motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your debut single, Faze. Could you tell us about the writing and recording process?

SILK: So ‘Silk’ is a solo project in the truest sense of the term, in that, I do everything. I wrote and played all the parts, I mixed it, I took the promo photos and shot and edited the video. I started out as a drummer and slowly taught myself guitar, so it means I can pull together a track myself pretty quickly and express my ideas pretty fully. ‘Faze’ started out as a little recording experiment for myself. I’ve been teaching myself how to record and mix, so over Xmas I wanted to have something I could work at. I wrote the song at home with an OpAmp Big Muff (the Smashing Pumpkins one) and a Walrus Audio Fundamental Ambient reverb. So I recorded rough guitars and then went up to the practice space to record drums and re-record the guitars and bass with the ‘big board’. I really enjoy the experience of recording on your own, you can really focus and there’s more freedom to explore, I’m not on anyone’s clock and no one is waiting around bored. So it all came together pretty quickly but just with the intent for me to practice mixing more than anything else.

I spent a lot of time on the mix, I’d say I’m still very much a novice at it and recording, but I was pretty happy with how it sounded, so I thought I’d maybe get it mastered, just to see how my mix sounded as a finished product. The most daunting part of it all was vocals, I am far from the best singer and it’s something I really struggle with. I’ve always had people tell me you can’t sing blah blah, I’m very aware of my limitations but I just try to express my idea the best I can with the tools available to me. So after MANY takes, I landed on something I wouldn’t mind other people hearing. Gear wise, there’s a Keely Loomer pedal on there, the Glow fuzz from Slow Crush, the Shields blender makes an appearance, TC Electronics Hall of Fame one, there’s a Fender MTG Tube Tremolo and a Dan Electro Back Talk reverse delay in the middle section, all through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Again, I’m no recording engineer so I don’t have a wealth of mics, so guitars were all done with a SM58. Classic.

MOTEL VOID: Will this track be part of your upcoming album?

SILK: I’d love to do an album, I’m not sure I’m entirely at album stage yet. I’m aiming for a mini album. 6 tracks – 3 a side, because whats an album if it isn’t on vinyl. I’ve a lot of material written, some in more advanced stages than others, some recorded and ready to go. The part that’s the slowest is the vocals, it takes me a lot of time to arrive at something I’m happy with. I’ve had a lot of positive feedback on ‘Faze’ so far which is nice but I think I’m always fighting that voice saying ‘ You can’t sing’, good thing the songs are so loud I can drown it out.

MOTEL VOID: You also play in the dream pop band Virgins, but your solo project leans toward the heavier side of the genre. What motivated you to start a solo project?

SILK: I do indeed, and write the vast majority of material for it too. I think they both satiate different creative desires for me. I’m always writing and recording new songs/demos and through this have a pretty solid idea of the direction I want Virgins to go and heavy gaze isn’t it. However, I naturally write a lot of that kind of music, which I really love, but wasn’t getting heard. I recently had a pretty significant birthday and even before then, I feel like I’m constantly running out of time, running out of life. I’m very driven to create and share my ideas, in whatever guise.

I also run a promotions company, Old Crows Promotions, I promote gigs and do PR through that, I do booking agent work as Fever Dream Touring. So I’ve engineered things that it allows me to do everything myself, if I wanna book a show I can do that myself and promote it, if I wanna book a tour, I can do that. It all comes back to that Black Flag/Fugazi/DIY way of thinking, I hate the idea of having to wait for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say ‘ok, now it’s your turn’. Silk gives me a vehicle that allows me to move from recording to release in 6 weeks if I want, and it’s a vessel for the ideas that don’t fit in Virgins but that I think still deserve to be heard. I’m very protective of Virgins and what it is so it’s important to me that it’s represented correctly.

MOTEL VOID: Who or what is your biggest inspiration right now?

SILK: At the minute I’m listening to a lot of Whirr, which is probably pretty evident on ‘Faze’. I have not stopped playing their new record, it’s a stunning piece of work. I also love Mondaze, both their records are phenomenal and Velvet, their record Romance came out last year and it’s incredible. I’d say stylistically they’re also the three biggest influences for Silk. I never thought about the whole Velvet/Silk thing until I typed that. We should do a split. Velvet, if you’re reading, have your people talk to my people. Which is me.

MOTEL VOID: Do you have any plans to tour in support of your new songs?

SILK: I’m in the process of getting a band together so I can gig. At the start of all this I thought I’d just record and maybe put a short run record out but I can’t help myself. I need to get out and do it front of people. There’s figuring out the logistics of who/how/when etc but I’d certainly love to do a short Irish tour and run of UK dates. I bought a van last year with the intention of touring, so I wanna tour! Put some miles on that clock!