Interview: Bellingham, WA’s Jostaberry Discusses His New Animated Music Video "Mountain Song"
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“Skiks is purely instrumental/electronic music and Jostaberry is art rock with vocals, though the latter might also end up with instrumental tracks, in which case it may depend on any surrounding album projects, in terms of best fit.”
What are some things that inspire your creativity when working on new music?
It can be anything, but I certainly have listened to a lot of music that’s excited me and influenced what I want to do myself. Honestly sometimes it’s just time limitations that force me to get working. The creativity is always there; it’s the decisions that are hard, and all the problem solving that makes up a large part of composing.
When you are developing a new song, how do you determine whether it will end up under your moniker Jostaberry or Skiks?
Skiks is purely instrumental/electronic music and Jostaberry is art rock with vocals, though the latter might also end up with instrumental tracks, in which case it may depend on any surrounding album projects, in terms of best fit. Some tracks end up released under my own name anyway.
Congratulations on the completion and release of your debut album "Greener Grass"; what are you most proud of with this new project?
Thanks! For one thing, I’ve been wanting to do an album like this for a long time, so I’m glad I finally stepped up. Also, I believe every track has unique aspects, whether harmony, phrase structure, form, or sound combinations. I realize novelty may not matter to other listeners, but it was a central concern for me.
Regarding your incredible animated music video for "Mountain Song", directed by Ryan Rothaus, how did you connect with him and why did you select the song to create a visual for?
I met Ryan when he was doing live visuals for an experimental microtonal show I played in Bellingham with my son in February, opening for Carl Stone. I wanted to work with a local artist for videos and CD design, so I checked out his portfolio online and was blown away.
I chose “OK Recliner” for one video as it’s one of the more experimental songs on the record, a nice match for his surrealistic art. I decided “Mountain Song” would be a more accessible track for a second video, and that its psychedelic sound could be enhanced with trippy visuals. Ryan ended up using some components of the “Mountain Song” video for the album cover art.
With "Greener Grass" now released, what are some of your goals musically for the rest of 2020?
Presently I’m finishing up a short video piece featuring clips from over 20 percussionists around the world. I also have a project with NYC choreographer Liz Gerring that was postponed…maybe we’ll have a premiere next spring, but in any event there’s a lot of electronic music to complete for that.
There’s a Skiks album in the works for late 2020: leftover tracks and a few new things to create. Finally, I’m psyched to do more with Jostaberry, as there were some songs I decided to put on hold. I also want to do more collaborations on the next album, which might be more focused than the first. Maybe a touring band will be put together when we get through the pandemic.