David K Frampton interviews Tad Doyle:
Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) on TAD Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears (Adam Pease, Ryan Short 2008) once remarked that Tad was a recording artist years before he had a band. I feel in TAD and Thomas Andrew Doyle's recent career, he has come full circle and now in a sequence of magnificent and very personal albums has fully dived into production and sound-making with the same depth and intensity as some of the heaviest TAD records. Tad now mixes, engineers, masters, composes, and produces music and has become the hub of a new generation of noisemakers with his Witch Ape Studio in Seattle. I have followed his career for over 30 years and one thing TAD the band would never do is look back…they moved leaps forward with each record and now in Thomas Andrew Doyle’s new career as a composer he has moved forward again at every turn. From Incineration Ceremony, to Accretion Mass, to his latest Experiments of The Spectral Order Vol 2, he has changed styles from neo-classical, to noise music, to doom, and most recently ambient. It is in my humble opinion that Experiments Of The Spectral Order Vol 2 is his greatest album to date featuring an almost devotional intensity and a nuance of light and shade that could only be the work of a grandmaster.
So, Tad, I wanted to ask when did you start your journey from being in a band to producing other artists' work?
A: Well I’ve always had a keen sense of what sounds good. I’ve always done a lot of my own recordings since way back in the day with my first reel-to-reel tape machine that I had as a child in the 1960s and then subsequently cassette machines. The lion’s share of these recordings from the early days is lost, or unreleased, But I’d say the first time I started actively recording and producing for other bands was in 2006. Producing to me, was always kind of a dirty word. And that was probably due to my perception. But I feel now, after all these years, I am able to produce other artists' material. Mostly because I have the experience and knowledge to do so. I’ve seen a lot of different music come and go over the years. Basically, music has meant the world to me for as long as I remember.
You have mastered a number of my records including the recent Following LP on Eyeless, how did you get into mastering and how is it different from producing?
A: To be honest, I got into Mastering because there was a situation where there was a mastering treatment that a band that I recorded and mixed had received from a mastering engineer that they chose that didn’t sound as good as the mixes that I had sent. It was not good. It seems like the band just wanted a big-name mastering engineer to be credited on their recording. But to be completely honest, it sounded horribly compressed, limited, and lifeless. The person who did the mastering was a little too heavy-handed and the top end of the mix became harsh and unpleasant to listen to compared to the mixes that were sent out. By the time the band sent me the mastered versions, it was too late because they had already gone to duplication. So I took it upon myself to master the tracks as a test. I felt confident that my treatment was better than the one they had paid for and released. The band admitted that had they known, they would’ve had me master their tracks. Previous to that, I was going down a rabbit hole regarding audio mastering. I was absorbing as much information as I could get my hands and ears on about the techniques, and implementation of mastering audio. I spent all the time I had outside of working a job to educate myself both in practical knowledge and experience. I have found that you can get an education but it isn’t until you have real-world experience through trial and error that you become good at anything. I feel that I have earned the status of being an audio professional who records, mixes, and masters audio at a professional level. I continue to learn new things every day and am always finding ways to sharpen my ears and abilities. The journey never ends in that regard. My philosophy has always been to respect the mix and stay as transparent as I can in my treatments. However, I have sent mixes back to some artists and recording engineers with suggestions on how their mixes could be made better. So that what I can do for the music will enhance and not detract.
I wanted to ask about your creative process, you are very prolific and have released a diverse body of work…how do you begin a project, and do you know where it’s going to take you?
A: I am fairly chaotic in my methods of creating music. A lot of ideas flow out really quickly. I just try to capture the inspiration with quick recordings. In this way, I can go back through my ideas afterward with careful examination and observance. Then, I will either expand on a musical concept or delete and throw away some ideas that in my opinion aren’t worthy.
To me, some of my best work has come from happy accidents that came out in the spur of the moment. I honestly never know where a song idea will take me. My process usually starts with just a simple idea and I expand upon it. For the last few years, I have taken more things out of songs instead of adding to them. Once I have something I like in a song sketch, I will take a step back and give it a rest. Eventually, I will come back to it and reevaluate it with a fresh ear. I have found this to be super helpful. I try not to get in my head too much about the music I create. I keep it as intuitive as possible and try not to overthink things.
