interview gabriel rios
ANTWERP, Belgium - Gabriel Rios, the multi-faceted, very talented singer-songwriter, has just released a new album. 'This Marauder's Midnight' sees the Puerto Rican-turned-Belgian musician (who spent the last four years in New York) returning to familiar territory with touching songs about life, love and what makes us tick. The condition humaine on record, as it were. Thanks to Sony Music, we had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Rios after his showcase in Mademoiselle Moustache, a charming Central Perk-esque coffee house in Antwerp. Mr. Rios is every journalist's dream: friendly, charming, while explaining his ideas with big gestures as if he's conducting the world, Doc Brown-style. The album itself is housed in a lovely book, with two CDs, a short story by Keith Godfrey and Gabriel Rios and drawings by Tinus Vermeersch. |
Julian De Backer: "Good afternoon, Mr. Rios. Congratulations on the new album, 'This Marauder's Midnight'. I have to say: such lovely, lovely artwork."
Gabriel Rios: "I just saw it today!"
Julian: "This is amazing. I'm going to advise all my friends to buy the special edition."
Gabriel: "It's twenty euro, man. Let's see how many people are willing to spend that kind of money nowadays."
Julian: "I'd say it's just twenty euro."
Gabriel: "I'm really disconnected regarding what things cost these days, at least in terms of CDs. It's been a long time since I bought one."
Julian: "Well, CDs are always priced between 16 and 20 euro. People complain, but think about it: inflation-wise, it was twenty euro twenty years ago. It should be forty nowadays."
Gabriel: "Especially when you do something extra."
Julian: "This is amazing. Did you have any other ideas for this elaborate presentation?"
Gabriel: "This is pretty much it. We basically started with a lot of ideas, and this is what it ended up being. The idea was to open up the album, as a concept, so people could find it before it was out. In terms of discovering the music little by little. Why? Because the album wasn't finished (chuckles). It's not a case of us being so clever, to come up with this marketing trick. It worked, though. Releasing a song a month. It also gave me time to finish the last songs, so I didn't have to go too fast. I was still putting the finishing touches on certain songs in February and March. The way we worked was a lot of fun. The included story was floating around, and I didn't have a way of putting it down. Fairly recently, we decided to do it in this format, with the drawings ..."
Julian: "Lovely drawings. Great stuff."
Gabriel: "I lived with Tinus and his brother when we went to Sint-Lucas. They're very talented people, the whole family as a matter of fact. The co-author of the story, Keith Godfrey, is my high school teacher. No, that's not correct: he taught my sister. We became really good friends, he introduced me to English punk rock. He had this bag of tapes, you know? You always get that bag of tapes from an older dude."
Julian: "Just last weekend, I visited a flea market. There was a whole bag of 60 tapes for just 5 euro."
Gabriel: "A plastic bag? It has to be a plastic bag."
Julian: "There was Thriller and Bad by Michael Jackson, Graceland by Paul Simon ... all the classics."
Gabriel: "All the classics, wow! You have a cassette player?"
Julian: "Yeah, sure. There's a revival going on now, I don't know if you've heard about it."
Gabriel: "I still have a cassette player."
Julian: "The new Mauro Pawlowski project, 'Hitsville Drunks', was released on cassette. Okay, I'm going to ask my first question: 'This Marauder's Midnight' is actually a collection of singles you released each month. Could you, for example, release another 'Marauder's Midnight' with discarded songs or darlings you had to kill?"
Gabriel: "Eh, no. No, because I'll take all I can get regarding complete songs. There are bits and pieces that don't make it. I don't have leftovers. I do have a lot of leftover bits, but they're more like an arm and a leg. Never a complete thing. This is what it ended up being. The scraps wouldn't make any sense. Everything else is just going to be the next record. Writing this album was intense, and I don't think I ever have full songs just lying around. It takes me a lot of time and energy before I have twelve songs. The funny thing is: on the way to these, there are a lot of throwaway pieces that never materialize into something. Why don't they become songs?"
Julian: "They lack a certain something?"
Gabriel: "Yeah. So I don't continue with them. Some people write songs and lyrics like it's nothing. For me, it takes forever to finish one. This is it. For now."
Julian: "When I look at the song titles, I like to imagine what the song might be about before listening to the result. A few things struck me. 'Apprentice' reminded me of the Disney movie 'Fantasia', the segment called 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' ..."
Gabriel: "Yeah yeah!"
Julian: "... and 'Police Sounds' had a 'Naked Gun' ring to it. Remember the beginning, with the police sounds?"
Gabriel: "Oh yeah! With Leslie Nielsen."
Julian: "But then there's song number seven, which could actually be called 'The Only One'. But it's called 'Song No. 7'."
Gabriel: "I thought about it, but that sounds like shit. That's such a statement, "the only one". That would have been too much. Song number seven? Ah, the seven looks good. Sometimes it's really just a visual thing."
Julian: "There's no big meaning behind 'Song No. 7'?"
Gabriel: "No, certainly not behind that one (laughs). But the 'Apprentice' image is cool, though. That's pretty much what it is. It's a Goethe story, an old myth. The idea of being left alone with powers you don't control."
Julian: "And having to fight for yourself."
