The Drive Behind Tekosa

Ambient music seems to have the reputation of being kind of wimpy. Perhaps that reputation is not entirely justified, but at the same time listen to any ambient station or playlist and you’re bound to come across a flimsy drifting tune whose main goal appears to be to squeeze any and all patience out of your being. This strikes me as both an opportunity lost, and an odd development in the evolution of a genre.

At its core ambient music has a spirit of rebellion. Early minimalists like Terry Riley and Steve Reich flipped the music world on its head, yet so often ambient music either gets stuck in an echo chamber or merely strives to be different just for the sake of being different. As such, in both instances, it loses the power in its sound if it gained any at all. The rebel is no longer there.

With Tekosa I aimed at the target of intensity with the same fury of Paul Simonon of The Clash smashing his bass guitar, and while the final result may not have the energy of a punk rock song, every sound I started with for every track on Tekosa resonated inside of me like a great fire being stirred. Even when tracks went awry, which a few did, I pushed on undeterred to its end. It is the best I could do.