The Gift Of Suffering is a personal favorite…this album seemed to combine some of your aesthetic as a composer with the heavy doom vibe of Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth. Do you see yourself as a metal artist or is that just one part of your musical language?
A: I try not to name or label the things that I do stylistically and musically. I feel when you say things like, “I’m a doom-metal guy”, or, “ I am this or I am that “, you are putting limits on yourself as to what you can or cannot do. There is a song on the Brothers of the Sonic Cloth's self-titled record entitled, “Unnamed”. I think the lyrics in that song express this idea best. I like to keep my options open and don’t align myself with any genre of music and certainly none of the labels that go with it. If someone wants to put a label on what you do, that’s on them. Those types of decisions are made by the listener based on their experience. I avoid labeling and naming things stylistically that I create, like the plague. Doing so can defeat and limit the energy of the music.
Experiments Of The Spectral Order Vol 2 is an astonishing record and I think in some ways your best…yet it features some of the most gentle and nuanced work of your career..do you feel this is a direction you’ll revisit for later albums?
A: Firstly, thanks for all the kind observations. The funny thing is, that I have been leaning more towards open and expansive compositions that develop over time. I fancy myself a musical explorer, a nomad who gets to travel vast distances to locations in the cosmic psyche. When something becomes sterile and uninteresting to me, I will move on and explore different territories, musically and lyrically. Nuance and expression are just a couple of elements that I find fascinating. At the risk of sounding like a New Age hippie, I pay attention to my surroundings on a micro and macro level. I have become aware of the energy of the earth and of our solar system and beyond. I feel like I am in tune with the universe more than ever on more than just a superficial level. I became aware that I am sensitive to magnetism and other unseen elements. As a result, I’ve become very careful with what I release into the universe. Every intention, even the word, has an energy. I don’t want to have contributed to the Akashic record in a negative manner. But I’m probably becoming too philosophical and not really answering your question. Haha. So, long story short. I will continue to use any direction musically as long as it serves me. And when it no longer does, I will discard it.
How did you create your new album? Did you layer up drones and get a vibe in the studio or was it more methodical?
A: I suppose I have my methods of doing things. But to be quite honest, it is all intuition and for me, it’s kind of like playing chess. While I am present in creating a tone or texture, I am thinking many moves ahead in the game. So I will make a mental note or jot down an idea on a piece of paper as to where I want to take things. Some of the things that I’m working on, really have no tempo. Meaning, that I’m not creating to a grid. That is the chaos element that I thrive on. Sometimes later on in the composition, a tempo will reveal itself in a feeling. Not so much in a strict sense but in a fluid manner. I can latch onto that to have the option of bringing in percussive elements if needed.
There’s something cinematic about your work I can’t help wondering what film composers or soundtracks inspire your work?
A: There are so many composers and creators that inspire me. To me, the way people speak and convey an idea is an influence in itself. Sometimes it’s the sounds that people make. I hear rhythms and tone inflection in the way that some people communicate verbally. Essentially, I am hearing speech in a musical way. Sometimes I am hearing only rhythm and tone. I can listen to somebody talking and hear it as music rather than a language if that makes any sense. I have created some musical ideas based on that factor. I derived inspiration from a whole plethora of sources like this but not limited to this. To me, sounds and broadband frequencies from the lowest waves continuing on up into the ultra-high frequencies that become light are a fascinating influence.
In fact who are your current influences?
A: I guess I could answer this question by stating not who, but what are my current influences. I believe I’ve named a few already.
So what does the future hold? What are we to expect from your next phase of albums?
A: Well, I would say to expect the unexpected. Ha! I have been playing a lot more drums and percussion instruments as of late. There will be more vocalizing and I’m getting back into using my guitars a lot more. I will be integrating more field recordings into my works as well.
Finally, as you are always working with new artists can you recommend any work coming through Witch Ape Studios?
A: Everyone that I work with at the studio has a place in my heart and I don’t play favorites. So asking me if I would recommend any of the projects coming through the studio would be like asking a parent, who is your favorite child? Probably a bad analogy but you get the idea. I have an extensive list of musical projects that I have worked with over the years on my website. Some of these projects have links to their works. You can check some of them out here:
https://www.taddoyle.com/witch-ape-studios-index/#our-clients
