By Keith Walsh The creative partnership of Brian Olsen and Brian Belknap continues to yield musical dividends, as they release another single from Mind Machine’s upcoming album, a work in progress.
Based in Los Angeles, Olsen and Belknap released Mind Machine’s debut LP Reflection way back in 1991, then life got in the way. It wasn’t another 25 years or so until they reunited to make new sounds, first reworking earlier tracks, and then with Frozen Souls, an EP from February of this year.
The brand new single “Pry Your Eyes,” features Olsen’s magical control over virtual synthesizer machines, and Belknap’s cooly passionate vocals. The b-side, “Broken Machine,” is a catchy dance number with some uniquely weird beats and sounds. I was curious about their processes while creating their captivating tunes, and Olsen kindly replied to my questions.
Synthbeat: What’s the workflow process on the work in progress? Do you two meet in person to brainstorm or do you save on gas by doing digital file sharing?
Brian Olsen: It’s pretty much strictly file sharing. For 2 main reasons: One, I present Brian B with a finished track with lyrics and a basic vocal melody since I am the songwriter in the band. So we don’t really need to brainstorm together per se. Occasionally I’ll ask him his thoughts on a particular wording or phrase. And he has the freedom to explore around my basic vocal guide, and comes up with his own backing vocal ideas. And two, even though we are very good friends and don’t live TOO far from each other, it’s still difficult with our schedules to get together to work on music. It’s hard enough to get together just to do a photo session or even just to hang out in person! Ha!
Synthbeat: Dark wave is very popular, but how about any happy love songs on the new album?
Brian Olsen: I don’t think so, ha ha! I’ve always been drawn to minor keys and dark chord progressions, but I try to offset that with a lot of melody and hooks so it doesn’t sound TOO melancholy. But we’re definitely not The Carpenters over here!
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