Interview mit Torsten Larson von The Dark Red Seed

You, THE DARK RED SEED, are a duo that consists of Torsten Larson and Shawn Fleming. You’ve met while you were working on a release of King Dude. How did you come up with the idea of creating music together as a duo?
Actually this is incorrect information. I have been friends with Shawn and Thomas separately for many years before they met. And I have also been playing music with both of them separately for many years before the King Dude collaboration. I introduced Shawn and Thomas to each other and then we all worked on parts of that particular King Dude record together. THE DARK RED SEED was a project Shawn and I started on working when we lived together in Portland, OR.

What is the most significant difference between King Dude and THE DARK RED SEED in your opinion?
I don’t think THE DARK RED SEED is derivative of King Dude. I think the difference in the music is obvious in our difference in songwriting styles. I think Thomas and I share some of the same influences and have probably influenced each other which is not surprising because we grew up in our 20’s together, collaborated musically for many years and used to live together. We are both inspired by blues, folk and rock traditions but again ultimately I think our music is also very different from each others.

What exactly are your intentions behind THE DARK RED SEED, what’s the essence of your music?
Our intention is simply to create music that feels unique and interesting to us. Songs that we feel move music forward as art form in new ways yet at the same time to keep our influences/inspirations close to our hearts and to be recognised but not copied in our music. Our intention is to also follow our musical path wherever that takes us and allow the music to progress and change over time. We hope to create music that is exciting to ourselves as well as our audience.

According to Prophecy you’ve been inspired by Swans, Neil Young, but also some oriental musicians. I feel like there’s also some Johnny Cash and Nick Cave to be heard in your music. Would you agree with that? And in which way exactly did these and other musicians shape your taste in music?
Yeah, sure. All of those musicians have certainly been influences on my music. I think it’s fairly obvious how these musicians have influenced my music. So I would prefer for now to allow you and the audience to interpret those inspirations, and the differences and similarities of those inspirations for yourselves. I would add however that although the musicians you mentioned may be the most noticeable of my influences there are some inspirations that hold just as much weight and influence on my music that are probably much less obvious. Such as Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Stravinsky, Kayhan Kalhor and the list goes on. Although these artists may not so noticeably influence my musical style, I would venue to say I might listen to some of these artists more that even the ones my music more closely resembles.

Have you also got some kind of connection to metal music, be it direct or indirect?
Yes, of course, I grew up listening to metal and and I have friends in amazing metal bands that I sometimes tour with.

How is the work for the band divided between you two? Who does what in terms of songwriting and recording?
The music is written by me. The core of the song like the guitar, piano and vocal melodies and lyrics. And then Shawn writes all the drum parts but he really does a lot more than just that. He produces the music with me. He’s really the one who is much more technically savvy and has an ear for production. I will have ideas of how I want a song to sound and then he comes up with ways how to create the sound using different mics and amps and recording techniques. Whenever we have the general structure for the song in order we talk about what the song needs or different things we want to try. It’s really a writing partnership for sure. Maybe I write the roots of the songs but they would never exist without Shawn’s ideas and production.

Your music is really laid back und sometimes seems improvised rather than strictly planned. Would you agree that your compositions are rather intuitive?
I think, I already answered you that, when you asked about the writing.

Lyrically and conceptually you seem to deal a lot with death. How do you personally stand with the end of life?
Yes, I don’t really know why. I find death to be a very interesting subject. It’s the ultimate mystery and something the vast majority of us fear and run from.

Your debut EP „Stands With Death“ consists of three totally different tracks. „The Antagonist“ has been revealed first. Do you think that this song in particular captures your creation or is there another reason for it being chosen as the first released track?
I’m not quite sure I understand the question about how it does capture my creation. It’s the first track because it’s the shortest and I think for an audience I hope it’s the most compelling piece. It does really capture the essence of creating something minimal and impactful at the same time.

„The Master And The Slave“ is the most powerful song on EP, while the others are more calm and minimalistic. Will this track stay an exception or will you also create more hard hitting music in the future?
I don’t know. I follow the music where it takes me. But I do hope it compels me to write some more songs like this!

„The Tragedy Of Alesund“ makes quite an impression through its storytelling. Have you thought up this apocalyptic story by yourself or did some piece of literature inspire you on it?
This is based on the real life story of my great grandfather Hans Larson before moving from Norway to the USA. It’s is also inspired by an old Norwegian book called “The Last Of The Vikings”. Of course, there is some fairy tale imagery thrown in there. It is meant to convey the phenomena of the changing of culture over time. As well as the acceptance of that change as a normal part of human history.

Which one of the three tracks is your personal favourite and why?
I like them all the same. And why? Because they all feel unique but tied together. (laughs)

Your songs are mostly based on a stripped-down approach without unnecessary gimmickry. Do you think, today it is harder to reach people with such slow, subtle music?
Ah. I like this question. This stripped down approach was certainly intentional. I wanted to create music that felt moving and impactful and interesting with as little happening as possible. The idea of space was very important to these pieces. Some of my favourite music is done with less rather than more. You will find with the next release that the arrangements are much more dense but I do hope to return to creating with simplicity.

The artwork is really aesthetic, but also has a dark undertone. Who created it and in which way does it correspond to your vision of the visuals and the music?
The artist’s name is Paul Romano. He’s done art work for some heavy hitting bands like Mastodon. We became friends a few years ago when I was on tour with King Dude. I think this image corresponded perfectly to the concept of the EP. I have my own interpretations of the painting but it may be better to ask Paul what his intuitions were for the piece. He actually did all the layout and design for the album which looks amazing also.

„Stands With Death“ was released via Prophecy Productions. How did you get in touch with the label?
I randomly met Martin Kollar, the head of Prophecy at Dark Bombastic festival in Romania summer 2016. I didn’t know who he was but we had a really nice conversation and watched some of the bands together. I then described my musical project to him and he was really interested. So I sent him a rough master and we met a few weeks later in Trier to discuss a contract.

You plan on releasing your debut full length „Becomes Awake“ in 2018, right? What can we expect from that?
Yes, we have a full length I expect to be out in May. What can you expect? Well, something different. It’s another concept record that I hope tells a story from its beginning to its ending. The arrangements are much more complex with many instruments including full string and horn sections and lots of Moog and modular synth. It ranges in style from heavy guitar rock to folk jazz and experimental. I hope you like it!

What else have you got planned for the future of THE DARK RED SEED?
Hopefully a split next summer or fall with one of my favourite artists.

We at Metal1.info have this tradition that we always do a short brainstorming at the end of an interview. So, what comes to your mind when reading the following terms?
Dystopia: One of two possible outcomes according to some futurists. Also, fun to romanticize.
Donald Trump: Inevitable. Are we really surprised? America is obsessed with celebrities.
Neofolk: Some good, some bad, some controversial, some not, like everything else.
Eternal life: Can’t be proven or disproven but it sounds good to a lot of us because we can’t comprehend nonexistence.
Favourite album: Often changing but if I must choose it would have to be Brian Eno – „Thursday Afternoon“.
THE DARK RED SEED in five years: I’m more of a present moment kind of guy. Keeps the future interesting. I don’t get much done when I focus too hard on forcing my will into the future. But I hope it’s positive, exciting and creative.

Wonderful, thank you for your answers. I’ll leave the last words to you:
I’m a man of few words so let me just say THANK YOU again for your questions and support!

Publiziert am 10. Januar 2018 von Stephan Rajchl