Interview

I like this interview for some reason, so I thought I'd put it here, as well. The story and original can be found here: The Goth Times.

Hi there! To those people who don’t know you can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Daniel Graves, I'm a 28 year old from Hollywood living in Europe. Though, in my opinion, who I am is pretty irrelevant to what I do. Artists make art, but we're all just human beings.

How did Aesthetic Perfection originate?

I started it, actually, as a side project to another band I had at the time. I was really frustrated because I'd spent 5 years working on songs and never finished anything. I concocted AP and wrote a couple of songs over the course of a couple days. I threw it on the internet on a whim and people seemed to like it, and I ran with it. So I guess you could say it started out as something that wasn't taken very seriously, and evolved into something more that completely dominates every aspect of my life.

What do you aim to convey, through your music, to fans and other listeners?

I've never wanted anything more than to express raw emotion. No matter what emotion it is, I just wanted to write something pure and universal. No political or social commentary, no religious bullshit, just something human, that anyone, anywhere can relate to.

You had another project “Necessary Response” that you are putting to bed can you explain why that is?

It was counter productive to the goal of Aesthetic Perfection. It put limits on the music I was making, suggesting one song be filed as AP and another as NR, instead of allowing everything I do to be part of one big cohesive piece of work. Aesthetic Perfection is the only name I write music under right now and I want everything I write to be a part of that, regardless of how aggressive or vulnerable it may be.

Your new album “All Beauty Destroyed” is finished and due for release, can you tell us a bit about it?

My personal life has been pretty stable the last few years. When I sat down and considered what I should be writing about, there was this moment of panic when I realized I had no new experiences to draw from. "Holy shit, my life is pretty good. What the hell am I gonna sing about!?" I decided to turn the mirror inward and look at myself and analyze who I am and why I do what I do, think what I think, etc… I ended up with something much darker and more sinister than I had expected. I was surprised and scared by what I found when I wrote this record. Hopefully some of that mess is sorted out now...

How do you feel this album differs from “A Violent Emotion” and “Close to Human”?

In terms of sound it's a lot more dynamic. There are a lot of peaks and valleys. There are 12 full songs, no instrumentals, which is the most I've ever produced before. It was really an effort to make this record. Very cathartic, there was this massive weight that came off my shoulders when I sent the last song off for mixing. It was like I could breathe again. I'd had similar feelings with the last records, but it was different with this one.

The tone of your work so far has been very dark and aggressive. What kind of things do you draw inspiration from when writing new material?

Like I said I just try to take it down to the most basic emotions. Things that I feel and experience every day. In fact, most of the time I don't even write with a specific goal. Most of the lyrics are written in a stream of conscious style and half the time I don't understand the song until it's done. It's all about just throwing everything out of your subconscious and seeing what you find. When the song is done I'll look back, read the lyrics and think "whoa, that's fucked."

You are also releasing a limited edition "Devil's in the Details" single/EP on your upcoming tour, why have you chosen to release it in this way?

We wanted to share something with the people who come to our shows. Something personal, something that wouldn't be readily available anywhere else. Tim and I packaged them ourselves, our manager stamped the ink to the front of the envelope himself. The whole package is just meant to be small and intimate. In the end we're all about DIY and unique approaches to all aspects of what we do.

With downloading and sharing of music so readily available these days is it becoming harder as a creative artist to “up your game” in order to make a living?

I don't know the record industry the way it used to be, I'm too young. I'm just trying to survive in the industry the way I've always known it, the way I grew up. Napster was something that came out just as I was in my mid teens. It was how I got new music. I understand the culture and the reasoning. I don't advocate it, well, particularly because I don't advocate anything, but I get it. In terms of my business strategy, I'm a workaholic and constantly try to think of new ways to put myself out there.

You are on tour with the mighty Combichrist again, you seem to be good friends, what are they like to tour with?

The Combi guys, the band and crew, they're just friends to us now. It's like hanging out with your buddies. It's like a house party on wheels!

Who would you say has the worst habits on tour between you and Combichrist?

It's a toss up. We drink hard but they have their own vices. ;)

You're coming back to the UK, how do you find playing to a UK audience compared to the rest of the world?

I think the UK crowd just keeps getting better and better for us. We've done a couple tours out there and each time feels like the people are warming up to us more. Not that we didn't feel welcome before, it just means we're really excited for this upcoming tour… we think it's going to go off.

You do a lot of remixes of other artists work, such as Hocico, Iamx and even Lady Gaga, first of all why did you choose Lady Gaga? (I’ve no problem with it) And if you could remix any other song by any other artist, what or who would they be?

Remixes are just a way to break the monotony and tunnel vision of writing a record. I particularly like doing remixes that are outside of my comfort zone. I've done lots of scene remixes and while every one is different, I prefer doing something that makes me scratch my head and think "what the hell am I supposed to do with this?" IAMX and the Gaga remixes were particularly fun because I really had to think about where to take them. So I'm up to do anything that pushes my creative boundaries.

You spin a lot on the DJ circuit too how does that compare to writing and touring in AP?

I like DJ'ing because it's just "show up, get drunk, play music, have fun, go home." It's not work, it's a party. It's extremely relaxed compared to a live show where everyone is running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. A live show has so much that goes into making it happen, doing DJ gigs is a welcome, and relaxing change.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to break into the music scene?

Have thick skin. Know what you want. Never give up.

Finally what else is on the cards for AP regarding the rest of 2011?

New album. More tours. Work work work!