Interview: Dan Rincon of the OSEES

Welcome to our exclusive interview with Dan Rincon, the esteemed drummer of the legendary psych-rock band OSEES. Dan recently made waves with the announcement of his debut solo LP, “Spotlight City,” set to release on May 3rd under Castle Face Records. Following the release of the album’s first single, Dan is back with the electrifying second single, “Motor Rhythm, Wooden,” a vibrant fusion of upbeat rhythms and electro-orchestral elements. Join us as we delve into Dan’s musical journey, creative process, and the exciting new direction showcased in his solo work.

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Your debut solo LP, “Spotlight City,” is quite a departure from your work with OSEES. What inspired you to embark on this solo journey?

I have been experimenting with electronic and noise music since getting into circuit bending electronics in high school, its always been part of my life. The more synthesizers, or noise making instruments I bought, the more I questioned WHY I was buying them…it started feeling like a waste of money so I decided to dive in and focus on making a record.

Motor Rhythm, Wooden” incorporates physical modeling synthesis. Can you tell us more about your fascination with this method of synthesis and how it influenced the track?

After getting into modular synthesizers, I found physical modeling to be the most interesting of the bunch, it produced, in my opinion, the prettiest sounding…sounds. If you have ever wondered what an electronic drum head played by a violin bow might sound like, physical modeling might be for you. It reminds me of early Kraftwerk, before they went full electronic, it can produce the best of both worlds…organic and electronic.3.  The instrumentation on “Spotlight City” ranges from Moog Grandmother to Mellotron to a modular system. How did you go about selecting these specific instruments to create the sonic landscape of the album?

I like the Moog Grandmother because I LOVE the Moog MG-1. If you aren’t familiar, the Moog MG-1 was a synthesizer, designed by Moog but marketed as a Radio Shack synthesizer for the “everyman”, it was cheap and dirty. My MG-1 has been in and out of the shop for years, its great, but unreliable, so when Moog released the Grandmother, it almost felt like a successor to the MG-1…same shape and everything. I chose to use a Mellotron because I’m not a great keys player but could play a Mellotron with my elbows and something beautiful would come out, its a great instrument with and incredibly rich history. If you arent familiar with the Mellotron, I can guarantee you’ve heard one without realizing it.

You mentioned being influenced by solo artists like Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler. How did their work influence your approach to crafting melodies within the realm of electronic music?

To me, Schitzler and the like, took early electronic music and brought it into a more melodic world, there are plenty of other artists that the same can be said about. I think artists like Schnitzler, Roedelius, Harold Budd, J.D. Emmanuel, etc transformed the idea of early electronic avant garde music into something extremely emotional and complex, its always struck a chord with me and I wanted to see if I could make something in the same vein.

Your album seems to blend elements of vintage sci-fi pulp with modern electronic sounds. What drew you to this aesthetic, and how did you balance nostalgia with innovation in your music?

I like video games and I like science fiction, I wanted to make my dream soundtrack, which would be that of a sci-fi videogame or film. Lets say that you are listening to a soundtrack of a film you love, I always found that there would be one or two tracks that seem to differ from the majority of the soundtrack because it works with that specific scene in the film. I chose to include a couple tracks that are totally different from the rest of the record because in my mind, that’s how a soundtrack would usually work. 

Wrangling various components and ingredients was described as part of the process of creating “Spotlight City.” Can you elaborate on some of the challenges you faced in bringing all these elements together?

 I never learned how to record music myself, every record I’ve ever been on, until now, has been me playing drums so the actual process of recording has been lost on me. Figuring out how to record myself, make it sound good enough to release while adding a modular synthesizer to the mix, which are unruly, was a huge learning experience. Modular synthesizers can cover every frequency into an inaudible range, so getting them to be pleasurable to the ear can take a lot of wrangling.

The album spans from beautiful and lilting to haunting and ethereal. How did you navigate the diverse emotional landscape of the music while maintaining a cohesive sonic identity?

Outside of a few tracks, I didn’t want Spotlight City to sound like an electronic record. Spotlight City is %100 an electronic record (a digital Mellotron is a gray area) but I used physical modeling synthesis to try and hide it, I want people to listen to it and think “What is making that sound?”

“Motor Rhythm, Wooden” has an upbeat, electro-orchestral vibe. What inspired the energetic nature of this track, and how does it fit into the broader narrative of the album?

Again, its physical modeling. I started tinkering with a few modules in my system to control and manipulate my Mellotron and to my ears, it started sounding like a motor made out of something organic…like wood.

Your background as a drummer is well-known. How did your rhythmic sensibilities influence the composition and arrangement of the songs on “Spotlight City”?

Not much! I think there’s only 1 or 2 drum tracks, or sounds on Spotlight City. I wanted to get away from drums for this record. 

Castle Face Records is known for its support of innovative and boundary-pushing artists. How has your experience working with them shaped the direction of your solo career?

Well, at this point, I’ve been working with John Dwyer, who runs Castleface, for about a decade and the majority of OSEES records I’ve played on have been released on Castleface. Even before joining OSEES, I had always appreciated that Castleface seemed to release whatever they wanted to, regardless of genre. I didn’t really expect Castleface to do this record, I sent John these recordings as a friend, just to show him what i’d been up to and when he offered to release it, I was happy as a clam as it seemed the best place to do so.

Your music has been described as a blend of OSEES, Popol Vuh soundtracks, 8-bit video game accompaniment, and 80s Tangerine Dream. How do you approach incorporating such diverse influences into your sound without it feeling disjointed?

I am just a huge fan of soundtrack music and tried to make a “soundtrack” that I would want to listen to. 

What role does improvisation play in your creative process, particularly when working with electronic instruments and synthesis?

A big one! More-so with solo live performances, improvisation is a huge part of my music making process. For a few tracks,  I programmed my Modular system to only play in certain scales or time signatures, but set it up in a way where it semi-randomly change scales, or time signatures, or “events” within the parameters I set while I play accompanying leads on another instrument, it feels like having a robot band member.

The album artwork for “Spotlight City” is visually striking. Can you discuss the concept behind the artwork and how it relates to the music?

Honestly, I was just a huge fan of the cover art artist, Donnie O’ Donnell and wanted to get a cover done by him ASAP as I thought his paintings would look amazing on an LP cover, it’s also a portrait of my parents late dog Ozzie (he was a good boy).

Are there any specific themes or narratives that you aimed to explore through “Spotlight City,” either lyrically or musically?

Soundtrack music, flying a plane and paying homage to the artists that inspired me. 

As an artist who has made significant contributions to the psych-rock genre, how do you see your solo work fitting into the broader landscape of experimental and electronic music?

I just hope that I can hold a candle to the musicians that have inspired me to do what I do, being said in the same sentence as some of these artists is the most I can hope for and I really hope fans of the genre will get the same kick listening to this record as I did making it.