At times, Arbitrary | Agency is blisteringly fast, brimming with experimental fervour, feverishly jumping from many different compelling musical ideas, like on the elegantly odd 'XX/XY'. Elsewhere, it's blissed out, queasy, and balancing the pleasingly quirky with pop-sensibilities, a-la 'Depths'. The album is awash with bold and rewarding experimentation, yet never strays far enough from CNEIS' expert song-crafting paradigms to alienate. your brain will thank you for listening, but your achy flailing limbs won't.

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INTERVIEW
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George Ernst: Tell us about what kind of equipment you're working with

Charles Neiswender aka CNEIS: My setup is pretty much all hardware. Everything comes together in an SSL SiX mixer and when it's time, I record the stereo mix to my computer via a MOTU M4. I wouldn't say I actively avoid using a DAW, and I'm not opposed to giving that a shot in the future; I just haven't felt one was necessary for my purposes. WIth a full-time job and two little kids, my time for making music is limited, so I try to have a setup that allows me to get going quickly. Generally, Elektron machines are what I use the most, the Octatrack is one of my favorites. It can be tricky to learn, but I have found it is the one piece of gear that can do just about anything I want. One potential drawback to Elektron boxes is the chance of getting stuck in 4-bar loops. There are ways of working with and around this limitation, but, while working on this album, I also explored different machines and different workflows. It's a journey that can sometimes feel like a merry-go-round, but it proved fruitful over the past year or so. I found a deal on an MPC ONE, which has a workflow that is quite different from what I was used to. I think there are at least 2 tracks on the album that were made mostly with the MPC at the center. I think experimenting with the MPC also "unlocked" some ideas for when I inevitably drifted back to the Elektrons and the M8 Tracker. The M8 is the most recent addition to my setup, and it really won me over. I was nervous at first, because I didn't have much experience with trackers, but that little device really clicks with me. I think there are 2, maybe 3 tracks that come solely from the M8.

GE: I understand the track "Coda" was a last minute inclusion on the record. That probably turned it from an EP to an LP. What prompted this? It's ok if the answer is literally 'Because I liked it'. I think it's a smart inclusion, the laid back sounds contrast nicely with more chaotic nature of Straylight

CN: Ah! Well, the addition of Coda could mainly be attributed to the aforementioned M8. I had reached a point where I considered the album complete and decided it was time to submit it. I was in that golden time with the M8 where I just couldn't put it down. I started a new track on the M8 and it just came togerther so quickly. It was initially just a sketch, where I was trying out some different techniques and some of the built-in synths. It all came together so quickly and fluidly, I recorded it and sent it in a week or two after the initial submission. The album process was sometimes a struggle to maintain momentum. This track was so much the opposite of that, and in my mind, fit well with the other tracks that it simply made sense to include it. I'm glad you like it.

GE: If Arbitrary | Agency were a film or a book, what would it be? And if that question is too shit, what's your favourite film or book?

CN: This is interesting, as books and movies (especially sci-fi) definitely influence my musical endeavors. Generally, science fiction a one of my favorite genres, and if I had to narrow down to a single book, it would have to be Neuromancer, by WIlliam Gibson. The track titled "Straylight" is a direct reference to that book. It's definitely one of my all-time favorites. I've probably read it 3 or 4 times. Naturally, I'm not alone as this book has influenced so much other media like movies and video games.

GE: Which is your favourite track on the album? Mine's either Coda or XX/XY for very different reasons.

CN: Given all the energy I put into each track, it's hard to choose one. However, XX/XY is one that stands out as one that required much more time and attention to get "right". It's inspired by Girl / Boy song by Aphex Twin (AFX?). I thought I was being somewhat clever in naming the song the way I did. Rather than the strings that are in Girl Boy Song, I had this harp sample from Emily Hopkins (who's currently quite popular on YouTube) that I knew I wanted to use. I thought "this might just work..." and got started. I know I'm definitely not Richard D. James, so I wanted to make sure I did my best to do this song justice. I probably spent 2-3 times as many hours as any of the other songs on this album. I ran some early mixes by friends to get some feedback, as well. In doing that, I ended up with a mix that was quite different from where I started. In this case, it definitely helped to have an extra pair of ears. That advice helped move me out of a rut of seemingly endless tweaking and to commit on certain arrangement. Overall, I think the concept played out successfully. There's still that feeling in the back of my brain that I'm not quite done with it, and maybe I should try this, or change that... we'll see.

