Fast-rising industrial L.A star Daniel Graves - aka Aesthetic Perfection - has been hard at work defying the machine-music stereotype of one-man bedroom bands this year, honing a visceral assault of a stage show in enviable support slots across the globe with his onstage partners in crime Tim Van Horn (drums) and Tom Napack (keys). As the road trip reached London during a first European headline run, SinZine heard how it's all paying off for Graves.
He's released four albums (one under the name Necessary Response) and a steady stream of remix work (including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry), as well as a string of tours supporting the likes of Combichrist, SITD and Imperative Reaction. We caught up with Daniel Graves before Aesthetic Perfection’s recent headline show at Electrowerkz to see how he's finding life on the road.
How's the tour going?
So far so good - we’re really humbled and excited to be able to start out first ever European headlining tour here in the UK. So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
And how are you finding the UK so far?
I think wherever you go, when you find people who are passionate about music, it's universal. So, really all the shows have been great, really enthusiastic crowds - a lot of fun.
Last time we saw you, you were opening for Combichrist and now you’re top of the bill - I’m guessing there’s been a lot of hard work to get you there?
We tour hard, we work hard, we party hard! Like I said, it’s really humbling that we get to come out and headline and have people turn up to see our shows. What we’ve worked so hard to achieve... the last couple of years we’ve toured relentlessly and a lot of our exposure we can thank Combichrist for. We’ve toured with them about five times. It’s been pretty relentless the last three years, but we’re happy with where we’re at. We’re not going to stop, we’re going to keep going another three years, another three years - you know, no end...
Talking about Combichrist - Andy was recently telling SinZine about how he’d taken the decision to forget the record labels to a certain extent and build a career the way he wanted to. I see a lot of the same thing with your work - is that something deliberate?
I think that it’s really important when you know what you want to do with your life and with your art that you stay focussed on that and you don’t ever lose sight of it. You always have to be a bit mindful of what labels say, and that kind of stuff, but you can’t lose sight of the main goal and what you want to do. You should compromise the tiniest bit, like maybe 1%, but really - Andy’s right You have to set your sights on what you want and not deviate from that. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing the last few years - once I set it in my mind, ‘You want to be a musician’, that’s all I’ve been doing since then.
There’s quite a difference between making electronic music and taking it out on the road - has touring influenced what you create or how you perform your music?
It’s hard to put a finger on it, but I would have to say undoubtedly yes. As an artist you always take in the whole of your existence and try to filter that into what you’re writing. So, yes - I could never specifically say ‘touring has made me do this’, but I have no doubt in my mind that all the touring we’ve done and all the experience we’ve gained from it has definitely influenced what I’ve been writing the last few years.
How do you gear up for live performance? Is there much you have to change?
Not really - some people say if it’s not totally different live then you might as well listen to the CD at home, but I think its more about the experience, the connection with the people. When I go to a concert I don’t want to hear something completely different from what I’ve grown to love; when I see a band if they change it completely live then I’m actually a bit disappointed. We do everything that we can live, as much as is possible for an electronic band, but you need to stay as true to the studio recordings as possible. That’s my own personal taste.
What do you do to build that connection with the audience?
It’s a very abstract idea - I go out, I look people in the eye, feel their reaction and that influences what I do. It’s like you’re doing it with the people rather than just performing as if they weren’t there - it’s about interacting with them as much as possible.
Obviously, this tour is in support of your new album. I get a strong sense of elements drawn from the last three albums, but I know that response has been mixed...
I think that’s totally true. From the beginning I’ve always wanted to make a record that’s very dynamic, very up and down - from punching you in the face to sitting alone in a room with silence. These types of images are what were in my mind. When I first started out I was feeling like I had to fit a mould. My first record, I was purposely sitting down thinking 'right, I have to write music that sounds like this'. But I still had it in my mind, that I wanted to do something that was dynamic. So I had these Aesthetic Perfection tracks and these Necessary Response tracks that were vastly different, but they were still part of me.
