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100 Musicians Answer the Same 10 Questions

Part Forty-Nine: Scott Solter

instigated by dave heaton

In the studio, Scott Solter has recorded, mixed, and/or production of a variety of great albums, for musicians like John Vanderslice, Spoon, For Stars, Okkervil River, and the Mountain Goats (including their latest and greatest album Get Lonely, my favorite album of the year so far). He also has a fascinating Pattern is Movement remix album coming out soon on Hometapes, and for Tell-All Records released an absolutely absorbing, confounding ambient instrumental record called One River. On that album he displays an amazing grasp over space, atmosphere, and unlikely instrumentation, all of which no doubt factor in their own way into his studio work. Check out his website for more information.

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What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?

The deconstruction, obliteration and readornment that comes in remixing someone's record.

What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

Thinking too much...not letting go

What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).

Attempting to make hyper-electronic sounding recordings from acoustic instruments, damaged tape and my misfit toys.

What's the most unusual place you've ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording?

Recording in a small family crypt at a Charleston cemetary where, within the hour, an enormous box spider had spun a large web between my microphones. Very ornate.

In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), affect the music you create, or your taste in music?

I currently live in a rural area that offers up a great deal of space to work in. Juxtaposing farmland with volatile sonics is interesting.

When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?

The work is always ongoing and overlapping itself. Fortunately, the concerns of the prior work feed the corrections in the current work.

As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people...and why do you think that is?

I purchase records frequently, but listen to roughly 3 or 4 repeatedly for months at a time. My interest is pretty stable.

Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)

Folkways vinyl and 78's never leave the room. Jacob Kirkegaard and Bollywood are everyday.

Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to. What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this band/musician?

The Durutti Column. Vinnie Riley is absolutely wonderful.

What's the saddest song you've ever heard?

"Maybe Sprout Wings" - The Mountain Goats, Get Lonely

To check out the rest of the Q&As, click here.


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