The second full-length by John Lemke reflects the documentary composer's eclectic spirit and skill for adventurous sound design, meshing numerous genres with ease. Dramatic strings, pianos, and woodwinds populate his lush, suspenseful pieces, and he uses inventive and obscure recording techniques to achieve haunting sonic effects. His beats reference dub, drum'n'bass, and ambient techno, but it never feels like he's dabbling in those styles or engaging in genre exercises. The album is never a predictable listening experience. After starting out slow and still, "The Unwinding" gradually builds up to an exciting, colorful section with splashing drums and fluttering clarinets. "Vessel" places Latin piano rhythms and saxophones around pounding techno beats, with everything running in intricate time signatures. "Corroder" goes for grand sadness, starting out like a distant cousin of the KLF's Chill Out before traveling in a more jacked-up rhythmic vehicle, with gritty bass and kicking beats surrounded by a sphere of chaotic saxophones and mournful strings. It seems almost inevitable that Lemke's expressive melodies exhibit a cinematic quality, but this album doesn't quite sound like a soundtrack without a film. The individual pieces have their own distinct personalities and stand alone. Nomad Frequencies is meant to be listened to as a whole, however, and it's often a thrilling experience.
An ardent moulder of sound informed by his work as a sound designer and composer for documentary films, John Lemke’s natural inclination towards fusing rhythm with rich textures and emotive melodies is in full meticulous flow with his latest record 'Nomad Frequencies'. John's healthy disregard for genre boundaries ensures the array of influences on 'Nomad Frequencies' is vast, but never over-powering. From the meditative hints of minimalism, free jazz explosions to the Lynchian atmospherics, all elements serve nothing more than the album's narrative journey between friction and harmony… We talk to John about displacement, the live format and travelling…
TSH: As the material began to take shape for your second album ‘Nomad Frequencies’, how would you sum up your mindset?
John: Well, after the first album cycle I was trying not to think about things too much really. The first record was such a long process and I was stuck with the same tracks for ages and mastering playing live. My intentions were mainly to get back into something new and fresh really…
TSH: You also had to deal with displacement in the lead up to this album?
John: Yeah, a weird thing happened where I was evacuated from my old house where my studio was. This all unfolded and it was kind of in a way inspiring as well as annoying and unsettling. The displacement spurred a lot of new ideas. With the constant travelling around I was able to gather a lot of field recordings. I went back to Berlin for a month and this was during the time of the refugee crisis, there was a lot of uproar and debate. I was being thrown out of my house for other reasons and the whole situation in Germany made me feel in touch with all these other more pressing issues around the world – it became an unintentional new angle for the record.
TSH: In what way did the situation in Germany inform the mood of the record?
John: I guess it gave an odd sense of liberty because of the whole situation and my displacement too. When you work in a studio environment you get very stuck in your ways and you need some kind of input, some kind of change to inspire you, this was forceful in the way that it happened particularly with my displacement. The whole feel being in Germany made me approach the record in a different way - with new sounds and new ways of structuring.
TSH: Furthermore, unusual and inspiring sound sources remain at the heart of your process?
John: Absolutely. For me, it was very much about finding sound sources that had something unique about them. What I don’t like doing is working with sounds that are readily available or sample made things, although they can be sometimes beneficial. For mem I feel like I can’t go there because people are already doing it really well already, I don’t have this type of history attached to it and I want my own history attached to my work - something I’ve made. Field recording are always a good start, also lo fi sounds with contact microphones for rhythms, as well as distinct tape machines being helpful too.
TSH: Does it remain essential for you discover sounds that give you an immediate or unusual kind of emotional response?
John: Absolutely. I mean at heart I’m an instrumentalist, but I don’t master any one instrument really amazingly, so I can’t really rely on my playing to be so inspiring that it conjures up a whole new world of emotion. From a compositional basis I always look to unusual sound sources that are inspiring, whether I’m sampling instruments on a keyboard or playing my piano in a way to illicit some really interesting sounds.
