The Obelisk Questionnaire: Kris Clayton of Self Hypnosis
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Kris Clayton of Self Hypnosis, Camel of Doom, etc.
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
We self-describe as Progressive Industrial Metal, as those are our biggest influences, but we also incorporate elements of Black, Death, Doom, Sludge, Psychedelic and even more unusual genres (for a metal band) such as Big Beat, Trip Hop. I’ve been playing in Doom bands for 20 years, Greg for 30 (in Esoteric), and Tom is a full-time drummer, teaching and doing session work and so playing in all genres under the sun. We all have diverse tastes and want to create music that is free to take influence from any of them at any time – as long as the final result is something powerful.
Describe your first musical memory.
My first musical memories all revolve around my dad who played prog rock, metal and grunge (I was born in ’88 so that was the style at the time) constantly at home and in the car my whole life, as well as playing the guitar which is what led me to take it up myself due to serious hero worship for my old man. This has led to certain records being so deep down in my psyche that they are almost like a second language. Metallica’s Ride the Lightning probably being the most prominent example – even before I can remember, and before I could walk, I used to crawl over to the speakers, pull myself up and shake my butt any time this record got put on. The earliest concrete memory I can think of is listening to Nirvana in the car on the way to some childhood holiday, probably about 1991/2. When I was 11 some kid at school was playing a tape of Nevermind to other kids and saying it was his band. This got shot down quickly about two seconds into him playing it to me.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Probably the first time I saw Hawkwind when I was 14. I ate a load of cheap hash in a jam sandwich before I went – the first time I ever tried that too – and I was absolutely baked by the time they hit the stage and it completely blew my mind. I started my first serious band, Camel of Doom, around the same time, and I consider this to be the key moment in my life that led me down the path I am still on to this day. There have been a couple of other similar moments, but that was the first lifechanging one and I can’t help but smile thinking back on it. A Hawkwind fan group I was a part of presented Dave Brock with a book of Hawkwind memories for his birthday a few years back, and I included my story there. Felt great to let such a hero of mine know what a massive effect he had on my life.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
It was only really when I got into my thirties that I managed to shake the belief that I was completely correct if I had worked through something completely logically. I am a computer programmer in my day job, and it is a completely natural profession for me – I fell into it out of university despite studying something completely different. But the real world doesn’t work like mathematics or computer science (things I find much easier than human interaction), and often a completely rational and logical solution doesn’t work. There might be missing data or incomplete assumptions; both sides of an argument can be completely correct; a problem might not have a solution that works for everybody. It has been very beneficial for me to try and be more empathic and express my emotions, whilst encouraging others to do the same, rather than trying to treat everything as though it were a computer program.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Unfortunately, it seems that for the majority of bands it inevitably leads to stagnation as they veer off the path of artistic progression into a cul-de-sac of repetition and painting-by-numbers imitations of their earlier work. And that is if there was ever artistic progression in the first place – playing derivative music that imitates another’s musical style is no progression at all, even if it sells easier.
People do appreciate true artistic progression though, and bands that don’t stand still and continue to redefine themselves tend to have a longer lasting legacy. For example, a band like Neurosis are looked upon with a lot more respect than any of the countless bands that have taken a snapshot of how Neurosis sounded at one point in their career and then repeated that for the rest of their lives. So, I would say it leads to becoming legends rather than being merely a great band.
For me personally, I need to be challenged to be interested, so if I am not progressing and trying to make every thing I do better and more interesting than what came before, then I will just stop. But there is no end goal really, other than continuing to give my life meaning, and keeping me sane(-ish).
How do you define success?
That’s easy, if you are happy and at peace with yourself and what you have done, then you are successful. This definition also has the benefit that I can be successful at least some of the time.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I thought long and hard about this one, looking for some deeply traumatic vision, but it seems either I am hardened to such things, or else I’ve blanked out those memories. So, I would have to give a slightly less serious answer to this one and say Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Trilogy. One of the greatest books ever written, totally trashed. Tolkien didn’t write that book in the same style as Lord of the Rings, and so the movie shouldn’t have been in the same style. Obviously, this probably comes down to the creative bankruptcy of the movie industry who won’t ever change a formula as long as it can keep making money, but it is a shame when they get their hands on something I love so much. My answer about artistic progression (or lack of) is also relevant here.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’m always pushing to create the perfect album, something like a Dark Side of the Moon, The Downward Spiral, Music for the Jilted Generation, Lateralus, Through Silver In Blood, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennae To Heaven (to name a few I judge to be perfect) – something where the atmosphere, production, songs, lyrics, flow, and everything else just adds up to create something that can stand alone, where even the wrong notes enhance it, and it is impossible to imagine any change that could make it better. It’s ambitious, and likely unachievable, but as long as that carrot is dangling in front of me, I have a reason to keep on going and making new music. Of course, even if I made something that other people thought was this, I am sure that I would find fault in it myself and keep on chasing the unobtainable goal.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To provide escapism, or distraction from reality. This works both for the artist and the consumer. Speaking personally, I have an extremely overactive brain that is difficult to switch off. The only things that really works to settle it down are drugs and art. Drugs tend to become a crutch and don’t achieve anything positive, but working on music genuinely works even better and gives me something tangible as a result at the end. Admittedly for me, the consumption of art is kind of like an aspirin or plaster rather than a shot of oblivion, but I am told by people whose brain chemistry doesn’t hate them quite so much that it can be very effective.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
A few months ago, I would have said being able to go to a football match again, but fortunately I was able to go to one last weekend, for the first time in two years. Right now, I am so desperate to play a live show again it is difficult to look past that… but I would have to say it would be really nice when my wife and I can take a vacation to Italy again – we’ve not been for seven years since our honeymoon, but the pandemic has really caused me to rethink my priorities, and that is something right at the top of the to-do list right now.
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