Brian Pampselle is an electronic hip-hop music producer from Long Beach who makes music under the name Undocument.
He recently released his second album titled “Pleasures.”
Using just about any kind of sound from the Internet or vintage records is key for him when making his soothing music.
Daily 49er caught up with Brian to hear more about Undocument’s future and his knack for “making people feel” with music.
Q. How would you personally describe your music?
Brian Pampselle: It’s always been difficult for me to describe my own music, but I think that’s what I really like about it. It has a quality that’s hard to pin down which ends up sounding different for everybody who listens.
Personally, I tend to think of what I do as electronic, hip-hop, ambient music that catches your ear and is great for just relaxing or even just being nostalgic. My songs are mostly instrumental, but still tell a story, kind of like a film score for life, in a way.
Q. I love how you break down the top nine songs of your album; can you tell us why you choose to do this?
BP: For the past couple of years I’ve put out a monthly “Top Nine” list of whatever I’m into at the time, and I ended up doing one each for both of my albums; The first one for “For Lovers, Dreamers & Non-Believers”, I did rather tongue in cheek since there was nine spots available for a nine-track album, so no songs would be missed! When the second album “Pleasures” came out I knew I had to do it again, but now with 18 tracks, it was pretty painful to cut down basically half my album to fit the format of the post.
But to be honest, I really think it’s interesting to see that usually hidden side of an artist not only talking about the making of his music and its ups and downs, but what he really thinks of his songs instead of being aloof and giving off the impression that everything they do is a masterpiece. I really do love all the tracks on both of my albums, but I think that people enjoy getting that “behind-the-scenes” introspection you don’t find most other places.
Q. You said on your website that your goal for your latest album, “Pleasures,” was to make beautiful music that would make listeners feel something. Can you describe how you went about this?
BP: With my debut “For Lovers, Dreamers & Non-Believers,” I wanted to make a album of instrumental music that could be played in the background, but would still tell the story I wanted to tell.
On “Pleasures”, however, I set out to make songs that were the opposite of that– really focusing on each song being an island, in a way, which is why you get a pseudo-orchestral song like “Threadbare” on the same album as something like “This Lullaby” with the vocals and pop structure.
But throughout the album, I was most interested in getting to that magical part where a song can sometimes just transport you somewhere else entirely, that was what I wanted to underline with “Pleasures.”
So, I was writing songs and adding to them and then stripping all that I added back down until I found that elusive feeling and felt that rush of excitement and emotion. I really focused on that instead of worrying about the bigger picture, but I think, looking back, that the emotive quality of the songs is really the glue that holds the album together.
Q. What inspires you to create such deep and moving music?
BP: I like the idea that music is an art form, and I tried to treat it as such when making my own. Music enables us to feel something special, if only temporary, like a good book or film, and I’ve always been thoughtful of that. I wouldn’t mind writing a song or two that could end up on the radio, but right now I ‘d rather put the effort in and make something that works on you from the inside and makes you think or feel.
That’s the kind of thing that’s more fulfilling for me, artistically. I think making songs with your heart in them will always stand the test of time better than writing a song that might just imitate a current pop song, but lacks any real substance.
Q. “This Lullaby,” is the only song on “Pleasures” with vocals tell us about why you decided to incorporate a song with vocals?
BP: I wrote “This Lullaby” with lyrics and vocals in mind for a number of reasons. I really wanted to do a collaboration on this album, since 95% of my music making nowadays is solitary, and I wanted to branch out a bit and mix up how I make my music.
Similarly, there was also a concern that I didn’t want to be confined in people’s minds that I only do “instrumental” music; I don’t care if I make music with or without vocals, because either way, to me, it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s good!
Not to mention that MaQui [the vocalist on “This Lullaby”] has a tremendous singing voice that I really wanted to utilize, and getting her on the album and having her perform on stage with me adds a great dynamic to my live shows.
Q. Do you have any plans for your next album?
BP: I’ve already begun sketching out some main ideas for the next album. It’s going to be more emotional and most importantly personal for me, as well as a bit more expansive. I want to take the songs where they want to go, instead of fitting them into a pre-conceived verse-chorus-verse structure. All in all, I’d ideally like to think of the next album as the culmination of what I’ve learned from my last two albums, boiled down into one.
Specifically though, I’m definitely interested in more collaborations and guest appearances, because working with MaQui was a lot of fun, and I’d like to add more of my guitar playing too, since “Pleasures” unfortunately didn’t fit that concept so well. I’ve got a few ideas for the cover and I really like to geek out and design it all from start to finish.
All in all, I’d like it to be the type of album I not only want to be proud of, but would want to listen to myself, even if I wasn’t completely involved.
To learn more about Undocument visit his facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/undocument or find his music on bandcamp at http://undocument.bandcamp.com.