Interviews : Devin Townsend – 11/02/2010

Canada’s Devin Townsend is one of the most varied but consistent musicians around today, with releases spanning industrial death metal, ambient soundscapes, bouncy pop-metal and a host of other styles. For the first time in far too long, the man will be heading our shores again, in his newest form as the Devin Townsend Project. Metal Obsession recently had the honor of speaking to Devin about a  bit of everything.

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Metal Obsession: You’ve just recently finished your first tour back, supporting Between The Buried And Me. Did it take you long to get back into the hang of being on stage?

Devin Townsend: About a week. I had to realise what I wanted to represent and I realised that in the end, what comes naturally to me on stage, is just being a performer. I thought that without drugs and without Strappiincing Young Lad that I’d get up there and probably not say anything, and just stand around. It was about a week before I was a wise-ass again, jumping around like a howler monkey. It’s the same as it ever was, but now I’m really enjoying it.

MO: Do you think you come across any differently on stage now that you’re clean?

DT: Not much, I just have less hair [laughs]. I think that it’s maybe a little less negative, but it’s still loud and, you know, rude. I think that what I really needed to discover about myself on this most recent tour is the fact that not only was Strapping Young Lad a big part of my life but my performance style was accurate to who I am. So now I’m on a different path in terms of music, and not just wanting to be heavy, but I want to do everything now. I realise that now is just an updated version of what I’ve been doing for years and I’m incredibly happy about it.

MO: Now that, musically, you’re branching out so much, has it been difficult to balance out setlists?

DT: Well, I think anybody that has any many records as I do has trouble making everybody happy. But what we’re doing in Australia is playing around two to two and a half hours worth of material, so I think that ultimately the best way to make the decision on what gets played a bit easier. It’s still difficult because this is music that has really meant a lot to me for so long, and I just want to play so much of it. We’ll be playing everything from stuff like “Terminal” and “Ki” all the way up to “Victim” or “Planet Smasher”. What I’ve always wanted to represent, which I haven’t had a chance to do so yet, is that kind of dichotomy; the really quiet and the really heavy. I think that when I first started doing live performances of music, there was quite a contention between me and managers and whoever. They were telling me I did too many things, and I remember thinking that it’s what I want to do. I don’t want to just be ‘the metal guy’, and I don’t want to just be ‘the mellow guy’. I want to be able to represent every element of what I’m capable of portraying artistically. This tour will be my first chance to really do it.

MO: Are you the type of person that generally plans their sets in advance, or do you pick specifics on the night?

DT: I think there’s something to be said for a band that changes their setlist every night but for me, I really want this show to say something by the end. I want it to kind’ve guide the audience, emotionally in a way, so that each song flows into the next. I’m very much in that process of making the set at the moment, but it will specifically be for Australia.

MO: You briefly mentioned a while ago about having a small choir and a large visual show to go with your Australian tour. Is that still the plan?

DT:With this particular tour, the sheer volume of material that I wanted to present took the place of spending too much time trying to get the choir together. It was either: we only learn a few songs but have a choir, or we learn a shitload of songs and just come down there and rock. So I figured for this opportunity to finally present myself, it was the best decision to make. However in the future, the plan is still to have choirs and orchestras and the whole works. I spoke a little prematurely on that, however like I said, not having to spend the extra time on a choir has meant we have learnt an extra 45 minutes worth of music.

MO: What will you be doing about Annette’s vocals on the Addicted! tracks?

DT: Well, a lot of them I’ll be singing. The fact that there are so many female vocals means I haven’t ruled out getting a small amount of female singers to do those parts in Australia, but at this point my focus is just making sure the set is bulletproof. If that rears its head, which it may, then I’ll totally get that hooked up. But that would be something for the next few weeks, not right now. So yeah, it’ll either be me doing the parts or some guest female vocalists.

MO: Will fans have a chance to catch you before or after the main shows for a chat?

DT: You know, I’ve been doing this for 20 years and 10 years of that was sort of a reluctant element of what I was doing. I thought it was a drag or I was confused or whatever. In the last few years I’ve had the chance to really evaluate why I do this, try to clear my head out from anything that was sort of imposing paranoia on me. I’ve come to the conclusion that not only do I love doing this, but it’s a real honour to do it. In this day and age, the fact that people are willing to support that, in my opinion, makes it only right that you make yourself available. So yeah, absolutely man, as long as the voice holds up then I’ll answer questions, sign whatever people want, take photos and all of that. The reason I’m doing this is, of course because I’m a musician and I have to satisfy myself, but also because I’m a performer, an entertainer, and I want people to enjoy themselves.

MO: Will you be squeezing in any small acoustic shows during your tour?

DT: There’s one acoustic show in Melbourne that we’re doing, it’s in JB HiFi or something.

MO: Is that going to actually be an announced and promoted, or just a secret low-key show?

DT: Well I think the nature of what I do with the acoustic stuff is pretty low key, but, you know, here I am announcing it [laughs]. I don’t know exactly when it’ll be though. It’s an in store signing that I was going to do, which kind’ve morphed into a Q&A, which is now morphing into an acoustic performance. The acoustic side is very much the other end of the spectrum for me. In my career I’ve got the Strapping Young Lad, the Physicist, the Ziltoid, Deconstruction and all that real visceral type of music but I’ve always had the, you know, “Let It Roll”, “Deep Peace”, “Terminal” and that side. So what I’m hoping to do is present myself not only with the big, epic show, but also very intimate little acoustic shows that give me better opportunities to talk to the audience and have that extra interaction.

