his work, and have been an admirer for years. He’s an accomplished painter and visual artist and when I saw he’d started dabbling in animation, I asked and was ecstatic when he agreed to create a video for Innermission, one of the instrumental tracks on Helium.
He also created a fantastic music video for The Hit Parade, complete with bouncing sing-a-long lyrics ala Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Shane also did my portrait on the back cover of Helium. Please check out his work at quantumtomfoolery@bigcartel.com.
Is there any lyrical themes across the album? What do you think ties them together – did you sequence them in a particular way?
I didn’t have any themes in mind when I was writing lyrics this time. Some are fantasy, some are about current or past life experiences. Cirque d’Enfant was written 12 or 13 years ago, just after my daughter was born. I’m not really sure if anything ties them together other than the music. As far as sequence goes, I always lay out the song order by feel. I didn’t know I was going to open the album with Supernatural until the song was finished, then it seemed a no-brainer.
What are your favourite Custard Flux tracks and why?
I like Sleepy. It’s fun to play on the piano and I was really happy with the song, although the piano part kind of got buried in the final mix. I like Forevermore because I discovered the piano/harmonium combination for the first time when recording it, which created a dreamy circus atmosphere. I’m proud of The Hit Parade. It started out as a little piano riff, and I liked the way it all came together. Supernatural is fun to play on the guitar, and I can’t wait to perform it live. I’m proud of Tiger because a musician from another country liked it enough to cover it and post his version on YouTube, which is pretty cool!
How would you say the Custard Flux material compares with The Luck of Eden Hall?
Most of the songs I write come to me the same way, so I could probably replace the Harmonium with Mellotron, plug in and make TLoEH versions of all these new songs, but the concept is to create the same type of music using only acoustic instruments. Electricity free, so to speak. The Harmonium really sparked the idea. It sounds almost like a Hammond Organ, and by playing it I can tell what they were trying to mimic when they created the first Hammond Organs. The keys don’t play as easy as a modern keyboard, so, much like the Mellotron, you need to learn how to play the Harmonium. There are two knee levers that allow you to change sounds while playing, along with the stops that you can push or pull to engage different sounds. It’s pretty cool.
The other big difference would be my guitar playing. Playing electric guitar with pedals and an Echoplex is a blast, and I miss it, but I really had to practice a lot and focus on my ability to play acoustic guitar, so I’d be comfortable in a live setting. I wanted to be more accomplished at soloing, so I practice scales constantly. I’m very confident now.
You mentioned your increased confidence. I think that shows in the broader pallette you’re drawing from in this album with tracks like Gold and Cirque d’Enfant. Has that affected your writing style or does the wider range of sounds just come out when arranging and recording?
I think I’m getting more comfortable writing lyrics, which shows in the two songs you’ve mentioned, and focusing on a more progressive approach to the music definitely leads me down avenues I haven’t explored in the past. I’m not a technical composer. I’ve tried to learn about theory, but it doesn’t stick with me. I play by ear. I love Indian and Arabic music, Jazz and Hard Rock. Lately I’ve been trying to blend these sounds. Using alternative chords along with bar and power chords is really pleasing. Songs can go through a metamorphosis while I’m recording and radically change, but that keeps them fresh. If I just recorded everything the way it initially came to me out of the ether, the songs would be too typical. I almost always change the vocal melody. Sometimes the initial melody is in a register that can’t be sung powerfully enough, and things like that.
Can you talk about the limited edition albums and box sets that you do – your craft and attention to detail is incredible.
I always did the album covers for TLoEH, except Subterrene, and this time I wanted something completely different for Custard Flux. I’d been admiring my life long friend Gregory Chamberlin’s paintings and was thrilled he was willing to let me use them for album covers. I wanted to create something special to highlight some of his work, so I came up with the Helium CD Box Set Idea. An edition of 100 which included a laser etched wooden box, a couple CDs, a lyric booklet, and four more of Chamberlin’s paintings on postcards.
They’re all sold out now, but I’ve just released Helium as a limited edition double LP on 180g raspberry vinyl, with inserts. Only 250 of those are available. I also have three sets of test pressings that I’m going to package up and auction off at some point. I’m thinking I’ll house them in a laser etched cardboard box, ala Alice Cooper’s Muscle Of Love. Chamberlin also did the cover for the new album, Echo. You should check out his work at www.gregorychamberlin.com
Are you playing any live Custard Flux shows?
We’ve been asked to play Vintage Vinyl’s 40th Anniversary party, so that will be the first gig, other than a few solo shows I’ve done. I dragged the Harmonium out for a show in Detroit last year.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
I plan on getting a complete band together, so we can perform with a drummer. I backed a Kickstarter invention for a device that you clip to the neck of your instrument to make it louder, like the second gourd on a sitar, and I can’t wait for it to arrive so I can try it out. Plus, I’m always composing and have new songs percolating, and Fruits de Mer Records is including a Custard Flux track on something too.
For more information visit the Custard Flux Bandcamp site.
