SONIC BOOM INTERVIEW

Lsr:

Hello Pete I hope you’re doing well. I’ve been a fan for a long time and spacemen 3 are the reason I started making music, it connected with me on a much deeper level and I know many others have felt the same way. Still to this day with all your work it never fails to do the same.

Sonic:

Reading this is better & nicer than money for me . Thats very kind of you to say .

LSR:

When you set out to make music, is there a bigger picture that your thinking of or specific sound your looking to create or do you have a small idea then things naturally unfold and you just do what you need to serve the song rather than force it in a direction?

Sonic:

I just follow my nose really . I’ll always use sounds that appeal to me & I’ll try to match in with them. From experience i know to try & find parts that are in totally diffrent octaves , and also that temporally each have their own space.

LSR:

Once you have completed and released a body of work how do you manage your emotions after? Do you sit and dwell on the reviews and how well it’s been perceived? Do you feel like you could have done better and are never satisfied? Or is it just pure excitement and can’t wait for it to be out there?

Sonic:

A mix . I always look at the reviews but essentially I expect a range of reactions usually . I don’t get bummed on bad reviews if there are any . But its always nice to see it resonate with people.

L

Lsr:

I don’t want to speak out of turn but I’ve always considered you a king of the underground, your favourite artists favourite artists type. It must be surreal feeling to get songs in a big blockbuster like Priscilla. How you satisfy me is not exactly period correct. But it captures the emotion and feeling perfectly that real euphoria that you do so well. Is that something you ever visioned would happen to you when you started out?

Sonic:

I guess i always hoped i would get trax used like that . It happened a bit but happens more & more these days .its nice I like the way they used it in Priscilla . The last years have seen more and more of these syncs .

Lsr:

There is a huge emphasis on stardom all the time and it seems more prevalent on social media these days, but it’s always been false. People selling their souls for the fame and still ending up with huge depts to labels or involved in some sick scandal etc etc.

was your aim always just do what you love and what ever happens happens? You never seemed to compromise every collaboration every piece of work always really feels sincere and that’s really admirable.

Sonic:

I think a little fame goes a long long way . A lot of fame is a toxic trap .

I am fully invested once im involved in a project . I see every aspect of promotion , merch , videos etc in the same light . A total artwork .

I think sm fame is junk. Influencers are muppets , toxifying the planet and accelerating enshitification and consumerism.

Lsr:

Lastly, I think it’s great that you and panda bear have made a big emphasis on the physical media side of music with your latest release. It’s definitely the direction we all need to head in to help artists as there isn’t any money in it for a lot of people. Also consumers are consuming whatever they are fed on the algorithm’s , so to go to the shop or online and be physically drawn to the art is putting people back in touch with their senses. Do you have any other suggestions for consumers on how they could help support the artists and not huge corporations?

Sonic:

think if you are buying the records or cd’s or even digital files its already good . If you’re able , supporting them at concerts and buying merch is also great if you're able and you want a shirt or whatever , but the reward also comes just from you enjoying the works . Some artists use patreon type stuff of course .

Thanks so much for your time Pete , it means the world to us. All the best - Joe