GIANT GUTTER FROM OUTER SPACE was born from the encounter of two musicians driven to the execution of experimental instrumental music and the urge to take it as far as possible. Only 6 months after the release of their first EP “Set Adrift” and a follow up record “Stumm” on Sinewave Label, Terranean Recordings, and Splitting Sounds Records, the duo is back with its first full-length. “Black Bile” is a work of mystery, complexity and great musical imagination, made with unrestrained freedom. Composed with a mixture of various cross-genre elements, this material creates a perfect foundation for absorbing live performances full of creative, mathematical improvisation. A well oiled machine. Let it entrance your mind and find out more about GIANT GUTTER FROM OUTER SPACE through the interview below.
Photo by Pri Oliveira.
Hey there maestros! Given the complexity and the avant gaarde nature of your recent recordings, that’s what we should address you, right? :) How are you? How’s Curitiba doing this fine Spring?
Hi, Karol! No, please, we’re just underground self-learner musicians. I’m fine, and I hope this interview finds you well too. Regarding Curitiba weather, it’s ok! As you may know, Curitiba, and some other cities in the south of Brazil, is kind of cold, so it’s getting colder here and I like it.
Due to my massive UFC/MMA addiction as of late, my first association with the city is the upcoming huge UFC event coming up on May 14th, haha. How cold will it get? Thankfully, it’s getting warmer and warmer on my end here in Warsaw.
Well, in May the weather is usually pleasant, the temperature average stays at about 18 degrees. But in winter, mainly in July and August, it gets colder, sometimes to temperatures below zero.
What would be your comments on the independent music scene in Curitiba? How does it look like when it comes to variety of independent art, DIY shows, artists, etc. and how thriving is your local community of young artists?
The independent music scene in Curitiba is very productive. I mean, there are a lot of good artists, musicians and bands working as hard as hell and doing almost everything possible by themselves to make it happen. However, having in mind that here in Brazil we are going through a pretty bad economic situation, I would say that things are getting harder and harder. Nevertheless, and with the cooperation of everyone involved in this scenario, I am sure we will make it thrive. Let’s see!
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To what do you owe your interest in this kind of experimental instrumental work? How did you come up with the idea for this minimal, yet so substantial pairing?
I owe that to my necessity to avoid labels that stifle my creative output. So it’s not an interest, but a need. It was not an idea to be a duo. But since we’ve started working like this and it just went well, we’ve decided to keep it this way. Moreover, we’ve realized that as a duo things are easier to be done.
What was your first impression of your instrumental abilities when you first heard each other’s music?
Hernan is a great musician and bass player. However, the first impression I had regarding his instrumental abilities was when we started playing together, about 15 years ago. So to be honest I don’t really remember which impression I actually had. But if we’re still working together, it probably was a good one (laughs). Anyway, when we’re talking about Giant Gutter, I would rather say that our abilities are intertwined. As a duo, I don’t see his abilities without mine.
Are you actively seeking to connect with more musicians to back you up, fill in with more sounds and form a full band? What are your thoughts on that?
Our music is very fluid. And we are always open to new experiences. We like to go with the flow.
Go with the flow, I really like this expression.
Do you try to invent something groundbreaking with this project? Has everything there is to say in instrumental music really been said?
No, I don’t think we are trying to invent something groundbreaking with this project. But with our music, without even realizing it, I guess we’re somehow reinventing ourselves. I don’t believe that everything regarding music, whichever kind, has already been said. And I am glad it will never be, but please don’t ask me why (laughs).
What do you find to be most challenging about running this band as a duo?
Only sharing the bills! (laughs) And I really mean it… There are not any other challenges I have noticed or faced so far.
What is the creative process for a drum’n’bass duo when coming out with a new composition?
We just come up with ideas and make the magic (laughs) happen. Although the ideas are usually thought “individually”, we work with them together in a way that the original (“individual”) idea is collectivized, turned into something else.
Does outside-music inspirations like literature, photography, movies, travels or architecture play a role in your music? How subtle, varied or direct influences do you have?
Yes, it does, indeed! But I couldn’t say which subtle, varied or direct influences I have, they are so many. I could try to name a couple that just came to my mind and I know have affected directly and/or indirectly our music: in literature, for instance, I would mention André Breton, Paul Éluard, Fernando Lemos, Paul Celan, among many others; in photography, I would name André Kertész, Man Ray, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy…; regarding movies, I could name some directors that have influenced my perceptions in music, like Bela Tárr, Ingmar Bergman, Aki Kaurismäki, Jim Jarmush…; travels also, but I don’t think it would be necessary to name places; and also architecture, which surrounds the inspirations just mentioned.
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The new 2-song effort follow your recent EP called “Set Adrift”. Are these forerunners of your debut full length? What are you working on now?
Yes, those releases are the forerunners of our full-length, which is actually already coming out on May 3rd. This new release is called “Black Bile”. It will be digitally released by Sinewave Net Label, Terranean Recordings and Splitting Sounds Records. As a transparent 2xLP, the release will be in charge of Lombra Records. “Black Bile” was recorded at Clínica Studio in Curitiba, Brazil, with the production of a flamenco musician called Murillo da Rós. Its artwork came from our longstanding partner, photographer and designer, Cesinha Marin. By now we’ve just recorded a new EP, called “The Edge Within”. We still don’t know when and how it will be released.
Do you have any touring plans? Can we expect some live gigs from the GIANT GUTTER FROM OUTER SPACE?
We toured in Brazil for the last months. By now, for personal matters, we are going to give a break on gigs until the end of this year. However, we won’t stop working with Giant Gutter. That is to say that from outer space we still have releases to come out and new songs to be composed. We’re still considering a tour in Europe. But I couldn’t tell you when exactly.
Cool!
Lastly, what would you say characterize your music philosophy in general?
Well, I would summarize saying that our philosophy is driven to the execution of heavy, rough, experimental and, as far as possible, unrestrained music.
With a time machine, where would you want to go for a day or two?
I don’t know… I guess I would rather giving this machine away then choosing to go somewhere else in time. I like to have the expectations of the future and the selective memories of the past.
Ok, thanks so much for your time and precious thoughts! It’s been a pleasure. Be sure to hook up with IDIOTEQ for another feature in the future and take care!
Karol, it was a pleasure talking to you, and I would like to thank you for giving the GIANT GUTTER FROM OUTER SPACE the opportunity of be interviewed. Of course it’s going to be an honor to talk to IDIOTEQ again. And I can’t wait to hook you up for another chat. All the best!
Nourish the black bile within, dear friends!
