Caught in the Carousel

The Salteens

By Pamela Obenchain

Salteens

Ask any of my friends and they will tell you – I am the queen of the snap judgment. Occasionally though, something will get my past my judgmental nature and actually grow on me. Such is the case with the Salteens’ latest effort, Grey Eyes.

Best described as retro-pop, the Salteens have crafted a sound that is very reminiscent of the popular music from the ‘60’s, ‘70s and ‘80s. The first thing you notice are the horns; no guitars, but a horn section and a real piano (not keyboards); a refreshing thing in this age of Auto-Tune and computerized instrumentation. The first track “Last Train From London” is a perfect example of this; it’s very upbeat and catchy with a strong horn section (the likes of which we haven’t heard since Sgt. Pepper).

The music on Grey Eyes seems simple at first but is actually quite complex, almost orchestral. Not surprising, given the fact that frontman Scott Walker (who actually has a degree in music) references arrangers rather than other bands when he talks about his influences (see interview below). Although most of the music is relentlessly upbeat, Grey Eyes is really about innocence and coming of age. The last track “Don’t Break My Heart” is particularly bittersweet, starting with just a simple piano and Walker’s gentle vocals murmuring, “I’m working hard for the first time/My hands feel tough where the skin is worn/You’re asking me where the sky ends/You’re asking me to be on my own.”

Formed in 2000, the Salteens consists of 10 members fronted by Walker. Grey Eyes is their third album but the first in 7 years. In that time, they have been busy exploring other avenues, having written and performed for the children’s show “Yo Gabba Gabba” and also forming their own record company, Boompa Records. Scott Walker took a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to share some thoughts with CITC:

Salteens

Caught in the Carousel: I know you have a music degree, when did you first know you wanted to be a professional musician?

Scott Walker: I entered university in commerce and realized that if I had to spend another 3 years doing that it would be the end of me. So I figured if it had to be done, it might as well be something that I liked so I just transferred into music. I remember after I graduated, my mom was like, “What are you going to do for a job?”
….Well, play music!

CITC: So was music always a part of your life growing up?

Walker: Yeah, it’s funny….maybe the same reasons why I started looking at getting in to commerce. I like getting things happening and putting things together; putting songs together and getting people together is kind of a natural extension of that. As a kid we had some drums and I was trying to organize the neighbors into a little band. I had no concept of how to do anything, I just wanted things to happen.

Of the 10 people playing in the band right now, 9 of us have degrees…and the 10th one has talent.

CITC: Talking about how you like the organization aspect and getting people together, does that also play into your role with Boompa Records?

Walker: Yeah, it just seemed normal. All of our friends had great records and we were like “why don’t we just do something with that?” and it became a whole other journey. For a while it was frustrating because music wasn’t fun, it was business. But there’s a happier medium that we’ve found since then. It does what it does, it doesn’t set expectations of making anyone famous, it just kind of gives them a leg up. If you’re trying to get someone famous…you can’t control that. That’s an old idea. If you happened to make music and people like it, great!

CITC: And with the Internet there’s so much more access. With the technology available, file sharing and everything….

Walker: The Internet’s kind of put us backwards, sort of into a cottage industry. The industrial revolution caused everyone to go from their homes out to the factory and then the internet meant that everyone is connected and scale exists so you can go back to your home and create whatever you want, whether it’s music or porn.

CITC: You’ve chosen to go against traditional rock and instead of guitars you have a horn section and an actual piano, what influences that sound?

Walker: It was 2 things: One, we kind of felt like we’d gone as far as we could with the sound of the band; we kind of felt like we’d nailed it. Well, the original idea was that the drummer would be standing up. If you’re standing up and playing drums, you can’t really play cymbals and you have to change how you play…and I was like, “What if there were no guitars?” So there would be no cymbals and no guitars; nothing in that frequency. Then we had to fill up that space; how do we get that same energy out of traditional instruments? And not have it sound like jazz. There are a couple of jazz inflections, but this is more classical than jazz. It sounds more like a Salvation Army band on a street corner than a be-bop group. So it was one of those things where you give yourself a challenge, and we never had rules.

Salteens

CITC: It’s deceptive actually; at first glance your music seems like simple pop but it’s really quite complex.

Walker: That’s actually the best compliment for us; that it sounds so simple and natural because there’s so much effort that goes into it. As we started playing songs, it’s got something to do with where we are at emotionally--our lives are more complex as we get older--and for us to put time into music it really had to be a very positive experience. There was too much pressure in dealing with the band the way it was so it was a really slow process of putting this together. My girlfriend is a piano player so we would play together and then our bass player has cable so would go over there to watch TV; so the 3 of us would play. Then we started inviting horn players around and whoever showed up slowly became the band. So by the time project got going I was writing for 10 people and every part was scored. At the beginning of every rehearsal they would play through my stuff and comment on it; and I would change it based on what they wanted to do. So it was a weird process; I had more control than ever but because I had so much control it was more freeing for other people in the band to have input.

CITC: It’s interesting to hear you say you were actually “scoring” it; not something you hear people talk about in pop music.

Walker: Yeah but if you hear Owen Pallett or Final Fantasy--I believe he does the arrangements for Arcade Fire--it is sick! It makes me so depressed to hear how good his stuff his is. And the same thing for that harp player (I can’t think of her name right now); she had Van Dyke Parks do her arrangements. It was so sophisticated and so cool…

CITC: You talked about how you’re all getting older, as we all do, and Grey Eyes seems like it’s about that whole process; of going through life and coming of age.

Walker: Absolutely. A lot of my songs earlier were about exploring the gray area between 2 people’s point of view but now most things are black and white. There’s no time for such frivolous navel gazing. There’s always one song on every record where I’m convincing the band to stay in the band but this time it was more convincing myself, or saying, “This is important”. Even with the stock market crash 2 years ago, there’s a whole sense of security that had been fed to us that just doesn’t exist and if you’re not challenging a lot of that or if you’re not able to express your own pathway you’re susceptible to falling prey to whatever everyone else wants.

CITC: I know you’ve also done songs for kids. Are you trying to get that message to kids; that you have to stand up for yourself, that sort of thing?

Walker: The kid’s stuff is more about what the adults are doing in our lives. All my friends have families and my other friends started a kid’s show. They asked me to write some songs for them so I started writing for my friends with kids so it would go on a TV show and it’s a whole different thing. It was the first time in my life where I actually had a task; it was almost like a job. I always use these Brill Building comparisons; I would love to be working in the Brill Building back in the day churning out songs for a job but the songs I actually write for the Salteens have nothing to do with that process. They are much more innate discoveries and I’m so happy some higher power breathes in my ear every now and then.

CITC: Did you learn anything musically from writing for a kid’s show?

Walker: Definitely. You have to simplify everything and it has to have a strong simple point to it. It’s a great reminder as you’re making pop songs and getting more and more intricate with things; it’s the simpler things that tend to do better. When I was on tour with Yo Gabba Gabba and seeing the songs kids would freak out about every night; they were the ones with big drumbeats.

CITC: It’s been 7 years since your last album. Now that Grey Eyes is out, what’s next for the band? Will there be a tour?

Walker: If we could find a good tour and go on it that would be amazing. We’re so happy when we’re playing music and we’re very focused on making that happen.

Salteens