Leading up to the inaugural Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit, we’re running a series of Q+A interviews with the festival’s artists.
Simeon, primitive synthesizer player for psychedelic-electronic outfit Silver Apples:
Mountain Xpress:If you were attending Mountain Oasis as a fan, what acts would be at the top of your list to see?
Simeon: There are several bands I have never heard, so they would be on my list: Bosnian Rainbows, Half Japanese and Delorean come to mind.
What sounds, styles, formats or concepts are still underrepresented in electronic music? I think electronic music is still in a beginning “discovery” phase where interest in the technology prevails. One day soon, interest in what the musician does with the technology will be more upfront than the technology itself. An analogy might be with the violin. When first invented, everyone was amazed at the sound. Now, thousands of people play the violin. It’s what an individual does with it that counts.
What techniques has Silver Apples carried over from the late ‘60s? Besides having Danny’s drum and rhythms as backing tracks, I still play the oscillators hands on. They are still as unruly as ever.
Since Silver Apples was one of the first groups to play electronic rock, what’s it like to be part of a festival these days that’s totally dedicated to electronic music? Feels like home.
Do you have anything special planned for your Mountain Oasis set? I always do a smattering of songs from the early albums, but about a third of the set is new material. That’s special to me, anyway.
Silver Apples performs Friday, 9:30 p.m. at Asheville Music Hall. More info here.
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