words//mike boone

Twig Harper is a pioneer of both experimental music and the inner caveats of the mind. His solo work and the work he does with his main project, Nautical Almanac, cracks the boundaries of an auditory experience and leads those who choose to listen into a unique mindset. We discuss his philosophical beliefs, his interpretations of what music is, and Donald Rumsfeld.

An age old question: What is art?

I will first respond by saying another age-old saying: “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like.” If we accept this as truth for some people’s experience with art, then we can also accept the reverse, “I do know much about art, but I don’t know what I like.” There is a relationship going on between having some kind of external force creating an internal experience and then putting that internal experience into a set language. Imagine a mobius feedback loop from essence to experience to manifestation to experience to essence. Simple enough.

Now, being an artist, it gets a little more strange because it is our calling to enter into and explore the outer reaches of the usually hidden side. As an explorer, you must develop techniques that allow whole “other” modes that may be nonpersonal, transpersonal, universal, archetypal, biological, meta-whatever, etc. into your consciousness and then find a way to communicate it. By expressing these realms you help uncover them and bring it to the light for those who cannot hear, see, know. By expressing them you give them life and the loop continues, since our body is given to us by these possible other worlds.

Do you believe there’s a line between sound and music? If so, where would you draw it?

Let’s look at the connections–not a line in the sand, but 3 points: Music is birthed out of sound and carried by vibration.  Now invert this dark matter and apply the triad of Art, Science and Spirit.  Connect them all together.

When I look at this design, I meditate on how space and time interact with the human sensorium. Focus on any combination of these relationships with an outer manifestation: How about “Smooth Jazz,” “Noise Music,”"21st century Post-American Empire,”"Black Eyed Peas.” These fields are made by a “G.eneralized A.greement P.lan” with an infinite amount of variable reasons: social, political, spiritual, recreational, etc. The stronger your connection with certain fields within the G.A.P., the more you help define a shape to it. Its co-creative.

What kinds of projects have you been working on lately?

This week, Metalux has been in my studio were working on an album. The last few months, me and Daniel Higgs have been recording, bringing the words “Christoid Abduction on a Golden Disk” to my mind’s lips. Possible Nautical Almanac tour first part of March, and definitely doing some solo shows in SF and LA at the end of March. REALLY Need to finish my art for a solo CD on Hanson Records. And keeping the building known as T-Hill together with all its living activities.

What kind of philosophy have you been living by lately?

Ultimate Reality is within and without, utterly beyond the veil of time and space. Maintain awareness of this and behave with humility before this knowledge of presence.

What kind of experience is making music for you?

It’s beyond my words.

Who or what would you say has been your biggest influence?

I have been abducted by alien entities a handful of times (the last time they played me music I later recreated by making it power this machine), I have traveled back in time and handed myself information that I could only decode in the (distant) future, the art of lucid dreaming, being a human psychedelic research subject funded partially by the United States government, hoaxes, working with and meeting amazing people who keep things interesting.

What would you say man’s greatest achievement of the last decade is?

That Donald Rumsfeld said:

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.”

What plans do you have for the future?

Help blow peoples minds.

[To hear some of Twig's tracks or learn more, go to his website or MySpace page.]