2007
music like a warm coat outdated or way ahead of its time? well, retro or future aren't things of interest to the use of ashes. the nijmegen/arnhem based psychedelic pop duo just does the things it likes. like the release of the latest album albion moonlight on a 10inch record. releasing albums in a limited edition definitely has some advantages. releasing them on wax makes them even more likely to become collectors items. "now and then i see some of our old records on fairs," says peter van vliet, half of the use of ashes, on his previous band mekanik kommando. "castle of fair welcome sold for 200 guilders, shadow of a rose even for 275 guilders." certainly a lot of money for records a mere over ten years old. "nah, i don't have a box with a dozen or so copies of both albums stuck under my bed," answers van vliet when asked. and he doesn't even regret that, although he realises that such prizes would make it possible for him to turn the use of ashes into a full-time enterprise. the last sign of life, firetree, dates from 1996. released on an italian label, it was more or less a solo album. after the demise of mekanik kommando - the press though we'd changed into a kind of weak pink floyd version - he kept on writing and recording songs in his home studio. a solid cult following was served with irregular and obscure releases on small foreign labels. the fairy-tale sound of firetree still owed some debts to his former band, with hidden references to brian eno and '70s krautrock acts such as popol vuh. the same for albion moonlight, which fits into the style of van vliet's earlier work. the major difference is the growing amount of structure that can be heard on the album. possibly thanks to new member maarten scherrenburg. "we met during a pink floyd convention where i played as the use of ashes. he took part in a performance of a pink floyd tribute band. his guitar playing immediately drew my attention. quite inspired by david gilmour, yet so different." the meeting of both musicians worked out well, the gigs are more extrovert since then. "very important is the fact that we now can play all songs we record. a song like my pale friend has two different parts of guitar which enriches the sound. sound means everything to peter van vliet. music is all about sound, and the music has developes along the progress of sound. "chords didn't change at all, it's the soun that changed music through the years." another change is the people who listen to music. the former outdated form of pink floyd became a well respected band within the ambient-house scene. "we happen to be retro as well as future," peter van vliet smiles. it's not something that keeps him busy though. he prefers to work on new songs, looking for a new direction. "it seems to be a bit of a cliche but music to me is still a 'queeste', a search. sometimes it feels like a warm coat. it's that coat i keep searching for." |