Spirit Counsel is described as representing, among other things, “a period of reflection on spiritual matters.” One might say your music has always had a spiritual element running through it, at times perhaps more pronounced than at other times. Was focusing on that spiritual aspect a conscious intention when you were writing the music for this album, or was it something you’d realized you’d done after the music was written and recorded? How did it evolve and what pulled you in that direction?
Writing and playing music has always been, for me personally, an engagement with spiritual life. So you are correct in the saying this is not such a new statement to make. But what distinguishes Spirit Counsel, as a collection of recent writing, is that I approached the presentation as a wordless sonic message of pure tonal/noise expression. The current "leaderships" have taken WORDS and put them to the nefarious activity of despair, divisiveness and degradation. I stripped out words and made the instruments the total sound. Picking up guitars and drums is not something I foresee these politicians having any wherewithall to co-opt.
You gravitated toward New York in 1976 because of the early punk scene there and were especially attracted to no wave, the noisier, more avant-garde, and less obviously “rock ’n’ roll” tangent of the scene that Sonic Youth eventually sprang from. What was it about the no wave bands that you found so compelling and inspiring?
I suppose I was always attracted to the subversive and the outlier. Seeing images of Lou Reed, Captain Beefheart, Iggy, cross-gender signifying Wayne County and David Bowie resonated a thrill of "otherness" in me. I would see pictures many times before i would hear the actual music. I could only imagine what these artists would sound like and I would seek out the records, an adventurous exposition in the early 1970s. Luckily these records were discounted as they were very unpopular (mostly by the labels who deigned to release them, it seems). I would find surprises like Can's Ege Bamyasi LP or the first Stooges LP in the "cut-out" bins for forty-nine cents! And they were like strange friends that were far more interesting then the kids in school. I loved them and when realizing there were others with this smae experience collecting around places like CBGB I ran there. Of course we all loved Patti, Blondie, Hell et al but when Lydia Lunch, James Chance, Arto Lindsay, Rudolph Grey and the other No Wave musicians, who existed concurrently with the 1976 class of ground zero punk rock, began performing with their bands where any traditional concept of virtuosity was replaced with completely original vision and heart I was struck, though not initially, by it's elemental brilliance. When Sonic Youth came together this was where each of our sensibilities were in tangent with.
It’s been pointed out repeatedly how the music Sonic Youth made collectively and via its individual members has altered the course of contemporary music. Do you hear or detect the influence of your art in that of others? Do any especially humbling, flattering, or surprising examples of your music having resonated with other artists come to mind?
At some point in the late 1980s and certainly into the 1990s I would hear, or it would be brought to my attention, the playing of bands utilizing inspirations of Sonic Youth. Yes, flattering but always it was via a prism of transferring our approach, where alternate tunings and non-traditional chordings are primary, through more standardized technique. Sometimes I'd be alerted that Radiohead woud have a "Sonic Youth " part in a song, but it was always reigned in with "proper" finesse. I prefer bands who don't necesarilly play by the rules. At all. There came a point where, in criticism, bands would have "Sonic Youth" parts which invariably meant noise and distortion, which I felt to be a simplifying of our output, but I understood.
Given Spirit Counsel’s themes of reflection, what do you most hope will be the hallmarks of your legacy as an artist and what do you most hope people in the future get from hearing your music when they discover it?
I don't consider legacy so much these days as it only reflects ego and self-importance and, like money, it is essentially worthless. I want to think of the future where we can continue to fight and resist the negative energies that seek power and mechanisms of control over organic life. I want to further explore and exhibit expressions of wonder, joy and collective consciousness where we care for every living thing. This is the only way to make music, as far as i can see.
credits
released January 6, 2021
track 1:
ALICE MOKI JAYNE
Composition by Thurston Moore
Recorded at Les Ateliers Claus,Brussels BELGIUM, MMXIX
12-String Electric Guitar Army:
Thurston Moore, James Sedwards and Jen Chochinov (Schande)
Baritone Bass: Deb Googe
Magick Drums: Jem Doulton
Electronics: Jon Leidecker
Engineer: Christophe Albertijn
Mastered by Lasse Marhaug
Special thanks to: Radieux Radio and Tommy De Nys, Les Atelier Claus and Steve Shelley
___________________
Track 2:
8 SPRING STREET
Composition by Thurston Moore
Guitar: Thurston Moore
Recorded at Wilton Way Studios, London UK, MMXIX
Engineer: Syd Kemp
Mastered by Lasse Marhaug
____________________
Track 3:
GALAXIES
Composition by Thurston Moore
Recorded at the Barbican on April 14, 2018 in London
Guitarists: Thurston Moore, Rachel Aggs, Jen Chochinov (Schande), Joseph Coward, Eugene Coyne, Jonah Falco, Deb Googe, James McCartney, Alex Ward, James Sedwards, Susan Stenger, and David Toop
Guitar Technicians: Matt Tagliaferro and Beetmol Troy
Production Assistant: Abigail Banks
Mastered by Lasse Marhaug
Grateful Acknowledgement to Chris Sharp at the Barbican, filmmaker Radieux Radio
thurston moore born 25 july 1958 coral gables florida usa, teenage years bethel connecticut then nyc 1977, joins The
Coachmen plays cbgb, max's + downtown art-rock dwellings,sonic youth 1980-2014, then chelsea light moving, immigrates to great smoke, foreva love, solo group action, further free scenes, ecstatic peace library, daydream library, animal liberation...more
supported by 14 fans who also own “SPIRIT COUNSEL”
Sonic Youth is one of those bands where you easily run out of superlatives to describe what they created. This could've easily come off as a cynical cash-grab by a band that had broken up 11 years prior to the release of this record, but that's not what this is. Some of my favourite Sonic Youth instrumentals. sentient meat
supported by 11 fans who also own “SPIRIT COUNSEL”
Me and my friend used to go on drives all the time, and a lot of the time i asked what he was playing, and a majority of the songs were from Yo La Tengo. And since i went and listened to And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out i was fan. Never thought i’d buy one of their records for myself. violetstain
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supported by 11 fans who also own “SPIRIT COUNSEL”
My god, what an absolutely incredible Suite. I'll admit, I've struggled to get into Pharoah Sanders due to diving headfirst into some of his most challenging catalogue and that never worked. This is the perfect place to restart. Floating Points is new for me and I can honestly say I've never heard synthesizer music this lush and organic before. the LSO is just perfect. This is one of those albums that any serious music fan needs in their life. The perfect swan song for the great Pharaoh! 5/5 ClassyMusicSnob