Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 47th installment of “The Mohr Show.” You may remember Karl from such Pretending to be Japanese posts as all of them. But on this, a happy special day, I managed to sit him down for a little interview. Here is what transpired:

Jocelyn: How does the songwriting process work for you? How do you come up with the concepts for your music? For example, “Storyline,” what’s the idea behind that?

Karl: I start with rhythms that I sample from Michael Jackson, I add harmonic process from the Backstreet Boys and then I put on the Spice Girls and get out my notepad and slowly come up with some lyrics.  KIDDING!

Actually the songwriting process usually starts with creating feels and moods and harmonies with evolved musical tracks and then I write lyrics to the moods conjured.

This was my old process - it’s starting to change to put harmony first. In the old days, I was pattern and loop based. Now I like to know what the overall harmonic plan will be for a track before i invest in the poetry of the thing.

In the case of my latest record, I was pulling the songs together based on the emotional landscape of the film Trainspotting. This film had such a sense of ongoing struggle mixed with nostalgia and bittersweetness. A perfect Karl Mohr zone. Plus I wanted to go a little more glam.

The Storyline lyrics were evolved from the goo-gah effect which I do not wish to encourage in the future (faking out random subconscious lyrics and then drawing sense into them later). When I write from my subconscious I also psychically predict the future which is greatly disturbing.

Jocelyn: So you’re not only a musician, but a seer as well?

Karl: I think we all are to some degree, but most of us have lost it thanks to complete lack of attention to our natural instincts.  When I go totally random and senseless and automatic-writing, yes, I can see into my own future timeline a little.

Jocelyn: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Karl: Luckily I haven’t been writing lyrics lately: I have no idea!!! Seriously, I do see some huge musical shift away from my ‘dark electronic’ roots and towards more positive, major key songs of gratitude, peace and reverence.

Jocelyn: So things are getting better.

Karl: Techno has a huge following.  Dark rock has a huge following.  Darkwave, and it’s other similes, in my view, is a genre which is dying where other musical genres are flourishing.  I’m eager to embrace more people.  Fans of my music seem to lock into the creative, unusual forms of expression and ideas — i think it’s possible to continue this pursuit without delimiting oneself to a particular genre.  Life is too short to worry if your black lipstick is on straight.

Jocelyn: What are your plans for Full Moon Film?

Karl: The record is nearing completion after three years. The epic monstrosities “Come Hither Moon” and “Hades Has Risen” will be remixed - and the shape of the final record is now in place — it’s a marvelous feeling.  I’m still shopping the album around to labels and distributors.  I’m hoping to get some serious deals, as the record is a serious masterpiece — I say this hating most of what I do.

I have a feeling that my music career will support a late blooming.  I’ve been giving steady support to my endeavours in a serious way for many years - and the fruition level is now massive.  So time to get touring and blow some venues off their hinges.

Jocelyn: Well I look forward to seeing you in Vancouver. I say this not hating most of what you do.

What’s your proudest achievement thus far?

Karl: I continue to be inspired by the genuine, magical moments in life - this is a brutal Hallmark statement, so I’ll expand on this.  To me, there is an inverse relationship between the intimacy of a connection and the number of people connected with.  Therefore, 1:1 intimacy is generally considered most intimate.  Wild parties with 12 people in a small room can be more intensely ecstatic than the wilder throng.  And so I’ve been most proud of the strongest musical connections I’ve made playing live… and the strongest are the most intense, and often most unplanned moments.

I remember busking on Queen St W with Joey deVilla, both of us on shiny black Italian accordions, playing industrial and rock tunes - and the wind changing and suddenly we’re playing tango, and people start tangoing on the street right in front of us.  It’s moments like this that I cherish most, and because they have a supernatural influence feel to them, I don’t feel guilty in expressing pride about those moments.  I’ve done soundtrack and sound editing work that I could go on about, but the ability to shift moods of groups of people - to flip emotions into a new/better mode, to tap people into meaningfulness - this is a giant thing and it fulfills greatly.

Jocelyn: What do you want people to take away from your music?

Karl: The same thing I want to take away from other people’s music - I want to be transported.

I’ve never focused much on instruments, technique, or even structure — my first line of enjoyment is the mood, essence, environment created from the work.  And so I do that too - I try to create a royal velvet cloak and wrap it around my listener.

Jocelyn: What do you do when you’re not making music?

Karl: I often produce and/or engineer other people’s music.  I do music mastering.  I also get into modes as a film sound editor from time to time.  These all give me keys and clues that I re-invest back into my musical/creative life.  Between the basics of survival and feeding the musical mouth, my days are pretty busy.  I do have a pet wish to act on stage or screen as well, but I’m doing my best to limit the number of active vectors at any one time.

Jocelyn: Top five favourite bands. Go.

Karl: I’m a really tough critic - I really dig my teeth into very few bands, so when I like something it’s constant rotation forever.

1. Art Brut (nice to have real punk rock, read: ideas )

2. Muse (armonic prog brilliance)

3. Interpol (take me to another universe)

4. Meat Beat Manifesto (an old fave)

5. Antony & the Johnsons (a new fave, a model for closer to the type of music I’d like to be doing)

Jocelyn: “Hope There’s Someone” is an incredible song. I never get tired of it.  If you’re going in the direction of Antony & the Johnsons, I expect to see you carrying around a purple purse. I’ll be checking.

Karl: Despite my inability to sing from the artist voice of a gay man, I think the utter freedom evoked is astounding.  More artists need to free themselves from paradigms… this is an era where almost EVERY artist clings to, or relies on paradigms. Antony & the Johnsons’ cover of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” is spine-tingling.

Jocelyn: A lot of their stuff is spine-tingling. Antony sings with the pain of 10,000 men. That’s really remarkable, I think. I admire you for wanting to go in that direction.

Karl: I think in the past i was the wailing wall for all of civilization… it’s the intimacy and innate positivity I’m after.  I’m also totally zoning in on what the Tindersticks have accomplished - that sort of stylish organic power, but I’m tired of being dark.  Music should be freedom from the drudge not an addition to it…  I have a talent for writing powerful dark scary narratives.  I just do.  But I want to opt out and re-steer these talents.

Jocelyn: Well I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Karl: The new material is writing itself at the moment… lots of clean electric guitar, pretty tones, major 7th chords and jazzy loungey feels.  I have come upon this space partly from working with Eric Reid on Laugh Out Loud.  In my helping him steer his sound, we navigated to a party place that was surprisingly fulfilling for me.  While it seems Eric is thinking of moving out of less of a fun, glib sound, it still excites me…  jazz flute in a house music context - tijuana trumpets with genuine warmth and songs about commitment and freedom from boredom.  Yeah, i guess it’s still a little nebulous House of Whoknows…

Jocelyn:  I suppose we’ll all have to boldly move into the future and see what happens.

Karl: Quite rightly.

Jocelyn: I think that’s about it, Karl! Do you have anything else you’d like to say?

Karl: Yes, slowly I’m releasing some of my older albums.  1998 “Be Careful What You Wish For” — one hell of a ride — is now available, with the rest of my albums, at iTunes.

You heard the man, kids. And while you’re at it, check out his demo for “Storyline” on the PTBJ downloads page.

Posted by Jocelyn