cEvin Key

With twenty years in the music business under his belt, cEvin Key, co-founder of the legendary industrial band Skinny Puppy, is producing some of the best music of his career. Writing under a number of different pseudonyms, such as Download, Plateau and The Tear Garden, 2003 sees Key deliver one of his most intriguing works to date, 'The Dragon Experience'. Teaming up with former Skinny Puppy member Ken Marshall, The Dragon Experience is a spellbinding concoction of film samples and off-the-wall electronic programming. Meanwhile, Key’s 'Download' project has already been producing scintillatingly imaginative electronic music for years, whilst Skinny Puppy has survived the death of innovative member Dwayne Goettel and lives to fight another day. Barcode talks to Key about the past, present and future… The Dragon Experience is full of melody and creativity and very much a soup of ideas. What is the overall feeling you are trying to project to the listener? It is probably some of the truest minimalist music I have made, in that I feel that when you are just beginning to search for what it is you want, sometimes you really make some great material without knowing exactly what it is you want from it. In retrospect, I really appreciate it, because it reminds me of what I was thinking nearly 20 years ago. Ken Marshall is a great engineer to collaborate with. Because he is so in tune with the vibe of the track, he is able to make it gell in similar ways that we recognise from all the other projects we've done, from Tear Garden to Download. I get the feeling you resist the temptation to tamper with your work too much, to sort of leave it deliberately imperfect. Is this true? I have always loved imperfections in all things. I feel if everything is perfect it lacks the things we are as humans. I love the idea of electronics, and it's imperfections are what draw me to it as a compositional tool. With The Dragon Experience, and to some extent Download's previous album 'Effector', we are starting to see you take a more commercial route and play with ethereal styles. Is this deliberate and something we can look forward to continuing? Yes, but to a certain degree I look forward to exploring more the reasons why I originally started making music. In the last decade I feel that I have really taken a closer look at all the components of what my musical language can say or possess. I have tried to get honed in to all the things I felt I needed to study, especially after the loss of my brilliant partner Dwayne (Goettel) - I have really had to step up all sides of my musical perspective. Now I can honestly say I feel like a different person, and now I can hope to put that much more into my music. Is there a place for the use of sample CD's in your material? Or are the sounds you use wholly original in their creation? I have used tons of sounds from radio broadcasts, TV, films, and all sources of LPs and old 78s etc, But for the most part I like to start with synthesiser generated sequences, and also sounds created from old analogue equipment. I will go there every time first. I have used a fair amount of loops through time that I acquired from sample CDs, but I think the intent there is to obtain the fragment of something you need to compose something new with. Do you spend a lot of time trying to create sounds from scratch that would suit a particular moment in a track, or do you use whatever comes closest from your banks of equipment? My banks of equipment don't like presets. Synth programming is one of the most fun parts of programming. Lately, with the advent of virtual synths, it is a really nice thing to start with a preset but then take it somewhere else. I think that has always been the method of the most wacked out programming I know of. I also like to make patches on modulars that each time achieve their own unique, never-to-be-repeated again chancery. This is when the electronics and the energies from the other worlds come together. What prevents you from writing a commercial album and attempting to cash in on your skills as a songwriter/musician? Is it necessarily a bad thing to be commercial and make money? I started in the music industry, not by my choice, in a band that was quickly signed and toured extensively in Canada achieving moderate success, to learn that unless you love what you are doing then it isn't worth the work. I applied my knowledge to making a sound that portrayed what I needed to say, which at the time I referred to as anti-commercial music. The result was quite pleasing and very therapeutic for both Ogre and I. I think it was something we knew we could both be ourselves with and that has been what has kept it going. Sticking true to your feelings and not what makes sense just for commercial success or money. I think some call that art. I call it real music. Does technology interfere with the creative process for you, or is it one and the same? Do you ever get frustrated with the technical side of recording? Technology was a real problem for me 8-10 years ago, but since then I have gone from working on a large analogue sequencing system and a Atari to owning my 6th Macintosh (digital recording studio, using virtual instruments), which I can honestly say I feel as comfortable with as my old Atari. I also like to use programs and technology that always require a constant amount of study. I have worked with Emagic/Logic Audio since version 1.0 in 1994 and have a great knowledge of all the related software programs that you need to know to get around. I think it is important to really be on top of these because this is the playing field. The advent of new synthesiser technology is a great interest of mine as well. I have worked closely with the developers of Native instruments, helping them get set up in America, doing shows at Namm with Omar to display this 'Martian' technology. That is very inspiring. I have also been lucky enough to be recognised by such companies as Clavia Nord and Ableton/ Midi Man, and the man himself, Bob Moog, who told me he enjoyed the music of Skinny Puppy. Do you deliberately try to avoid becoming the new flavour, or do you write purely for yourself without much thought to how it will be received? I think my flavour was up long ago if that is the case. It was really interesting way back in 1985 when we showed up for a interview for Dig-IT at a NY radio station, who expected us to be brothers. It was a raw Run DMC type show, and I remember how young everything was at that point. It was before the term HipHop/House or Techno, so it has been really interesting to see all these labels and names go by while just keeping up with the original concept. I remember leaving the controlroom of the radio station talking about Scott La Rock and then opening the door to the next band to be interviewed: Cabaret Voltaire ! (what not brothers ?) Now that alternative music is ever-increasingly becoming the norm, do you feel there is a gradual acceptance towards you from the mainstream that previously didn't exist? I don't know about that. It is hard to know how to look at anything and know how accepted it is, except that the earth commonly likes to befriend it's fears (like Marilyn Manson). On the face of it, it would appear that modern technology has hit a brick wall with respect to finding new and different ways to express itself musically. How do you believe music can re-invent itself, like the synthesiser explosion of the early eighties did for example? A good example would be to name some bands which have deliberately shown that technology is not important: White Stripes! Even though the lack of knowledge does control the setting until the engineer and producer rise above the norm with what they have...and work creative pictures with it, with what they have. Like Lightning Bolt. The downloading of music from the Internet is obviously becoming a serious problem. How are you and Subconscious Communications trying to combat this? I just hope that most people will realise that if they don't support the artist in some way then forget about having more unusual and extreme type of bands touring or releasing more material. I think that a system will arise that will hopefully help regulate this problem. Ideally, I would hope that somehow we could come up with a code within a CD track that prevents it from being copied without a license. It would be great for it to be instantly directed to the label for an unlock key to copy for whatever number you purchase. Much like how commercial software has a direct link with a site. Did the punk attitude of the seventies or the stark futurism of Kraftwerk or Bowie of the same era influence you? Yes. The first shows I saw in my life were Emerson Lake and Palmer, Brain Salad Surgery - live in quad, T-Rex live, David Bowie in 1975, who decided to use the new LP by Kraftwerk 'Radio Activity' to play as his opening act while he showed the Salvador Dali film, Un Chien Dalue. It was played with the lights down and as loud as if they were there, and it changed my life. I went home and threw away everything I owned and started again. As well I did see Gary Numan in 1980 and it was quite mind-blowing. Some other choice gigs I saw that moved me: DOA with the Clash, early DEVO, early Alice Cooper, Abba at Budokan, Gang Of Four was a great punk band, and they seemed to like Vancouver.