So, ever since I split those two projects - I made A Violent Emotion, which I felt stepped towards this direction... I told myself, you just need to go for it, and make the record that you feel like you have to make, and for yourself, and not feel you have to fit any mould or fit any goal other than just to be as honest as possible. I’d say that All Beauty Destroyed is definitely my most honest record and with the mixed reviews - I’m actually revelling in the hate that I’m getting for it.
I did notice that one persons comment had made it into a Facebook post from you...
It’s great - at least I made you feel something, you have a real reaction to it.
It’s interesting that a lot of people have this idea that a band or a name means one thing...
It’s always funny the way people view artists and bands. Based on some of the reactions, that people feel personally offended by the record. It’s like - wow!
It’s nice that people care that much about what you do...
Yeah, it feels good - if I elicit any sort of strong response in any direction I feel like I’ve done something right because the death of art in my mind is mediocrity. So, if I get someone who absolutely loves the record I’m just as happy if someone says ‘I fucking hate it, it makes me want to retch’. This strong disdain, it’s great... great.
There’s a really strong vein of song-writing in your music, from Necessary Response to the Aesthetic Perfection albums...
I try not to say, this is what I want to do - just the kind of writing what comes out. In a way, I did want to guide the album towards being more about songs and less about the dance song structure. I like music that feels like you want to move, not necessarily designed to fit some sort of club structure but it was really important to me to push my limits in terms of song writing and song structure. I think that a good song is timeless, and that’s something that’s really important to me.
There are always remixes for club versions, anyway - you do so much remix work that you must be owed some favours by now...
Over the last few years I did so many remixes - I’ve got a list on my computer, like that guy owes me a remix, and that guy... Let’s call them all.
Are you looking to officially release something?
I’d be interested in exploring a remix CD. Of course a lot of things are up in the air, but I’d like to explore what else I can do with the record. A lot of people may hate me for saying this, but I like how a lot of pop bands are releasing companions to their albums - an EP with a couple of new songs, a couple of remixes and then repackaging the album and releasing it again a year or two later. I like that stuff.
Maybe something along the lines of Mesh’s An Alternative Solution?
Yeah, things like that are really cool and I always like hearing the way people reinterpret something which in my mind would be impossible to reinterpret. Because I’ve spent so many years working on it, I see it as it is.
Do you see remix work as a musical challenge then? How do you approach it?
Of course - I think a good remix is always a reinterpretation of a song, and the best remixes are ones which change it as much as possible. I really like doing stuff like that - thats why I do all the pop remixes. They’re fun, it’s an exercise in production - I love it, I really do.
Finally, what’s next?
Surprisingly, I’ve got so much new material done - I can’t even believe it. Once I’d finished All Beauty Destroyed I just kept working, I was in this kind of groove. Now I’ve got 7 or 8 songs that are nearly complete. I don’t know if it makes sense to release a whole new full length album in 2012, less than a year after All Beauty Destroyed, but I’m going to keep writing, keep touring. I’m just really focussed on music, I love it a lot.
And more touring ahead of you?
We’re working on US tours, we’re hoping to get back to Australia. I love being on the road as much as I possibly can. I just gives you the opportunity to share the music, to connect with people. Touring and playing music live brings it to life for me. I don’t listen to my music it home, it’s like the catharsis is over for me and now it belongs to the world. When I get to perform it live I feel the energy of people who connect with it and it brings it back to life for me. It’s amazing - I want to keep doing it; keep touring, keep writing. Music all the time!
All Beauty Destroyed is out now on Out of Line records. Find out more at www.aesthetic-perfection.net
Scoll right down for the official music video 'The Great Depression' or visit YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAA5XCdUe1Q ('Inhuman' - official music video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Rpxau2iXk (Aesthetic Perfection remix for Lady Gaga's 'Love Game')
