Scott Kirkland of The Crystal Method settles down as we plug in the quick question machine
Where are you right now?
“I’ve just returned after a quick walk around the block with our family dog, Rose, and I’m sitting in my office at home in Glendale, California.”
What can you see?
“There’s a Che Guevara Stormtrooper painting peeking over the top of my monitor.”
So, ‘The Trip Home’, the difficult sixth album then?
“Not at all, considering I had brain surgery while making the fifth.”
It’s the first Crystal Method album with just you, right?
“Yes, after 23 years, my partner Ken Jordan retired back in April 2016.”
How come?
“Two words… Costa Rica. He and his lovely wife Janine have been going there for years and fell in love. I’m very happy for them.”
Must’ve been odd not working together?
“Initially it was, but then I embraced the opportunity. I bought Ken’s share of the studio and began to slow process of upgrading and re-configuring Crystalwerks to fit one rather than two.”
Did you find yourself asking what he thought of your work in progress?
“Not initially, but at the end of 2017 I had a chance to play him a few tracks and appreciated his advice and was encouraged by his support.”
Daft question, but hey, in what way is the new album a trip home?
“The phrase ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ comes to mind. Home is the place where you feel the deepest affection. I grew up in the golden age of the concept album and my dad had them all. For him it was Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ and for me it’s Queensryche’s ‘Operation Mind Crime’.”
Can’t help noticing your Soundcloud page has a few genre hashtags… if you got just one?
“#electronicmusic”
Putting the new record on, you had us at ‘Holy Arp’… that’s one heck of track isn’t it?
“Ha ha! I almost called it ‘Holy Shit’ because the Ableton project was still unnamed after I ran the first demo. I knew I had something special.”
The ARP 2600 is a proper weapon of choice isn’t it?
“Talk about character, the combo of the 2600 and 1621 is endlessly creative and that spring reverb is so lovely. Just flip on the power and they’re ready to go.”
How long have you had your ARP 2600?
“I can’t remember when we picked up the 2600, but I know it spent a bit of time in the shop after we found it. I’m guessing about 13 years at least. How much was it? Oh wow… let me think. I know we didn’t over pay for it. Many years ago I did find a Yamaha CS-80 in excellent condition for $800. We used it on ‘Tweekend’ and ‘Legion Of Boom’, but our friend Jon Brion borrowed it when he worked with Kanye. Jon was always so kind to us and he loved it so much we just let him keep it… not to mention it weighed like 200lbs.”