Gabriel: "Yeah. And fucking up, which is the interesting part of it. I really like that idea. Everybody's who's starting to be conscious of what they're capable of, dances between "excess" and "not enough". It's a mess. Making songs is also a mess. When I see the book, I'm surprised that we got there. I don't remember how we got there, but the cool thing is that we spread the period of time. It was slow and it was chill. No stress. It's a good way of doing it. I hope I can keep this pace."
Julian: "It's a lovely pace. You were talking about Keith Godfrey. Could you consider yourself his apprentice on this record?"
Gabriel: "Not at all. Although ... it's interesting how certain friendships evolve. Why do you know people for such a long time? And why are other people now gone, even though you were really close during your childhood? This dude was my sister's teacher, but we got along really well. I just realized: I'm 36, I was 16 when I met him. That's twenty years ago, and we still connected."
Julian: "You kept in touch for twenty years?"
Gabriel: "Yeah, and that's weird. In the beginning, it was more sporadic, but in the last years, we Skype and talk all the time. We also worked on this story for a while, and we threw it around. We didn't know which form it would take, until we settled on something visual. We're not writers. We just really enjoyed exploring, talking, hanging out. Once we even went to Porto, in Portugal. A creepy fucking city, like a Tim Burton place. Seventeenth century-esque: you get out of a boat, and you have to put the boat at the dock and walk into the city while there's no electric light. Just creepy! I tried to imagine being in that time. The library, the famous book store where they filmed some 'Harry Potter' scenes. All the rooftops are bent. We just met there, hung out, and around that time the idea developed to do something together. We have a special connection, and we feel comfortable enough to work together. He always sends me compilations, playlists etcetera. I wouldn't say that I'm his apprentice, but to answer your question: these playlists influenced a lot of what's been going on in my mind musically for the last five years. Just getting stuff from him, is weird. In some ways, we converge and in others, we don't. But a lot of the songs on those albums he gave me ... I don't know. I'm sure they've influenced my music, but I can't tell you how. Maybe that's a good thing."
Julian: "It's always subconscious."
Gabriel: "I think so, yeah. Sometimes when you make songs, you think of certain people. "If he made those compilations, would he put one of my songs in there for somebody else - if he didn't know me?" It's the same as being in New York, and being faced with an English-speaking audience. It affects you, because you're more self-conscious. It's annoying, but it also helps you to deal with the pressure."
Julian: "Sure. I think the album has a very intimate, even minimalistic feel to it. 'Sparse' is the correct word. Was that a deliberate choice?"
Gabriel: "Hmm (nod of agreement while eating)."
Julian: "Compared to your first album, ten years ago. Big sounds. 'Broad Daylight', 'Ghostboy' ..."
Gabriel: "Youth!"
Julian: "Is it really? Growing up? Coming of age?"
Gabriel: "Oh yeah. You brandish all your weapons. Use all the colours. The apprentice, you know? It's everything. And that's part of it, I guess. It was easy for me to go there, but I got tired of too much. You can attract it by certain sounds, and certain songs. That's basically it. I don't have to try. For me physically, if I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing, my body lets me know and I get in a bad mood. There's a rejection. I get uncomfortable. Whatever ended up on the record, was probably what I wanted to hear, what I could tolerate for more than one day. It was easy to do what I really wanted to do, without having to think of anything else. It was easy to do that in New York, because there was no pressure from the career. Nobody knew me there, so it didn't matter. The only pressure was the actual moment of performance. And that's enough. Sometimes when we rehearsed in the day, we knew in the evening if it could graduate into a real song. So very natural. And yes, a conscious attraction to empty stuff. No drums."
Julian: "It's also eerie. I can imagine a sort of scoundrel or a thief telling his life's story through your songs."
Gabriel: "It is. It's a good way to look at the title, actually. Everybody's asking what it means, but what you just said is the closest it gets to what the title means."
Julian: "That's what I got out of it. That's what I understood."
Gabriel: "If they would all be like you, then I wouldn't have to ..."
Gabriel: "Yeah yeah!"
Julian: "... and 'Police Sounds' had a 'Naked Gun' ring to it. Remember the beginning, with the police sounds?"
Gabriel: "Oh yeah! With Leslie Nielsen."
Julian: "But then there's song number seven, which could actually be called 'The Only One'. But it's called 'Song No. 7'."
Gabriel: "I thought about it, but that sounds like shit. That's such a statement, "the only one". That would have been too much. Song number seven? Ah, the seven looks good. Sometimes it's really just a visual thing."
Julian: "There's no big meaning behind 'Song No. 7'?"
Gabriel: "No, certainly not behind that one (laughs). But the 'Apprentice' image is cool, though. That's pretty much what it is. It's a Goethe story, an old myth. The idea of being left alone with powers you don't control."
Julian: "And having to fight for yourself."
Gabriel: "Yeah. And fucking up, which is the interesting part of it. I really like that idea. Everybody's who's starting to be conscious of what they're capable of, dances between "excess" and "not enough". It's a mess. Making songs is also a mess. When I see the book, I'm surprised that we got there. I don't remember how we got there, but the cool thing is that we spread the period of time. It was slow and it was chill. No stress. It's a good way of doing it. I hope I can keep this pace."
