Recently, I did an interview for the new hip-hop forums and website Hip-hop Consensus. The site is still under construction so the interview is just posted on their forums for now, but it’s definitely worth a read, if you’re the sort of person who cares what I think about stuff:
“Recently I had the joy of interviewing Rhode Island emcee Sun Zoo. Sun Zoo has been flying under the radar of even some of the most die hard underground Hip Hop fans. His previous albums - Hope Flies and Can’t See The Forest - were two very under appreciated Hip Hop albums of the past years. He had the kindness to offer both those albums for free download at www.sun-zoo.com. Now with a new label and a new album, Sun Zoo hopes to deliver his music to a broader audience. Please take the time to read the interview because this guy is very intriguing
What’s new in the life of Sun Zoo?
Well, I just released the new album, so it’s mostly trying to help the label promote that any way I can. I’m also writing new stuff and planning a couple very exciting future projects, music-wise. Personally, I’m also about to graduate from college, and will be moving to China to teach English and work on music-related projects (which is easier to do there because you can live comfortably on much less money) at the end of July.
Where did your, I almost want to say obsession, with Chinese culture come from? Do you try to take some of their philosophies and ideas and try to incorporate them into your music?
[Laughs] it’s not an obsession really. It’s my academic area of interest, but it does bleed into other aspects of my life, of course. I was initially attracted by some of the philosophy, but as I kept studying it I fell in love with the language, and the modern history is fascinating. Then of course there is the modern literature, which is what the name “Roads on the Earth” comes from. That era of Chinese literature (early twentieth century) really resonates with me because it is very focused on hope, even though it is at the same time very pessimistic. I don’t necessarily actively try to incorporate Chinese stuff into my music, but it happens naturally–it’s my major, so I spend a lot of my time thinking about it, I speak Chinese frequently with Chinese friends, etc. Every part of my life finds its way into my music one way or another.
It took some time for you to sign to a label, what made Veggie Co Records appealing to you?
Well, they were very careful about respecting my creative control and rights from the get-go. The biggest hurdle for any indie record label in convincing me to sign–Veggie Co was not the first label to ask me–was always convincing me that they actually brought something to the table that could help me. Veggie Co was the first label to convince me that they actually really cared about the music, and that they had the financial resources, know-how, and passion, to bring my music to a wider audience.
Using personal experiences if you could give an inspiring rapper advice about signing to a record company, what would you tell him/her to avoid? And what to look for?
Avoid anyone who wants you to pay for anything. Avoid people who want to take your creative control. Avoid people who tell you they can make you a star overnight, because they’re probably lying. Avoid people who are doing it for the money, not the music. Look for people who have the resources to support you, the business sense to promote you, and the love of music to foster your creativity instead of hindering it. The Veggie Co guys basically told me: here’s a studio, just go in there and make whatever album you want to make and we’ll take care of the business stuff. From an artist’s perspective, that’s exactly what you want.
What were your intentions going into the making of Roads on the Earth? Did you feel any pressure to live up to your previous albums?
I would like to say I didn’t feel any pressure, but yes, there definitely was some. I don’t even know how many people have heard the first two albums, but based on what I’ve heard, they were very meaningful to some people and that’s something that means a lot to me. Obviously, at the end of the day what drives me to write is what I’m feeling, and I choose songs based on what I think is up to my standards, not what I think other people will like, but going into Roads I was definitely nervous. It was also my first time in a real studio; which was a very different experience from recording on my own, so I didn’t really know how things were going to come out. I guess personally, I was looking to make an album that was a bit less preachy and political than the last one, and that reflected a little more what’s been going on in my life recently.
In the past you have used real life experiences that are quite personal as a driving force for your music, can we expect that same genuine approach on Roads on the Earth?
Yes, and yes. I have often said I’m not very creative, which is probably true, so almost everything I write is pretty true to life, although it is often expanded, exaggerated, or otherwise modified for dramatic effect. On Roads on the Earth, “Morning After” is a good example of that, as is “A Day on the Train”…so is “Things Don’t Change”, although I can’t speak for Sarah’s verse on that one…really all the songs are at least based in real-life experience, even when it isn’t as immediately evident. That’s why so many of my songs, even ones that aren’t really ’stories’ per say, start with something I actually did in real life that was the impetus for the song. (For example, “November Alone (Part II)” and “Take Me Home”). So, in short, yes.
