Interview with slashpattern

Today I had the thrill of talking to my good friend and experimental-guitarist, slashpattern. 

You just released your album Vampire Patterns last year, a collaboration between you and [Valendar]. How would you describe the initial concept for this album, and was a split always in the works?

SP: I was always bugging her like, “we should do something together, you know, we should do some kind of collaborative project.” I don't think it was always going to be a split, like just my songs and her songs. I think it was supposed to be more “we make the songs together,” but somehow it evolved that way. I'm always sitting on a bunch of songs. So basically, I was just like, “Hey, let's make a split. Let's do it.” There's also there's a song on my first album, [Library Books], that's basically me and her producing together.

Awesome. Where did the name slashpattern come from?

SP: It's the most random thing and not a lot of thought was put into it. Basically, I just wanted something that sounded like a username and sounded vaguely cool. The direct source of it was it was some kind of pottery video where they took different colors of clay or ceramic that were striped, then they cut them into cubes, and then offset the rows by one like blocks, and it had “Slash Pattern” at the bottom of the screen. So yeah, that's where it's from.

That’s funny. I always assumed it was like a coding thing.

SP: Oh yeah, I wish that now. I kind of don't like the name anymore, and I don't think I'm going to use it for much longer.

Oh really? Do you have any ideas of what we're gonna change it to?

SP: No. I was playing with these people for a while. It’s over now, but we were talking about calling it Rain Rain. But then there's something I have in mind, it's like White Apple Blood Plum. But that might be a song name. I think me and Valendar want like “Something Night.”

Before the interview, you mentioned someone posted something on your Bandcamp?

SP: Yeah, people for some reason a lot of people read slashpattern as splashpattern. I was talking to [Blush Cameron] at his concert, and he was like, “wait, it's not splashpattern?!” I was like, oh. The one review on Bandcamp for Vampire Patterns is like really sweet, like it's a really nice message, but they call me splash pattern. And I'm like, like my eye is twitching. Please go back and fix that! [Laughs]

That's so funny. This is your second complete album you’ve worked on, not including your compilation. How do you think your songwriting process differed between Advice and Vampire Patterns?

SP: I don't think it's changed that much. I think both of them kind of came from sitting on a few songs and then being like, “okay, well now I want to do a song that's like XYZ,” and then crafting something around that concept, rather than just like writing something new. I guess songs on Vampire Patterns kind of have more of a less rocky sound in the sense that they're more produced.

I felt like there was more storytelling on Vampire Patterns than Advice.

SP: Yeah, I do think my lyric writing has changed a little bit in the sense that I'm trying a little harder. Lyrics are generally my least favorite part, and one of the last things I work on. I think the storytelling thing is easier when you're working with vocal synths. I find it easier to almost play a character, you know what I mean? Like I'm not the one singing it, so I can just make up whatever I want. I also think it lets me like be cornier than I would normally because I don't have to be the one singing.

Has using vocal synths impacted your music writing too?

SP: I think it impacted how I write melodies. I'm now going back into writing for my own voice and I'm finding that I'm writing stuff that I basically can't sing. Melodies that are really fast and go up and down wildly. I guess I got too used to the perfection of the machine.

What is your favorite song that you've ever written, and why?

SP: I always think of the song I did for a compilation called [Momentum Floral Sign]. I like that one in the sense that it seems like: if I didn't write it, I would still really like it. I just think I was able to get it to sound the way it sounded in my head. I really like the structure and there's a lot of cool instrumental parts.

My favorite is probably [Keep Henrietta Beautiful].

SP: Yeah, that's probably up there for me. That's probably top 4.

I also really like [Young Adult].

SP: Oh yeah, you're the biggest fan. But now I'm curious, what's your favorite song that you've written?

I think the one that I come back to the most often is probably [Together] that we did for For Sure. That one gets stuck in my head a lot, which doesn't usually happen for my own songs.

SP: Yeah, that's a good one.

Do you get your own songs stuck in your head?

SP: I find as I'm writing them I do. If I'm working on something and I’m trying to figure out what comes next, it'll basically kind of just be like playing in my head. But once they're out, not so much.

Yeah, I kinda throw them in the recycle bin, I think. But it's strange because that's usually when everyone hears them for the first time.

SP: Right, yeah, and I know this is this is such a corny rock star thing to say but, when you release it it's no longer your baby anymore, it's just kind of this thing in the ether. Like I feel like everybody who's ever written a song says that. But it's annoying that it's true.

Are you happy with what you produce and how does that compare to what you hear in your head?

SP: Yeah, almost never. I’m not great at production, but I’m not a perfectionist. I don't care enough to work on something for a thousand years until it sounds really good. I was talking to Jon Corium. He came over to my house and he was like, “I can't believe you're mixing music the way you are!” I record everything with one microphone, and I mix things with earbuds and Logitech computer speakers. My setup is just like really janky.

What artists inspired you to start recording and releasing music and who are your main inspirations currently?