Julian: "It's a lovely pace. You were talking about Keith Godfrey. Could you consider yourself his apprentice on this record?"
Gabriel: "Not at all. Although ... it's interesting how certain friendships evolve. Why do you know people for such a long time? And why are other people now gone, even though you were really close during your childhood? This dude was my sister's teacher, but we got along really well. I just realized: I'm 36, I was 16 when I met him. That's twenty years ago, and we still connected."
Julian: "You kept in touch for twenty years?"
Gabriel: "Yeah, and that's weird. In the beginning, it was more sporadic, but in the last years, we Skype and talk all the time. We also worked on this story for a while, and we threw it around. We didn't know which form it would take, until we settled on something visual. We're not writers. We just really enjoyed exploring, talking, hanging out. Once we even went to Porto, in Portugal. A creepy fucking city, like a Tim Burton place. Seventeenth century-esque: you get out of a boat, and you have to put the boat at the dock and walk into the city while there's no electric light. Just creepy! I tried to imagine being in that time. The library, the famous book store where they filmed some 'Harry Potter' scenes. All the rooftops are bent. We just met there, hung out, and around that time the idea developed to do something together. We have a special connection, and we feel comfortable enough to work together. He always sends me compilations, playlists etcetera. I wouldn't say that I'm his apprentice, but to answer your question: these playlists influenced a lot of what's been going on in my mind musically for the last five years. Just getting stuff from him, is weird. In some ways, we converge and in others, we don't. But a lot of the songs on those albums he gave me ... I don't know. I'm sure they've influenced my music, but I can't tell you how. Maybe that's a good thing."
Julian: "It's always subconscious."
Gabriel: "I think so, yeah. Sometimes when you make songs, you think of certain people. "If he made those compilations, would he put one of my songs in there for somebody else - if he didn't know me?" It's the same as being in New York, and being faced with an English-speaking audience. It affects you, because you're more self-conscious. It's annoying, but it also helps you to deal with the pressure."
Julian: "Sure. I think the album has a very intimate, even minimalistic feel to it. 'Sparse' is the correct word. Was that a deliberate choice?"
Gabriel: "Hmm (nod of agreement while eating)."
Julian: "Compared to your first album, ten years ago. Big sounds. 'Broad Daylight', 'Ghostboy' ..."
Gabriel: "Youth!"
Julian: "Is it really? Growing up? Coming of age?"
Gabriel: "Oh yeah. You brandish all your weapons. Use all the colours. The apprentice, you know? It's everything. And that's part of it, I guess. It was easy for me to go there, but I got tired of too much. You can attract it by certain sounds, and certain songs. That's basically it. I don't have to try. For me physically, if I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing, my body lets me know and I get in a bad mood. There's a rejection. I get uncomfortable. Whatever ended up on the record, was probably what I wanted to hear, what I could tolerate for more than one day. It was easy to do what I really wanted to do, without having to think of anything else. It was easy to do that in New York, because there was no pressure from the career. Nobody knew me there, so it didn't matter. The only pressure was the actual moment of performance. And that's enough. Sometimes when we rehearsed in the day, we knew in the evening if it could graduate into a real song. So very natural. And yes, a conscious attraction to empty stuff. No drums."
Julian: "It's also eerie. I can imagine a sort of scoundrel or a thief telling his life's story through your songs."
Gabriel: "It is. It's a good way to look at the title, actually. Everybody's asking what it means, but what you just said is the closest it gets to what the title means."
Julian: "That's what I got out of it. That's what I understood."
Gabriel: "If they would all be like you, then I wouldn't have to ..."
Julian: "No interviews."
Gabriel: "Not having to explain: 'Oh, what's the title about?' ... really? Try to find out, man!"
Julian: "Which reminds me of a funny anecdote I read in Serge Simonart's book 'Off The Record'. Lou Reed was the opposite of you. Everybody feared interviewing Lou Reed. His 1996 album was called 'Set The Twilight Reeling'. Everybody was afraid to ask what it meant, and they were also afraid he would find out that they didn't know what it meant."
Gabriel: "He would do that, I think."
Julian: "Just to pester you."
Gabriel: "If you like words - and I'm sure you like words - you could have so much fun with 'Set The Twilight Reeling'. Just see what it makes you think of. Once you ask, it's over. I never really understood why journalists ask the 'why?' question. It's a little lazy. Just find out! I can tell you, but my answer's going to be really boring compared to whatever you can imagine. I think it became quite the cliché when people got bored, and just asked."
Julian: "Did you have any other title options?"
Gabriel: "No, at the end of 'The Dangerous Return' (his previous album, ed.), this title came up. I love titles, because it's an excuse to get it started. Making stuff has always been pretentious. I always have the idea that it's already been done. There is a pretention there. When my dad bought me my first guitar, I played it as if I knew how to play it. It sounded terrible, of course, and there was nothing there. But the idea of doing it was always more important than actually doing it. When you become an adult, you realise you have to support that with actual, real work and you have to make the songs. It's not enough to just stand there. But the title is an excuse to get it started. And if it's a good one - "good" meaning "one you like yourself" - then it's cool, because it'll attract other items: the story, the artwork ... Like you said, it's like being a thief. Songs, I reckon, are half-stolen anyway."
