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Twilight Circus Dub Sound System


    Like Godzilla munching on buildings
    Ryan Moore of Twilight Circus is the latest arrival from Planet Dub.
    by Jeff Chang

    In the '90s DUB REVIVAL, adventurous twiddlers have used old-school strategy to take them all over the musical map. But while Ryan Moore is transcontinental (even transplanetary, he might insist), with one foot in Amsterdam and the other in Vancouver, the sounds coming out of his home studio hearken straight back down yard. Possibly the most traditional of the latter-day dub apostles, Moore's Twilight Circus Dub Sound System has ignited a buzz for its dusty grooves and its endearing eccentricity. As if to take dub back to its acetate-to-sound system beginnings, Moore often individually numbers each of the CDs. And he wields a drumstick like a monster, pounding out deep rhythms capable of knocking down walls. I recently caught Moore via e-mail as the Legendary Pink Dots (for whom he doubles as bassist) made their way across America.

    Bay Guardian: Where were you born and raised?
    Ryan Moore: I was born and raised in the temperate rain-forest climes of Vancouver, Canada. I was an alien adoptee from thr planet of Silly Putty and thrived in the moss-covered forest where my Earth parents built their log cabin homestead, growing organic carrots and pumpkins.

    These days I've opted for the European location of the Netherlands, a very mellow land chock full of cows, windmills, dikes, and white-overall clad teams of Dutch people armed with small clippers -- to adjust any errant blades of grass which may disturb the sense of order. In Holland it is permitted to dub!


    BG: How did you make the transition from playing bass and drums for Legendary Pink Dots to doing Twilight Circus? How does work in each project inform the other?
    RM: I used to work as a studio bass player for Nettwerk Records, which meant i was playing anything from industrial to dance to pure pop music on any given recording date. In that kind of situation, you have to learn to become a musical chameleon, playing authentically in various musical genres -- a kind of musical split personality, which definitely has influenced how i can switch between seemingly nonrelated musical projects like Twilight Circus and the Legendary Pink Dots.

    My current work in the dub realm with Twilight Circus is really a continuation of a long process of learning and work I've been busy with since the mid-1980s. So I'd been developing these ideas long before ever meeting up with the Pink Dots. The dubosaurus has left the nest and is on the prowl -- serious Jurassic dub rumble in the jungle!


    BG: Have you paid much attention to the dub-informed American "postrock" groups?
    RM: I've heard quite a bit of Tortoise. I like the postrock sound and their way of working, which involves, as far as i can tell, using the studio as an instrument of composition, using loops and fragments of one's own playing, using free-flowing ideas and improvisation which are then sculpted into "song" forms. This is basically the way in which i work in creating Twilight Circus music.


    BG: It strikes me that your work, especially on Dub Plate Selection, is obtaining more depth and texture as you go. What has changed about your ideas of the music you make from In Dub Vol. 1 to now?
    RM: The basic principle of working has remained the same over all five Twilight Circus albums -- which is to be spontaneous and improvise in the studio. The overall master plan for Twilight Circus as to start out with a record like , which is a real hard-core '70s style dub set, as a springboard to dive off into other dub experiments -- introducing more electronic textures and sounds, like what you hear on Dub Plate Selection.

    To my own surprise, I haven't yet exhausted the idea pool -- i've just finished my fifth full-length CD, Horsie (which will be available at the Fillmore concert in San Francisco), and have enough solid works in progress to complete a few more strong dub sets.

    One thing that has changed recently is that I've become interested in the idea of incorporating vocalists into the music. It's an exciting prospect, It's kind of like working in reverse -- because dub started out as a way to rework existing vocal songs of the day, minus the vocals, to use as the backing for sound system toasters like U-Roy.


    BG: I understand you're not much of a digital techie type --that you deliberately keep it lo-fi. Yet it seems your music aspires to be futuristic, visionary. How do you feel about the role of technology in creating new sounds?
    RM: I think the recent revolution in music technology is great. It's a very empowering digital "punk rock" kind of an ethic. Anyone can make their own music.

    In my own case I don't work with computers or sequencers, not out of any principle, but because I'm computer challenged. I'm able to work much faster if I just go and instantly lay down a live drum track than, say, spending hours to program a drum pattern on a sequencer. This "lo-fi" method also gives the tracks a more unique sound --which is a plus.

    I actually have a digital sampler which i use to make loops and make mad sounds --I love that thing! The true fun begins when you can totally mess with sounds --make a sample of a choir sound like Godzilla munching on buildings with a groovy chewing rhythm. I'm fully into this kind of "sound design"! It's a relaxing pastime and is highly recommended.


    BG: How the heck do you tour? Do you bring a band or a bunch of equipment? Both?
    RM: On this current U.S. tour I'm doing things "rock band" style, which means that I'm running basic tracks and playing various instruments like theremin, drums, and bass. The LPD soundman, Frankie Pett, is doing a live dub mix and dropping in all manner of crazy noises I put together. I go for a fair amount of warped ad-libbing onstage too, so the live show is a thrilling, sometimes spooky, live entertainment spectacle the whole family can enjoy!

    The plan for future live dates is to expand the notion of the Twilight Circus to incorporate DJs, sword swallowers, extra musicians, and percussionists-- a full-on freaky festival of dub and dance music designed to keep kids dancing in the club the entire night! I can't wait --it'll be an amazing amount of fun.


Ryan Moore's Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
opens for Legendary Pink Dots Sun/22, 8p.m., the Fillmore, 1805 Geary, S.F. $16.50. (415) 346-6000.
San Francisco Bay Guardian   November 18, 1998   www.sfbg.com