Kayo Dot: Toby Driver Interview @ Brooklyn Vegan!














BV: Kayo Dot is very expansive with multiple different directional shifts and styles, and Coyote definitely has moments where I am reminded of Scott Walker and Goblin, along with some avant-jazz stylings. What is your current musical inspiration going into this project?

Toby Driver: On this one, I wanted to use the aesthetic of 80's art-goth electric bass - bridge picking, lots of chorus, and frequent use of the open G string - in the context of modern-composition as opposed to straight-up riffs. The two main bands that influenced my perception of that sound were The Cure and Faith And The Muse. Melodically, I was influenced by the amazing trumpet tone of local composer Tim Byrnes, the soprano sax playing of another of our local composers, Matthew Welch, and then the Mujician and/or Ornette sax/trumpet unison duets of the 60s. The darkScott Walker you hear is definitely intentional, and I think the Goblin is just a result of the gear we used (Korg Poly6 in this case). I'm trying to reclaim goth for those of us who love the aesthetic but want something more sophisticated. We all were reading the Vertigo comic "House of Mystery" while in session, too. ha!?

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