Julian: "Yes, that's what you say in the liner notes. We are all thieves."
Gabriel: "You could pretend that you succeed because of your talent, and your inspiration. All these things are there, but I'm always suspicious. You listen to a lot, you live a lot, some things regurgitate and come out of your mouth. If you can control it, it's not that interesting. It's more interesting to not really know why it came out of your mouth."
Julian: "I think Tom Van Laere, Admiral Freebee, told me the same thing. His latest album is called 'The Great Scam', and he said: "Maybe, just me being here, being interviewed by you, IS the great scam" ..."
Gabriel: "I'm sure, yeah."
Julian: "He even said: "I'm not sure I am Tom Van Laere, maybe I'm not. Maybe that's the great scam". He was just riffing on that idea."
Gabriel: "Having fun with that."
Julian: "Or "Maybe I'm Admiral Freebee, but I'm not Tom Van Laere" ..."
Gabriel: "Haha!"
Julian: "I told him: "I think you are Tom Van Laere", but he insisted: "No! It's the great scam." ..."
Gabriel: "He had a lot of fun with that."
Julian: "He likes to mess with journalists' minds."
Gabriel: "Obviously, and totally."
Julian: "Is there something like a 'World of Sex'? And can we discover it?"
Gabriel: "Yeah, I think if you live in a certain way. (pause) I love that song."
Julian: "It's the only one not written by you."
Gabriel: "Courtesy of Katell Keineg. She's an amazing singer. We did post-production in a little studio in the Lower East Side of New York. We recorded some brass. The owner of the studio was a friend of Jeff Buckley. The studio is called "The Living Room". No, wait, "The Maid's Room". It's a really low-key apartment, and he produced an album from Katell Keineg which was brought out by Honest John Records (Damon Albarn's label). They released her record. She's from Wales, so there's a folk-esque background. She wrote 'World of Sex', and it's an amazing song. In this case, I was attracted to her voice and the melody. I hope she likes my version."
Julian: "You haven't asked her permission?"
Gabriel: "I did. She's going to open for us in the Cirque Royale in Brussels. She said she liked it, but I want to see her eyes when she says it. I think she likes it."
Julian: "I had never heard of her, before your mention."
Gabriel: "If we wouldn't have been in that little studio, I would never have heard her stuff. It went by unnoticed, but I love the whole record."
Julian: "Isn't it amazing how such a coincidence can shape your record?"
Gabriel: "Hmm. Indeed. We were looking for a cover. I wanted to add something else. Somebody else's song. And it was so obvious. When it played, it clicked."
Julian: "There's a song I'd like you to cover. I think it would fit your voice. I don't know if you're a Springsteen fan?"
Gabriel: "I'm actually not, although I know that he's a great songwriter. I have never been into his stuff."
Julian: "That's okay. He has a 1992 album which is not his most popular. It's a true "happy album". He always says he has to thank his father for the difficult relationship they had, because it inspired him. So in 1992, he was married, already had two of his eventual three kids, he was happy. He made an album called 'Lucky Town', and the final song is called 'My Beautiful Reward'. Maybe you should look it up."
Gabriel: "I'll check it out."
Julian: "Beautiful lyrics. It's my favourite Springsteen song. A very ethereal offering, with a marauder's quality. You don't know what it's about."
Gabriel: "What's it called?"
Julian: "'My Beautiful Reward'. The last song of 'Lucky Town'. Just remember "Lucky Town, last song". Great."
Gabriel: "When I was in New York, I visited New Jersey."
Julian: "Springsteenland."
Gabriel: "Boardwalk, fourth of July, Hobnobs, the prancing pony ... the whole shebang. I can't remember the place where he used to play there, right on the boardwalk. America, all the way."
Gabriel: "Not having to explain: 'Oh, what's the title about?' ... really? Try to find out, man!"
Julian: "Which reminds me of a funny anecdote I read in Serge Simonart's book 'Off The Record'. Lou Reed was the opposite of you. Everybody feared interviewing Lou Reed. His 1996 album was called 'Set The Twilight Reeling'. Everybody was afraid to ask what it meant, and they were also afraid he would find out that they didn't know what it meant."
Gabriel: "He would do that, I think."
Julian: "Just to pester you."
Gabriel: "If you like words - and I'm sure you like words - you could have so much fun with 'Set The Twilight Reeling'. Just see what it makes you think of. Once you ask, it's over. I never really understood why journalists ask the 'why?' question. It's a little lazy. Just find out! I can tell you, but my answer's going to be really boring compared to whatever you can imagine. I think it became quite the cliché when people got bored, and just asked."
Julian: "Did you have any other title options?"
Gabriel: "No, at the end of 'The Dangerous Return' (his previous album, ed.), this title came up. I love titles, because it's an excuse to get it started. Making stuff has always been pretentious. I always have the idea that it's already been done. There is a pretention there. When my dad bought me my first guitar, I played it as if I knew how to play it. It sounded terrible, of course, and there was nothing there. But the idea of doing it was always more important than actually doing it. When you become an adult, you realise you have to support that with actual, real work and you have to make the songs. It's not enough to just stand there. But the title is an excuse to get it started. And if it's a good one - "good" meaning "one you like yourself" - then it's cool, because it'll attract other items: the story, the artwork ... Like you said, it's like being a thief. Songs, I reckon, are half-stolen anyway."