Are there aspects of your life you try to keep away from the mic (in a general sense of course)?
No, although I’m sure my friends and family wish there were. I have yet to write an album that doesn’t require me to play songs to a friend and/or family member and ask their permission to put it on the album because it so obviously concerns them. It’s tough because I do change plenty of things when I write, but not enough that mutual friends don’t know who I’m talking about so…I’m very thankful to them, all of them, for letting me use them in that way. No one has ever said no.
So do you feel that this is one of those “I did it for myself” albums that fans really get to see the more personal side of Sun Zoo?
In a sense, yes, although to be perfectly honest Hope Flies was more truly a “did it for myself” kind of thing because I didn’t have any fans then, and didn’t really expect anything to come of posting the album online for free except letting a few friends listen to it. This album you definitely do get to see some personal stuff, though, yeah.
What do you want listeners to take away from listening to Roads on the Earth?
Well, first and foremost I just want them to enjoy the music, but I think every album I’ve made attempts to convey this idea I have that in tough times, hope can get you through. On top of that, I want to convey this idea that life in America, especially urban life, is often missing something–that, and what it leads to, is the inspiration for the song “November Alone (Part II)”. Cities are huge collections of people all together that somehow end up being more alienating and lonely than places with fewer people. I think our society has a lot to do with that, and in our generation, this kind of jaded apathy we’ve adopted has a lot to do with it too (I’m as guilty of this as anyone, by the way). So I guess I also want people to get that sense from the record, and, hopefully, be dissatisfied by it. Additionally, I try to convey the beauty of everyday things I see around me. I walk around the city or sit on a train with my ipod on and beats playing and sometimes the world looks like a movie to me–spontaneous, natural, perfect. So I try to capture that, and inevitably fail. But hopefully at least some evidence of the effort is there.
Going a bit off topic; why do you feel that this generation, more than any other, has adopted such a feeble attitude toward social issues and politics?
Well, why isn’t really my area of knowledge, but I have a few guesses. I think it’s partly the failure of our parent’s generation to really change much in the 60s. I think a lot of young people today look at that movement and see it as just very naive, which maybe it was, but the result is that we don’t even try, just complain. Part of it is that in America, our lives are more stable than those of generations past–Vietnam, World War II, these were issues that affected everyone. Kids then saw their friends going to war, dying. Now we have a war, and we have terrorism, but it doesn’t directly affect most people. So, my generation has now been around a couple decades, and hasn’t really seen anything change. Politics is the same bullshit it has always been, the poor are still poor, the rich are still unsatisfied, and life moves on the way it always has for us. I think those factors are probably part of the reason, but I’m sure experts could tell you a lot more about it than I could.
How much of a factor can Hip Hop play in being a platform for provoking younger listeners to maybe become more involved in politics?
I think it can play a big factor, although not necessarily in the ways people have been trying. I’m thinking of that video Eminem did in ‘04, I don’t know if you saw it, showing an army of kids going and voting. I don’t think telling people to do anything ever really works, but hip-hop can provoke a deeper interest and involvement in politics by showing kids the issues in a way that they relate to in some way. Even jaded people have consciences; you just have to present the truth–or your interpretation of the truth–to them and let them make their own choices. But I think hip-hop is as good a medium as any to do that.
How involved were you in the musical process of making Roads on the Earth?
Pretty much totally involved. There are three songs, I think, that were produced by other people, so I made almost all the music. In the future I’m hoping to play an even larger role, use fewer samples and more real instrumentation, etc. With this album that just wasn’t possible, but I’m kind of a perfectionist when it comes to music so I had my hand in pretty much everything you hear on the album
Was it difficult having such a role in both the production and rapping? Nowadays it seems that producing has lost it’s creative edge, was there anything you tried different or experimented with while working on the production for Roads on The Earth?
