White Robot Interview
Q: When and how did the White Robot form?
A: Well I used to be a robot which was very unhealthy. And my skin is white or rather peach but Peach Robot is no good. But I am a real boy now with hot Irish blood, though I still have remnants of gears in me rather like Picard and his Borg implants. So the name is simple and straight and once I had the name, White Robot was born.
Q: Do you feel like there are any benefits working on a project with some virtually like you have done with the last two albums? I believe the members live in different states and therefore don’t get to spend time in the same physical space together.
A: Absolutely. It's back burner creativity. Burns slow and it burns thorough. I've never met any of the musicians I've worked with. Except Josiah Gust. He is my cousin and he did the electric guitar solos on Power Rangers for which he is entirely uncredited for. He pretty much never blinks.
Q: Can you talk about the creative process in general?
A: I work primarily with Amanda Joy. She speaks Norwegian and is unbelievably talented. Not only because she has a stellar voice but when I send her a song, I send awful placeholder vocals for her to replace. It's like sipping hot lead to listen to them. And she sends back beautifully arranged vocal gold. Cole Arn is the male vocalist, and like Amanda, he is only 18. Nina Uzelac is a flawless cello player in Serbia and goes all out in “Simon and the Skeleton” along with Maria Betania Hernandez who injects violin from Venezuela. Bob Peele is the best drummer for life. Sometimes he slips into a song subtly like in “Dark House” and other times he is a collapsing star like in “I Am Your Stray.” And the reason he speaks in an Australian accent is because he lives in Australia. Bogaert Frédéric lives in France and he plays the piano and one time he told me one of my songs was a disaster and wouldn't play on it because it was such a mess. But you hear him on “Banshee and a Farm Boy” and “Rainbow Bruise” because he didn't think those songs were disasters. And Liam Neeson kindly showed interest despite calling too early in the morning.
I write the songs in my bedroom hunched over a microphone and laptop with Sony Acid 7.0. It is a very old program but I've never used anything else and I don't want to learn. I throw a bunch of musical notes at the wall and only 10% sticks then repeat. It is very demoralizing when nothing sticks and I have to remind myself that I am not really a musician. The only thing I am good at is playing wall ball and that's no joke.
Q: When and how did the White Robot form?
A: Well I used to be a robot which was very unhealthy. And my skin is white or rather peach but Peach Robot is no good. But I am a real boy now with hot Irish blood, though I still have remnants of gears in me rather like Picard and his Borg implants. So the name is simple and straight and once I had the name, White Robot was born.
Q: Do you feel like there are any benefits working on a project with some virtually like you have done with the last two albums? I believe the members live in different states and therefore don’t get to spend time in the same physical space together.
A: Absolutely. It's back burner creativity. Burns slow and it burns thorough. I've never met any of the musicians I've worked with. Except Josiah Gust. He is my cousin and he did the electric guitar solos on Power Rangers for which he is entirely uncredited for. He pretty much never blinks.
Q: Can you talk about the creative process in general?
A: I work primarily with Amanda Joy. She speaks Norwegian and is unbelievably talented. Not only because she has a stellar voice but when I send her a song, I send awful placeholder vocals for her to replace. It's like sipping hot lead to listen to them. And she sends back beautifully arranged vocal gold. Cole Arn is the male vocalist, and like Amanda, he is only 18. Nina Uzelac is a flawless cello player in Serbia and goes all out in “Simon and the Skeleton” along with Maria Betania Hernandez who injects violin from Venezuela. Bob Peele is the best drummer for life. Sometimes he slips into a song subtly like in “Dark House” and other times he is a collapsing star like in “I Am Your Stray.” And the reason he speaks in an Australian accent is because he lives in Australia. Bogaert Frédéric lives in France and he plays the piano and one time he told me one of my songs was a disaster and wouldn't play on it because it was such a mess. But you hear him on “Banshee and a Farm Boy” and “Rainbow Bruise” because he didn't think those songs were disasters. And Liam Neeson kindly showed interest despite calling too early in the morning.
I write the songs in my bedroom hunched over a microphone and laptop with Sony Acid 7.0. It is a very old program but I've never used anything else and I don't want to learn. I throw a bunch of musical notes at the wall and only 10% sticks then repeat. It is very demoralizing when nothing sticks and I have to remind myself that I am not really a musician. The only thing I am good at is playing wall ball and that's no joke.
Q: What are some of the themes and concepts that run through your latest album Tell Me If I Look Like a Tree?
A: Mental instability has always fascinated me and every song has an ethereal daze moment somewhere in it. The title of the album comes from World War I when an English soldier jumped out of a trench while they were taking fire. He was illuminated in the night sky with bombs exploding behind him as he turned to his comrade and shouted "Tell me if I look like a tree.”
The album starts with “I Am Your Stray” about being in an illicit relationship. “Rainbow Bruise” is about that relationship ending and the shit show that followed. “Deadly Fairplay to You” is about a child drowning in a river. I was drunk when I wrote and recorded the guitar on “Deadly Fairplay to You” with no metronome which is why it sounds like a carrot played it. “Prayers of a Dead One” is a Circle of Dust cover. My first DAW experience was manipulating “Consequence” by Circle of Dust almost 20 years ago.
Q: Are there any plans for live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
A: Hell no to the live show.
Q: What are the plans for the future and are there any other music projects you are currently working on?
A: No plans for a third album because Amanda has snails for blood and White Robot was just an experiment that may have run its course.
A: Mental instability has always fascinated me and every song has an ethereal daze moment somewhere in it. The title of the album comes from World War I when an English soldier jumped out of a trench while they were taking fire. He was illuminated in the night sky with bombs exploding behind him as he turned to his comrade and shouted "Tell me if I look like a tree.”
The album starts with “I Am Your Stray” about being in an illicit relationship. “Rainbow Bruise” is about that relationship ending and the shit show that followed. “Deadly Fairplay to You” is about a child drowning in a river. I was drunk when I wrote and recorded the guitar on “Deadly Fairplay to You” with no metronome which is why it sounds like a carrot played it. “Prayers of a Dead One” is a Circle of Dust cover. My first DAW experience was manipulating “Consequence” by Circle of Dust almost 20 years ago.
Q: Are there any plans for live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
A: Hell no to the live show.
Q: What are the plans for the future and are there any other music projects you are currently working on?
A: No plans for a third album because Amanda has snails for blood and White Robot was just an experiment that may have run its course.