Julian: "Yes, that's what you say in the liner notes. We are all thieves."
Gabriel: "You could pretend that you succeed because of your talent, and your inspiration. All these things are there, but I'm always suspicious. You listen to a lot, you live a lot, some things regurgitate and come out of your mouth. If you can control it, it's not that interesting. It's more interesting to not really know why it came out of your mouth."
Julian: "I think Tom Van Laere, Admiral Freebee, told me the same thing. His latest album is called 'The Great Scam', and he said: "Maybe, just me being here, being interviewed by you, IS the great scam" ..."
Gabriel: "I'm sure, yeah."
Julian: "He even said: "I'm not sure I am Tom Van Laere, maybe I'm not. Maybe that's the great scam". He was just riffing on that idea."
Gabriel: "Having fun with that."
Julian: "Or "Maybe I'm Admiral Freebee, but I'm not Tom Van Laere" ..."
Gabriel: "Haha!"
Julian: "I told him: "I think you are Tom Van Laere", but he insisted: "No! It's the great scam." ..."
Gabriel: "He had a lot of fun with that."
Julian: "He likes to mess with journalists' minds."
Gabriel: "Obviously, and totally."
Julian: "Is there something like a 'World of Sex'? And can we discover it?"
Gabriel: "Yeah, I think if you live in a certain way. (pause) I love that song."
Julian: "It's the only one not written by you."
Gabriel: "Courtesy of Katell Keineg. She's an amazing singer. We did post-production in a little studio in the Lower East Side of New York. We recorded some brass. The owner of the studio was a friend of Jeff Buckley. The studio is called "The Living Room". No, wait, "The Maid's Room". It's a really low-key apartment, and he produced an album from Katell Keineg which was brought out by Honest John Records (Damon Albarn's label). They released her record. She's from Wales, so there's a folk-esque background. She wrote 'World of Sex', and it's an amazing song. In this case, I was attracted to her voice and the melody. I hope she likes my version."
Julian: "You haven't asked her permission?"
Gabriel: "I did. She's going to open for us in the Cirque Royale in Brussels. She said she liked it, but I want to see her eyes when she says it. I think she likes it."
Julian: "I had never heard of her, before your mention."
Gabriel: "If we wouldn't have been in that little studio, I would never have heard her stuff. It went by unnoticed, but I love the whole record."
Julian: "Isn't it amazing how such a coincidence can shape your record?"
Gabriel: "Hmm. Indeed. We were looking for a cover. I wanted to add something else. Somebody else's song. And it was so obvious. When it played, it clicked."
Julian: "There's a song I'd like you to cover. I think it would fit your voice. I don't know if you're a Springsteen fan?"
Gabriel: "I'm actually not, although I know that he's a great songwriter. I have never been into his stuff."
Julian: "That's okay. He has a 1992 album which is not his most popular. It's a true "happy album". He always says he has to thank his father for the difficult relationship they had, because it inspired him. So in 1992, he was married, already had two of his eventual three kids, he was happy. He made an album called 'Lucky Town', and the final song is called 'My Beautiful Reward'. Maybe you should look it up."
Gabriel: "I'll check it out."
Julian: "Beautiful lyrics. It's my favourite Springsteen song. A very ethereal offering, with a marauder's quality. You don't know what it's about."
Gabriel: "What's it called?"
Julian: "'My Beautiful Reward'. The last song of 'Lucky Town'. Just remember "Lucky Town, last song". Great."
Gabriel: "When I was in New York, I visited New Jersey."
Julian: "Springsteenland."
Gabriel: "Boardwalk, fourth of July, Hobnobs, the prancing pony ... the whole shebang. I can't remember the place where he used to play there, right on the boardwalk. America, all the way."
Julian: "That's Americana right there. Suppose 'City Song' is a hymn to a city, which city would that be? Ghent, New York or your hometown in Puerto Rico?"
Gabriel: "It's slightly cryptic, but more than anything, it's about living in the part of town where you're supposed to live. When you move to New York, you become extra conscious of the fact that you're part of the demographic - even if you don't want it! The day you realise that may end up becoming very depressing. Because when you move there, and you have the money to afford an apartment, you're probably going to live in Brooklyn, in the Lower East Side or in Harlem. All these are places where people like us - who write, who make music - are moving, and where other people are being displaced because they cannot pay the rent any longer. It's what happens in every city, but in New York it's very clear that you are one of many who came to the city to write songs, or perform, or whatever. Everybody is there for their reason, but in one way you feel like you're just "another one". It's really a weird day when you meet said other people, who have the same ideals and the same goals as you have. I guess it's really cool, too, because it makes you want to forget demographics, and just concentrate on what you want to say. Not "sit down and think about it", but more a feeling of "I'm just going to make songs". The pressure is, ironically, off. The five minutes before, however, are filled with a lot of pressure. "What am I doing in this sea of people?" I remember getting there and being overwhelmed by the amount of moustaches and Ray-Bans and tattoos on the face. One time, I saw this couple that looked like they had normal jobs. Beautiful people, sure, but tattoos all over their faces. I remember thinking: "When I was growing up, and that's not such a long time ago, that just wasn't part of the mainstream". In New York, you get very aware of pop culture and how everybody is in similar groups. All living together. Such a strange feeling. And that's the 'City Song'. "What the fuck am I doing here? How am I a part of this?" and you realise there's no answer to those questions. The only thing you have to do, is accept at that very moment that you're one of many, grab your guitar, go play, start making songs and don't think about it anymore. But the first week, the fear almost gets to you.