GE: How important was sequencing when putting Arbitrary | Agency together? I personally think it has a really competent flow to it. The faster and more experimental pieces show up at just the right time, and the more laid back compositions appear to cool you off just when they're needed.

CN: The track sequencing was definitely intentional. The songs I made basically fell into two distinct bpm zones. I have stuff in the mid 120s and stuff up around 170 bpm. My main concern when determining track order was to give listeners a break from the high bpm tunes by intermixing the lower bpm tunes. I also considered the other solution -- separating the higher and lower bpm songs into two groups (almost like two sides of the same cassette), but decided against that. Ultimately, I preferred the concept of having an ebb and flow, push and pull, while trying to preserve an overall sense of direction.

GE: How did the record come together? Was there meticulous planning involved or did you pick these nine quality tunes from a massive cache of projects?

CN: Haha, I definitely dont have a massive cache of projects. I found that working linearly, trying to finish one song at a time led to better success than stock-piling a lot of unfinished projects. This lines up with how I prefer to work, in general. Given a project or task, I like to dive in fully and work to completion. That being said, it's also important to be able to make a call when a project just isn't coming together. Fortunately, I don't think I ran into too many of those while working on this album. Funny enough, "Depths" was something I dug up from my Octatrack's memory card that was a sketch from the past. I stumbled upon the project and immediately thought "I think this one could work, let's give it a shot".

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REVIEW
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Triplicate Records is delighted to introduce the new CNEIS record. The outfit of San Diego denizen Charles Neiswender, CNEIS offers a fun and engaging listening experience in 'Agency. Engaging insofar as it's really hard not to move around when it's plugging away on your stereo...

We're starting out extremely strong here. Cocksure, swaggering, bombastic, mesmerizing, bold. Any of these words would neatly summarize 'Am I 5', the stomping, squelch-bass infused opener. Against prevailing winds a captivating stage-setting takes place, and you know Neiswender means serious business. Said business smacks you right upside the face on the braindancey-junglist anthem 'Nondeterministic'. Blistering drum work and sci-fi electronica squeezes and releases like the contracting of time and space. It's very hard not to dance to this one or keep your head still.

'XX/XY' is a fascinating experimental piece of dance music leaning towards the experimental and hardcore side of the CNEIS spectrum, all the while boasting elegant beat sequencing and some truly sublime melodies, all seemingly at war with each other at first. It initially comes off as two or more tunes fighting for aural supremacy, but the careful nature of the arrangement in a sort of lattice pattern is quickly apparent, as the sounds start to converge on each other and form a gorgeously weird musical chimera.

'Depths' takes things a little slower, and balances pleasingly quirky composition against a blissed out queasy warble and a mercifully chilled beat. As it turns out this is a crucial undertaking as we're led into the 300mph maelstrom of 'Fortune Glory'. A compound of snare rushes and labyrinthine bleep-sequences parading over a menacing bass growl which form something your brain will thank you for, but your achy flailing limbs won't.

'Mechanical' is a good, appropriate track title here. The percussion is muted, but blistering, furious. Everything feels like it's holding back on the harshness, as though your brain might bend too far in one direction if Neiswender unleashed his full powers on your tender ears. At any rate, It's a speedy hypnotic blast to listen to. Similarly hypnotic is, 'Straylight', though here the ante is well and truly upped in terms of the harshness bleeding through like a PlayStation 3 god ray. The power of the squelch of the acid bass truly cannot be understated. It dominates the arrangement (as it should) and tickles parts of your dusty brain that might not have lighted up since Aphex Twin's Drukqs.

A track you'll find yourself instantly pleased to hear is '07a-Coda', which offers a cool and relaxing chill-out room to recuperate from the acid raves going on in the other 8 rooms of Agency. It's slick and danceworthy like all the other tracks of course, but less given to experimentation and flights of fancy. Neiswender has already handily demonstrated his producer chops at this point, now he's giving you what you want and or need in the form of this lovely winding down of the festivities.

The closer 'Dust', (very apropos) doesn't re-invigorate the dance craze, rather opting to continue the settling-down, as proceedings are wrapped up a neat 4-4 bow. Well not neat. That implies musical complacency on a record like this. The wide-eyed spirit of experimentation remains, things are just a little more streamlined. The sharp resonance of the bass pounds mercilessly into the night as things start to fade, and you're left suspecting you just listened to your new favourite electronic album for the first time. Well I've got news for you...


George Ernst
Triplicate Records