Trust

Hi.
Hi!

It’s midnight here, weird.
Oh.

So, how are you?
Great!

How’s the tour going?
It’s going really well. Lots of fun shows. We’ve been driving up and down the West Coast, searching for fairy sprites in the Redwood forests.

Do you get a good response from the audience?
People have been great.

Are they dancing to the music?
Yes! Except, they want it louder and bigger. And me too. But it’s so great to see people moving and floating about.

What’s the most authentic response you’ve ever gotten from the audience?
There was one show where four people were wearing Spice Girls T-shirts they had cut up.

Wow. Cut up how? Was it raunchy?
Just to personalise it, give it flair.

‘Music is like the best language I can speak. It calms me down.’

How was that authentic?
They made it their own.

So, Trust. That kind of sounds like a politician urging you to put your faith in him or something. What made you choose that name?
I don’t think it was political reasoning. I liked the word, it was an important theme for a while. It’s bookended by two big Ts. I feel that ‘trust’ is the theme of this record.

How’s that?
It was my hope to finish this record and find peace with the idea of trust.

How was that authentic?
They made it their own.

So, Trust. That kind of sounds like a politician urging you to put your faith in him or something. What made you choose that name?
I don’t think it was political reasoning. I liked the word, it was an important theme for a while. It’s bookended by two big Ts. I feel that ‘trust’ is the theme of this record.

How’s that?
It was my hope to finish this record and find peace with the idea of trust.

Was it a hard recording the album?
At times. I’m finding it much easier to write the next record. Things are lighter.

So you’re already working on a new album? Something for the near future?
I don’t have a date for you but… it’s coming.

Wow.
I’m always writing music. It’s the only thing that keeps me calm.

What’s your natural state, then? Nervous? Neurotic?
Sometimes. I think I’m just in my head most of the time, dreaming.

What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t making music?
Living in Hyrule! Oh man, I’ve been having a rekindling with all the ‘Legend of Zelda’ music. It’s just like nothing else out there!

Ah, Hyrule is Zelda’s kingdom, right?
Exactly.

I played ‘Legend of Zelda’ for a short while, but fanatically. That’s quite some time ago, though.
Same here. I haven’t been able to extensively play anything since the ‘Wind Waker’.

Okay. Something totally different. What are your thoughts on irony?
I’ve always found that I’m too genuine. I catch myself being so gullible.

You’re easily tricked?
Maybe not that, but I have a hard time being snide or sarcastic.

Would you mind if people interpreted your music as ironic?
It’s so far from that. So not at all.

It just seems that irony is such a big part of the music scene these days.
You know what, I would care if people interpret my music as ironic.

Do you think irony is the opposite of authenticity?
It’s definitely a way to mask being authentic, for sure.

What kind of music do you associate with authenticity?
All the songs about dreams. Cocteau Twins, Aphex Twin, Nick Drake.

You seem like quite a far-off guy.
Ha!

What would you say is the realest thing in your life?
I guess the friends who are still so close to me.

Friends from way back?
Yes, yes.

Tell me about them.
They’re those people that I’ve been able to sit around and share dreams with.

How do you choose your friends?
I don’t think you get to choose so much. It’s more luck and treating them right.

Can you tell when someone’s full of it? When someone’s fake?
Oh, for sure.

Would you prefer an honest but moody person or a polite, fake person?
Honest and moody, hands down. But you know, both kinds are out there.

What is it that urges you to make music?
It’s the creative outlet that makes me most content.

So making music comes completely natural to you?
Yes. It does. It’s like the best language I can speak. It calms me down.

Trust plays the sixth of October at Rotown in Rotterdam. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members.