The
relationship between pop music and New Age music has existed for many
years. Even rock bands like The Beatles and YES understood the value
of contemplative music designed to both soothe and inspire their fans.
Not surprisingly, many New Age artists have backgrounds in both instrumental
and pop-rock music. A good example is New Jersey based artist Russell
Suereth. Russell made great inroads into the instrumental New
Age field with his 2015 album Spiritual Haven, and late in
2017 he released his follow-up album, Spiritual Odyssey. In
a twist of fate, Russell goes back to his pop roots for the ten-track
Spiritual Odyssey album. The mood of the Spiritual Odyssey
album is very New Age in feel yet, the pop-like vocals and toe-tapping
rhythms gives Spiritual Odyssey a very different kind
of sound from Spiritual Haven. The feel of Spiritual Odyssey
contains traces of late 1960s West Coast pop, ala Gary Usher and
Brian Wilson, and a definite East Coast pop sound from mid 60s
pop icons like Paul Simon and even the breezy pop trio The Cyrkle,
albeit from a 21st century New Age / electronic perspective. Speaking
about the New Age meets pop-like effect on Spiritual Odyssey, Russ
tells mwe3.com, I wanted to have the first couple of songs
be more familiar to listeners, because some songs later in the album
can be quite different. There are some hints of 1960s in these songs.
For instance, Its All Around has hints of popular
love songs from back then, and the Walls Are Tumbling
has some folk tones from the Kingston Trio. If there is
such a thing as New Age pop, it truly comes to life on Spiritual
Odyssey. Although Spiritual Odyssey is very much Russells
baby, several producers, mixers and programmers help give the album
a most unique sonic sheen. Filled with uplifting lyrics, haunting
melodies and electronic wizardry, Spiritual Odyssey is a momentous
New Age pop album designed to recharge your karmic batteries.
mwe3.com presents an interview with
RUSSELL SUERETH
The Spiritual Odyssey interview
mwe3:
The change of direction on Spiritual Odyssey came as a pleasant
surprise, showing your side as a vocalist / pop composer. Is this
new direction a clear change from your album Spiritual Haven and
aside from your vocals, how would you compare the two albums?
Russell Suereth: When I started creating the Spiritual Odyssey
album I wanted to make something that had a creative and spiritual
feel to it. I also wanted to bring more of myself to the album and
felt that adding my vocals would do that. Youre right, what
came out of it was a result thats much different from the Spiritual
Haven album.
This new album is also different because of the electronic instrumentation
in it. I created all the main electronic instruments for this album,
and if you listen closely theres a lot of cool subtle nuances
and sounds in these instruments. I think these nuances add an interesting
layer of detail to the songs.
mwe3: Speaking about all things spiritual how did
you come to start the Spiritual
Fizz podcast? When did you start it and what are your goals and
purpose with the podcast and, as a follow up, are you planning to
make other spiritual-based albums as a follow up to the Spiritual
Odyssey album?
Russell Suereth: Thats a good question. I started an
e-magazine about a year ago titled the Spiritual Fizz magazine. I
had a lot of interesting guest columnists and it was a lot of fun,
but it wasnt going exactly where I wanted. So I had this idea
of doing a podcast based on the magazine. The Spiritual Fizz podcast
has been even more fun. In every episode we have a featured guest
who discusses their spiritual experiences or insights, we hear about
an important spiritual place in the world, and learn about some upcoming
spiritual observances.
mwe3: On Spiritual Odyssey were you just as much concerned
about getting the melodies to be at their most effective as you were
about the getting the audio sound perfect? Seems like you gave a lot
of thought to all the chords and key changes, so the whole album sounds
elevated. Plus, the chord / key changes are very unique sounding.
Did you have any other parameters in making the album?
Russell Suereth: I spent about a year working on the structure
and lyrics of those songs. There were quite a few major changes along
the way. They started with the same basic keys and chord structures
that they have today. Keys and chords to me are always a game between
my creativity and preferences, versus what I think listeners would
enjoy. The result is a balance between those two, with each song having
a different level on that balance.
