Neglect Avoid INTERVIEw
with Aidan Baker
with Aidan Baker
"I suppose one must be courageous and try and return to some sort of normalcy"
Aidan Baker talks about new Nadja and solo material, his feelings for coming back on stage after the worldwide lockdown and his collaborations
Neglect Avoid: How does it feel to come back on stage — in Germany and abroad — after the worldwide lockdown?
Aidan Baker: It feels a little strange being on stage again... Though of course the conditions and restrictions are different in every country — even different cities in the same country — so, the experience of playing can vary quite a lot, depending where the concert is happening. It can be difficult not to feel paranoid about being out amongst the public again but I suppose one must be courageous and try and return to some sort of normalcy.
Aidan Baker: It feels a little strange being on stage again... Though of course the conditions and restrictions are different in every country — even different cities in the same country — so, the experience of playing can vary quite a lot, depending where the concert is happening. It can be difficult not to feel paranoid about being out amongst the public again but I suppose one must be courageous and try and return to some sort of normalcy.
Neglect Avoid: You have come to Russia for several times. Which of them was the most memorable for you?
Aidan Baker: Our first trip in 2009 when we played Dom in Moscow was certainly memorable, simply because it was our very first time visiting Russia. But also playing with Godflesh in 2019 was quite memorable, as it was our first time seeing Godlfesh play live. They were not allowed into Canada for some reason when they were touring back in the 90s... So, it felt doubly special being able to play support for them and to finally experience their live performance!
Aidan Baker: Our first trip in 2009 when we played Dom in Moscow was certainly memorable, simply because it was our very first time visiting Russia. But also playing with Godflesh in 2019 was quite memorable, as it was our first time seeing Godlfesh play live. They were not allowed into Canada for some reason when they were touring back in the 90s... So, it felt doubly special being able to play support for them and to finally experience their live performance!
ANeglect Avoid: What’s your personal experience of being self-isolated during the pandemic? In general and as a musician?
Aidan Baker: In 2020 we were lucky to get some musical work like soundtracking and mixing/mastering that we were able to do from home which made up for the income lost from not being able to tour. As such, it was a bit of a welcome break from touring and travelling and we hoped we could use the time to rest and re-charge. Which we did — but as the pandemic continued in 2021 and re-booked tours and concerts were postponed and cancelled again and again, the break felt less and less relaxing and more stressful. I suppose it was the uncertainty of it all, not knowing if and when we would be able to return to the world, both the musical one and simply the larger social one. Things still feel quite uncertain and performing live again is not entirely comfortably, as I mentioned earlier, but we must try, even if it means adapting to new ways of social gathering.
Aidan Baker: In 2020 we were lucky to get some musical work like soundtracking and mixing/mastering that we were able to do from home which made up for the income lost from not being able to tour. As such, it was a bit of a welcome break from touring and travelling and we hoped we could use the time to rest and re-charge. Which we did — but as the pandemic continued in 2021 and re-booked tours and concerts were postponed and cancelled again and again, the break felt less and less relaxing and more stressful. I suppose it was the uncertainty of it all, not knowing if and when we would be able to return to the world, both the musical one and simply the larger social one. Things still feel quite uncertain and performing live again is not entirely comfortably, as I mentioned earlier, but we must try, even if it means adapting to new ways of social gathering.
Neglect Avoid: Do you think that DIY scene is recovering after the pandemic right now or are we far from that?
Aidan Baker: I think it is slowly starting to recover, at least here in Europe where there was already more of a support system in place for arts and cultural spaces. Back home in Canada and the United States, I think there has been more of an impact on the DIY scene because the smaller and mid-size venues and organizers had a much more difficult time surviving the lockdowns and various restrictions. So, touring outside of Europe, which was never so easy in the best of times, might still be quite difficult...
Aidan Baker: I think it is slowly starting to recover, at least here in Europe where there was already more of a support system in place for arts and cultural spaces. Back home in Canada and the United States, I think there has been more of an impact on the DIY scene because the smaller and mid-size venues and organizers had a much more difficult time surviving the lockdowns and various restrictions. So, touring outside of Europe, which was never so easy in the best of times, might still be quite difficult...
Neglect Avoid: In the beginning of 2021 your Split with Disrotted was released. How was this album born?
Aidan Baker: Quite simply, Disrotted approached us and asked if we would be interested to do a split release together. We were fans of their work, so readily agreed! Given the style of their music, we wanted to do something complimentary, so worked on writing a more long-form, atmospheric, and heavy song. Kind of the opposite of what we ended up doing with Luminous Rot!
Aidan Baker: Quite simply, Disrotted approached us and asked if we would be interested to do a split release together. We were fans of their work, so readily agreed! Given the style of their music, we wanted to do something complimentary, so worked on writing a more long-form, atmospheric, and heavy song. Kind of the opposite of what we ended up doing with Luminous Rot!
Neglect Avoid: Luminous Rot was a real gift for all of us. Are you working on some new material now — for Nadja or solo?
Aidan Baker: We are working on a new Nadja record right now, with guest vocalists, but it is still very much in the early stages, so I cannot really say more yet about when it will be released or with which label. We will have a live-in-studio recording coming out early next year sometime with Midira Records, which we recorded during the lockdown with a live drummer joining us, which is more abstract, improvisational album.
Solo, I have new material forthcoming in the next months with Karlrecords, Dissipatio, Playneutral, and Improved Sequence, which ranges from minimal ambient to experimental/abstract-jazz to angular post-rock.
Aidan Baker: We are working on a new Nadja record right now, with guest vocalists, but it is still very much in the early stages, so I cannot really say more yet about when it will be released or with which label. We will have a live-in-studio recording coming out early next year sometime with Midira Records, which we recorded during the lockdown with a live drummer joining us, which is more abstract, improvisational album.
Solo, I have new material forthcoming in the next months with Karlrecords, Dissipatio, Playneutral, and Improved Sequence, which ranges from minimal ambient to experimental/abstract-jazz to angular post-rock.
Neglect Avoid: In your earlier 2021 interviews (for newnoisemagazine.com and psychedelicbabymag.com) you mention Godflesh, Swans and other great musicians as those who you listening to a lot. Which artists would you like to collaborate?
Aidan Baker: Oh, there are any number of musicians it would be interesting to collaborate with...someone just asked me if I would ever play with Nels Cline — I have never met him, but certainly that would be interesting. Also with Justin Broadrick in some way... And maybe Diamanda Galas... The list could go on.
Aidan Baker: Oh, there are any number of musicians it would be interesting to collaborate with...someone just asked me if I would ever play with Nels Cline — I have never met him, but certainly that would be interesting. Also with Justin Broadrick in some way... And maybe Diamanda Galas... The list could go on.
Russian version of the interview: https://vk.com/@gosbooking-aidan-baker-nadja-interview
