[Interview] Earthen Sea
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To set the stage for our second anniversary show, which will take place on Saturday November 3rd, here comes an interview with the musician Jacob Long, who will come from New York for the occasion. His project called Earthen Sea was the subject of the first post ever on Mes enceintes font défaut, so it was an obvious choice to invite him with us for our first event.
With releases on renowned labels like Kranky, Silent Season, Lovers Rock et Other People, his reputation is well established. Oscillating between deep ambient landscapes and floathing percussions, Jacob’s music will certainly amaze you and make you travel far in your head. We hope that you will be as impatient as we are to see him play in Montreal after reading this interview and discovering his beautiful music.
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You’ve been doing music as Earthen Sea for more than ten years. Earlier in your career, you played in a few different bands including Black Eyes and also Mi Ami with Damon Palermo and Daniel Martin-McCormick. How did you end up starting your solo project and what was the main motivation behind this decision?
Going back to high school I have almost always played in bands (punk, etc.) and also done my own solo, usually more mellow, music as well. It started when I got my first 4 track cassette recorder when I was 16. I kind of have done it off and on since then when I had the time/motivation. Earthen Sea as an entity was born when I moved from Washington DC to California in 2004. I was in a new place and because of that got deep into doing my solo thing for the first time in a while. And I’ve been doing it off and on since then.
I’ve always enjoyed when there is some predominant beats in your tracks, but my favorite release is probably your most ambient one called ‘’A Relentless Gaze’’ that came out last year on the Canadian label Silent Season. How do you find balance between percussions oriented songs and ambient landscapes when you are creating music? Is there one more vital than the other in your creative process?
I enjoy doing both and there isn’t one side of what I do that I feel is more important than the other. Actually when I work on music it kind of is always a back and forth between the two. When I’m building a piece, I’ll usually start with some sort of percussion just to have a base to build off of but often I’ll pull it back and let the atmosphere take over and then build in a push/pull from there. Also, I almost always use pieces from beat/percussion heavy songs to make my ambient pieces so almost everything is related to something that maybe was used in a different way in a different piece. Just always exploring how to make different vibes with the same building blocks.
You revealed that the year before the release of your last album ‘’An Act Of Love’’ was a pretty difficult one. I heard that a new album is currently in the work and I would like to know how things are going at the moment and how it’s gonna be different from your previous effort? What can we expect with this new material and what will be the story behind it?
Yes, I have a new album pretty much finished just finalizing the artwork and it should be seeing the light of day sometime early next year hopefully. It is the first set of music I’ve completed since moving from San Francisco to New York which I am not sure if that is what inspired a change but it certainly feels/sounds different to me. But yes I am in a different environment and my head is in a different place so I would assume that would come across in the music in one form or another.
Over the years, you have developed a close relationship with Daniel Martin-McCormick (aka Ital and Relaxer). You released a few albums on his label ‘’Lovers Rock’’ and you also have a musical project called Sleeper Cell with him. I would like to know if we can expect another release from this project in the near future and which role the label played in your early solo career?
Well, Daniel and I have been friends for almost 20 years at this point. I met him, and played in a band with him for the first time, when he was still in high school. So, yes we have a long and close relationship both musically and personally. He was vital in getting me more focused on doing Earthen Sea more fully at a time when I was just starting to get going with it again by way of encouraging the direction it was headed in before the idea of releasing some of the music was a reality. But yes, I feel very grateful and lucky that he was able to help support what I have been doing by putting out a few records for me. Sleeper Cell has been relatively inactive, we get together and jam once in a while but not much has come of it but who knows there is always a possibility we’ll get together and make some music some time in the future.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think you recently move from California to New York. Can you tell us what was the motivation behind this change of scenery and how do you enjoy the musical scene in New York so far? Is there a project you recommend us to check out particularly?
It still feels recent but its actually been two years now, which is hard to believe in some ways but time passes quickly I guess. The main motivation was wanting a change of scenery, but overall New York is great and I am enjoying my time here. I’ve been enjoying a lot of different music of all sorts though I don’t know if I feel very connected to any scene here particularly. Though there are lots of people making great music from here, I really dig most/all of what Brian Leeds does musically (Huerco S and other aliases), really looking forward to Eli Keszler’s new LP and my friend Joe has a rad project (Felt & Known) that I’m excited to hear some tunes from eventually. Not sure what else off the top of my head but its always too many to name.
You are coming to Montreal for the first time as Earthen Sea on November 3rd. Have you ever played the city before with another project or simply traveled here in the past? If so, how did you enjoyed the city and what are you looking forward to this time?
Yes, I actually played at Casa del Popolo in 2003 (?) with Black Eyes. I have been to Montreal with Mi Ami once too playing a show. I very much enjoyed my time in Montreal before, even if both trips were brief visits on tour so I’m hoping to maybe have an extra day or two this time to explore the city a bit more.
I always enjoyed your music because there is a really deep and introspective feel to it. Is this one of the reasons you seem to rarely play live shows? Are you planning to do it more often in the next few years?
Thanks, I can’t say that is really the reason I don’t seem to play live too often. I play pretty much whenever I get asked, which I guess is not super often, but it kinda goes in waves. I’ve been playing in NYC a bit, would love to travel and play more. So yes, I’m hoping to make that happen when I get my new record out.
Last thing, since it’s almost impossible to find some footage or bootleg from your live sets on the internet, we would really like to know what we can expect from you next month at Casa del Popolo?
I can’t say I’ve finalized my set yet but I’ll be playing all new stuff. Ambient bits and kinda sparse/spacey/dubby percussion tracks I like to get into the vibe and flow through the set, deep and spacious vibes.
Thank you for your time!