Mark Harris is active
as a solo ambient artist and JOHN 3:16 is the project of Philippe Gerber
creating apocalyptic fields of sound. On ‘Victory Over The Sun’ - the name
comes from the first futurist opera from 1913 - they have joined up to make something
that we described as ‘a steamroller of sound that rolls over you, at times
soothing and extremely interesting.’ We heard out both artists on this
remarkable and successful cooperation.
Hi Philippe and Mark. You just released a collaboration
CD under the name ‘Victory Over The Sun’. Why did you choose that title for
your CD?
Mark Harris:
It came about when working on our first track together, which became the title
track. It was way more conventional as we were still finding our feet on the
project. Then Philippe said: ‘hold on I'm doing it again’, and he proceeded to
rip it all to bits and to add a mind shredding guitar part... It was a classic
light bulb moment and I emailed him back saying: ‘Wow!! Sound's like you
“punched a hole in the sun”’. And Philippe was like ‘That's it. That's what we
call the project.” I've always been into the Russian Constructivists and always
loved the set designs for the 1913 Constructivist opera ‘Victory over the Sun’ created
by Malevich. It caused a riot when performed. So we went with that.
Philippe Gerber:
From the start, I knew the title and the album concept would have to be
connected to cosmology. I envisioned what we would come up with together
musically speaking before we started recording anything. I dreamed of black holes,
dead stars and more. When Mark came up with the idea of naming our album
‘Victory Over The Sun’, I was excited. At the time, I was already working on
the new JOHN 3:16 album ‘The Sun Shall Be Turned Into Darkness, and The Moon
Into Blood...’ and it seemed like the perfect name for our work.
How did you meet and how did you decide to work
together on this project?
Mark Harris:
It was via soundcloud - Philippe's work kept on turning up in my feed and I
posted the odd comment that I really liked the apocalyptic feel to his work -
and Philippe was into what I was doing as well so we began exchanging CD's when
we had a release so it when from there. I had just released ‘In the forests_
the animals are moving’ on n5md, which used some live heavily processed
prepared tabletop guitar played by me... So I was kind of thinking of taking my
work in a harder, more aggressive route… and then as if by magic Philippe
emailed me and suggested we work together on a project...
Philippe Gerber:
I have been following the label n5md since it’s beginning in 2000. One of my
favorite artists on the label is Mark. He's one of the best ambient artists out
there. His albums are magical. I have a list of artists I want to work with
(most of them are dead now), and Mark is on it. When he agreed to work on
something after I got in touch with him, I knew we would come up with something
people would be excited about.
Mark wrote on his website: ‘It has pushed us both
outside our comfort zone and created something we would not have attempted
individually.’ How did you work?
Mark Harris:
Well, nearly all of my work is kind of ambient, kind of dark ambient, but
ambient non the less... And Philippe works at the outer reaches of mega intense
rock (for want of a better description)... Philippe (correct me if I'm wrong
here, Philippe) has a more intuitive, gutsy, in the moment way of working...
whereas I tend toward an intellectual, considered, SLOW way of working that
will listen to the same piece for months (literally) before making a tiny tweak...
I would send a studio improvisation to Philippe and literally within the week
he would send me 5+ tracks of guitar and drum parts as a response... It took a
while to process. Everything he did was unexpected but totally spot on...
Working with Philippe definitely changed the way I worked and altered the way I
look at music making...
Philippe Gerber:
For my solo albums, I usually start a song from scratch based on a beat, a
guitar riff or a sample. The way I worked with Mark was different. I had to sit
and listen to what he sent me before I could record guitar or bass parts. I had
to sing some of the parts to find the right melodies. I didn't write anything
down. For some of the songs, I recorded up to 30 harmonized guitar tracks. I
sent the best 5-6 ones to Mark.
What do you think are the requirements for a good
collaboration?
Mark Harris:
I think the main thing is working with someone who has a totally different
approach to you... otherwise you just end up producing more of the
same...
Philippe Gerber:
Mutual respect and musical maturity.
Mark, you make music with field recordings and
computers, and you are also active as a visual artist. Can you tell us more
about your art?
Mark Harris:
Well, I studied as a painter but always had a strong interest in systems and
process art. Which is how I found my way into music. In the early 2000's I
started producing generative animations (animations which run but will never
repeat). These gradually started to use audio - then audio only... I have
always been into systems music like Steve Riech, and English composers like
Michael Nyman and Gavin Bryars. And of course Brian Eno. That's how that
started, the last series of work I produced were based on automatic writing and
drawing - where you supposedly tap into the subconscious - and then ran though
3D modeling software. The result was painted by hand. There are some examples
on the website if you fancy a look...
Philippe, why wasn't the CD released through Alrealon
musique, the label of which you are one of the managers?
Philippe Gerber:
I'm trying to release my JOHN 3:16 albums on other labels. I'm trying to
separate both entities: Alrealon and JOHN 3:16. I want to reach a larger
audience by releasing my music on different labels. It's also hard to be managing
a label while promoting your own work. Little Crackd Rabbit Records did a great
job with the promo, I wouldn't have done it better. I'm also proud to be part
of their roster.
JOHN 3:16 was born with the concept of making music
with religious and biblical references. I can't find any on this CD. What are
your future plans with this project?
Philippe Gerber:
For me everything is connected to religion. Stephen Hawking has proved that
there is an existing link between the Universe and our concept of deity (yet to
be found). For me, ‘Victory Over The Sun’ with title tracks like ‘Requiem for
The Lost’ or ‘The Angry Moon’ has a Biblical tone in consonance with my
previous works. As JOHN 3:16, I'm still working on two releases coming up this
year. The first one is a CD compilation of B-sides I recorded the last ten
years as JOHN 3:16 (I can't believe I started the project in 2007). The second
one is the album untitled ‘The Sun Shall Be Turned Into Darkness, and The Moon
Into Blood...’ and tells the story of the Apocalypse as seen by John the
Apostle (Book of Revelation, A.D. 96). I started recording it in early 2016 and
it should be ready by the end of March (James Plotkin will be taking care of
the mastering). We are planning to record a new album with Mark later this
year. I'm really looking forward to it. I started a new collaboration with
Belgium-based artist Be The Hammer, it's something I'm excited about as well.
I'm hoping to play more shows this year too. I'm so busy with Alrealon and my
studio projects, it's hard to find time to go out there and play.
Mark, what are your plans for the future?
Mark Harris:
Well the next thing is a remix project put together by Bigo Twigetti and
Moderna Records - where a number of artists remix a track by the composer
Madeline Cocolas. I work full time as a graphic designer so I only have a week
off to produce something... which is a nightmare for someone who take months to
produce anything.... Philippe and me are planning a next release and are
looking to work with a cellist and violinist, so watch this space. Other
than that I've got the problem every other artist has: how to make a living from
doing something I love... if anyone has an answer please call me! I'm also
thinking of ditching computers and working with live instruments entirely. How
this will work? I have now idea, and as I got very very ill in 2015 and
suffered a stroke. I can't play guitar anymore this will definitely take a lot
of planning.... Philippe and I would ideally like to work together live (as we
have only worked via the internet up till now). The fact there is a large body
of water between us - I work in the UK and Phillippe is in the US - is not
helpful. We will be looking at playing a few festivals together, at how the
setup works and how we interact live. It would be interesting!
Interview: Xavier Kruth