Before I leave for Australia I’m going to be putting up a little live record that I’m just finishing today. It’s just a cheap little live record that’ll be up on the internet in a cool package. One half is going to be an acoustic show and the other half will be from a show I did that the Fillmore in New York last month. What I want to do in the future includes that dichotomy. The live EP is replacing what I wanted to do with the reworked ‘Physicist’ EP, because the heavier live portion of the live EP has the Physicist material with the reworked samples. It’s really a testament to what I’ve learned to do production-wise. I’m just finishing the mix in the other room right now and it sounds crushing man, especially compared to the recordings I’ve done live in the past, or even some of the albums. I’m extremely satisfied with the process I’ve got down now.

MO: Onto your music, how far into ‘Deconstruction’ and ‘Ghost’ are you?

DT: Well they’re mostly done. When I go into record albums I have skeletons of every song and then a kind of frame of reference for 3 or 4 other ones that get done in the studio, and that’s exactly where I’m at. ‘Deconstruction’ is a brutal record, really brutal, so it’s something I’m very much looking forward to doing however my process is really one thing at a time. Currently, I’m getting ready for Australia so those records will have to wait for a bit.

MO: I remember a while back you mentioned that you were having a variety of different musicians playing different characters on ‘Deconstruction’, how is that coming along?

DT: All I’m going to say is that there are some guests on ‘Deconstruction’ that I would’ve never thought would be interested in it, but they were. There are some awesome singers and drummers from awesome metal bands. I’m trying to make ‘Deconstruction’ a real tour de force in heavy music and the only cat coming out of the bag is that there are some really cool names involved. To give it away at this point, I think, is a discredit to the fact that we’re still kind’ve working ‘Addicted’.

MO: Is there an approximate release time for those?

DT: Well we’ve got the Australian tour, some European festivals, the Ziltoid musical, a headlining tour in America in October, and a side-project with some really cool dudes that I can’t yet mention, and after all of that I think I’ll start recording both of the records simultaneously in about November. And then maybe the release will be May 2011 or so.

MO: Speaking of the Ziltoid musical, is that going to be filmed for DVD?

DT: Oh yeah, yeah. A lot of my work recently has been setting up our on-stage monitoring system as a way to record every show. The first experiment I did with that was obviously the tour I just did, with the show I’m mixing in my studio now from New York, and it’s turned out fabulously well. So my intention is to record every show.

MO: You’ve also mentioned ‘Z2’, the Ziltoid sequel. Has there actually been any progress on that or is it solely an idea at the moment?

DT: Umm, it’s the goal for the first project after the Devin Townsend Project, after these four records. The chronology in which I’m following with these four records is a concept that was a product of the years after Strapping Young Lad broke up and blah, blah, blah, blah. The concept of this music has been around for so long that as an artist I’ve been looking forward to finishing it, so I can move on.

The first record I’ll do afterward is ‘Z2’, and the whole idea of that record is to create a symphony, a musical, a play, but not in the sort of traditionally over-exaggerated cheeseball way; I’m talking metal, in huge proportions where the conceptual elements include aliens, infinity and humour. Really, it’s an excuse for me to make a musical statement that has zero boundaries. ‘Z2’ even refers back to the ‘Alien’ record. At the end of the record was the track “Info Dump”, and during the song there was morse code, and part of that code was a math equation that connected these two modes of thought. The equation was X2 + Y2 = Z2, so the idea is the second Ziltoid album being named ‘Z2’ is perfect because not only is it Ziltoid 2 but it’s an answer to this question that’s been part of my creative process for years.

The way I tend to write Ziltoid music is, it’s almost like I get a head of steam going but I don’t touch the guitar. I build that inspiration up and when I’m ready to burst I just turn on the computer and go, and it comes out as fast as I can document it. So at this point, I’m just collaborating the ideas in my head and making an environment for myself where I have access to orchestras and choirs and the whole works, so when I sit down at the computer I’m right to do 6 months of ideas. Musically, my ideas are still for ‘Deconstruction’ and ‘Ghost’, but ‘Z2’ is on the horizon. I know what the feeling of it will be, and I’m committed to it so I know it’s going to be what I want it to be.

MO: Seeing as you seem to have a never-ending stream of projects at the moment, is there anything else you’re working on that we haven’t covered already?

DT: Well there’s that side project I’m working on, but I can’t really talk about that. I’m trying to keep my scalp clean, I’m trying to do five hours of interviews without sounding like I have low blood sugar or I’m a salivating madman [laughs]. It’s funny, ever since I stopped smoking weed I’ve realised that I’ve got 8 extra hours per day, so I’m doing tons of things to use that time.

Q’s: Mitch Booth
A’s: Devin Townsend
Date: 11/02/2010
Origin: Canada
http://www.myspace.com/devintownsenddtb

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You can catch the Devin Townsend Project live in Australia, with support from Contrive, on the following dates:

FRIDAY 12 MARCH  BRISBANE, THE TIVOLI – 18+
www.ticketek.com.au 132 849

SATURDAY 13 MARCH   SYDNEY, ENMORE THEATRE – Licensed All Ages
www.ticketek.com.au 132 849, Enmore Theatre Box Office 02 9550 3666 & Utopia

SUNDAY 14 MARCH   MELBOURNE, BILLBOARD – 18+
www.ticketek.com.au 132 849 &www.billboardthevenue.com.au /www.webtickets.com.au

TUESDAY 16 MARCH   ADELAIDE, FOWLERS LIVE – 18+
www.moshtix.com.au

THURSDAY 18 MARCH   PERTH, METRO FREMANTLE – 18+
www.bocsticketing.com.au 78 Records, Mills & Planet Video.