Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Sean MacLeod

Sean MacLeod - I Know Not  

A track that pushes the boundaries of indie pop. Drawing inspiration from a diverse range of genres, including 70s punk, 50s "Doo-wop," and 60s psychedelia, this experimental piece showcases Sean's versatility as a musician. 'I Know Not' stands out as a fusion of commercial pop sensibilities and avant-garde elements, making it a must-listen for fans of innovative and catchy music.

Interview with Sean MacLeod

(•)> What inspired the creation of your new single, ‘I Know Not,’ and how did you approach blending such diverse influences?

Ans: I was at the time exploring different tuning systems and also listening to a lot of experimental composers. I was also listening to a lot of older music - I mean old as in medieval music and i was playing around with instruments like the Celtic harp and lyres which are easier to tune to alternative tunings and the idea of the song came out of that more or less

(•)> How do you merge commercial pop sensibilities with avant-garde and experimental elements in your songwriting?

Well its easy to merge one thing into another though it's not always easy to make it all sound good. I am not sure if what I did on this track really worked in terms of merging different styles like pop and Avant Garde together. It was really just a pop song with these other tunings imposed on top of it rather than actually blending them together. However, I quite liked the result and I thought the song itself , just as a pop song, was catchy so I felt it would be a good single release

(•)> Your influences range from 50s Doo-wop to 70s punk and 60s psychedelia, how do these genres shape your sound today?

They shape my sound in the sense that I grew up listening to them and to me they contain the elements of what a good pop song is but in other ways I'm trying to move away from that and explore what pop songs can be in the 21st century. Maybe these elements will always remain or maybe they will change in ways not so recognisable as to how they were in the past.

(•)> Can you walk us through your creative process for ‘I Know Not,’ from initial idea to finished track?

Well I wrote the song like I would write most of my songs by just playing about on the guitar. I often just search for chord progressions, riffs anything that sparks an idea for a song. The lyrics came from things I was reading and studying at the time regarding the nature of sound and how it effects us. And, as I mentioned, i was experimenting with different tuning systems so these all just came together in this song. I recorded the basic track and then I retuned the lyres to some unusual tuning and started to play it over the main song. I then had a very laborious task of finding sounds to replace the lyres and retuning the parts to the new tunings.Then I mix all these sound together and the song came out sounding as it does. The chorus had a kind of 50s Doo-Wop feel to it and so to contrast it I went for a kind of discordant punk feel on the verse. A lot of the lyrics in the song actually reference the musical influences too.

(•)> How do philosophical or spiritual themes influence your lyrics and overall approach to music?

Ans: They totally influence my music on every level- I think music is a spiritual force. So by just playing music we are connecting with the non-materialistic elements of the world we live in. I also think words are also something spiritual as our thoughts and feeling and lyrics and music influence these parts of our being. I'm always searching for new musical sounds ( that is new to me) and concepts that I can explore and use in my songs and lyrically I like to explore things relating to the human condition which makes them I suppose somewhat philosophical or spiritual in their subject matter. Even if the song as a simple theme musically and lyrically I still think in its essence it points to something beyond our material existence. That's why , I think, we all relate to music because it brings us close to that part of us which is spiritual.

(•)> How has your experience with Cisco and working with Paul Barrett informed your solo work?

I didn't really learn much working with Paul Barrett because he just got us to play our parts in a way that he felt would work best for the song and he just did what he did to make the songs into records. As a band we didn't have any say, or really we just let him do what he does and produce the record. I think it was interesting to be in that professional environment. I mean he would make us play the songs over and over again until we couldn't get the parts wrong. It was interesting to experience that approach- you know that you have to keep doing the same thing over and over no matter how bored you are doing it. You can also see how a song can completely change when someone else is producing it. I mean Paul did a great job producing our songs but they didn't necessarily sound like us as we sounded as a live band.

(•)> Your music also incorporates folk, classical, and avant-garde elements, how do you decide what fits each song?

I don't really decide. I just do what feels right and a lot of the time I have to abandon songs because they don't feel right. Sometimes you just have to keep sticking with something until you get it sounding right for you. Sometimes things just all come together instantly. Sometimes I want to write a certain type of song and it just starts to sound like something completely different and I just have to let it go in that direction

(•)> What do you hope listeners feel or take away when they hear ‘I Know Not’?

I just hope people like the songs and it makes them feel happy. I hope that it adds something positive to their life that's all I hope for.

(•)> Can you give us a preview of how ‘I Know Not’ connects thematically or stylistically to your upcoming albums?

I have two new albums ready for release one is quite experimental 'We Don't See What We don't See' and one is more traditional 'That's When the earth Becomes a Star' and I think this song is kind of the result of both these styles. Both albums were written at the same time and some became more experimental and some more traditional. Much of the same themes are explored lyrically in both albums, although 'We Don't See..' has a lot of instrumental pieces on it.

(•)> What challenges or surprises did you encounter while creating this single compared to your previous work?

I was surprised it came out sounding as good as it does considering it was a very experimental piece. It was rather a challenge trying to write parts with the alternative tuning because it like speaking in a language that you know nothing about- so from that point of view what I created is probably just gibberish but since not many other people know much about the tuning I used no one will probably know the difference. Its also a bit of a challenge to re-produce something that is experimental and commercial as this song and I would like there to be an expectation for new songs to have to be of a similar type. If the next song is just a simple pop song then its just a simple pop song. I would like to feel I had to keep creating things in the vein of this song I would find that too stressful and counter intuitive. I'm sure I'll create more pieces like 'I Know Not' but I'll also keep writing standard pop music that is catchy.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Sean MacLeod on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist