Hole, Alex (Sh'mantra) (June 2002)

The Secret To Sh'mantra's Formula

A lot of times one good review is enough to draw my attention to a new band out there, but in the case of Formula Orange it was a slew of positive responses that quickly prompted me to discover more about Sh'mantra, a band located in Australia, hardly a place for any intriguing artist, at least for the moment. [On the other hand... -ed.] But this ensemble looks ready to change the lack of hype about the music performed in the world "down under," as their pleasant mix of psychedelic rock and minimalist atmospheres is a breath of fresh air in a stagnant global scene. So it's time for Alex Hole to explain to us something more about the magic that floats in the Aussie universe.

Igor Italiani: Hi Alex ... I would like to start the interview asking you about the beginnings of your career because, in all honesty, Australia isn't tracked like other music countries...

Alex Hole: Yep, here in the Antipodes we could pretty much burrow to the earth's core and fill it with beer and you wouldn't know about it [ha-ha, great! - II]. OK, in late 1995 we joined forces under the name Cornucopia to try and make some interesting sounds with no rules. Everyone was encouraged to stretch their legs in any direction they liked. After changing our name to Sh'mantra we put out our first album Cornucopia in 1998 (just to be confusing) which pricked a few ears around the place and, trimming down one guitarist in the interim, followed it recently with the double-CD Formula Orange, which has received a pretty damn pleasing reception indeed in the global underground.

II: But why did you switch your name to Sh'mantra, and moreover ... can you tell me the meaning of the word?

AH: It turned out (ironically, considering our lack of vocals) that an "a cappella" group here in Sydney had the name Cornucopia, so we just took Sh'mantra from the title of one of our songs. Considering the meaning of the word ... well, I could tell you the secret that lies behind it, but of course I would have to kill you a moment later [mmh, I think I will carry on without knowing the real meaning of the name! - II].

II: Another aspect that really intrigued me is that the music is very psychedelic and minimalist, yet the cover and the title of the album seem to focus on bright colours ... can you explain this sort of diversity?

AH: Yes, diversity is what it's all about. The humble chameleon has evolved using its array of colours as a survival tactic. Drop a chameleon off a cliff and you'll see the colours on the inside are a whole lot different, too. [ouch - ed.] We try and cover a lot of the spectrum with our music, at times it is minimalist but other times richly layered, so the contours are ever changing ... perhaps that's why it comes across as "visual." The psychedelic side of music is always vivid and extreme, and we got the feel for the album's visuals and colours from the music itself.

II: The booklet of the album goes even further, as it includes the symbols of various physics elements. Why did you opt for this choice?

AH: The world and everything in it, including you and me and the things you're reading this on are all in the periodic table of elements. Yet another little human device to try and put order to the chaos, to make sense out of the random.

II: The music you play is more influenced by great bands of the past like Pink Floyd (which can be taken to reference in some spots) or by the landscape offered by your country?

AH: Interesting that you mention the Australian landscape, as it is a common question from Europe regarding our sounds. Our country is vast and terrible and beautiful and it gives you an awesome sense of space and freedom, subconsciously or otherwise. For example tracks like "74 Degrees" describe a time and place with a sense of spaciousness, of the earth moving within an environment. In terms of influence from other bands, everyone in the band is a voracious consumer of music both old and new of all varieties, from Floyd to African drum orchestras, to Eno ambient soundscapes, to noise metal onslaughts, to space dub trip-outs, to post-rock meanderings. Only one rule exists for us regarding our songs: "If our song sounds too familiarly like someone else, we chuck it out." Barefaced plagiarism is rife in popular western music these days and no one seems to care anymore.

II: Alex, were you able to play some live shows outside Australia, or are you still trying to organize some in the near future?

AH: We obviously love doing our thing live, 'cause the songs take on a new perspective. You know, playing in Europe would be fantastic as underground audiences are always appreciative of something different from the bloated corpse of rock. We really appreciate the interest and support from Europe and would love to get there sometime soon. Unfortunately we'd have to sell our families into brutal slavery to pay to get over there just now from our corner of the globe ... but we'll get over to you one day.

II: Are you satisfied with the response generated by Formula Orange so far?

AH: We've heard nothing but great news from everywhere, be it Australia or Europe or the USA, so we're pretty damn chuffed to hear the music connect on an exciting level with people from diverse backgrounds.

II: Talking about the songs ... can you tell me why the seventh track of the first CD has such a long title, comprising a lot of different words?

AH: Just like a hard-earned thirst deserves a big cold beer, the song has a title that befits the shambling leviathan that it is. And we like annoying people with short attention spans.

II: One of the songs I really loved is "Pit And The Pendulum" ... can you tell me something more about it?

AH: Mechanical moon ... 45 watt filament ... flickering ... flickering. The song kept evolving over a couple of years and we'd never really played it the way we captured the album take, which turned out quite gothic, winter, all blackened eaves and golden shadows.

II: Formula Orange is a double CD album, but the songs were recorded all by November 1999. So maybe you have other material already composed for the next album?

AH: Yes, we took great care over every detail regarding Formula O, making sure it was supercharged for release. Since then we have continued jamming like beautiful maniacs, mountains of which we have recorded live to tape. If you're curious as to how Sh'mantra sounds "roaming free in the wilderness," then we have a CD available from our website now called Sub-floating. Amidst all this we have indeed nurtured the sapling of our third album which should see the light of day sooner rather than later ... yet another interesting progression in our sounds methinks.

II: What's the sonic landscape you'll try to depict in the next album?

AH: Underneath the fractured crust it seems the dreamy liquids have become gentler and the jagged shards have got longer. And you'll hear our first sea shanty.

II: OK Alex, the time is up. Goodbye and ... is there something else you would like to add?

AH: Yeah. I just like to add that for the people that wish to purchase our CD you can do so through various mail order outlets at the moment. Rather than list them here please look at our website www.shmantra.com to see where the closest to you is.

Discography:
EM>Cornucopia (1998)
Formula Orange (2001)
Sub-floating (ep) (2002)
?A System Of Moments (2005)
Besides The Sub Bunker (2008)