TSH: Talk us through how you went about fleshing out the track ‘The Unwinding’…
John: In terms of how it all came together, that track is certainly one of my most complex pieces. I was just initially working with the rhythm as I’d been wanting to do a track with an unusual time signature. I had this main riff that comes in two thirds of the way in and that was the starting point. I knew I needed to make it cohesive, so I took some of the elements and slowed them down and made some interesting sounding pads. Also, I had a little attic flat at my mom’s I was staying in during my displacement and I sat down on the piano and improvised for about half an hour or so and that became the opening two to three minutes with the build-up happening. The track came together organically, which was strange for me because I don’t work with improvisation a lot, I tend to work with happy accidents. I like this track because it sums up the feel of the album well - a quiet and suspicious aura, but you know there’s something lurking.
TSH: Meanwhile ‘Passenger’ exudes a more ambient and relaxed feel…
John: That was actually the last track that I wrote for the album. It was about a year ago and autumn was really starting to hit Glasgow. To me it’s a very moody piece that lives a lot from the field recordings, from the birds at the beginning, as well as other subtle sounds that one may not hear, but are definitely shaping the whole narrative. I think I just wanted to make a track that didn’t progress too much and just stayed true to the autumnal mood.
TSH: You’ve mentioned ‘to me a huge part of musical identity has to come from an idiosyncratic sound world’…
John: I guess that’s just about my own listening habits and my own way of working. I could make all types of music, but I feel it has to come from a place that has something to say musically and sonically. I’m not a singer or songwriter, and I wouldn’t express myself through lyrics - I don’t think I’d have very much to say with that medium. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t weave narratives, which I think is an interesting concept in instrumental music.
TSH: Over the course of the year, what’s pleased you most about your development?
John: At the start of the record I was wondering how it may turn out and if I could make these concrete images in my head worthy of achievement. And, you know, that’s what’s pleased me - I was able to be very specific with ‘Nomad Frequencies’ than any works before. I feel I did the work justice with sounds and the way I captured the essence - something interesting came out. I was able to stay true to it, which was a nice and coherent way of working.
TSH: Is it quite the challenge to perform live and experiment in ways to do the tracks justice?
John: Yeah, in a way it is. The live shows are very important and it’s difficult to manoeuver the way I want sometimes. I feel like because I’m not known very well I have to sometimes reinvent myself and do new things with the material and frame it in a different way. l look to do them music justice and give people a feel for the music. I’ve been staying fairly close to the records and making subtle revisions to make it immersive as possible.
TSH: What was it like to recently perform at Leuven town hall in Belgium?
John: It was great! That particular venue itself was very awe-inspiring. It’s not a concert venue normally and this was one of the only days that it was open to the public. It’s a 15th century building exuding history through all its pores, the music resonates so well in there. It was an incredible experience and was definitely one of the most special performances of my career.
TSH: It must also be so rewarding to be signed to a record label that’s so appreciative of its artists?
John: It’s great you know. I played all the Denovali festivals last year and I’m hopeful of returning next year. It’s very rare to come across a record label where you have so much freedom and you feel so recognised for what you do. There is a trust with Denovali that goes both ways, which is really nice. They have a great bunch of people working there and all of the artists I’ve met are so forthcoming too. Such gifted musicians.
TSH: What are you mostly passionate about outside of music?
John: I love to travel really, visit friends all over the world. I do feel recently that with all that’s going on in the world I have become more and more politicised as time goes by, especially the last couple of years having been so intense and there really is no looking away. I find it hard to concentrate on my work sometimes because I feel like the world is in so much trouble on so many different fronts.
TSH: What defines your progression as you head forward?
John: I would hope that I never get into a position where I feel like I’m repeating myself or going the easy way. I’m fully focused on my future work and I like that I’m feeling excited and daunted by it at the same time. I would like to stay true to my methods of working and not feeling too safe in any particular way. I want to always be on the quest for new sounds and instruments. It’s important to keep an open mind and be receptive to what’s out there musically.
