Bluedot Volume1

If bluedot were looking for a house band, how about
one that uses terms like “algorithmic generative
music environment” and whose latest set of songs
will accompany a new space exploration computer
game? For Sheffield four-piece 65DAYSOFSTATIC,
a visit to Jodrell Bank seems entirely natural for a set of
friends whose 15-year journey has seen them explore the
extremes of both guitar and electro with a wide-ranging
vision and desire to head into the unknown.
This year sees the band embark on their most ambitious
mission yet with the release of No Man’s Sky – the official
soundtrack to a computer game that will involve players
exploring a universe of almost infinite possibilities, all to the
accompaniment of soundscapes and melodies generated
by 65daysofstatic.
They’re no strangers to the concept of soundtracking
deep space after a previous project had the band
composing and performing an alternative score for cult
sci-fi classic Silent Running, but No Man’s Sky raises the
bar for 65daysofstatic. As they prepare to introduce it to
the live arena, the band’s Paul Wolinski helps us make
sense of it all.
How did you come to be soundtracking such an
extraordinary-sounding computer game?
Paul Wolinski: “We were on tour when Hello Games, the
makers of No Man’s Sky, emailed us asking if they could
use one of our old songs, Debutante, to soundtrack a trailer
they’d made for the game. We saw some concept art and
they told us about the game and it was so immediately
compelling and exciting. We’d been looking at doing some
soundtrack stuff for a while, so we said yes and asked
them if they had anyone on board to do the soundtrack
yet. We had a meeting and it turned out that during a lot of
the early development for the game they’d been using our
back catalogue as the mood music anyway, which was
very flattering to hear because I was all prepared to give
them the hard sell in the meeting.”
How was the experience different to composing and
recording a normal set of songs?
PW: “It was an enormous challenge, but what made us
ready for it was our track Sleepwalk City. As we wrote
it for the Wild Light record we were also preparing for a
sound installation in Sheffield, which was part performance
and part creating a sound loop across 18 speakers. The
performances changed each time and the song became
something different from the one that existed on the record.
It helped us think past the idea of there being one definitive
version of a song. On the record it was seven minutes long
and had a narrative arc, but in the installation we built the
song using the same elements but in a different way. It was
always changing and always infinite and we could have
just left it switched on.”
“We wanted to write a soundtrack album that worked
in its own right as a record even if you’d never played
the game. For that we needed a song that existed in
a pretty standard, linear form, but then we also knew
that it would exist as music that would respond to
the player’s actions. While it’s not technically infinite, for
the player there is no limit to what they might do when,
or with what combination. It was about adding the
ingredients and sounds and textures and using them to
write normal songs, but also be building blocks for the
logic of the game.”
65DAYSOFSTATIC
What challenges will you face when trying to
replicate No Man’s Sky live?
PW: “It’s exciting to think about playing it live. With
our normal records we always have one eye on the live
performance. It’s perhaps a bit less subtle than what you
produce on record, but it can be more exciting. We like to
take advantage of the form. The deadlines were tight and
we didn’t even have time to consider how we would create
this stuff live.”
“We don’t just want
to show off the
technology because
we can wield it”
“We’ve made that mistake before in making studiobased
records and that was a tough learning experience,
because we didn’t enjoy touring. We had to make lots
of compromises with the songs and it never felt very
satisfying touring the record. Since then we’ve always
paid more attention and we’ve got so used to doing
that, so the songs make sense in a live performance.
Technology has moved on so much in the last six or
seven years that what we are able to pull off on stage
has increased.”
It’s extraordinary to think how the band’s sound is
continuing to evolve in tandem with new technological
innovations.
PW: “We do rely a lot on technology, but always want
to perform shows where that is not the central theme.
The computer game is a good analogy for this: they’ve
got this incredible mathematical game with this infinitely
large universe, but that’s not why they’ve made the game.
They’ve made the game because they want to give the
player an experience of isolation and wonder, of being
alone in this giant universe. That’s what they started
with and they filled in the vision with technology rather
than starting with the technology. We’re trying to do the
same thing: we don’t just want to show off the technology
because we can wield it. It’s more about creating a live
show by any means necessary. As technology moves on,
the more useful it becomes for us to produce that vision.”
What are you looking forward to at bluedot?
PW: “It’s a great line-up and I’m very excited about the
Algorave. I think I’m going to do a short live-coding set.
It’s really forward thinking and that, for me, is the real
forefront of electronic music. People type code and the
code becomes music. It’s super-geeky and it sounds like
it might not be very interesting, but actually it’s really
compelling. I can’t think of a more perfect festival for
65daysofstatic to be playing.”
65daysofstatic.com
WRITTEN BY DAMON FAIRCLOUGH
PHOTO BY DANNY PAYNE
LOVELL STAGE
SUNDAY
13 | DISCOVERTHEBLUEDOT.COM