MOG

Take one part keyboards, one part bass, and several parts pure talent and you have the mixture of Keston & Westdal. John Keston and Nils Westdal reside in the Twin Cities and produce a form of jazz electronica not heard anywhere else. These are true musicians that use their skills with real instruments to augment their digital cookbook of sounds. Slackline Radio managed to catch up with Keston & Westdal during their production of their upcoming release One Day to Save All Life on Unearthed Records and found out what are the forces behind their lives and work.

Slackline Radio: Each of you has come from somewhere else and have landed in Minneapolis. What brought you to the Twin Cities and why have you decided to call it home?
Nils: I think we were both brought here against our will (laughter). It was at a young age for me so I didn't have any say in it but I wouldn't have it any other way.
John: My family moved to Minnesota from the UK when I was ten. My dad was offered a job at a university as an artist in residence. I still have loads of friends and family in England and have entertained moving back, but the midwest is a difficult place to leave behind.

Slackline Radio: John, what do you miss most about the UK? And, what do you miss most about the Bay area, Nils?
John: Fish 'n Chips, Marmite and Wheatabix.
Nils: China Town. San Francisco has the best China Town in the Country. I miss the ocean most of all. And the salty breeze.

Slackline Radio: It seems you both have teaching gigs in addition to your music gigs. What do you gain from teaching and how has it helped you develop as musicians?
John: I occasionally teach piano, but the bulk of my teaching experience has been in interactive media design, so I'm consistently being exposed to new technology which helps with the technical end of what we do musically. I also teach audio production which keeps me abreast of new developments in the industry. I have to be well versed in the fundamentals of audio technology in order to teach it effectively. Therefore, I read lots of books, websites and articles on the subject in order to have varied topics for my lectures, which doesn't hurt when we're in the studio.
Nils: Well I teach people how to make sushi. It's strange teaching someone skills that you've honed yourself. You can really teach yourself how to do anything on your own but it really saves you time when someone just shows you how to do it. Johns field is a different story. His job really keeps him at the cutting edge of technology. I've learned a lot of computer and website development stuff from just being around him...for free!

Slackline Radio: Your sound incorporates a digital element that makes it unique. How did you get started with producing music by laptops and using sophisticated software like Ableton Live considering your roots lie with real live instruments?
Nils: From day one, as a musician, I've always recorded. It's been a natural progression really. I went from recording on a crappy boom box to a 4 track tape recorder. Then, reel to reel, digital workstation, desktop computer, and now laptops. I think that our latops have evolved into becoming instruments as well as something that just documents what has been played.
John: Like Nils, I have been experimenting with electronics and recording since grade school. The first MIDI sequencing I did was in the 80s on a Commodore 64 using software called Sonus Super Sequencer.

Slackline Radio: Who were influences in your lives that helped you get your start in music?
John: My dad was an opera singer who was always practicing at home. So I think he'd be the first influence for me. Secondly, around the age of 17 my childhood friend Steve Kaul got me inspired to get back on the piano after leaving it alone for seven years.
Nils: My Parents. Elementary school band wasn't very fun for me. I was more into the music that was being played in our house. My family had a huge influence on me in that department.

Slackline Radio: You have performed at the Scallywags Bicycle Shop Fundraiser event to help send bicycle mechanics to Rwanda. Tell us a little bit about your involvement in this very cool project.
John: A close friend of mine, Chris Huff, has invited us to perform at several of the Scallywags events. He's been to Rwanda to build bikes and teach Rwandans how to build and maintain bikes that are then sold to coffee growers to transport their harvests. Cycling is a big part of our lives, so when you can combine it with music and benefits you can't go wrong.

Slackline Radio: For most of the year you two experience winter. Which begs the question: Ice skating or skate skiing?
Nils: Neither. We ride our bicycles all winter long which can be more challenging than either of those.
John: Ice biking, snow biking, slush biking, and bike maintenance.

Slackline Radio: Your live performances can range in complexity. You can use just laptops alone or supplement your sound with live instruments like the Rhodes keyboards, bass guitar, drums, and even vocals. What attracts you to performing on such opposite sides of the spectrum?
John: I'd prefer to say that the laptops supplement our instruments. When we use them exclusively we call it a laptop set and only do that when a live band is not an option, like club environments where they typically have DJs but not live bands. In a KestWest utopia we'd always be performing with our full range of instruments and a drummer. I have been carrying the Rhodes to gigs for years and every time I try to replace it with a slab of some sort, it just doesn't work for me. I equate playing a digital keyboard to a drummer playing electronic pads. It's nice to have flexibility and the laptops give us that. We can play in a club where they don't want a band, or we can play in a space without live drums, or involve one of several amazing drummers we work with like Joshua Herbst, JT Bates, Tim Glenn, Erik Bolen or Graham O'Brien.

Slackline Radio: Speaking of vocals…Vocals are uncommon for the music you produce. But, on occasion you have made some great choices for vocal contributions to your sound like including Dallas Johnson on Truth is Stranger. Can we expect any singing on your new release?
John: We enjoy collaborating with vocalists, but this record wasn't about that.

Slackline Radio: The new album, One Day to Save All Life, is slated to be released early next year. I have heard you describe that it holds a more downbeat sound. Tell us about the new record and what is different about your sound on this upcoming release.
John: The main difference I would say is that we have achieved a more simple and cohesive group of tracks than we have on previous releases.
Nils: We've really Chilled out too! We're both playing with more of an atmospheric taste rather than pushing our chops. I would say that at least half of the bass that I played on One Day will not be recognized as "bass". There is a lot for the listener in this release. I'm still hearing it.

Slackline Radio: In the past, your residency at the Kitty Cat Klub has helped your creative process on your most recent release, Truth is Stranger. How did your current creative process help you create the music for your upcoming release, One Day to Save All Life.
John: It all stemmed from a conceptual approach to writing based on using live looping and real-time composition. We used live looping like another kind improvisation that allowed us to compose and arrange new tracks as we performed them for the first time, or fine tune our arrangements from one show to another. One Day to Save All Life is the result of us discovering these techniques.
Nils: Our first album was produce in such a fashion that we had no clue as to how we could ever pull it off in a live performance situation. This was back in 2001 when it was previously released. All of the sudden we had to play a CD release party and we were practicing like mad to play all of this stuff that had been recorded and sliced and diced to the point were it was just like learning a new language. Our upcoming release was quite the opposite! One Day to Save All Life is the product of two years of learning and progressing on stage and sort of funneling these live improvisations into a final take on a record.

Slackline Radio: What food or drink would go nicely while listening to the upcoming release, One Day to Save All Life?
John: Hmm... Let's go with Thai food and cold lager.
Nils: A Tall Sapporo for sure.

Thanks for taking time to answer a few questions for Slackline. We will be on the lookout for your new release due out in early '08. Stay warm and of course, stay safe out on the roads this winter.