SP: In terms of artists, I remember the Origami Angel album [Gami Gang]. I remember listening to and just thinking like, this is it. This is what music should be, you know, it's so fast, got so many parts, so hooky, so dynamic, it sounds good. And it’s funny because I almost never listen to that album anymore. I think that came out like the year I did Advice.

How would you describe your sound?

SP:  I mean, when I talk about vocabulary, I pretty much mean like pop-punk. You know, kind of power-chord centric and with break downs, going half time for no reason, corny stuff like that. Emo and J-rock have had a huge impact on my taste. And just like straight capital “P”: Power-Pop and Pop-Rock.

What is your biggest claim to fame?

SP: I would say I know Blush Cameron. He’s a good friend of mine. I met the guy from Remo Drive when I was 16. Oh! My car was in a Strange Ranger music video: She’s On Fire. That’s my car in that music video that they’re driving!

What’s something you’re into right now?

SP: I’m playing a game called Little Goody Two Shoes. It’s extremely beautiful, the illustration work is amazing, there's all these mixed media parts, there's musical segments, pixel art, and hand drawn stuff. It's just astounding, but the problem is the main gameplay loop is boring as hell. It's the kind of game you play and just keep your eyes wide open. I feel like I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about it. I even mentioned it in Discord servers like, “Hey, does anybody know about this game?” And somebody responds like, “oh yeah, I bought it when it was on sale and I never played it,” and then somebody else was like, “I also have it, but I've only played 10 min.” I'm like, what the hell? Is nobody playing this game? Like, is it bad? Is it fucked up? But yeah, I'm halfway through, so I gotta see.

SP: I'm also obsessed with Kasane Teto right now, the vocal synth. They did a western or English language compilation album called Daemon/Doll, and I’m really, really into it. I was just talking with Valendar about it. We're going to the [Miku Expo] in May. I'm gonna wear a shirt that says like, “Teto Expo When?”

You should! How have some of these interests inspired your music?

SP: That's a good question. When I was in like middle school, I kinda got into like capital-M music. Before that, I was mostly listening to like video game music and anime music. And then I discovered Weezer in late middle school and early high school. That probably imbued some kind of musical sensibilities, like melody in me. And then of course, Japanese music in general. I got more into rock like J-Rock, which has a unique guitar tone. That probably rubbed off on me a little.

You graduated college, you're working full time. How is that experience for you and how did it impact your music?

SP: Being in college kind of granted me a bunch of music related resources that helped me. I took music classes so I know some musicians. Also, I worked for the radio station and they had a drum kit in the studio! I would go there late at night and record that. And what really pisses me off is that right after I graduated, they added a bunch of like practice rooms that are fully set up with drum kits!

For those inspired by you, what advice would you give to musicians that want to write and record songs?

SP: I guess just do it. I couldn't find people who had the same sensibilities as me or I just didn't care enough to, so at some point I just had the realization like, “Okay I just gotta make the music myself, I gotta do the drums myself, I gotta sing it myself, I gotta write everything myself. I'm not gonna find the perfect group of people, or at least not right now.” I've had people come to me saying like, “Seeing you make an album made me confident that I could do it.” If I can inspire other people to have that same realization, then I’d be pleased.

Is there any advice that you wish someone told you before you started?

SP: Oh, use compression on master. Nobody told me that. You can put compression on the master channel, which makes everything sound better than real life.

It sounds huge.

SP: Exactly, and you can definitely overdo it, but that's like an easy trick to make any music you're working on sound like twice as good.

I have Vampire Patterns on CD, which includes 4 bonus tracks, and it kicks ass. What is your opinion on physical media?

SP: Go buy it! [Laughs] I’m a fan. I’m a fetishizer. I like going through the booklets, I like having a big ass shelf and looking at them, I have a CD player. Also, I have an old ass car so it doesn't play Bluetooth or anything.

Which is in the Strange Ranger music video.

SP: [Laughs] Yes, go check that out too. I like physical media. I like collecting it. I have a shelf. I try not to collect for the sake of collecting. I do have that kind of mentality of like, “that's rare, I should get it; this looks cool, I want it.” So yeah, I kind of have to push down that side of me, but I love that shit. I cannot lie.

Do you have a favorite album you own?

SP: Let's see, I have the White Album on vinyl, signed. I have a Broom picture disc. I don't even know why they did that. I have the Ecco2k album E and it's in like this weird trigger case and it like pops out.

What's next for slashpattern?

SP: I’m formulating the second album. It's basically like probably 2/3 written and then I basically have to record all of it. It's more of a straightforward Power-Pop Pop-Punk album. But yeah, I was thinking of maybe just doing that album and then like, retiring the name and doing something else.

Wow, I'm really excited for that. Do you have a title in the works?

SP: Yeah! I wanna call it like Art or Art Addicts. It’s kind of about writing and consuming art and appreciating art, stuff like that.

That sounds awesome. Thank you so much for doing this interview with me!

SP: My pleasure. I'm looking forward to the next newsletter. First one was awesome. I'm looking forward to any new music from you!

You can find slashpattern’s music on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms.