Peter Kember aka Sonic Boom has been making totally far out head music since 1985, first as half of the legendary group Spacemen 3, and then as Spectrum. And there has never been a time when the music he has made has not been relevant. Kember’s droning guitars, trance figures and blissed-out vibe have an influence that has been felt everywhere from near-academic electronic music to dance music and on down to Animal Collective and beyond. Today, Kember is releasing a new EP under the Spectrum moniker called War Sucks, and kicking off his tour here in Philadelphia with a show at Kung Fu Necktie. After the jump, we interview Kember and check out a track from the album.

Pete, I saw Spectrum at last year’s All Tomorrow’s Parties in upstate NY, and I still find myself thinking about that set. It was very possibly my favorite of the entire festival, and was just incredibly intense. Do you find yourself moving towards a more aggressive — almost German in its precision — sound these days, and given the new EP being called War Sucks, is it a kind of political as well as musical statement?

yeah ,I think we always had that ‘German Precision’ going on -even in Spacemen 3 , it was just played by a bunch of sloppy Brits …though I do have German blood .And most Anglo Saxons ofcourse do too….
songs like ‘How does it feel’ are very sparse but have a very clear repetetive ‘hypno-monotony’ to them . Kraftwerk were a big influence on us .The whole minimalism / maximalism thing .
In WW2 the Germans had the best gear . They pretty much took arms to their present day state in 5 years of war in the 1940′s.They were super advanced .Tanks ,Guns , helmets,camouflage you name it .like , the Waffen ss had camouflage clothing (many types , some for each season) over 10 years before the allies started giving similar stuff to their troops .
Sure , they had that mad sucker screwing shit up & people over like it was going out of fashion , but I dont hold a race responsible for everything done in his name .

The new single War Sucks is political ofcourse .But not aimed at Germany .It’s a fairly broad statement to the human race in general .
We’ve incorporated the sounds of Nebelwerfer (sometimes refered to as ‘stalin organs’ or ‘moaning minnies’ ) & Stuka dive bombers .Both these were designed with an added sonic impact , involving screaming fans added to create the maximum noise ,smoke & fear even before the rockets & bombs hit home . Terrible & terrifying .All sides used them by the wars finish .
As a band , we do have the aspiration to deliver sonic awe – with precision , sure .

I think everyone has wondered at one time or another: What are the best drugs to take when making music to take drugs to?

well , that would vary I guess .
Differant strokes for differant folks . I think hash & weed are both very creatively stimulating . When you’re 20 I’d say speed -amphetamine sulphate – is pretty great . It depends on your tastes i guess. I’ve found heroin to be useful in that way too , but these are’nt things one can blindly prescribe for anyone.

What are you listening to these days?

Bunch of differant stuff . Panda Bear / Animal collective are pretty great .
Cheval Sombre from Brooklyn has a self titled new lp, Dean&Britta’s new 13 most beautiful soundtracks to Warhol’s screentests of Nico,Lou Reed,Edie Sedgwick et al , the Misa Luba (african tribesmen singing the requiem mass ) .my mind always goes a little blank when i’m asked this……oh yeah , Austin’s Strange Attractors are really worth checking out .

As there were about 15 years ago, it suddenly feels like there are hundreds of shoegaze bands again. And while it’s easy enough to find ones that sound like MBV or slowdive, why do you think it is that no one has ever really been able to legitimately knock off the sound made by you, both in Spectrum and Spacemen 3?

I dont know . I’m not sure that’s true anyway – I NEVER saw a shoegaze band come CLOSE to MBV……..I told Kevin (Shields0 that I really hate him because they are the true inheritors of the early Who & later Yardbirds sound .They have that rare power & excitement .(ofcourse ,really were good friends of 20yrs +). they’re one of the best bands i’ve ever seen -no question .
I think that my formula is very idiosyncratic and that its very hard to copy something from the outside only . It’s the hidden inside that is the key to everything .It cant be by design , it has to be by feel . The music could be played by apes , IN THEORY ………It revolves around very simple precepts & structures , but these need to be masterfully applied to achieve our result .It aint all it appears..

What’s the best song you’ve ever written?

I have no idea .that’s pretty hard to say . Suicide ? maybe…….
Ecstacy symphony maybe…….

Spectrum plays Kung Fu Necktie, Front & Thompson Streets, with Tickley Feather and Curanderos.

[Photo credit: Tim Underwood]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm.