Helios (Interview)

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Helios, an ambient music project from American composer Keith Kenniff. We first recommended him back in July 2019. He started playing and writing music as a teenager in rural Pennsylvania, inspired by punk bands and artists like Bjork.¹ Since the early 2000s he’s released dozens of records across Helios and other projects Goldmund and Mint Julep. The most recently released one is Helios’s Espera, which plays synth textures over propulsive, sturdy drums akin to Boards of Canada, with added layers of acoustic instrumentation. We’re also playing his 2006 LP, Eingya, a breakout record whose languid tracks drift one into the other. An interview with Helios follows the streaming links.

Espera - Helios (50m, the lightest of vocals on track 10)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Eingya - Helios (50m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

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What music has inspired you recently?

I've been listening to a lot of ‘50s Ska and ‘60s Rocksteady lately and also quite a bit of Slushwave, like Telegram, cmd094, and Nmesh. My wife is writing a lot of music these days, and it's calming and centering to hear. There's always new music to be found. I do find the amount of music to be overwhelming, but I enjoy the process of discovery, and I think my older trusted sources like Boomkat keep me on the straight and narrow. One can dig in deep via Bandcamp and find things off the beaten track. It is helpful to get out of the rut of constantly relying on Spotify or Apple generated "recommendations," it gets stale. Sometimes those are helpful as a starting point, but they obviously opt towards things that are trendy or have more play counts and there are plenty of amazing artists that have low streaming numbers or are hidden gems amongst the nooks and crannies not propelled by algorithms.

What's your go-to work music?

I have music on pretty constantly while not composing. If I'm doing emails or contracts/invoices and such I like to listen to drum n bass (old techy stuff from the late 90s/early 2000s or newer minimal stuff like Alix Perez). If I'm around the house doing tasks I like to put on old Blue Note albums, baroque music, or ambient that's non-obtrusive or doesn't build too much. When I'm in the car alone I listen to punk and hardcore from the ‘80s. I enjoy listening to a lot of different types of music, though. I think there's suitable music for any time of day, but it varies and I enjoy the search.

What musician from the past 50 years is overlooked?

Bill Carrothers. He is a pianist from Minnesota and has an incredible unique voice. He has a wonderful way of mixing things like jazz, atonal 20th century music and early American/Civil War-era music. He's not only a uniquely talented pianist capable of multiple styles, but also a thoughtful composer. Check out the albums Firebirds, Sunday Morning, or Civil War Diaries.

You also make music for film and TV. How do you calibrate your music to the visual art it will accompany?

For film and TV work it's either people coming to me that have heard my work as Helios or Goldmund etc., or people who have heard other work I've done for film or ads. So depending on what they're looking for I end up doing a lot of different styles. Most often I will be given a general brief of the project that lays out generally (or specifically) what someone envisions the music to be, and sometimes I am left to my own interpretation. As far as ads go, it is usually very specific, and there are large creative teams and a thorough (but often expedited) approval process. For film work there's typically more time in the schedule and the medium itself to explore themes and have a back and forth with the director or creative team to hone things in. Commercials are very chaotic. The films I've worked on tend to be more collaborative. I like working both ways, but I've found myself to be very flexible, so sometimes I'm writing ambient music, or a cinematic Zimmer-like film score, or an R&B track, or an indie rock track. It's fun to be diverse in regard to compositional skills and mixing, since I do everything in-house. Keeps me on my toes :)

How did you get into ambient music in the first place?

My entry into electronic music was through drum n bass. A friend would play mix tapes in the car — I was heavily into jazz at that moment, but something caught me, and I was hooked and veered off. That led to discovering all the Warp/Rephlex stuff, then newer ambient/experimental, then working my way back to where it came from. I don't really view ambient music as it is in the eyes of the playlisting model nowadays, or a homogenous thing, but it is really just about an aesthetic value, a pace or a mood, rather than how it's produced or what instruments are used.

Have you noticed more people being interested in ambient music in the past few years? If so, why do you think that's the case?

Yes, but these things ebb and flow. I've seen little bumps here and there throughout the years as interest grows and wanes. Right now I think the trend in ambient music is more related to themes like "healing," "sleep," "wellness," etc., which I think has its place, but I think the best ambient music creates a world just like any other genre. The people who are most successful at this, in my opinion, have a uniquely singular vision that although it may end up quantified as part of a genre, is genuinely unique and not a rehash or simply written to be something that will fit into an algorithmic model or a specific functional purpose. That sort of thing is certainly financially viable, which I am all for, but in the big picture doesn't really elevate our experience as listeners or creators and so is, in my eyes, ultimately unsatisfying.

Which non-musician artists inspire you the most these days?

I've always been into architecture and design, so there's a lot of inspiration from photography, typographers, furniture/interior design, filmmakers, painters, etc. I've had an unwavering obsession with Fairfield Porter's paintings over the past several years. I finally got around to reading East of Eden by Steinbeck and it was a wonderful experience. Type Wolf is a great way of keeping up with typography. Adi Goodrich and Sean Pecknold are amazing photographers/designers/filmmakers. Jared Hogan makes wonderfully rich visuals and Dan and Kat Mercadante make the best ads and the most unique films.

What are you working on now?

I am working on a new album as Goldmund and a new album with my wife Hollie with our Mint Julep project, which is shoegaze/synth pop stuff. She and I are also working on a new ambient project together which for now is called "Harbors." And within that commercial/film projects scattered about.

Coincidentally, we featured Hollie’s new album just a couple weeks ago. We heard Goldmund on a few of those beautiful tracks including "Remembered Words" – nice work.

❤️

1. Headphone Commute