by Daniel Colussi | Pete Kember’s place in history is firmly established by his time in Spacemen 3, the band he founded alongside Jason Pierce. The bastard sons of Rugby, Warwickshire UK, Spacemen 3 were mostly overlooked and misunderstood in their own time. Today however their golden status within the lineage of avant-druggy-psychedelia is firmly entrenched. Over four albums Spacemen 3 skilfully blended unlikely elements – gospel/blues with Kraftwerk? NY minimalism with Stax soul – into a melange that’s at once transcendent and timeless. Since Spacemen 3’s dissolution in ’90s, Pete’s recorded under a variety of aliases, Sonic Boom being the guise under which he explores hypnotic-repetition within the context of pop songs. Most recently, Pete’s talents have been tapped by a younger generation of bands who recognize his alchemical skills in the studio, he being a true wizard behind the mixing desk (just ask MGMT, Panda Bear, or Wooden Shjips). The last time Pete played Vancouver was at a little place called The Starfish Room (remember that place?), way back in ’97, a different age altogether. So his first Vancouver appearance in fifteen years, at The Waldorf on March 28th, is not to be missed. In his own words, this is Sonic Boom.

You’ve recently played a string of Euro dates with Panda Bear. How were the shows? How was the reception? It was pretty mega. I wish we could’ve done more shows, but Noah’s commitments to Animal Collective and his family meant it was pretty succinct. We we’re just hitting it right on the last few shows. It was a big deal for me. I think Panda Bear is far and away one of the most interesting and soul satisfying artists around, so working for him on any/every level was really great. He has a bitchin’ crew, too. Sure enough, the audiences responded admirably. I’m sure a lot of people have never been so immersed in a live performance as he pulls out along with Danny Perez who does the visuals for him.

You’ve been called upon to record/master/remix some particularly high profile releases in the last couple years – MGMT, Panda Bear, Sun Araw, Wooden Shjips. As someone who’s been working steadily, diligently for so long, does it feel like the rest of the world is just catching up to you? Does it feel like a newer, younger generation of kids have picked up on what you’re doing? I dunno about other people catching up. I was only ever part of a longer chain. My roots music-wise are unashamed and I see what I do as part of a lineage. I don’t feel the need to re-invent the wheel. But I might put wings on it. I feel peeps like the above are all just kindred spirits and it’s something much smarter than just wanting a ‘slice of sonic boom’ in the mix. I will say that after a few decades of towing my own line it’s very stimulating to be able to help others achieve their aims. In the ’80’s we were unable to find or afford anyone who could do that for us, so I have some understanding of what I can do to help other bands. Sometimes that’s as much about re-structuring communication in the band, helping cut straight to the style people are looking for, or helping people realise what they already plan to do in a more efficient, elegant or succinct way. The real beauty is that it’s often a two way street, so I get to learn from their strengths, too. That can be quite humbling.

A strong current throughout your career has been to look back at old/forgotten/overlooked music and bring it back into focus. I’m thinking about your many collaborations with people such as Koner, Derbyshire, as well as the super rad Spacelines comp you did. How important is it for an artist/musician to be well versed in the past? As someone who embraces this idea of “minimalist-as-maximalist’, is doing something new necessarily a priority for you? For me, new things are only cool if they’re good and new. Change for change’s sake? No. The content must match the concept. I dont think it’s important to be new. Some knowledge goes a long way, but having the naievity to break the rules shouldn’t be underrated.

What albums have you been listening to and enjoying lately? There’s a killer band out of NYC called TEEN that I’ve been really digging a lot. They’re an all girl group, very vocal led stuff. They got a cool thing going on. There’s a gal called Batchelorette who I’ve been enjoying. She did some shows on the Panda Bear tour and the discs I bought are all great. There’s a guy in germany I like called Black to Comm; electronic soundscape stuff. Cloudland Canyon from Memphis – kind of hi-energy psyche crossover. Plus I’m always buying (yes buying!) older releases. I don’t want odd songs. I want the LP, I want the amazing shit that was only a b-side, and I feel it’s essential to pay for the music I consume. I consider streaming ok, but clouding or d/loading is for free loaders and I don’t see it being beneficial to anything except the concept of greed and wanting without affording. The accelerations in musical culture that computers were meant to bring has turned out to be false. Human nature has intervened and dragged down the possibilities to a kind of theft. This massively negates many of the possibilities.

When’s the new Spectrum LP going to drop? I’m not in a hurry to release an LP made of months/years of work for people to download. I’m kind of watching the moves right now, looking for my next one. I don’t plan to release endless Spectrum LP’s. Maybe 1 more, maybe 2. There’s no big rush. I don’t feel the stuff dates, so I’m kind of enjoying working with other people. It’s been a long time to be all about ‘me’. That’s too dull.

You’ve been doing what you do for a long time, and your association with Panda Bear/MGMT/etc has surely introduced you to a lot of people who never knew you previously. Did you ever expect that you’d still be doing music this long? When Spacemen 3 was forming in Rugby, did you think you could really make a career of it? No. Least I thought I might be doing this, but without anyone caring. We never expected or aimed anything to be mass marketable. The audience for what we did back in the ’80’s was kind of limited. Everyone I knew who was into the music was in the band! Haha.

Sonic Boom plays the Waldorf’s 3D Music Fest Wednesday March 28th. Tickets at the Waldorf, Zulu and Red Cat.

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Zulu Records veteran and tunage aficionado Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine.