MON., AUGUST 04, 2008
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eMusic Q&A: Biomusique
by Robert Phoenix
What do you get when you cross an insanely talented multi-instrumentalist with a breathtaking vocalist, both of whom have one foot in this world and another in the next? Biomusique. Biomusique is the vehicle for percussionist/multi-instrumentalist, Greg Ellis and siren/songwriter, Lisbeth Scott. Some will be familiar with Ellis’ work as a founding member of the sacred music duo Vas, while others have been no doubt moved by the driving rhythms he has delivered for films like 300, The Matrix: Reloaded and Revolutions, Fight Club and Tomb Raider. He’s also one of the furies in the techno tribal outfit, Juno Reactor.
Scott has also lent her spectacular vocal talents to films like, Munich, The Passion Of The Christ and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe while also forging a career as a singer/songwriter. Their shared talents comprise Biomusique’s first effort, The 10,000 Steps is a polyfused hybrid of many styles that range from textured electronic ambience to atmospheric riffs on Celtic sound-stylings.
The results are breathtaking.
Scott’s vocals resemble the non-local phrasings of Anna Homler, David Hykes and Lisa Gerrard, toning, intoning, chanting and singing, blending and bending a fluid vocabulary of vocalese. While Ellis moves surprisingly well out of his percussive comfort zone to play a number of other instruments such as trumpet, guitar, dulcimer, piano and of course a battery of drums and exotic bells.
In an attempt to getter better feel for what Ellis and Scott have accomplished, I caught up with them at Ellis’ studio — which was no easy feat, perched as it is at the base of the hill where the “Hollywood” sign looks down up the city of dreams. I had to ascend hundreds of steps myself, and was winded when I finally reached Ellis's aerie of inspiration.
eMusic: At what point did the two of you know that you were onto something with this new project?
Lisbeth Scott: It was a different record than we had ever done, and at some point we knew that it was speaking to us.
Greg Ellis: About three tracks into it. We wanted to do something more minimal — less tracking, voice and percussion, more open-ended and ambient, but these songs started emerging and it created a little more tension. Then the production side came in, different instrumentation. Then we would say, “Let's try this,” and it would sound beautiful. Then that would effect the next step and the next step. Three tracks into it, we realized that we just had to get out of the way and let it be what it is. The material just blossomed.
eMusic: So you had a demanding muse?
LS: [chuckles] Exactly.
eMusic: The whole concept of the muse is one that I find very interesting. One of the tracks on the record is called, “Persephone.” Persephone journeyed to the underworld and courted the musician Orpheus by promising him the return of Eurydice. She becomes Orpheus’ muse to explore the depths of his passage into the Earth itself. How much of power did the myth of “Persephone” play in the creation of this record?
GE: "Persephone" was the first track that we worked on. I had it laid out as an instrumental for over a year. When I was working with Lisbeth on one of her albums, I realized it was time to get her involved with some of my stuff. She had never heard the song before, but she jumped right in. That vocal you hear is the very first take. She absolutely tapped right into it and the title came later. It was our birth — that song. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the record. The births that we were experiencing were literal. That muse you spoke of is that I had a daughter that was born January 11th, and we finished the record one week after -- that muse was my unborn daughter. She was born here in this house. I pulled her out and Lisbeth was here with us. We worked on this record for nine months and its gestation is literally connected to the birth of my daughter. Her name is “Uma Swara.” “Uma” means “mother goddess” and “Swara” is a South African goddess that’s meant to connect us to our ancestors. We knew that once she was born, the mix was done and the timing was perfect.
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Scott has also lent her spectacular vocal talents to films like, Munich, The Passion Of The Christ and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe while also forging a career as a singer/songwriter. Their shared talents comprise Biomusique’s first effort, The 10,000 Steps is a polyfused hybrid of many styles that range from textured electronic ambience to atmospheric riffs on Celtic sound-stylings.
The results are breathtaking.
Scott’s vocals resemble the non-local phrasings of Anna Homler, David Hykes and Lisa Gerrard, toning, intoning, chanting and singing, blending and bending a fluid vocabulary of vocalese. While Ellis moves surprisingly well out of his percussive comfort zone to play a number of other instruments such as trumpet, guitar, dulcimer, piano and of course a battery of drums and exotic bells.
In an attempt to getter better feel for what Ellis and Scott have accomplished, I caught up with them at Ellis’ studio — which was no easy feat, perched as it is at the base of the hill where the “Hollywood” sign looks down up the city of dreams. I had to ascend hundreds of steps myself, and was winded when I finally reached Ellis's aerie of inspiration.
eMusic: At what point did the two of you know that you were onto something with this new project?
Lisbeth Scott: It was a different record than we had ever done, and at some point we knew that it was speaking to us.
Greg Ellis: About three tracks into it. We wanted to do something more minimal — less tracking, voice and percussion, more open-ended and ambient, but these songs started emerging and it created a little more tension. Then the production side came in, different instrumentation. Then we would say, “Let's try this,” and it would sound beautiful. Then that would effect the next step and the next step. Three tracks into it, we realized that we just had to get out of the way and let it be what it is. The material just blossomed.
eMusic: So you had a demanding muse?
LS: [chuckles] Exactly.
eMusic: The whole concept of the muse is one that I find very interesting. One of the tracks on the record is called, “Persephone.” Persephone journeyed to the underworld and courted the musician Orpheus by promising him the return of Eurydice. She becomes Orpheus’ muse to explore the depths of his passage into the Earth itself. How much of power did the myth of “Persephone” play in the creation of this record?
GE: "Persephone" was the first track that we worked on. I had it laid out as an instrumental for over a year. When I was working with Lisbeth on one of her albums, I realized it was time to get her involved with some of my stuff. She had never heard the song before, but she jumped right in. That vocal you hear is the very first take. She absolutely tapped right into it and the title came later. It was our birth — that song. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the record. The births that we were experiencing were literal. That muse you spoke of is that I had a daughter that was born January 11th, and we finished the record one week after -- that muse was my unborn daughter. She was born here in this house. I pulled her out and Lisbeth was here with us. We worked on this record for nine months and its gestation is literally connected to the birth of my daughter. Her name is “Uma Swara.” “Uma” means “mother goddess” and “Swara” is a South African goddess that’s meant to connect us to our ancestors. We knew that once she was born, the mix was done and the timing was perfect.
Continued on Page 2
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