Altered Zones

By Kenny Bloggins

MP3: Belong: "Perfect Life"

In 2006, New Orleans subterranean duo Belong appeared on the map with one lushest ambient albums in recent memory, October Language. Its heavy atmospheric pressure found a serious audience in both the My Bloody Valentine and Tim Hecker camps, not to mention armchair astronomy fans. While Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones have laid relatively low for the past five years, their interim releases-- Same Places, and the remarkable covers EP, Colorloss Record-- hinted at a drastic sonic shift, one that comes fully into focus on their Kranky debut, Common Era.

Gritty synths and ethereal vocals replaced the washed-out textures of their previous efforts. They almost seem like a different band. But as Dietrich and Jones explained to me over email last month, it was a natural progression-- one that offers rich rewards for the listener.

AZ: Five years have elapsed between October Language and Common Era. What were you guys up to in the meantime?

Turk: We didn't work in the studio for about a year between [Hurricane] Katrina and touring America and Europe. When we finally did get back to working, it was late 2006, early 2007. We recorded Colorloss Record and Same Places, the Table Of The Elements release, between 2007 and 2008. There are also a bunch of unfinished songs from the same time period that the two EPs were recorded. And quite a bit of unreleased stuff post the recording of those EPs that will never see the light of day from that time period. Common Era was recorded during portions of 2009 and 2010.

Michael: We had a year and a half where we were unable to finish songs, from 2007 through 2008. Then, when we were finishing up Common Era at the end of 2009, we were unhappy with about half of the songs, so, we put them aside and started writing new ones. The album was finally completed last September.

AZ: The biggest surprise with Common Era is undoubtedly that it's a pop record, and one that follows up a very texture-focused, atmospheric debut. What were the catalysts for this change of direction?

Turk:  October Language was recorded way back in 2004. Our tastes and desires have changed a lot since then. For us, the progression between that record, the EPs, and the new record seems very natural. If you've only heard October Language, the new record probably will seem like more of a drastic shift than it really is.

Michael: Yes, what we like has changed. We've also listened to a lot more "pop music" over the last couple years. If we had been able to complete a record from the material we were working on in ’07 and ‘08, this new record wouldn't seem like such a surprise. It would have fit nicely between the new one and Colorloss Record.

AZ: Parts of Common Era seem suited for a live band context. Will Belong remain a duo on the road, or are you thinking of expanding to a larger lineup?

Turk:  We actually toured a bit in 2007 as a three-piece. Our next tour, later this year, will most likely be with four people performing on stage. It would be impossible to pull off the material on the new LP with anything less.

AZ: Do you see Belong revisiting the so-called “ambient” approach in the future, or are you on more of a song-oriented trajectory?

Turk: We will always love drone-y, vaporous, ambient noise music. It will not disappear from our music forever. It may take more of a back seat on the new record, but it's still in there. Our future albums will most likely revisit some of the ideas present in our older recordings.

Michael:  I don't think we will make another record exactly like October Language, but I'm still interested in ambient/drone/noise songs. Right now we are working on a new record, and some of the songs will have more of an emphasis on drone.

AZ: In your 2006 feature for Arthur Magazine, you wrote about the impact of New Orleans on October Language. Would you say that the city has influenced Common Era as well?

Turk: I think no matter where you live, your music will be influenced by the locale, be it directly or indirectly. Our current record may capture a certain type of atmosphere that exists here in New Orleans, but we aren't as directly influenced by New Orleans as we were many years ago.

AZ: In that same interview, I also remember you comparing New Orleans to Chicago: how you could escape the scene down there, how people weren't always talking about what they did musically, how you could just be creative and exist "off the chart." Is this sort of insular approach something that shapes Belong as a duo?

Turk:  I'm not sure how it shapes Belong, outside the fact that Mike and I are always just talking about music with each other. We aren't part of a collective or community of musicians. At the end of the day, it's just him and me. We don't have many musical inspirations in our immediate surroundings.

AZ: I hear a subtle nod to darkwave in much of Common Era, especially in "Never Came Close" and album closer "Very Careful."

Turk: I don't know if "darkwave" is the proper term, but we are both really inspired by a lot of moodier synth music that came out in the late '70s and early '80s. I do feel that labeling Common Era as pure "shoegaze" is a bit lazy. Yes, there are gauzy guitars and distant vocals, but there is more going on than just that. We feel no kinship with bands like Slowdive and Ride.

Michael: I like some dark-, minimal-, and synth-wave stuff, but I'm not sure if there are any specific "nods." Like most people, we listen to a lot of different stuff, and what I hear coming through in our music, to varying degrees, are the noisier minimalists, the moodier '60s psych: Glenn Branca, the atmosphere of certain songs like The Chills' "Pink Frost", Cleaners from Venus' "Gamma Ray Blue", and The Cure's "Charlotte Sometimes." I think we would be more comfortable with the shoegaze thing if we liked more of the bands. Of course, we love My Bloody Valentine, but what we take from Kevin Shields is the balance of sounds adding depth and drawing you in to the music.