Diandra Interviews J. Laser: A Psychedelic Trip Through Greek Myths
From the first time I heard J. Laser, I was riveted. My readers know, I love a good, acidic music trip. TAKE ME AWAY, MAESTRO! I want to be warped into the depth of my brain like an episode fo FX’s Legion. (Binge that show! It is Great!) Thus, I WILL be reviewing J.Laser’s self-titled debut EP, out June 26, but before I got to interview him on becoming a solo act from such a successful group, M83, and taking a psychedelic approach to issues like mental health and climate change.
Diandra: Going from M83 to a solo act, in becoming the singular lead, how has your relationship with music and your creativity changed or grown?
J.Laser: I learned a lot from my role in M83; because I was jumping from instrument to instrument I learned to listen to everything as a whole. That informed my process as a solo musician: where I’m writing and tracking all of the parts. I’m able to hear the relationship between each element.
Diandra: Working as a collaborator with so many different artists, how do you tell when a song is “yours” versus for someone else? Does it have a certain quality?
J.Laser: I enjoy working with other people because you have to make them happy with the job you’ve done & work to their standards. When I’m working on my thing, I only have to impress myself which is actually way more challenging. I find it worthwhile to create something that’s completely singular and introspective, even if it sometimes doesn’t appeal to anyone but myself!
J. Laser – Waves & Blades (Official Music Video)
Diandra: What do you feel this EP reveals/ displays about you as a person?
J.Laser: I think it reveals a curiosity about life and the mystery of the universe. I was excited to share a cosmically uplifting, lyrical message and match it with sounds that put me in a palpably psychedelic trance.
Diandra: Your EP is an outcry against dystopian tendencies. With music being about reflection, do you feel the world has become or is becoming more dystopian? Why?
J.Laser: As the world gets stranger day by day, I don’t believe that the next leap into the future is us going deeper into the phone screen. I believe that the way we experience reality is fundamentally an illusion. My ideal for the future would be for humans to see past it. Some people will fall deeper into it through technology. Some people will see through it and graduate mentally to the next level of consciousness; that’s where the aliens are hiding.
Diandra: What about modern culture do you feel is positive and negative?
J.Laser: I’m very grateful to be part of the YouTube generation, where there’s an infinite troth of archived media. That’s a big influence on who I am as an artist, it’s very cool that our era is kind of like every previous era happening at once! The ultimate negative is social media for me, which is in desperate need of an overhaul. I think we’ll look back on Facebook and Twitter etc like the big tobacco industry or lead based paint. It’s a mass psychological experiment gone wrong!
J. Laser – Waves & Blades (Official Music Video)
Diandra: In honor of “Sunshine,” how do you feel music has helped you express and battle away depression?
J.Laser: I’m happy when I’m working on something good in the studio or performing live. It’s a very nice feeling when you can condense an indescribable emotion into a musical idea. There’s a potency to it that is really exciting.
Diandra: With that in mind, who are the people that most taught you how to be happy and what was their advice?
J.Laser: There’s a guy named Duncan Trussell who totally changed my view of the world. The idea that works for me is that we’re part of something infinitely bigger than ourselves and our experience here, and that there is an overarching intelligence at the helm of it all, far beyond our comprehension.
Diandra: With cosmic vibes abound in your EP, what are some Space/ Alien films or books that most inspire your imagination?
J.Laser: I love the movie “Gandahar” – a very underrated animated sci-fi from the 80s. “Holy Mountain” by Alejandro Jodorowsky is my bible. I just saw the Miyazaki film “Howl’s Moving Castle”, which blew me away.
Diandra: What is your favorite childhood memory with music?
J.Laser: I remember seeing my dad play his drum set in our house and just hysterically laughing for some reason, I was just overwhelmed by the power!
Diandra What are some inner truths that music has helped you discover?
J.Laser: The universe is made of vibration, what you attract is a resonation of your vibration.
Me On That Statement = Mind-Blown.
Diandra: Being into Greek Myths, what is one character you relate to and why?
J.Laser: I used to want to be Apollo, who is the perfect being. Now I know I’m Dionysius: totally chaotic and flawed!
Diandra: Is there another Greek Myth you would turn into a song and why?
J. Laser: I like Pan a lot. If I make a song with pan flutes I’ll make it about him!
For More Information On J. Laser Click Here.
