High Watt Electrocutions Interview with Ryan Settee: “When things get too scripted, I eventually have to burn the script.”
Posted in Features on November 19th, 2010 by JJ KoczanThis is the second interview I’ve done with Ryan Settee, who is the sole driving force behind everything High Watt Electrocutions writes and records. Last time, the occasion was the self-released sophomore full-length, Desert Opuses, which wholeheartedly took on the sandy aesthetic with which lovers of heavy atmospherics should be well familiar by now. As the Winnipeg native was no less brave in tackling instrumental studio experimentalism and hypnotic droning on his third album, The Bermuda Triangle, a follow-up conversation seemed the least I could do.
Though I think there are ideas on The Bermuda Triangle that could have been fleshed out further, there’s something about the solitary nature of the album I really like. High Watt Electrocutions is just Settee. There’s no filter of other opinions and nothing for him to fall back on. The entire mission of the band rests on his creative will, and on The Bermuda Triangle, just as on the moody debut, Night Songs, he proves that will can lead him anywhere at any time.
The album is comprised of smaller instrumental pieces — blips, some of them — that bleed and fade together and gradually emerge as an engulfing and hypnotic whole. It’s not an album you can skip through (literally or figuratively), but Settee‘s indulgences are the gain of those who would be as adventurous in their listening as he would in his writing. High Watt Electrocutions challenges drone and conventional definitions of “heavy” while also developing an identity all its own as a project. It winds up being as admirable in its mission as in its execution.
We covered generalities last time, so for this discussion, I wanted to get deeper into Settee‘s process as regards The Bermuda Triangle and see what in particular inspired him musically and conceptually for the album. He was forthcoming to say the least. If you consider yourself passionate about music on either end, just take a look at how much what Settee does obviously means to him. It bleeds into his every answer.
Full Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.