Luna Kafé interview |
Ohio - Luna Kafé - Full Moon 12 - 10/16/97
Charles McClure:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Elvis was one of your early favorites. Which other artists have influenced you through the years? Elvis had a very strong influence on me, I liked his style. But I do not try to imitate him, music should have feeling, and drive put into it, he did that! Singing for eight years, 5-6-7 nights a week, because of my voice range I did most of the singing, even though some of the other band members sang also. His songs were what I did (before I wrote my own) so because of this I know his as well as, in some cases better than my own. hEARd magazine said Mirror reveals my voice and playing style to be a bit of a combination between Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley and All Because of You is a little like the sound of Chris Isaak. There are only so many ways you can sing or play/perform music, when you have artists like this in your background!!! When I am compared to these artists I don't have a problem with that! As far as being "influenced" by them I never realized it until I saw it in print so I would say that review is accurate... At least in the case of Buddy Holly and Elvis...Chris Isaak was more recent the last few years...not enough time to have much of an influence on me, but I agree with hEARd, our styles are similar. Are there any artists today you feel you're connected to musically? I try not to do that, I hope my music, and my approach to music, will always be original, That's why, as I said before I don't listen to other artists, I think I will have to read the reviews when they come out to answer that question with any degree of accuracy, that is their work, that's what they do! I was surprised to be compared to the artists I have been compared to. In what kind of studio were the tracks for you're demo recorded? Basically digital. Do you have your own home studio? YES! I understand that you produced the tracks yourself. Were any other people involved in the recording process? All lead and back up vocals and many of the" lead" instruments, were played by me, that's why that project took over five years. The same methods were used that are used in most all recording studios today. Starting with a basic track, and building on it from there, but in this case no other people were involved in the recording process... I was the writer, arranger, singer/singers, musician, engineer...producer, alone. Is improvisation, or experimentation, important parts of the creative process when you're recording? Yes, very much so, I want my music to be different/diverse, a newspaper reporter made a comment to that effect during an interview, calling it "diverse", I like that!!! The lead and backing vocals were mixed rather low and have a floating, almost ambient feel. Did you use a special technique when recording the vocals? Yes, to get that "feel," is very difficult and takes a lot of tender loving care (T L C)... I had two sound engineers listen to it before it was released, and they liked it also! On All Because of You there is a strange combination of flute and guitar. How was this recorded? By trying different techniques, and using my knowledge of what I like and others like... and time... lots and lots of time... patience... lots and lots of patience. That song took over a year to finish! I was asked that same question recently by a DJ, when he was told it took a year, his only comment was..."I believe"!!! The flute sounds very natural, but it is so stuck together with the guitar phrasing that I can't figure out if it's created using a guitar synth, or if it's a real flute. Can you tell us, or would you like this to remain a mystery? YES! Are there aspects of the recording process where you feel you're taking original approaches? Yes, because I do so much of it myself, and I... take more time than most do, most recordings take about three months, and involve more people. Going a bit further, I even design and print my own labels, not to mention doing my own promotion! I consider that to be "original", an important part of the overall process as well. That is not to say there are not others who do as much, I know it is rare, though in comparison to the rest of the population, (just a singer songwriter alone) without all these other considerations, is rare indeed!!! My Personality is currently my favorite of your songs. Its melody makes me think of a Roy Orbison song. Do you have any views on such a comparison? That is one of my favorites also. No I haven't listened to his songs that much, but thanks for the compliment, I don't mind that comparison at all, he was a great singer! As a matter of fact I don't listen much to anyone because I don't want that to happen, I like writing different, being different...(Remember to be truly creative means to start from scratch.) That song is from my soul, with the thought that a personality is a wonderful and unique design, it is what we all are, it sets us apart from one anther but at the same time it ties us together, draws us to one another, controls how we think act love feel, says who we are, and what we will be. No two are exactly alike, I hope we all strive to have a good one... like my song says..."It's always been beyond my reach hard to attain though, I may try...out of grasp of all may be"...etc. You have been offered a couple of recording contracts. Any news regarding a record deal, or are you going into a studio again? At this time, (although it is a little early to tell) I am going back into a recording studio, but... I can't say for sure... yet. Are you currently doing concerts? I have to do some more recording right now, so that keeps me rather busy... I don't think that's too far into the future though. So what can a concert-goer expect to see or hear when going to a Charles McClure show? I would introduce new songs along with the songs I have already recorded and released. I would have other performers... also who have new songs and some that have been released. If I were to pick five words describing your music, psychedelic would be one of them. Do you have any comments hearing your music described as psychedelic? No problem. If you were to pick five words describing your music which ones would they be? Psychedelic can be one, along with, original, diverse, different, strange (as in unknown musical sounds), deep, meaningful, thought provoking, and last... but not least, prophetic, as Security is!!! For more information visit Charles McClure's homepage. Also, take a look at the Luna Kafé review of McClure's demo cassette! Copyright © 1997 Knut Tore Breivik
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