INTERVIEWS: OM
WORDS: MAREK STEVEN
IMAGE: NAOK KATOI

Om is a guitar-less two piece band from California with an illustrious past. The music they create has more than once been described as the type you could base a religion around. The two musicians have been playing together since the late '80s and their uncompromising, hypnotic soundscapes are epic but far from dull. Initially, the most striking element in Om is the mantra-like vocals - the subtly changing lyrics deal with ascendance, flight and enlightenment. The story of their former band Sleep is as legendary and tragic as the music Om creates.

One of most mythical metal bands of the '90s, Sleep's superb brand of massively heavy, retro stoner rock was way ahead of its time and still sounds box-fresh today. Their incredible Black Sabbath aping opus "Sleep's Holy Mountain" from 1992 (which was sent to Earache as a demo and released as was) is probably the best place for new converts to start. However, it is the mind-blowing hour-long one-song doom behemoth Jerusalem (aka Dopesmoker) from 1997 that defined the band and also holds all the tragedy for Sleep.

Sleep broke up before the album's (much-belated) release due to the immense pressure from their record label. Although never released in a form the band was happy with, Jerusalem stands as a testament to their incredible vision of heavy music as transformative salvation. After guitarist Matt Pike carried on with great success in the metal band High on Fire, drummer Chris Hakius and singer/ bassist Al Cisneros basically laid low, recovering from the various traumas they suffered whilst simply trying to record and share their art.

In 2005 Chris and Al quietly returned with Om and an incredible two-song album Variations on a Theme. They took the Sleep template but dropped the drug and fantasy references (and the guitar) and upped the cosmic spirituality and repetition. Om have rightly built up a rabid following on the underground with their great live shows and look likely to break through to a larger audience this year.

The band is currently recording their untitled third album with legendary producer Steve Albini. They are also newly signed to the very cool experimental label Southern Lord records. With Sleep proving to be more of an influence on successful young bands (like The Sword) with each passing year, and experimental music increasingly reaching the mainstream, now might be the time for this pair of visionaries to reap some rewards.

Al is a very bright and serious guy that teaches chess to kids in a library when not playing music. He was the main man in Sleep and is similarly in Om. Sleep very rarely did any press so it was great to get a little access to him. He was understandably not comfortable talking too much about Sleep or drugs, but he graciously took some time out to answer some of the questions we posed.

The first two Om albums and the split with Current 93 are all fantastic. On the Mountain at Dawn and At Giza are never off my turntable. Your first record label is called Holy Mountain records? Is the record company's name being the same as the classic Sleep album a coincidence?
Whitson of Holy Mountain chose that name for his label after an experience he had on Mount. Hood where some of the friends he was climbing with froze to death.

How is the third Om album coming along with Steve Albini?
We begin recording in June. Rehearsals of the new material are going extremely well; we feel very positive about this one.

Southern Lord Records are releasing the third album. I really hope they can use their experience of pushing popular experimental bands like Sunno))) to bring Om to people that will appreciate your sound. How did that connection come about?
Greg [Anderson - main man in Sunno))) and Southern Lord Records] had been talking to us since the release of Variations on a Theme and we started negotiating with him toward the end of '06. The fact that his roster contained other, more experimental artists was an important factor in deciding to go with him for the next LP.

I was lucky enough to see Om play in 2005 at The Underworld venue in London for the first album and it as a truly mind-blowing set. Is anybody documenting any of the performances or recordings you are doing? Any plans to come back to Europe for the new album?
We have been archiving footage and soundboards of the live performances. We will be playing Europe next month: Krems, Austria and Tilburg, Netherlands. And in July we are playing four dates through the UK. But for certain upon release of the next Om album we will be returning to Europe.

Have you heard of the successful All Tomorrows Parties festivals? It has an excellent chilled vibe and an eclectic bill. Current 93 are playing in May. You would be a huge hit there. Have you heard of ATP before or been approached?
Yes, perhaps in '08 Om will play.

Can you tell us a little about the drum legend that is your long-term musical collaborator Chris Haikus?
He and I have been best friends since we met in 1987. We are like brothers. He lives with his wife and daughter way up in the mountains in Northern California.

I read that a lot of the riffs, ideas and lyrics are almost channelled from you internally. Can you explain a little about that?
They are constantly playing; I never feel like I create a riff, rather, the musician calls it into the open. The mind and the outer external instruments - nervous system, limbs, bass guitar, drums etc. - are just the bridges over which the thoughts and vibrations are carried.

Your music works brilliantly with the three sound layers. But have you ever considered adding any additional, spacey type noises into your soundscapes, like some bands do?
No, we feel that would be unnecessary. We would always rather dig to find alternate structural approaches than supplement and overly embellish the work. Comparative to line drawing, we would rather work on the curves and movements, the relationships between the lines, their form, than add paint or what not.

Going back to the early '90s, how did people respond to Sleep in San Jose and elsewhere around the time of Holy Mountain? Did you feel like you were ploughing an individual route at that time?
It was definitely uncool, people we're caught between the death of hair-metal and the Seattle Alice in Chains package.

The video for "Dragonaut" is my one of my favourite videos of all time probably because it was a godsend as a Sleep fan from outside California to have something to see you all in action. Can you talk a little about the video?
It didn't come out the way the band had hoped. That's a certainty. We wanted a very simple production and communicated our plans for design to Earache. They sent out a British film crew and director/producer who had a way of bullshitting his way around every one of our requests. In the end, the video was their rendition of what they interpreted from our talks. They never, in the entire process, checked with us to see if it was formulating to meet our vision.

Could you neatly summarise your philosophy on life and our place within the universe?
The privilege of occupying a human body to work out one's negatives is essential and should be utilized to its fullest.

Website: myspace.com/variationsontheme