Camphor – Drawn to Dust

“The substance known as camphor has historically been used in religious ceremonies, as a moth repellent, as an ingredient in fireworks, for the embalming of the dead, and for medicinal purposes such as the alleviation of heart symptoms and fatigue. The music of Camphor has many of the same powers …”

Those are the words introducing the biography of Camphor on his website : an invitation to join this promising mixture.

I’ve contacted Mr Max Avery Lichtenstein about Camphor teased by “Confidences Shattered“, a catchy waltz abounding with numerous variations… that makes you feel like a half-drunken butterfly ! Max kindly gave me the opportunity to listen to the complete album. While listening to the opening song Daybreak, I had to double-check the name of the band, I was doubting the genesis of the track. The double take made me alert, I was then ready to play the complete 13 pieces collection, ears wide open.

Without a doubt, the album title helped me to draw this comparison. As I was listening, I was taken back to the days of sitting in front of my old toybox: Pink Floyd (Deconstructed), Talk-Talk / Mark Hollis (Daybreak), Peter Gabriel for the elders ; Elbow (The Sweetest Tooth), Calexico (Castaway) and Arcarde Fire (Immolation). Many of the ‘Drawn to Dust‘ tracks refer from a distant background to one of these great bands. In my point of view, the science of orchestration is the common denominator between them all.

If Max Avery Lichtenstein has already proved his producer talent (Mercury Rev , Timesbold, Whip among many others), his capacity of composing great tunes (Tarnation song was just an appetizer !!!); with his new Camphor project, he has reached a new dimension. Few album achieved such a symbiosis, it’s a perfect chef d’oeuvre : its structure could be easily compared to any classical masterpiece. Removing a track from its context gives life to another song living in its own entity. A real amazing talent!

It reminds me of Mark Hollis saying back in 1998 : “…don’t play one note unless you’ve got a reason to play it.” For Drawn to Dust, this saying is not only concerning each note, but also each instrument on each track, and maybe each words – as Max is a bit less prolix with regard to lyrics – : ‘pickaxe syntax chipping at the sweetest tooth‘ ?

Usually I would be writing a review while playing the album : “yes, I love this song, this one doesn’t match my mood, but that’s ok as the following one is so great…you know what i mean? ” Dealing with Drawn to dust I had to stop the music as it was totally captivating! I bet the following ‘Confidences Shattered‘ will have the same effect on you as it hypnotized me! In a different genre, Max’s path is similar to Daniel Lanois but both reached the top of what music is able to produce : when a talented producer, sound-engineer decide to cross the border… a gem will be born !

Only couple days left for the album to be released, April the 1st… so in the meantime, let’s play the traditional answers/questions with Max.

YCD : Hi Max, how’s it going?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : Fairly well… fairly well indeed.

YCD : Could you please tell us more about Camphor ?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : Camphor is a project that’s been simmering quietly since the turn of the century… I’ve always tried to make a little time in between film scoring projects and record production projects (both very collaborative kinds of work) to allow myself a bit of purely self-directed expression, but it’s tricky to get a lot done in those infrequent windows. So after I completed work on a film called The King in 2005, I decided it was a good time to devote a bigger share of my attention to songwriting, and the album “Drawn to Dust” is the result. The nice thing is that many of the artists I worked with over the years as a producer were happy to contribute their talents to the Camphor record, so in the end it was still very much a collaborative project as well.

YCD : and what’s about the ‘wabi sabi’ – the idea that greatness exists in the inconspicuous details of the world, and that heart-tugging beauty can be found in the imperfect and the broken – concept of this first full length – Is it another way to define limits in your songwriting such as the one you’re facing in film music ?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : That’s certainly an interesting way to think about it. I guess I like working with themes… they allow you to approach a single idea from different perspectives. You put the idea in a different light each time you address it, and then you can watch both the idea and your own relationship to it evolve as the exploration continues.

YCD : Camphor, first ep ‘Silver Gold’ has been released about 3 years ago… time to mature the concept or just a matter of time ?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : Oh, that 7″ is even older… I think it was released in 2000. It’s a bit of an oddity, actually… Camphor began as a sort of ‘invisible’ band that I would assemble to produce music for movies. I was working with my friend Jason Russo (from a great band called Hopewell) on some 70s-flavored instrumental rock music for the film Jesus’ Son, and while in the studio we decided to try our hand at building a song with vocals in a similar retro style, just for fun. Jason had this orphaned song “Silver Gold” that seemed to fit the bill, and so we started playing around with it. The resulting 7″ featured that song (sung by Jason) and two of the instrumental pieces from the film. It’s a nice little remnant of that particular film project… but probably not a good representation of the current state or sound of Camphor…

YCD : Is there a song you wish you had written ?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : Ah, that would be a dangerous wish… I think the truly great songs could only have been created by the unique person who wrote it. I’d just be happy to write a great song of my own…
YCD : Yes, I can witness it and the list is getting long !!! If you could share a stage with any band or artist who would you choose and why?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : Oh, there are lots… anybody doing something unique and honest is all right by me. But if I could really get a genie to grant my 3 wishes, I’d love to share a stage with Björk (’cause she is always aiming to do something new), Sigur Rós (’cause of the intense atmosphere they create) and Tom Waits (’cause he’s, well, Tom Waits).

YCD : What are your projects for the coming months : new soundtrack, producing, authoring ?
Max Avery Lichtenstein : I’ve just finished making a video for my song “Castaway” that I’m really pleased with, and I’m looking forward to doing another one soon. Recording-wise, I’ve started writing and tracking for the next Camphor release, and I’m nearly nearly finished producing a very creative debut album by a band called Mook, which is lead by the actor Paul Dano, whom I met while scoring The King. And for the whole month of May I will be on tour in Europe with my other band Timesbold. ‘Tis a busy year, so far… so good. Cheers!
YCD : Thank you so much, hope to catch you somewhere in Europe !

Band : Camphor
Artist : Max Avery Lichtenstein
Label : Friendly Fire Recordings
Where to Buy : From Label website clicking here or buy it right now on itunes.
If you’ve enjoyed : Arcade Fire, Calexico, Camphor will be soon a favorite