Honestly, I didn't necessarily hang out in the music scene or in Brooklyn. I ended up making friends with people that were from other walks of life. That were probably seen as very boring by some people, but to me, they were incredibly interesting. They work every day, they have lives ..."
Julian: "I'd say sometimes, those people have the best stories."
Gabriel: "Very much so. And also older people, or actors, or gents that are not trying to make it at life. I don't have a life like that. I don't have a nine to five. For me, it's very exciting to hear how people do it, and how their stories are."
Julian: "There's an amazing photographer, Brandon Stanton, who publishes ..."
Gabriel: "Humans of New York?"
Julian: "Yeah!"
Gabriel: "Amazing book, eh? Such beauty. Sublime!"
Julian: "Every photo is a masterpiece."
Gabriel: "That's a good example of what we've talked about before, about being a thief. Sometimes you read those captions and you'll think ..."
Julian: "We're intruding into their lives. We shouldn't be able to read this. We are the thieves."
Gabriel: "And it looks like it's too good to be true, because the stories are so good. What is he doing? Just collecting them? You need talent, and an eye, to collect that. But you didn't create it, you're just collecting it. That is enough. I bought my girlfriend the book, but then I started reading it myself and I ... just, wow!"
Julian: "Mesmerizing."
Gabriel: "Amazing things in there."
Julian: "The thing you said about New York reminded me of Mara Wilson, an amazing writer who's living in New York. She has a brilliant blog, http://www.marawilsonwritesstuff.com, and she has mentioned a few times how easy it is to live in New York as a celebrity, because nobody cares. When Susan Sarandon is putting out the garbage bin, nobody blinks an eye. Nobody cares when you're crying on the subway in New York, because a loved one died. It's New York. The city leaves you be, in peace."
Gabriel: "Absolutely, she's very right. There's so much that happens when you're there, and the possibilities are endless. Just observe, and be a part of something. It's very rich, in a lot of ways. People who decide to stay and make their life, like she did, find ways to process it. Writing about it is fantastic. You need to do something with it, because it's so overwhelming. You need to find a way. Especially if you decide to live there."
Julian: "Adapt to the mindset?"
Gabriel: "Yeah. It's such a cliché, but the city has an amazing atmosphere. I was sitting in a coffee place with a friend who used to live in New York, and she was pointing at a house and said: "I used to live there, and right next to me, I always saw Patti Smith come out". And right as she's saying this, Patti Smith comes out. I swear! She gets up to one of these humongous, black-tinted window SUVs right when my friend is pointing at the house. As if she made it happen with her finger. That's New York."
Julian: "Final question, and just a silly one at that. I know that you're a 'Star Wars' fan. I put on my 'Star Wars' shoes just for you. Are you looking forward to the new movie? Do you follow the spoilers, the news, the tidbits?"
Gabriel: "I don't. I want to see it when it's made. I want to decide when I'm seeing it. I'm a sucker for everything that's epic battles, or good versus evil. I was walking down in Brooklyn and there was a guy cleaning his bus. You could hear from far away that he was an Italian American. New York accent, but with heavy Italian touches. He was talking to some friends, and as I was getting closer, I thought to myself: "Whatever he's going to say, it's going to be fun". It sure looked like they were in a very involved conversation, while spraying the bus. Right when I'm passing by, I hear him say: "It wasn't the first Death Star, it was the second Death Star."
And I'm like, "What!?", haha! These guys, looking like Soprano dudes, were having a Star Wars moment."
Julian: "Hilarious. Did you see 'Boyhood', the Richard Linklater movie?"
Gabriel: "Yes, I really liked it. Just the experience of watching it, I felt like I could watch it forever."
Julian: "That's also a marauder's moment. Intruding these characters' lives like a fly on the wall."
Gabriel: "Absolutely, they captured it."
Julian: "I loved the 'Star Wars' reference. That scene was recorded six or seven years ago, and they're talking about an eventual 'Star Wars VII'. And now it's real. How prophetic of Linklater."
Gabriel: "Yeah!"
Julian: "Jarring, even. Wow, now it's coming."
Gabriel: "Yeah, it's actually happening! It's going to be interesting, because it can be a disappointment. I didn't know what to think of the last 'Indiana Jones'. A lot of the Marvel movies have the right combination of what I like. The last 'Star Wars', 'Revenge of the Sith', too ..."
Julian: "I know you liked that one."
Gabriel: "I liked that one. There were enough elements to make it work. The whole good and evil thing has to be present, and in some movies it's not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
Julian: "I remember being pleased with another very belated sequel, 'Tron Legacy'."
Gabriel: "Jeff Bridges?"
Julian: "Yes."
Gabriel: "That was pretty cool."
