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DAVID BRONSON: "The Long Lost"

DAVID BRONSON The Long Lost -  - part two of Bronson's autobiographical concept story, "The Long Lost" is in fact the prequel to his two-installment narrative chronicling project. Legendary producer and recording and mix engineer Godfrey Diamond (Lou Reed, Aerosmith, Sparks, Glen Campbell), recorded numerous overdubs, mixed, and assisted Bronson with the finishing of the album, while the majority of the double record was recorded at the studios of Brooklyn, Manhattan-based Producer/Engineer/Mixer Matt Gill (Fischerspooner, Aimee Mann, The Raveonettes). It's the quirky mix of alternative rock and 70s singer/songwriter. One minute you're listening to 80s R.E.M. with the twangy rock of Jackson Browne including pedal steel and everything (We Are Not Animals) and next it's Cat Stevens gone slightly Beck and indie (Living In Name, In A Cave). The moody arrangements of Nick Drake and George Harrison-esque slide guitar are two other great signs of the album's diverse and emotional pacing.. Find out more about the album, here's the man of the moment:  David Bronson

How has the reaction to your latest CD been?

It's been great. A lot of people really seem to be responding to the more moody, dark, and sometimes minimal feel of The Long Lost, as compared to its counterpart Story, and some prefer the more up-tempo, fuller sound of the songs on Story, but overall I've received a lot of very positive, and occasionally extremely thoughtful, responses to the new record, which I appreciate.

How long did this CD take to make from start to finish, recording-wise?

More or less a decade.

What kind of 'sound', production wise, did you have in the back of your mind, prior to recording

Initially I wanted a very big, very full and textured sound, which generally speaking I think I achieved. Of course, during ten years a lot changes, and toward the end I did start to look for a more minimal sound in certain places, which I think is reflected in The Long Lost.

What kind of input did the producer have during the process

Since I was the producer on The Long Lost Story, it was more or less total.

And are you pleased with the final outcome? (sound - production wise)

Very much so. I look at it as a piece of my history, artistic and personal. And while I won't feel the need to do another album, or series of albums, in the same way, The Long Lost Story will always be very important to me, because it was such an important part of my life for such a long time; to me it's my twenties. I still love those songs and expect I always will.

Did the producer (or you) use any (weird) experimental miking and/or  recording techniques?

Not really, maybe a few unconventional things but, without going into a specific run-down of how this or that part or instrument was affixed, I'm sure everything's pretty much been done before, recording technique-wise.

Please inform us about your favourite songs off the album

It would be pretty near impossible for me to segregate them like that. After working on a project like this for so long, there isn't one bar of music that I didn't feel absolutely needed to be there, so they're all very special to me. All the songs I write are - it's such a massive commitment to take something from idea to finished, recorded 'song' that I would never even take something past the sketch stage unless I really, continually thought it was deserving. And when I say deserving, I mean for the long haul. All that being said, I do move through periods like anyone else, where I'm just more into certain songs than others (this of course goes for all music I listen to, obviously not just my own), and most recently, of the album, I was into a few of the more sparse ones - like 'The Lost' and 'Living in Name' for example. Of course I do love 'Stay in Touch' as well, the complete opposite of those, sonically speaking. I'm well into work on the next record though, so haven't listened to The Long Lost really at all since the release.

Any overall theme of mood/sound that you're trying to capture while writing songs?

No, just trying to get myself off, creatively speaking. Whatever it is that will do it.

This is the prequel of your two-part autobiographical concept - why the reverse order?

Because I started the whole thing together as one project, and the second half (Story) just ended up being closer to being finished at a certain point. It's also generally comprised of the 'later' songs, which were therefore more contemporaneous to my actual life as I was living it, so there was a draw to finish that part for that reason as well.

What if I say, Cat Stevens' and his lyrical world - major inspiration?

I love Cat Stevens, but he's no more an inspiration to me than a host of other songwriters or artists or works or whatever inspires. The fact that people seem to think the timbre of my voice sounds something like his is obviously nothing I have any control over, and is fine w/me one way or the other.

Autobiography, done? Are you simply going to explore the rest of the universe on the following albums?

Still doing autobiography actually. I've written 3 more albums of my life, although I don't know how much of a separation actually exists between what I would consider 'my life' and 'my observation of the world around me' - I think actually they're the same thing in many ways, so there's a generality/overlap there in terms of subject matter.

How would you describe the new CD to any potential new fan?

Im gonna have to go with that infamous Elvis Costello quote about the futility of writing/talking about music.

Since you have an M.F.A. in film and video. What about the music video and its concept? Just as important today as in the heyday of MTV?

While my background has given me the ability to produce videos, I'm not any more qualified to comment on this than anyone else who vaguely pays attention in our culture. I guess I could just say that music videos play just as considerable a role in the dissemination of music nowadays as they did in the heyday of MTV, however in an extremely different way, parallel to the difference between the music industries then and now, so it's very much like apples and oranges I think.

If there's anything you'd like to add, say, please do

Thanks very much!
DAVID BRONSON

Interview by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom,
Photos from the artist's website  www.davidbronsonmusic.com, photos by Joshua Sandler (1.) and Ben Goldstein (.2).
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