Pas Musique – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

Pas Musique – Thanks for Asking – by Liam Sweeny.

We caught up with Pas Musique, and talked music. Here’s where the talk went.

RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.

PM: I once played a tour in Indonesia (my first). I went to Kalimantan Island to play in a city called Balikpapan. The guy Luthfi (now a great friend) offered us to play in his cafe. We went there and everyone was so friendly. I asked where the sound system was. He said it was coming. The guy showed up with computer speakers and a computer subwoofer!!!!!!!!!!! I asked politely “Do you have anything else? And explained why this wasn’t going to work. He said “I have a bigger speaker at home.” He brought one stereo speaker!!!!! That was all he had. We actually did play through the computer speakers and played really low. People did have a good time and it kind of worked out.

Fast forward a few years later, I went back to Balikpapan because Luthfi and I became friends and he learned what a speaker system was. He said he would make it up to me. When I arrived at the venue there was a full speaker system with subwoofer, stage, lighting and fog machine! It was an amazing gig.

RRX: Let’s talk about your next project, your next few. Just not the ones you’re working on now. The ones you have your eyes on for the future. What’s coming to us?

PM: My next project is a series of Pas Musique short films with improvisational studio techniques. We wanted to get back to our roots with sound scores to our short films. They are minimal one take songs that are all improvisational in the studio with a lot of editing and processing to accompany the videos. They are due out early next year. We plan to do a series of movie screenings.

In addition, I am doing two studio collaborative releases with Robin Storey a.k.a Rapoon (original Zoviet France) from our June 2024 sessions.  They are long form studio collaborations.

RRX: Playing out is tricky because you never know what’s going to happen when you get there. Sometimes everything goes wrong. What was your worst show like?

PM: Funny you ask this, maybe not the worst show but a recent bad happening….last night Pas Musique played a gig in Salem, MA. It was in a beautiful TV studio. It was going to be recorded and aired. I was all set up and my tour mate Mathieu Sylvestre just finished his set. Mathieu’s set was amazing. The whole night was turning out perfect. I went on and started my set. I started and made some great connections with the crowd. Everyone was smiling. Then I started my song “Are We Getting Started”. I just finished that song and started to play my next track “Pull Out the Electric”, when I saw what I thought were people leaving. I was confused. What did I do wrong? Then I saw a woman indicating I should stop. I thought, “I am not that bad”. HA! Then I spied a person on the ground. I knew something was up. I stopped the music. The person was having a seizure! Everyone was confused and scared. We called 911 and the police and paramedics showed up. The person started to wake up. They were thankfully ok but a bit out of it.

RRX: What do you think is the most poorly understood thing about music, or the music you play?

PM: The comment that comes to mind here is people always say “Oh, I didn’t know you did THIS type of music.” I am not sure what they were thinking but it seems negative. I feel like they wouldn’t like the music. But in the end they are pleasantly surprised. I am not actually sure what “TYPE” of music mine is. I guess it could be considered experimental, industrial, but I also have elements that drag people in like beats. So maybe they are expecting something they cannot connect with but I try to mix the avant garde with the more accessible sounds and it seems to be working with these types of comments.

RRX: With the exception of singing, everyone has an instrument, an inanimate object that has the distinction of being a lifelong friend. Smooth or temperamental, these objects have a character. So pick someone to answer, can you tell us something special about what you play, your technique, your instrument?

PM: I added a vocoder to my set about ten years ago. I make sounds and not lyrics through this medium. I like to daisy chain pedals to the vocoder to give a wide range of possibilities. I try to make these abstract sounds to induce a sort of meditative state within myself. It’s almost like speaking in tongues or some tribal ritual. I first did this at a bar in New York’s lower east side with my old band The Jazzfakers. When we finished this man, I think he came from Ghana. He came over and asked “How did you learn to do that?”. I said it was just an experimental technique. He said that it reminded him of some of the tribes in Africa that induce trance states in rituals. That may have been the best comment ever.

RRX: We all get a little support from those around us. And we also can be impressed by our fellow performers. Who do you admire in your community, and why?

PM: Well, one of my influencers is also one of my collaborators, Robin Storey from Rapoon. I like his no nonsense way to work, and his 100% creative drive. He makes art to make art. He also is a painter like myself and his painting technique reflects his musical techniques, like mine. I see a lot of parallels here. I guess this is why we work well together. Check out Rapoon!

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