As
far as the lyrics go, these songs originally had a lot more lyrics
to them. I kept paring them down until I wound up with a small amount.
To me the lyrics in a song help provide imagery. Ironically, that
imagery can work better when there are fewer lyrics. A small number
of words can allow the listener to focus on a clear image from the
song.
The audio sound was probably an additional year in the works. That
year was spent creating instruments, fitting them together in the
soundscape, and trying to make each song an immersive experience for
the listener.
mwe3: You have an interesting team with the various audio /
production consultants and contributors on the Spiritual Odyssey
album. How did you meet up with Miklos Malek? What was done in the
mixing and mastering process to get that amazing studio sound?
Russell Suereth: Thank you, Im very proud of the team
on this album. I had worked with another team prior to this one and
I wasnt happy with the results because we werent on the
same page. But this production team of Jeff Silverman, Aeone, and
with Byron Metcalf for percussion was unbelievable. Theyre great
to work with, and very insightful and detailed. I love that.
Once the main production was completed, I really wanted the album
to have a particular tone that highlighted the creativity and spiritual
quality I was looking for. I had known Miklos a little through the
Recording Academy for the Grammy awards, and I asked him if he was
available for the project. Im so glad he was able to work on
this album because I think that he helped create a layer in the soundscape
that really puts a fantastic depth and polish on it.
Of course nothing is simple or easy, and the same goes with any audio
project. Everyone has different ideas and tastes, and so theres
a lot of going back and forth about the details and the overall soundscape.
Its important to remember that, as the creator and producer
of the project the main vision is yours, and its your responsibility
to convey that to the other people in the project and get them to
see your vision. In a way, youre the orchestra conductor and
the rest of the team are the players. The different nuances and energies
in each part of each song are your responsibility to express and teach.
mwe3: What was your instrument set up this time? What synths
and keyboards did you play on Spiritual Odyssey and did you
use other instrumentation compared to your other album Spiritual
Haven?
Russell Suereth: Probably the biggest difference in the
instrumentation was that I used Omnisphere in Spiritual Odyssey.
Omnisphere is a synth and instrument creation tool that has a lot
a sound and layering capabilities. It takes a while to get used to
it, but if you stick with it long enough you can create fantastic
sounds. I think Einstein said that he didnt regard himself to
be smarter than his peers, he just worked longer on problems than
they did. Im certainly no Einstein but I think that sticking
with a problem is an interesting perspective.
mwe3: The album sounds more like a pop painting in audio form.
What else can you tell us about the recording process and how about
the album graphics?
Russell
Suereth: Im very visually oriented, so when I create audio
Im really creating a painting in an audio form. I did the album
graphics myself. All of the graphics are original or repurposed images
that I completely recreated. Sometimes I think that I spend too much
time doing these things by myself and that I should get someone to
do them for me instead. But then I think, why should they have fun
doing that when its something I want to do? I just love creating
things.
mwe3: Break The Chains and My Beating Heart
reminded me a lot of 1960s pop ala Nilsson or Simon & Garfunkel
but played in a New Age electronic style. On Spiritual Odyssey,
did you try to merge pop through the decades to come up with a
kind of 21st century "Future Pop" or "Computer pop"?
Russell Suereth: I wanted to have the first couple of songs
be more familiar to listeners, because some songs later in the album
can be quite different. There are some hints of 1960s in these songs.
For instance, Its All Around has hints of popular
love songs from back then, and the Walls Are Tumbling
has some folk tones from the Kingston Trio.
mwe3: By playing and recording your music like this, did you
set out to create a kind of ethereal or relaxing and therapeutic approach
to pop, for example Where Will I Go
is that a positive
song?
Russell Suereth: Well, I really wasnt trying to create
something for a specific genre. I was, though, trying to create songs
that have a balance of thoughtfulness and creativity, mixed of course
with tones that could help the listener get into a spiritual state
of existence.
mwe3: The subject of sci-fi is brought to light on A
Ride To Virgo. Did the whole Spiritual Odyssey album
come to light like an interstellar music trip in your mind? The concept
of an odyssey in a song is an intriguing idea.
