_Photo by Greg Aiello_
Mystery is an underappreciated quality in music. In a lot of ways, it’s the most appealing thing about improvisation — not knowing where the train is headed makes each destination that much more exciting. Yet despite this allure, there are few acts that approach their sound with the mysterious in mind, and even fewer that have have made its propagation their prime directive.
Enter DRKWAV, a relatively new experimental project from John Medeski, Adam Deitch and Skerik. True to their name (which is pronounced Dark Wave), the group’s music—both live and recorded—artfully conjures a sense of foreboding that is as unique as it is unsettling. This is as forward-thinking a sound as you’re likely to hear these days, but then that’s what one expects from three players whose creative spirit is matched only by their musicianship.
DRKWAV’s March 5 show at the Brooklyn Bowl left me at a loss for words. For the first time in a while, I felt as though I had entered genuinely uncharted musical territory. Does it teeter endlessly on the brink of the unknown? Does it dive right in? I’m honestly not sure. If could describe their sound adequately, I would, but that’s just not in the cards. So in lieu of caring about what I have to say, I suggest you pick up DRKWAV’s excellent debut album The Purge and make sure to catch one of their shows instead. And since we’re on the subject of words, here’s a few from Skerik, DRKWAV’s sorcerer of the saxophone himself.
What is the origin of DRKWAV? How did this trio come into being?
Well we played this festival in Vermont in—I think it was 2011—and then Adam had a dream two months later. He called us and we had all had the same dream, which was really weird. It was this really strange dream that I won’t get into right now. So then we decided to go into the studio. We went into the studio January 2012 and started working on this record that was just released in February.
What happened in the ensuing years? Why did it take so long for the final product?
Well we started the recording process in 2012, and that kind of record takes a long time to make. There’s a lot of post-production, a lot of overdubs and mixing. It’s very expensive record to make—and it’s a total blast to do records like that. It’s really fun.
We got together in New York at the Bunker studio in Brooklyn and did some basics. Then it was revealed to us, during that recording process, what the music wanted to be. So we started following that direction. Listen and follow. You have to be obedient to the dark waves to achieve a result like that.
How do you know when an album like that is done?
Oh, you know. It’s definitely something you know. That’s one of the easier parts.
You talk about letting the music go where it goes—listening and following. Are you guys completely just going with the flow, or is there an intentional pushing of the envelope?
We have this idea in mind that we will not have any ideas. You have to let go and really follow the music. It’s very challenging—it definitely tests you. It’s hard to do. And yet it’s very easy to do too. It’s something that you try and prepare for your whole life. That kind of thing. The more you know, the more you realize what you don’t know. But you can still have a really good connection. But these guys, playing with people like John Medeski. That makes it a lot easier.
Speaking for myself, I just like thinking about this project as—if I was coming to watch this show—just think of movie soundtracks that you’ve heard before. To really crazy movies. Movies like [Dario] Argento films or Stanley Kubrick. Movies like that, where there’s an abstract element to the visuals and a really compelling story where there’s a lot of tension. That’s what I try to think of at these gigs, that we’re scoring this movie that you, as an audience member, bring to the gig. So bring your own movie, and then we’ll do the music for it. [Laughs] Personally, I really like thinking like that. It gives it a certain context. It makes it a challenge for me to write. So I’m trying to play as compositionally as possible.
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