Stereogum: There's so much rhythmic action happening with “Teachers” as well, with the drums and the bass. And that song goes into “Solfeggio,” which is practically rhythmless, and it's almost like you're going from the woods to the ocean, kind of a different landscape. Was there a specific effort to mirror the diverse landscapes of nature with a diverse set of songs?
O’BRIEN: Oh, that's a good question. No, not really. There's never a conscious thing. I've found over the years that if you try and impose your will upon a piece of music, it's usually quite unsatisfactory. What I'm learning is to let go. And the joy of the whole process is the unexpected and the uncertainty. You literally feel what feels right and what doesn't feel right. It's not a mental thing, it's a completely intuitive thing. And the song guides you. I'm guided by the song. And that, for me, has been — we really stepped into that on this record.
O’BRIEN: Oh, that's a good question. No, not really. There's never a conscious thing. I've found over the years that if you try and impose your will upon a piece of music, it's usually quite unsatisfactory. What I'm learning is to let go. And the joy of the whole process is the unexpected and the uncertainty. You literally feel what feels right and what doesn't feel right. It's not a mental thing, it's a completely intuitive thing. And the song guides you. I'm guided by the song. And that, for me, has been — we really stepped into that on this record.
Stereogum: You also have Shabaka Hutchings playing flute on “Thin Places.” You specifically had him play an instrument tuned to 432 Hz instead of the standard 440 Hz. I understand the 432 Hz thing has some kind of scientific, biological significance. I saw you were in a Rolling Stone article about it. Can you explain it to me?
O’BRIEN: I've been on a deep dive with 432 for a while now. Probably about 2014 I started on it. It starts, like a lot of good things, at Glastonbury Festival. I had a conversation there in midsummer 2014 with a fellow musician. And she said, “Have you heard about the Solfeggio scale?” “No, tell me more.” And she said, “It's the sort of the ancient scale that a lot of chants and a lot of early Middle Ages music was written in. It's sacred, you know, it wasn't just that music was pleasant to the ear. It had a healing, uplifting, very powerful aspect to it that worked on a spiritual and cellular level.
O’BRIEN: I've been on a deep dive with 432 for a while now. Probably about 2014 I started on it. It starts, like a lot of good things, at Glastonbury Festival. I had a conversation there in midsummer 2014 with a fellow musician. And she said, “Have you heard about the Solfeggio scale?” “No, tell me more.” And she said, “It's the sort of the ancient scale that a lot of chants and a lot of early Middle Ages music was written in. It's sacred, you know, it wasn't just that music was pleasant to the ear. It had a healing, uplifting, very powerful aspect to it that worked on a spiritual and cellular level.