Dizmation is a new voice with a new concept album with a variety of genres on it. With the new release coming up and a single already out, we took the time to have an elaborated conversation on music, life these days and the possible future. Lots of thoughts, interesting perspectives. Have a good reading!
And while you are at it, listen to Dizmation‘s brand new single, “Still”:
Music Authentic: Welcome to Music Authentic! Our site traditional question is: How did you sleep last night?
Dizmation: Thank you. Last night I slept well. I like sleeping. It’s becoming more and more apparent now how important a proper nights sleep is. If I’m not sleeping well for a any prolonged period of time it can send me a little crazy. Or even crazier than usual depending on who you ask. But then again creativity can demand that you harness it at the strangest times so sleep must be sacrificed on occasion as a result.
Music Authentic: And what did you last cook?
Dizmation: A stir fry.
Music Authentic: Is it easy to shop around? Have you experienced significant changes after the Brexit?
Dizmation: I have just been food shopping in my local shop. If there is anything I really need I’ll order it online but for the most part I like to shop as local as I can. Used to love going to charity shops because you can find a little gem sometimes, so I do miss those with them being closed at the moment. They do have some online charity shops now, which is good but obviously the experience is completely different. I like rooting around! As in Brexit, we haven’t really felt the changes here as of yet, although there is talk of a united Ireland and Scotland leaving the UK so who knows how things will turn out. Ironically enough though, here in Ireland we actually import up to two thirds of our potatoes from Britain. Which is crazy given how we are supposedly so synonymous with the potato. So hopefully we won’t see another potato shortage, post-brexit.
Music Authentic: By now everyone feels the toll of the altered life we are forced to live. A lot of people blame governments and the establishment for not doing their job right and taking advantages of the masses. What and how do you think could have been done differently and what should be done now?
Dizmation: Well yeah, it is very difficult for most people. Although, I reckon there is a very small percentage of the population of Earth that it won’t affect at all. By that I mean, it seems like there is a tiny percentage of the population of Earth who don’t really live with the other vast majority already and I think that gap is growing even wider. Because of the internet these people may seem more accessible but I think that simply blurs the actual reality of how large the gap has really become. They have nearly created a somewhat breakaway civilisation in a way. So in my opinion I can’t imagine how it would affect them really. In fact, in some cases their wealth has nearly doubled since this whole situation started. I’m not anti-prosperity but it seems like when amassing wealth is no longer a driving factor, can control take its place? Can that control be disguised as philanthropy? If an entire economic crash did come would there be a infinitesimally small section of the population who would really be immune to it at this point? As regards what could be done differently? I think the plan that was set out is nearly being followed to the letter. We must follow the numbers. It’s also an amazing opportunity now to reset the entire world economy (an amazing opportunity for some anyway)
Music Authentic: Your new single, “Still”, is like listening to Keane in their days, it’s a good sound. The music video has the cheekiness to be enough interesting to watch. How did you come up with the idea and who the heck is the skeleton?
Dizmation: Oh ok, I have never actually listened to Keane to be honest apart from a few funny Roy Keane interview videos maybe 😉 Still to me is more a heavy guitar-pop song. It was written very fast, in fact the melody and chords arrived nearly instantly together and then the lyrics were quite soon after so I suppose that’s why its kind of catchy. It was initially done on a synthesizer with a kind of plucked style attack sound, similar to a harpsichord, so it sounded quite different than the finished version. I like how it evolved though. It can also be done on acoustic guitar too. There will be a video done soon of a live acoustic version of the song. The video for Still was a two person operation pretty much done in one day with a mobile phone! It was shot in the local park by Jayne Pomplas (who is also a very talented musician) and the garden of the house I live in, then edited together on a laptop. The idea was recognising the shadow self and entertaining it though Art. The skeleton is just one of many macabre things that are dotted around the garden. I’ve still no idea actually where it originally came from though. Maybe it’s James Joyce he used to live around this area of Dublin at one point.
Music Authentic: It seems, you are one who decided to use this time of social isolation to break out from it – at least artistically. How hard or easy was it for you to write the songs, and how did you find the right fellowmen to it?
Dizmation: There is a small but adequate enough home recording setup here so I just started playing around with a few songs mid to late last year and eventually kind of realised I might have a full album. It obviously was difficult enough at times but actually it felt a little sad after it was all finished. Because although it was challenging and using the limitations of what I had at my disposal here was a necessity it was still a somewhat enjoyable hurdle to overcome and I liked figuring out how to get around any problems I might have faced. Nearly all of the songs were written quite quickly. Some of them are completely new and a couple of them were actually written as long as 5 years ago but never yet recorded. With those all I had to do was write lyrics. As a bunch of songs I feel they really work well together though. I had given my Telecaster away on load for nearly a year so when I got it back it was like getting a guitar for the first time in a way, and I really got artistically excited by it again! Because of that I wanted to keep the playing on the album somewhat wild in nature so I didn’t over-do the takes. The guitars on the album to me, feel especially uninhibited and off the cuff as a result so I like how they turned out. Then my brother Tim and Jayne put some strings on a few tracks at different times over the few months when it was possible to get together. The song Portal was a collaboration between myself and an artist called Aniela. She’s from Oakland in California who I met first on Instagram. We collaborated over email and she put some truly brilliant vocals on the track. I was genuinely amazed at how she took the tune to another level. Working with her was an absolute pleasure. Aside form that the majority of the rest of the parts on the album were played by myself simply out of necessity. The lockdown situation obviously making it near impossible to do otherwise.