Julian: "Visually arresting, and a kick-ass Daft Punk soundtrack."
Gabriel: "And the fact that everything was consequent."
Julian: "But that came out 28 years after the original. So it could have been a huge disaster. I wasn't even born when the first one came out. But it worked. Let's cross our fingers. Maybe 'Star Wars VII' will be amazing."
Gabriel: "It's interesting. The balance between what the studio decides, and the information that is put into the sequels. Epics and archetypes haven't changed in thousands of years. The qualities that you want, or those that make you uncomfortable, have to be there. If they're not, it passes. That's life."
Julian: "It's true. The archetypes, the tropes, are there."
Gabriel: "But how to approach them? For example, have you seen 'True Detective'?"
Julian: "No, I haven't. It's on my to see list."
Gabriel: "Then I'm not going to spoil it for you. Let's say there's an interesting problem in the series. I'll say no more, but that's, eh ... yeah, I'll shut up."
Julian: "Can you pinpoint the moment, so that I'll be able to recognize it once I'm checking out the show? What's the problem?"
Gabriel: "It has to do with, eh, starting out really good and what you do once it starts to fall apart. There is a trajectory for a hero, anti-hero included. You can mess with it, but you cannot do whatever. Sooner or later, you have to stop. If you've taken people to certain hints, and you drop them (or the opposite), you're responsible. These archetypes are there, so there is something that happens towards the end. I don't know if I can tell you this, shit. But the point is: umm (struggling). I don't think the possibilities are endless, so you have to really watch out how to present it. Especially if you have a new twist on something, and if you're hardcore. Because the series is hardcore in the beginning, extremely hard stuff. But there's something about tying things very nicely, that can be really killer. It can be like a cock block, in the worst way. Terrible. But check it out!"
Julian: "Colour me interested. Thank you for your time."
Gabriel: "You're welcome."
© 2014 Julian De Backer
Thanks to Sony Music (and photo's) for the interview opportunity. 'This Marauder's Midnight' is available on iTunes, and in all major record stores.
Gabriel: "It's slightly cryptic, but more than anything, it's about living in the part of town where you're supposed to live. When you move to New York, you become extra conscious of the fact that you're part of the demographic - even if you don't want it! The day you realise that may end up becoming very depressing. Because when you move there, and you have the money to afford an apartment, you're probably going to live in Brooklyn, in the Lower East Side or in Harlem. All these are places where people like us - who write, who make music - are moving, and where other people are being displaced because they cannot pay the rent any longer. It's what happens in every city, but in New York it's very clear that you are one of many who came to the city to write songs, or perform, or whatever. Everybody is there for their reason, but in one way you feel like you're just "another one". It's really a weird day when you meet said other people, who have the same ideals and the same goals as you have. I guess it's really cool, too, because it makes you want to forget demographics, and just concentrate on what you want to say. Not "sit down and think about it", but more a feeling of "I'm just going to make songs". The pressure is, ironically, off. The five minutes before, however, are filled with a lot of pressure. "What am I doing in this sea of people?" I remember getting there and being overwhelmed by the amount of moustaches and Ray-Bans and tattoos on the face. One time, I saw this couple that looked like they had normal jobs. Beautiful people, sure, but tattoos all over their faces. I remember thinking: "When I was growing up, and that's not such a long time ago, that just wasn't part of the mainstream". In New York, you get very aware of pop culture and how everybody is in similar groups. All living together. Such a strange feeling. And that's the 'City Song'. "What the fuck am I doing here? How am I a part of this?" and you realise there's no answer to those questions. The only thing you have to do, is accept at that very moment that you're one of many, grab your guitar, go play, start making songs and don't think about it anymore. But the first week, the fear almost gets to you.
Honestly, I didn't necessarily hang out in the music scene or in Brooklyn. I ended up making friends with people that were from other walks of life. That were probably seen as very boring by some people, but to me, they were incredibly interesting. They work every day, they have lives ..."
Julian: "I'd say sometimes, those people have the best stories."
Gabriel: "Very much so. And also older people, or actors, or gents that are not trying to make it at life. I don't have a life like that. I don't have a nine to five. For me, it's very exciting to hear how people do it, and how their stories are."
Julian: "There's an amazing photographer, Brandon Stanton, who publishes ..."
Gabriel: "Humans of New York?"
Julian: "Yeah!"
Gabriel: "Amazing book, eh? Such beauty. Sublime!"
Julian: "Every photo is a masterpiece."
Gabriel: "That's a good example of what we've talked about before, about being a thief. Sometimes you read those captions and you'll think ..."
Julian: "We're intruding into their lives. We shouldn't be able to read this. We are the thieves."
Gabriel: "And it looks like it's too good to be true, because the stories are so good. What is he doing? Just collecting them? You need talent, and an eye, to collect that. But you didn't create it, you're just collecting it. That is enough. I bought my girlfriend the book, but then I started reading it myself and I ... just, wow!"
Julian: "Mesmerizing."
Gabriel: "Amazing things in there."
