Keith Freund’s Trash Can Lamb was released earlier this year on SODA GONG. Its mix of electronic sounds and acoustic instruments such as saxophone and piano, as well as various field recordings, is mesmerizing. 'Trash Can Lamb' is filled with airy and hushed motifs played on piano or saxophone, interwoven with abstract and often lo-fi sound washes and noise bursts. It causes my mind to drift and forget about reality for a while and has become one of my favorite records of the year — reason enough to reach out to Keith, who is based in Akron, OH, USA and ask some questions.

René Margraff: What was your first instrument?

K. Freund: I started playing cornet in the school orchestra in 5th grade, so … 30 years ago, sheesh!

You were/are in several bands — how does your solo stuff differ?

Well, it’s not the personnel, since the solo records often feature the same friends and neighbors in Akron as the “bands.” I don’t write out what I want contributors to play on the solo records, but I guess I feel more comfortable editing their work. So the answer is probably that with the solo work I have something specific in mind that I’m working towards, and the band stuff has more of a “let’s see what happens together” approach.

What instruments do you use?

That’s always changing. I get excited about sounds and pursue a specific palette idea via whatever instruments can get me there. As a result of this restlessness, I’m not particularly proficient at anything. On Trash Can Lamb it was a lot of piano, sax, and Ciat-Lonbarde electronics.

Which Ciat-Lonbarde stuff did you use on the album?

A lot of Cocoquantus and Sidrax, and briefly tried a Plumbutter. The Sidrax is a synth, albeit a strange one. So I plug it in and play along with things, then go in and edit down to the parts I like best. The glitchy loops are via the Coco. I just get some audio going in, usually piano meanderings, and then see what happens. The mystery and magic of Ciat-Lonbarde equipment is really appealing to me. I guess maybe I could learn how to control the results more — but I didn’t get into making music to read manuals or watch youtube tutorials! Anyway, I just fiddle with the Coco until something exciting and interesting happens, then record that. The only computer editing is to maybe delete out some sections of it later.

Your mix of electronics with acoustic instruments sounds really fluid on Trash Can Lamb. Is there a certain method/process to it? Do you always start with a more electronic/abstract loop and then add on to it, or are there several, less planned things going on? I am asking as your music is — in the best way — free and floating, but also seems quite structured and on point.

Maybe because I’m not super adept at my electronics, I usually lead with the abstract noisy sounds and loops, and then respond to and play off them with the more traditional instrumentation. I don’t have enough control over the abstract stuff to work in the other direction much.

And I’m glad the tunes sound that way to you! A sense of rhythmic meandering and drift is really important to me and runs through a lot of my favorite music, from glitch to jazz to some of the more cosmic komische projects. Overly locked-in, quantized stuff is really grating to my ears.

(Keith's studio)

If you had to pick only three instruments to work with, what would be your picks?

Tough question, because my sonic interests and tastes change often! I actually sell most of my equipment after making an album, because I’m ready to try something new. And because I don’t have much money. And because there’s a very specific sadness of unused artistic equipment, so I don’t like things hanging around getting dusty... ANYWAY, a piano is nice. I’d like to always have a piano.

ANYWAY, a piano is nice. I’d like to always have a piano.

 

That is an interesting comment — the sadness of unused artistic tools and gear. I personally also like to call it "gear guilt". Looking at stuff you haven't used in months that you could easily sell and still have more than enough devices and instruments to explore. Do you feel like you are done with the Ciat-Lonbarde stuff you currently own? I've listened to your first solo record, which is also very lovely, but I have to admit that the mix is more stunning to me on Trash Can Lamb.

I often buy things back again. If I’m patient enough, buying and selling gear can often zero out and it becomes a cheap or free rental. Ideally, people would share stuff! I have a friend, Ben, who used to live in Akron and had a studio here, he was constantly buying and selling synths. He gave me a key to the studio and I was allowed to just come and go and use his synths in the studio whenever it was quiet there. Ben’s great, I wish there were more people like him.

Also, is there a Meng Qi Wingie in the mix? I heard a few chords on the album that reminded me of it.

There is! The chords on the opening track is just me blowing into a sax without getting a tone, but that breath noise triggering the Wingie. Oh, and the field recording on “How, On Earth” is filtered through it as well. I think those are the only instances…

What are some of your all-time favorite artists, and also what are some of your more recent favorites?

Markus Popp’s (Oval) early 00s run of Ovalprocess, Ovalcommers, and SO (with Erika Toyoda) are really important to me. They always sound fresh and exciting and beautiful. I just don’t know anything else that touches those records. More recently, there’s a young local saxophonist, Ronell Regis, that I go see every chance I get. Some of my friends have a new band called “Greening” that I’m excited to hear for the first time in a couple weeks.

(one of Keith's comics)

I saw that you also put out comics. Do you think that drawing and writing also influence your music, and vice-versa?

I think the tension and balance between abstract sound and melodic movement, which is something I enjoy exploring in music, is something that also applies to telling a story through comics. In both mediums, I like to keep one foot in a more recognizable form and one in a more exploratory space. Since drawing is a more recent thing for me, it’s probably been more influenced by what I’ve learned creatively through making tunes, rather than vice-versa.

Trash Can Lamb by K. Freund is out on Soda Gong. It is available digitally and on vinyl. You can also find Keith's Instagram here.