No, it wasn’t difficult. It is difficult for me not to have a hand in it because I’m a little bit of a control freak when it comes to my own music. But yes, with Roads on the Earth I was trying to make more and better use of organic drum sounds and breaks, trying to make the drums sound less programmed, and that’s something I’ll be doing more, and better, in the future. But I think there are some tracks that are pretty different, in terms of drums, and I hope people like them.
Was there a certain sound or vibe you wanted to capture with Roads on the Earth?
I wanted a kind of organic sound, I guess. I’m always looking for that. Not like it is actually live instrumented, but I don’t want things to sound synthy and fake. And I wanted raw drums, as I mentioned before. But I wasn’t looking for anything too specific, really–the vibe tends to come naturally from what I write just because I write most of the songs over a fairly short period of time, so in general how I’m feeling then becomes the vibe of the album.
Your first two albums were available for free download on your site, obviously with label restrictions, you had to find some other way to give fans that same privilege. How are you going about doing that?
Well, with this album, we’ve put up a couple free songs, and will also be shooting a music video that will be available for free on YouTube and probably also in higher quality as a download on the site. That’s really about all we can do for this one, but I’ve got some ideas for future projects that I’m pretty sure will make both fans and the label happy. I can’t discuss these in too much detail because I haven’t had time to discuss this with the label yet, but you’ll probably see another 100% free Sun Zoo album on the site sometime in 2009. There will also probably be more random songs I make–joke songs, songs that just don’t fit on the album, etc.–that just get posted on the site whenever they’re finished. Working in a real studio, there wasn’t really time for that kind of stuff, but I’m hoping to do more recording on my own in the future.
Do you think more artists should do the same?
Yes, especially relatively unknown artists like me. I think you can’t expect people to pay for your music before you have some stuff out for free to prove to them that it is going to be worth it. At the same time, I do think that artists and consumers can find a happy medium in terms of paying some money for the music so that indie artists can afford to keep doing what they do. I think a lot of music listeners don’t really have any idea how much work goes into writing, recording, and releasing an album (at least, a good album). I’m in danger of veering off topic here, but yes, I think that all artists should have enough music freely available for fans to be convinced their other stuff is worth paying for, and additionally I think that artists ought to release what they can for free. If I’ve got two albums done, why not just put one of them online for free? It’s good promotion, it’s good for listeners. Free music is good for everyone.
(On this note, I should shout out the fantastic blog Free Albums Galore: http://freealbums.blogsome.com/ They reviewed my first two albums, which was how I found them, but they post new albums available for free download every day or two and many of them are very good. Some of my favorite indie bands I discovered on their site, which I am now addicted to).
Reading that, I’d like to know what your stance is on what the RIAA is trying to do to eliminate illegal downloading, are you for or against all the rules and regulations?
Against. I do think artists should be paid for their work (obviously), but the RIAA going around suing all of its customers is not going to help anything. Fear is not the ideal way to sell records, and the RIAA is not going to regulate itself out of this mess. I don’t know what the solution to the music biz’s woes is, but I’m pretty sure it needs to involve a much higher emphasis on quality music so that when consumers do buy music they aren’t disappointed. And it definitely needs to not involve suing music lovers.
Has mainstream music lost its art merit, if it ever had it?
Yes. I think it did have it, once. There were days, I’m told, that Bob Dylan was being played on pop radio stations as his new songs came out, so things have obviously changed. And Wu-Tang used to get spin on pop stations, right? I never listened to the radio, but these are things I heard. But yeah, whatever artistic merit was there seems more or less gone now. There are some exceptions, of course…Really I think it’s that mainstream music has become kids’ music, dance music.
That’s exactly why people should buy Roads on the Earth.
Well I have nothing more to say except thank you for taking the time to sit down and answer my questions, is there anything else you would like to add?
Thanks for interviewing me….please check out my music if you haven’t heard it (there are two free albums on my website at sun-zoo.com) and then support the new album by ordering a copy from my label (veggiecorecords.com) or digital copies from iTunes or Amazon.com…..thanks!”