Julian: "The thing you said about New York reminded me of Mara Wilson, an amazing writer who's living in New York. She has a brilliant blog, http://www.marawilsonwritesstuff.com, and she has mentioned a few times how easy it is to live in New York as a celebrity, because nobody cares. When Susan Sarandon is putting out the garbage bin, nobody blinks an eye. Nobody cares when you're crying on the subway in New York, because a loved one died. It's New York. The city leaves you be, in peace."
Gabriel: "Absolutely, she's very right. There's so much that happens when you're there, and the possibilities are endless. Just observe, and be a part of something. It's very rich, in a lot of ways. People who decide to stay and make their life, like she did, find ways to process it. Writing about it is fantastic. You need to do something with it, because it's so overwhelming. You need to find a way. Especially if you decide to live there."
Julian: "Adapt to the mindset?"
Gabriel: "Yeah. It's such a cliché, but the city has an amazing atmosphere. I was sitting in a coffee place with a friend who used to live in New York, and she was pointing at a house and said: "I used to live there, and right next to me, I always saw Patti Smith come out". And right as she's saying this, Patti Smith comes out. I swear! She gets up to one of these humongous, black-tinted window SUVs right when my friend is pointing at the house. As if she made it happen with her finger. That's New York."
Julian: "Final question, and just a silly one at that. I know that you're a 'Star Wars' fan. I put on my 'Star Wars' shoes just for you. Are you looking forward to the new movie? Do you follow the spoilers, the news, the tidbits?"
Gabriel: "I don't. I want to see it when it's made. I want to decide when I'm seeing it. I'm a sucker for everything that's epic battles, or good versus evil. I was walking down in Brooklyn and there was a guy cleaning his bus. You could hear from far away that he was an Italian American. New York accent, but with heavy Italian touches. He was talking to some friends, and as I was getting closer, I thought to myself: "Whatever he's going to say, it's going to be fun". It sure looked like they were in a very involved conversation, while spraying the bus. Right when I'm passing by, I hear him say: "It wasn't the first Death Star, it was the second Death Star."
And I'm like, "What!?", haha! These guys, looking like Soprano dudes, were having a Star Wars moment."
Julian: "Hilarious. Did you see 'Boyhood', the Richard Linklater movie?"
Gabriel: "Yes, I really liked it. Just the experience of watching it, I felt like I could watch it forever."
Julian: "That's also a marauder's moment. Intruding these characters' lives like a fly on the wall."
Gabriel: "Absolutely, they captured it."
Julian: "I loved the 'Star Wars' reference. That scene was recorded six or seven years ago, and they're talking about an eventual 'Star Wars VII'. And now it's real. How prophetic of Linklater."
Gabriel: "Yeah!"
Julian: "Jarring, even. Wow, now it's coming."
Gabriel: "Yeah, it's actually happening! It's going to be interesting, because it can be a disappointment. I didn't know what to think of the last 'Indiana Jones'. A lot of the Marvel movies have the right combination of what I like. The last 'Star Wars', 'Revenge of the Sith', too ..."
Julian: "I know you liked that one."
Gabriel: "I liked that one. There were enough elements to make it work. The whole good and evil thing has to be present, and in some movies it's not. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
Julian: "I remember being pleased with another very belated sequel, 'Tron Legacy'."
Gabriel: "Jeff Bridges?"
Julian: "Yes."
Gabriel: "That was pretty cool."
Julian: "Visually arresting, and a kick-ass Daft Punk soundtrack."
Gabriel: "And the fact that everything was consequent."
Julian: "But that came out 28 years after the original. So it could have been a huge disaster. I wasn't even born when the first one came out. But it worked. Let's cross our fingers. Maybe 'Star Wars VII' will be amazing."
Gabriel: "It's interesting. The balance between what the studio decides, and the information that is put into the sequels. Epics and archetypes haven't changed in thousands of years. The qualities that you want, or those that make you uncomfortable, have to be there. If they're not, it passes. That's life."
Julian: "It's true. The archetypes, the tropes, are there."
Gabriel: "But how to approach them? For example, have you seen 'True Detective'?"
Julian: "No, I haven't. It's on my to see list."
Gabriel: "Then I'm not going to spoil it for you. Let's say there's an interesting problem in the series. I'll say no more, but that's, eh ... yeah, I'll shut up."
Julian: "Can you pinpoint the moment, so that I'll be able to recognize it once I'm checking out the show? What's the problem?"
Gabriel: "It has to do with, eh, starting out really good and what you do once it starts to fall apart. There is a trajectory for a hero, anti-hero included. You can mess with it, but you cannot do whatever. Sooner or later, you have to stop. If you've taken people to certain hints, and you drop them (or the opposite), you're responsible. These archetypes are there, so there is something that happens towards the end. I don't know if I can tell you this, shit. But the point is: umm (struggling). I don't think the possibilities are endless, so you have to really watch out how to present it. Especially if you have a new twist on something, and if you're hardcore. Because the series is hardcore in the beginning, extremely hard stuff. But there's something about tying things very nicely, that can be really killer. It can be like a cock block, in the worst way. Terrible. But check it out!"
Julian: "Colour me interested. Thank you for your time."
Gabriel: "You're welcome."
© 2014 Julian De Backer
Thanks to Sony Music (and photo's) for the interview opportunity. 'This Marauder's Midnight' is available on iTunes, and in all major record stores.
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