Music Authentic: Your concept album is coming out 10th February, 2021. You have pop, rock, punk, ballad and even a fun EDM on it – a nice versatility. If you had to recommend, which ones you’d say that’s definitely “you”?
Dizmation: Well, they all are really. I like a bit of variety but they all have a kind of thread running thought them. I call the music Art Punk. It’s like discovering the original floor boards of the house are made of beautiful wood so you leave them exposed and natural. You may have to sand them down slightly but for the most part they’re the original, sturdy floorboards and they make a nice sound when you walk on them with a heel in your shoe. They’re a new feature but from an old source. Wise. I’m not sure if it is completely a concept album as such though. I just like a radio segment on Irish radio at night that broadcasts the weather forecast at sea. It was especially important to me at a difficult time in my life… which I will explain in agonising detail right now…not. The Sea Area Forecast on radio can have a very calming effect I found. I suppose the music ties into that as in there are calmer, more soothing parts but then there are more abrasive and choppy guitars coming in for instance. Just like the weather at sea. But that correlation is “post-album” rather than a pre-thought of concept to be honest. But I’ve no problem if it comes across as a concept album. It may have been subconsciously.
Music Authentic: There has been a long debate whether concept albums are over and it is highly advertised to have singles out regularly to have algorithms treat the bands better. By now even AI has started to write songs and they are improving. The World is now full of managed and highly produced bathtub singers. It seems like a big crowd, a noise in which it is hard to find a place to be heard well, since everything has got to be about numbers and data and so on. Where do you see yourself in it and what prospects do you see in the future?
Dizmation: Yeah, but for years Vinyl was supposed to have been over but now Vinyl plants that were closed for years are opening back up again because of demand. Sometimes the likes of 3D printers can actually help give old machines new life because parts that would have been made by companies that have long since gone out of business can now be 3D printed from copying the old or broken parts. So there is a balance that can be achieved there. As regards Ai songwriting; that’s why I wanted to keep the playing on the album more on the untamed side. More organic. I like the feeling of songs that have a balance of nearly seeming like there could be a wrong note or a mistake at any minute but it all comes together in a split second and sounds great. Uninhibited. I think it will be a while before Ai really gets the actual feeling of escape through Art. It’s a feeling that is nearly unexplainable, but to me it’s sometimes like a white-out. Like there are neurological pathways in the brain being formed as you play. Those are the most incredible times and funnily enough it can be difficult to explain or remember those moments. You just know you were somewhere else. Unless and until Ai can experience that I don’t know if they’ll ever truly get it. Sorry Sophia. That having been said, with the situation this album was made under it would have been nearly impossible to record and mix everything without interfacing with some digital equipment. I just feel like you should use the facilities of the machines but not let them use you, or get too complacent because of them. As much as is humanely possible anyhow. With data and numbers and such I feel like you should concentrate on challenging yourself to do good work. Be in competition with yourself rather than numbers and data.
Music Authentic: Now, talking about the future, based on a worldwide research, almost all young people say, the climate crisis is real and the decision-makers haven’t done their part. Is there a future or are we better off signalling Elon Musk to have some stowaway tickets on his Mars charter?
Dizmation: Haha. If they find or can bring a piano to Mars, I’ll go. A real piano like. Preferably a nice upright with a characteristic sound…and some good coffee. Yeah I try and do my bit as in I’m not really an overindulgent consumer and I like to reuse things and I try to be conscious of packaging etc. I do live quite a minimal lifestyle to be honest. As in the future, who knows what kind of role humans will actually play in “the future”? What’s for certain I think, is that once Ai does come in things will change nearly at the speed of light. It may take another while for it to be implemented but what’s for certain is that the “Technological” Revolution will not take a tiny fraction of the time the first industrial revolution took to manifest itself. I like Elon Musk though, or what I know of him.
Music Authentic: 2021 is cancelled for live shows, unless you live in New Zealand. When the time comes, will you go on tour with your album?
Dizmation: I’ll really look forward to getting the chance to play these songs live. For now I’ll probably do some live acoustic versions from home.
Music Authentic: Bryan Adams, Elton John and Liam Gallagher are sitting in the pub at different tables. Which table would you choose to greet and meet?
Dizmation: Bryan Adams. I’ve always been fascinated with why certain Brians employ the “Y”. I’d question him on the theory behind “Y” Brians. Then I would go get drunk, on my own, in the corner 😉
Music Authentic: Which artists were the greatest influences on your music?
Dizmation: Far too many to mention, but the first that come to mind at this very moment are…Lou Reed. Kurt Cobain. Kate Bush. Joni Mitchell.
Music Authentic: How can you encourage others during these long times?
Dizmation: Do not despair. Well, maybe entertain despair for a moment. Perhaps completely suppressing any emotion is not a good thing. So…despair (for a minute) then don’t anymore until next time. Then go round and round and round and round in a perpetual motion of despair and optimism.
Music Authentic: Thank you for your thoughts and time and wishing you all the best for with your health and art!
Dizmation: Same to you!