"Synth programming is one of the most fun parts of programming. Lately, with the advent of virtual synths, it is a really nice thing to start with a preset but then take it somewhere else."

The use of drugs was obviously widespread through your history with Skinny Puppy. Did you use them as a creative tool or purely for recreation? We all faced those classic moments in life where you were met with the silver platter and have dealt with it in all different ways. At times I have experimented, but for me the drug of choice has always just been Marijuana. I don't like any other drugs, or to be drunk. So I have just used it as a creative working buffer, that for me has worked. I think that the prohibition is something that I'd like to see changed before I die. When I did fall off the safe wall and experimented, I remembered one thing - how happy I was when I just smoked Pot. It was a goal to get back too, and I can honestly say it worked extremely well for me. Mainly because I feel, as humans, we do have a need for a counter opinion or outlook that draws us to alcohol or drugs, I am just happy it is just Pot. Pot is the only long-term music-friendly substance. How do you feel about the way things have panned out for Skinny Puppy and the relationship with its members, it appears to have been fraught with tensions right from the start? Do you think Skinny Puppy ever reached it's true potential? The crossroads of ideas and influences became too great. All of our bridges suddenly started to crumble, and I think the last LP's show that well. I think back on it all as a learning experience, and I think Ogre and I share that perspective. Unfortunatley, we will never know what the original group could have achieved? I think about Dwayne every day. I never expected to see him die. It just didn't seem possible. Reality Check ! Your relationship with Front Line Assembly's Bill Leeb is kind of muddy. I believe he was he once a member of Skinny Puppy? Can you remember the frictions that led to his departure? At the time, in early 1986, Bill didn't want to tour again. So I politely told him that we needed to get someone more dedicated. It wasn't so negative. We actually went on to make an LP a few years later, and we have been polite to each other since, so I would not say I have any problems with Bill. I actually have known Bill for over 20 years and I am happy that he has found his own success. The one tour we did do with Bill was pretty classic. Talk about paying your dues tour. If only it could have been filmed. Wait! It was.. there is a guy out there somewhere who followed us around and did a live documentary of all our east coast Canada shows.. where is that guy!!!!!! Could you have predicted the success of Front Line Assembly and what Bill has achieved with Delerium, and could you imagine working with him again at some point? I could not have predicted because when I first met Bill, as he did not play any instruments. I remember going to get his first Moog for $300. It was around the time of Cage, because we wote that one together right away. I am happy for Bills success. You are obviously a highly creative individual, do you ever worry that the source will ever dry up. Do you seek ways to induce creativity or does it come naturally to you? Sometimes I feel that I have said enough. Then another track will show up and then the concept for a particular project gets seen through to the end. I think I am following what seems as close to fate as possible. I think working with Ogre is quite creative and magical things can happen. I think that's the main reason for continuing right now. How does Cevin Key unwind? And what music can you recommend to us at the moment? My cats, I play with Zoeken my Balinesian Lilac Point, also Chicken and Gomez, the twins. They get a better part of me. Then I also have a life with Bree, we like to Bowl, and watch movies. What forthcoming projects can we look forward to, be they Skinny Puppy, Download or other side projects? I am putting 110% into the new Skinny Puppy. I also intend to just go with what happens naturally. I can imagine that Edward and I will make another Tear Garden in the future. Also I am speaking to Ken Marshall quite a bit about a new project, much along the lines of the Dragon Experience. To be honest though, I just take one thing at a time. The fans had an idea last year about going into the vault to see what was there and I have to admit to being really inspired by that journey. I am very surprised that so much was left to decay, and I feel so great to be able to rescue these ideas for people that care. Thanks to all who have supported the From the Vault series. 1-7!

cEvin Key interview, Barcode 2003 ©
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