SKERIK Releases Ambient Solo LP ‘Skerik 061725’ With “Blood’s Current” Video
11 years ago, Skerik‘s publicist asked if I’d be willing to take this portrait of him for a UK magazine that was putting together an issue dedicated to saxophone big shots. With him being an ever-present fixture of the Seattle music scene for more than 30 years, I grew up seeing Skerik perform more times than I could count. This could be with one of his endless groups, at a secret loft after-party, or as a surprise guest of a touring act excited to have him add his magic to their set. There was a period when it felt like the local legend could pop up on stage with his horn at any moment, regardless of the show you went to see. It was, and remains, a cause for celebration every single time.
Initially gaining notoriety through groups like Critters Buggin, Skerik‘s name has an immediate and understandable association with punk jazz, but he’s demonstrated plenty of versatility over the years. Tuatara was formed alongside members of R.E.M., The Minus 5, Screaming Trees, and The Chills (Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready later joined) with the intention of creating soundtrack work, while drawing from such influences as Asian, Lebanese, and Western folk music. Meanwhile, the foundation of Khu.eex is in Alaskan Tlingit music.
Other projects and collaborators include Sadhappy, Wayne Horvitz, Roger Waters, Les Claypool, Garage a Trois, Mike Clark, Fred Wesley, The Dead Kenny Gs, Black Frames, Crack Sabbath, Maelstrom Trio, Bandalabra, Beta Popes, Omaha Diner, Syncopated Taint Septet, LORBO, Sound Cipher, and DRKWAV.
With such a prolific career, it can be difficult to remember everything. When I shot this pic, there was a framed Mad Season gold record on the wall in his studio. We talked about the Melvins, and he told me he had a roommate who was playing with drone metal pioneers, Earth. His skills are as broad as his interests. He’s a musician in every sense of the word, eager to experiment and defy boundaries every time he picks up his horn. Few others have demonstrated the range of his instrument. There are no hurdles capable of preventing Skerik from advancing in any direction of his choosing. He can weave sweet syrupy notes, unleash them in flurries, and skronk across anything, but there’s nothing better than when he really lets loose, ready to tear a sonic hole in the atmosphere.
Today, Skerik releases his first album of unadulterated minimalist ambient music, an area that I love hearing him explore so fully. Titled Skerik 061725, the 6-track effort of lush, hypnotic soundscapes is being released by Loose Groove Records, the same label behind the 1999 self-titled Ponga LP of improvisational freakout mutant Jazz, which he recorded live with Bobby Previte and Wayne Horvitz. A much different and refreshing result, Skerik 01725 is the sax man at his most exploratory, yet focused and restrained.
Skerik offers the following insight about his first encounter with the genre through the music of Brian Eno and his evolution into eventually appreciating and embracing it himself
“My mother had Ambient 1: Music for Airports around the time it came out in 1978. I thought it was lame and couldn’t understand why anyone would listen. I was into rock, fusion, jazz, symphonic music, and searched for a visceral experience from music. It wasn’t until I met Keith Lowe in high school that I learned how to engage with these new sounds. Keith was an older hero to us musicians where we grew up, and he had my full attention.”
“He turned me on to Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, and records from the label ECM. It was a time of monumental discovery and inspiration. But it wasn’t until the early ’90s that I was able to fully appreciate the minimalist, environmental concepts of ambient music. My band Critters Buggin recorded Amoeba in 1999, which had ambient sounds as a direct inspiration. I eventually recorded Psychochromatic in 2001 with looped saxophones. Ever since then, ambient music has been an inspiration in my recordings. Now film music and reading science fiction can help shape music created in this department. Hopefully this album can be used in any way people see fit. I love making these records and always find inspiration in the discovery of saxophone loops and chord creation.”
Skerik 061725 is currently available to listen to in its entirety on Bandcamp.
Check out the video for the song “Blood’s Current” below, followed by the full tracklist.
SKERIK 061725
Track Listing:
1. Synesthesia
2. Air Garden
3. Crusading Frequencies
4. I Have Been Who You Are
5. Blood’s Current
6. Somatic