Dan Deacon | Sound Effects

Dan Deacon. “Drinking Out Of Cups” guy. The guy who, in every single interview ever, has had to claim that no, he was not on LSD during that video. If you only know him as that weird gecko guy, you’re absolutely missing out, as Sam Greszes discovered as he chatted to him on behalf of ION.

It’s kind of a misnomer to call Deacon an “electronica artist.” He doesn’t just make music on a laptop. He’s a film curator, a classical composer, and a performance artist. He’s created his own instruments from scratch. And despite all this, he hasn’t become an auteur. It’s very telling that Deacon makes it a point to perform at the same level of his audience. He prefers to bask in the sweaty glow of the crowd as they dance than to be on some stage or up on a pedestal out of reach. 

And yes, you can dance to Dan Deacon’s music. Gliss Riffer—the follow up to 2012’s America, released last month—is a decidedly unpretentious record. The album’s first song “Feel the Lightning” spins an electric, bubblegum soundscape, as a synthesized voice sings about insecurity and Tom Petty songs. “Meme Generator” is a lighter tune, perhaps best enjoyed while swaying rhythmically back and forth with your eyes closed. “Take it to the Max” is a nearly eight minute long build into a sea of frenetic, layered samples. You don’t have to be an ardent follower of Deacon’s work to enjoy these songs. You don’t need to be an avid consumer of all of electronica’s subgenres and know the differences between them to appreciate Deacon’s work here. The songs are, above all, enjoyable. There’s no barrier for entry here, but the really special thing about Gliss Riffer is that there is a brilliant complexity to each track if you look for it. Album review aside, let’s get to the chat we had, before the connection from next-door’s syphoned wireless cut out…

It seems like you’re scaling back in terms of instrumentation in your studio albums recently, going from ensemble-style composition with other musicians, to something more synth and voice-focused that you can create yourself. What’s the reasoning behind that?
I sort of stumbled back into it. After America, I was on tour for the album and started working on a mixtape (Wishbook Vol. 1 on SoundCloud) for fun. It made me think about how I could make an entire album with just myself and a computer, how I used to. That started a chain reaction of ideas that led to the way that Gliss Riffer was made. I wasn't a purist about the concept but it totally brought me in directions I hadn't ventured into before, as far as the recording arts go.

You’ve said that the voice is an instrument that expires, so you did all the vocals on this new album yourself, even the ones that sound more feminine. Was it odd for you to hear what your voice would sound like if you were a woman?
I think it’s important to not add gender to sounds. The pitch of a sound does not assign it a place on the gender continuum. With that said, I’ve always been interested in exploring the ways to process and alter the human voice by electronic means. I’ve been using Pitch Shifter pedals since my live performances started, but with Gliss Riffer I wanted to try new techniques to expand on the pitch changes. The way I created an unnatural effect and made it sound natural was a combination of various speed techniques, paired with a throat lengthening effect, and several layers of unisons, all then put together at different speeds and lengths.

This one’s for our fitness-minded readers who might want to use the album in their workout mix. What muscle group would you recommend exercising while listening to Gliss Riffer?
The parts covered in ice or the nine wands, especially if in piles.

In “Meme Generator” and in the latter half of “Take it to the Max”, you use chopped and quantized voices as percussive instruments. What’s the original quote they’re saying?
I’d rather not engage in any lawsuits at the moment so these secrets are better best kept that way.

Who is your favorite Street Fighter 2 character, and why? How has that informed your art?
I love them all equally and they don't inform me in anyway at all other than the fact that I am glad I did not choose a life of violence.