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Interviews
Ulrich Krieger: Bringing Metal Machine Music to Life
John Eyles
Doing a dance about architecture...AAJ: Whose idea was it to create Metal Machine Trio as an ensemble to perform live? Did you suggest it to Lou, or vice versa?
Lou Reed
UK: It kind of developed naturally. I used to be in New York regularly and after Zeitkratzer performed MMM I met Lou whenever I was in town. Out of our conversation the idea of playing together evolved. Redcat (the experimental theater at the Disney concert hall complex in downtown LA) was then a possibility to try it out. Lou proposed to add Sarth Calhoun to it, with whom he had worked already in New York. Sarth does real time processing as well as playing the continuum fingerboard using a kyma system and other electronics.
AAJ: MM3 plays music in the spirit of MMM, rather than creating a faithful reproduction of it. What rehearsal, discussion or pre-planning goes on between the three of you prior to a live performance by MM3?
UK: We normally rehearse/improvise and then talk about what we played, what worked, what didn't work. We also try out ideas one of us might have and we just play. The music of MM3 is in the spirit of MMM but includes a much wider field from ambient to noise to experimental rock to electronica. The concerts are all freely improvised based on our experiences from the rehearsals and previous shows.
AAJ: What should a fan of MMM expect to hear or experience when they come to see MM3 live? Is the double CD, The Creation of the Universe, a typical MM3 performance?
UK: The double CD is a good example of a typical MM3 show, but The Creation of the Universe was from our first concerts in LA. I think we have developed a lot since. We know each other much better now, musically and personally. And because we improvise freely, concerts may vary a lot. Some shows might be more ambient and calm, others might be more noisy, sonic assaults and others again might be more "free rock." But any of these elements might be found in most MM3 shows. Our sound is mostly dense and multi-layered.
AAJ: How does MM3 fit in with your other playing activities such as Text of Light....?
MM3, from left: Sarth Calhoun, Lou Reed, Ulrich Krieger
UK: MM3 is another aspect of my musical interests. Surely much of what I do with Text of Light has found its way into MM3. But playing with other musicians makes me play different, makes me take in new influences and directions. Otherwise there would be no point in playing in different groups or with different musicians. In MM3 I include traces and influences from R&B and rock saxophone, which I normally don't use in Text of Light, for example. This is surely an influence coming from Lou, a space which had opened up, and a part of my musical interest I had not really ventured into much until we started to play with MM3. Of course, all my interests in ambient, noise, drones, post-free jazz, post-rock, metal, contemporary art music, extended saxophone playing techniques, amplified saxophone, etc are audible in MM3. It feels like in MM3 everything is possible at any given time.
Selected Discography
Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio, The Creation of the Universe (Sister Ray, 2008)
Zeitkratzer, Metal Machine Music (Asphodel, 2007)
Text of Light, Un Pranzo Favoloso A Fabulous Lunch (FinalMuzik, 2007)
Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music (RCA, 1975)
[Lou Reed's 1975 album, Metal Machine Music, has been digitally remastered by Reed and will be released on double vinyl, audio DVD and Blu-ray on April 19, 2010. For further info about the UK tour dates, please visit Lou Reed's website].
Photo Credits
Amy-Beth McNeely
