Dom Smith shares some Qs with King 810’s David Gunn about the band’s forthcoming offering, ‘under the black rainbow’ and the diverse range of inspirations behind its development.
Hey Gunn, how are you getting on, mate? Thanks for your work on this interesting concept, I’m gonna ask a few questions about it, based on my understanding of it right now…
All is well. I’m without complaints.
How does under the black rainbow represent a sonic, and thematic shift for the band?
Each day represents a shift in us as individuals. These marginals “shiftings” work themselves into superficial things like theme and sonics. With each new flash of inspiration comes a new project and so the band shifts as it did with the last project and as it will with the next. I say this to say its very hard to pinpoint a line in the sand. Moving from project to project is more like following a river than jumping from lake to lake. I can’t tell where one thing ended and the next began. I don’t recall any heavy-handed intention or desire to make any sort of statement. We simply followed subtle signals from within and without. We’ve ended up here at this story and have told it to the best of our abilities with our limited talents.
What were some of the most interesting challenges you had in pulling the concept, and visuals for UTBR, with particular focus on part 1 and the more physical elements of part 2?
The challenges were plenty as usual, but this group tends to run toward that. We don’t seem to be motivated by redundant formulas, so we tend to let those inspirations pass by and take up the tasks just outside of capability, or capacity, or comfort even. That being said, a lot of our challenges on this project were the mundane and material. For example, if we had a lot of money or funding or a large production studio, this would have not had the same interesting challenges. But being just a handful of us with a couple laptops and consumer cameras, it made telling such a surreal story a bit more difficult.
The old man for example. He resides in a dimension well above the 3rd. He as a person and his environment must be fantasy or surreal, abstract even, or at least “not of this world.” It would have been very easy to get an old man and film him in a black room. Of course, when people see AI rendered environments and animated puppets etc. That is what they will tell you was the right thing to do. However, this harks back to capability, capacity, and comfort. When people say what you should have done, they mean what they would have done and the truth is, the common opinion is usually very uninspiring. They say Henry Ford said, “If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
So this is where most of the challenges lie. Writing a story is not a problem. Writing music is no issue. Filming video is no problem. Writing, producing, acting in, editing, scoring, distributing etc. a film while learning and trying to understand & incorporate all these very new modern tools was all excitingly novel. I’m very sure it will be looked on in years to come as horrendously amateur CGI, poor acting, and all that which it is, however right here and now it’s a most enjoyable thing we are doing.
Beyond the technical capacity, this project did push the cerebral bandwidth with all its moving parts. That is where another interesting challenge came in, but that psychological challenge is required in each endeavor. Our goal will never be to give you 2 music videos, 10 tracks and 1 album every 2 years. Our goal is to stretch ourselves as far as we can upward. Thus, challenges are required.
Is the piano that you’re inside in episode 3, where you will remain, and what does that world represent?
I appreciate your curiosity here, but if there is a part of you which seeks to be entertained, let that part sit in the driver seat for now and put the part which wishes to know in the trunk and continue to watch things unfold. That world is a dimension. The dimension isn’t elsewhere, but here laid on top of us, as that is how dimensions work – that is to say beyond the confines of space and time. The piano is a portal. I don’t believe “that world” represents anything, however, I do believe it is very real, that we have all been there, are all there in some form now, and at the same time are all headed there, though we hardly remember.
What does King Melchizedek represent to you, as King 810?
The priest king Melchizedek is present in all dimensions. Here on earth, he is simply a priest king. God’s priest whom Abraham paid tithing to. A rare man that hardly exists today. A priest, a man directly in touch with God. A king, a man directly in touch with his people. In ancient times, to be both was illegal, as it was deemed impossible to have both faculties and of course it was impossible for those making the law to have even one of those two capabilities, as they more resembled the priests and kings of today. Those men and women who otherwise may be effective instead, nest themselves down in a disgustingly complex bureaucratic mechanism where even the guy at the top is a powerless cog inside a machine whose desire is to grow larger and more powerful. A machine inside which each individual is subdued and useless. This goes for the priests of the churches and the kings of the people of today in the form of dictators, politicians, CEOs, etc. but this is not Melchizedek.
You seem to be constantly creating, what does downtime look like for you?
We don’t come to earth for downtime.
I’m particularly curious about the attitude you have to your legacy as an artist yourself, whether that relates to King 810 or not…are you bothered about what you leave the world with, in terms of your artistic endeavors?
I couldn’t care less about legacy. There is no reason to feel strongly about legacy. Man’s concern about legacy has, I would say, caused much more harm than good. Of course, concerns about legacy have created much good in the world, but we don’t live in some polar equality stalemate. We live on an undulating wave that constantly reacts, responds, compensates and adjusts and I believe legacy as defined here is something worth doing away with. The concept as I see it appears like an outgrowth of a deterministic, insecure, baby child way of thinking. One obsessed with leaving HIS mark on HIS world. Understandable, even necessary on this planet, but not something I’m so concerned with for myself in this lifetime.
I’ve often wondered, as an artist/band that has put a lot of effort into the live show, into the concept and the overall “vibe” as it were, of King 810, do you get sad, or upset at all that people call you controversial…at least in a musical context?
Not at all. If I were emotionally affected by people’s opinions of me or what I do, I couldn’t be myself. I wouldn’t be doing this thing I want to be doing, because valuing those opinions of family or friends or strangers would have steered me far away from all of this long, long ago. I think people interpret things at their own level of comprehension. I don’t put effort into things to get recognition or praise or approval. I channel effort this way or that because I have it to exert and it’s mine to do so. People can exert effort into opinion formulation if they like. That’s their business. The truth is controversial in all contexts.
In our last Q/A, I asked you about success and the wider music industry, and you answered: “I don’t even know if I’m a part of the industry. I don’t know anyone, don’t associate with anyone regularly, don’t play any kind of part or role. I’m not anyone’s friend, no one calls my cell phone, I’m not a band bro, as funny as it sounds. Nothing against it, I just feel like an alien in that world.” – do you still feel that way, in the wake of this new material?
I don’t consider this much. What I’m doing is exciting enough. Plenty of people seem to appreciate it, so that’s a plus. I have met some awesome people, that will continue. I guess, I mean there’s not a desire in me to be a part of anything. Success by my own standard is the only thing to consider. Not success about the wider music industry. I can’t even define the thing in question here, if I’m honest. My orientation to the industry is a projection from within myself and it may be one I’ve neglected to nurture admittedly.
Is there anything else you’d like to plug and promote that we haven’t covered, before we finish?
Under the black rainbow. Watch it every week. Under the black rainbow tour. See it come August.
Thanks, as always for the time!
Cheers.
