The sonic regeneration of The Crystal Method

The Crystal Method, a pioneering force in the Big beat genre and electronica movement, are set to make their highly anticipated return to Australia this year, hitting Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, March 9. Since 2016, Scott Kirkland has taken over the reins with the blessing of co-founder Ken Jordan, and continues to push the sonic template of electronica as exemplified on 2018’s The Trip Home and 2022’s The Trip Out, which contains some of the group’s most exciting work to date. MICHAEL HOLLICK talked to Kirkland about touring as a solo act, the future of the album format and what we can expect from his live sets.

The Crystal Method’s most recent release, The Trip Out, was a real balance of the group’s trademark sound, mixed with the new. What can you tell me about the creation of the album? 

The Trip Out initially came from a few tracks that didn’t fit on (2018’s) The Trip Home. The idea for The Trip Home was a kind of concept album that existed sonically between Vegas and Tweekend. And so there were these tracks that were strong but didn’t fit on that record, and that was the starting point for Trip Out.

The production and the collaborations for those tracks were done during COVID, so it was all done very much in a vacuum, and that’s why I thought the name for the album was very apt; it was a bit like escapism. I haven’t had the chance to go out and play these tracks live, you know, to see how people react to them, so I am looking forward to that.

One thing that has remained consistent across the group’s output is your dedication to the album format. What do you think about the album format in a wider sense in the current music industry?

Making an album is still a big focus for me. It’s something I will always continue to strive for. However, being realistic, I would say that the album format is pretty much dead as far as what individuals listen to at this point in time. My kids thoroughly enjoy music and get a great deal of happiness out of listening to the bands that they’re into, but albums are just not how they consume music.

Like for my son, I think he and his friends are used to hearing just one of each artist’s songs, the cream of the crop, rather than deep dive and get immersed in any one artist. That sort of listening makes me feel that they‘re not enjoying the full meal, but, to be honest, I don’t even know if most artists currently do put the effort into producing entire albums.

I imagine the change in how people listen to music isn’t the only change you have experienced since the band first formed in the 1990s?

So much has changed. When we started, just getting a hold of analogue synthesisers or various different antique or vintage pedals to get the sounds that we were looking for was a huge challenge. And then, to use those sounds, we had to back them up on these 44MB cartridges that were the size of a giant piece of bread. You’d slowly insert them into the machine, and it’d wind up, and you would worry that something was going to break. And none of these things were cheap.

Nowadays, kids can just download software and get going on their laptops anywhere they want. They could be on a train going to school or work in the morning, and they just work on their laptops. The cost of it all, too, has been taken out of the equation, which is fantastic, as that has allowed so many more people to find their way into music and really be able to explore the depths of their creativity. 

What about the rise of social media? Is that something that The Crystal Method keep up with?

I’m not wired to be immersed in social media; my brain just doesn’t work in that way. I give it up to all those who have been able to navigate the social media world and are able to get it to benefit them, but it’s just not for me. I mean, when I do try, I get on and meander around, and I seem to always end up in some space where I’m doing something that has nothing to do with what I started to do.

I’ve obviously missed the TikTok boat; that’s just a whole other world. I didn’t even get into Facebook. The only thing that I feel comfortable with is Instagram. But even so, you really need to have an understanding of when you’re supposed to post, how many times you’re supposed to post, and the content you’re supposed to post. And seriously, who gives a fuck? For me, the best way to connect is to go out and tour. 

What has it been like turning The Crystal Method into a solo act?

It has been a very natural progression. Ken (Jordan) is a few years older than I am, and by the mid-2010s, he had been going down to Costa Rica quite often. He and his wife had bought some land, and it was becoming apparent that he was ready to do something different than music. And so he came to me, and we had that discussion.

He said I know things are going to be different going forward and that it’d be unfair for me to expect to hold on and keep waiting for him. I think he was still interested in the process, but he wanted to try something different for a bit. The process of making music takes time, and there’s a commitment to coming into the studio every day.

Do you still stay in touch with Ken? And do you play him the new tracks as you come up with them?

I am definitely still in search of his thoughts and opinions. As tracks get a little farther down the road, like when I was finishing up The Trip Out, he and his wife came to town and I was able to play them parts of it. But overall, he’s just in a different headspace.

I obviously still value his opinion. But I value a lot of other people’s opinions too. I found that as I created this in my own personal way of writing and developing, I need, or at least desire, the opinions and reactions of other people to just get a different perspective.

I’m the kind of person who can sit in the studio and second-guess myself ten times over. Perspective is definitely something that I miss from Ken as a part of this project. We knew how to communicate with each other, and we had our own language; we were like brothers.

We did fight. We did argue about stupid shit, you know? But that’s all part of what it’s like when you’re working with someone that you respect. You like the challenge because you know that’s the best thing about creating the art you both want to make.

What can we expect from the live sets when you do come out to Australia in 2024? 

I definitely want to play the classics as well as what I’ve been working on, so it’s that balance of, you know, playing something that’s familiar but also playing in a way that sounds fresh. There’s definitely a great deal of time spent curating what I’m going to play. I feel so fortunate to be able to come back down there and and experience not only the beauty of the place but to also have  people come out and see what I’m doing.

At the end of the day, people really are the most important part of music, and the people of Australia have always appreciated the effort that I’ve put in. So I’m really looking forward to getting down there and seeing that reaction from the crowds and having that interaction with people.