Patrick Krief has turned on, tuned in, dropped out and come out the other side with a psychedelic masterpiece of secular shamanistic humanism.
On Chemical Trance, which is due out August 14th on Rock Ridge Music, the Montreal musician taps into that holy intersection of divine and mortality, confronting his own vulnerabilities in a beautiful cacophony that, at times, recalls Pink Floyd, late-era Beatles, Leonard Cohen and Radiohead. Yet, somehow, is uniquely Patrick Krief.
And just like the artistic epochs of those great musical masters, Chemical Trance is at its best when Krief digs deepest into his most personal moments.
“I pictured it like an Ayahuasca trip,” he explains. “Like you’ve taken the drug and you’re confronting your whole past — all the darkest stuff. But you’re not reliving it in a normal way, it’s hyped-up: emotions as demons, that sort of thing.”
Yet for all its bombast, there’s a total freedom of spirit that envelops Chemical Trance. According to Krief, that’s a reflection of his mental state at the time of its conception. Nothing short of a reinvention for the Montreal singer-songwriter, the album is an assertion of artistic autonomy.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the album opener “I Am The Pillar of Darkness in Your Life,” a song that plays like Dante’s Virgil guiding the listener through the first circle of hell, in this case representing Krief’s own crippling anxiety. With a wall of sound, almost carnival-like approach, Krief crafts a dreamy soundscape that is at once rooted in edgy indie rock as well as 60s psychedelia. Layering on a cacophony of instruments, effects and vocals, the song sounds like it could have been on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band but with vicious guitar solos that bring to mind contemporaries like Spoon.
Watch the video and read our interview with Krief below…
What is the story behind this song? Why did you write it?
I thought about this path I ended up on, in which I gathered the very basics to stay the course and survive. I was sold a dream, but it wasn’t my dream. I wanted to stop the repetition, and break the deal with the devil, so to speak. This song is about confronting your demons, inner and outer. I really wanted to write a song about being able to exit yourself, rise above, and witness the inner dialogue, like a fly on the wall.
This album is a sonic and lyrical journey. What made you put this song first as the “jumping off point”?
I feel like this song has a lot of direction changes, thematically, and musically. It really does outline the album quite well. The visuals it conjures seem like a good opening scene. When I wrote this song, I knew I was onto a direction for an entire album. I knew it would be a starter, and I wrote the entire album with that in mind.
Was this a song that came together easily, or did it take some work to get it just right?
As a composition, it came together really quickly. I was in Mexico, and I remember trying to get my voice recorder to open in a panic. The ideas were coming at me so quickly I was worried I’d lose them. The next morning, I listened to the memo and the song was there in its entirety. I remember listening to it as though I’d never heard it, almost as though someone else has written it. There was something so great about that voice memo that the labor came in trying to preserve that feeling, with all the random chord changes, timing/tempo changes. The mix was a tedious task, I have so many things going on in the arrangement: brass, the big muddy guitar solo, layers of vocals etc. Trying to get that all sitting just right was a bit of a nightmare. I must have mixed the song 10 times before arriving at a sound I love.
Is there anything in particular about this song specifically that makes it really resonate for you?
It’s probably my favorite set of lyrics. I had to type them out recently (for the album cover). A real sense of “where the hell did these come from?” hit me. When I read or sing those words, it takes me away to the visuals I had while writing them, it pulls me into the song’s universe. Especially when that third part comes in and the tempo drops. I don’t think I’ve ever had a song in which the music dramatically changes to suit the story.
How did the video come together – whose idea was the treatment? How did you put the video together in the midst of the pandemic?’
I called my good friend Maia Davies, because I know she’s super creative and handy with visuals. I told her I had some woods nearby I could film myself in. I sent her a bunch of footage, and, really, she just ran with it from there. My only request was that it enter another world in the second half of the song. I wanted something psychedelic. I was pretty blown away with what she did. I had very little feedback to offer, which is a pretty rare occurrence for me. At this juncture, we are working on visuals for the entire album. We are trying to achieve something that could all piece together for the entire album.
This song is a bit unsettling, musically speaking – the way that it sounds so trippy and dark in parts, but then it opens up wide with the “ahh” part in the chorus which relieves some of the aural tension. The video definitely adds to this vibe. What did you hope the video would convey to those who watch it? Likewise, what message do you want this song to convey to those who hear it?
Maia and I had a discussion about what the song was about and what it was trying to achieve. The first bit is about a struggle. Being on a dark path, if you will. I’ve described this album as a musical Ayahuasca trip, and I would say that “ahh” moment is the moment you exit reality, which sets us off on the journey that is the rest of the album.
My hope is that the song would provide an escape and that the video might elevate the listening experience, or offer up an interesting variation on the experience. The message I would hope to convey is “confront your demons.” There is something beautiful on the other end of that battle.
What are you most excited about with regard to the album coming out soon?
We are living through some extremely brutal times. There has been a lot of isolation, and many of us need to reconnect. As an artist, sharing my music is the most profound method by which to connect with others. I’m excited about hearing from old friends, and people who have followed my work through the years. I’ve never felt more excited about a release. There was a lot of debate about delaying this release. But really, I don’t think there would be any better time to share art. All my favorite records came out during catastrophic times. I’m hoping the music could provide some joy, or any form of escape for any number of people. That’s what always gets me excited about releasing music. Connecting.
Chemical Trance is due out August 14th. PRE-ORDER
Photo credit: Julie Clermont