Russell Suereth: To me, A Ride to Virgo is very
visual and evokes images of space and stellar travel. The tone in
some places can be soft to depict loneliness in space. This song is
mainly about a trip, and trips can be filled with love and sometimes
with heartache. No trip ever goes as planned, especially long ones.
This song is no exception.
mwe3: Is So Far Away the most pop-conscious song
on the album? Did you write it about someone in particular?
Russell
Suereth: When I created this song, I envisioned a light song that
I guess you could say has a pop-ish feel. I didnt have any person
in mind in this song, though I think that it conveys the feeling of
losing someone. That person may still be out there, in some type of
existence. But its a long way to where they are
if you
could ever really get there.
mwe3: The Hidden Dance sounds like a Déjà
vu experience. Is Déjà vu a real thing in your estimation
or are things like ESP and Déjà vu more quirky parts
of being human?
Russell Suereth: I agree. The Hidden Dance describes
a part of the universe thats hard to see, but that we feel exists
in some degree. Whether we call it ESP or whatever words we use, it
does seem like something that we all experience in various forms.
mwe3: Is Its All Around a future pop love
song? Its a kind of universal love song.
Russell Suereth: This song has two forms. On one hand its
a simple love song that you can apply to the lover in your life. On
the other hand it describes the love and beauty of the spiritual existence
that exists everywhere and always. For me, the song takes both forms,
which makes it fun and interesting.
mwe3: The Walls Are Tumbling is another sci-fi
song. I like the beat and rhythm of the track. Its pretty accessible!
Russell Suereth: The Walls Are Tumbling is about
shattering the constraints that let you see the world as it really
exists. That message takes the form of a galactic journey in the song.
Its one of my favorite songs on the album, maybe because I feel
there are more contrasts in this song, and I love contrasts. Im
glad you enjoy the rhythm because Miklos Malek did the bass on this
song and it really gives the song that extra push like a never-ending
groove, which I love.
mwe3:
Seed Of Imagery is kind of mantra-like so the sound is
very key in that there are only five words in the song. The special
effects on this song and, in fact all of them, are truly mind-boggling.
Russell Suereth: This song is quite different from the rest
because it has more of an ambient feel to it. It was basically a regular
song originally, but I never liked how it sounded no matter how much
I changed it. So I removed all the main lyrics and only kept the chorus.
I modified it to be very ambient and moved the chorus to the end.
This song actually has far fewer instruments and fewer layers in it,
and it has no percussion. I think that helps the effects and instrumentation
be much more noticeable.
mwe3: Is A Burning Rainbow upbeat or not? The analogy
of a rainbow burning is a bit startling or, is it just a different
way to see things in our world of contrasts? Why did you close the
album with A Burning Rainbow?
Russell Suereth: Thats a good question. A Burning
Rainbow isnt necessarily upbeat or happy, nor is it necessarily
sad. Its simply depicting the vision or creation that the listener
is experiencing. I think that good and bad are words we use in our
language to describe things, and were taught to view existence
from that perspective. But there are certainly many other perspectives
that can be used to experience the world around us.
The rainbow at the end of the album depicts the creativity that can
arise from a spiritual journey. But its not an ordinary rainbow.
Instead, it joins a multitude of different tones and shades that can
blend and move together. In this song, Im using the term burning
to depict that blending, and also to signify an end to an ordinary
way of looking at the world.
mwe3:
In addition to getting the word out about Spiritual Odyssey what
else are you planning and looking forward to in 2018 and how do you
stay upbeat about the future?
Russell Suereth: Well, I plan on spending a lot of time working
on the Spiritual Fizz podcast and getting the word out on it. I think
that it provides important topics and discussions in a way thats
easily accessible to people. Each one of us, me included, can benefit
by spending more time in a mindful and spiritual manner