I first discovered Jason Corder’s music when I stumbled across the website for netlabel Autoplate while looking for new and intriguing MP3s. The label had just released Corder’s latest offering under the “Off The Sky” moniker, a brilliant EP titled Caustic Light (my review is here). I was immediately intrigued by the EP’s masterful combining of guitar drones, glitch, and surreal atmospherics, and set off to to see if Corder had released anything else.
Which, as a matter of fact, he has. And quite a bit of it. Several full-lengths and EPs as Off The Sky - including his latest, It Is Impossible To Say Just What I Mean, which just came out on Stilll - and two albums of glitchy, dub-ambient released on the Subsource netlabel under the “Zen Savauge” moniker.
Jason graciously agreed to answer a couple of questions via e-mail concerning his projects, the concepts behind his work, and other things.
Your bio seems to indicate that music has always been a part of your life. When did you finally decide, then, to begin recording as Off The Sky?
About 4 years ago. I was dabbling in dub glitch music under the moniker ‘Zen Savauge’ but wasn’t to happy with the closed ended concept. I created Off The Sky to as a project that would be as endless as the atmosphere. Where I could colab with other artists and musicians and move it into more community.
The first release of yours that I heard was the Caustic Light EP. What initially intrigued me was the inspiration for the CD, that being a very particular kind of childhood memory. Could you explain that a little bit? What pushed you to try and create musical pieces based on that inspiration?
Well I’ve been playing in a conceptual acid jazz band lately. We create sculptures and new instruments and story-boards to base the compositions of our live performances around. Basically this idea of using concepts instead of sheet music, has bled over into my latest works. I just don’t feel as if the art has any meaning unless I really try and base the work around a preconceived feeling.
Caustic light has always been a fascinating aspect of nature for me so it was only natural that I used it as a theme; and the childhood memories just came about in transit to finishing the album; they added complimentary color to the concept I think.
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