Divine Inspiration From Unholy Places

Portland, Oregon’s White Orange often gets labeled as sludge or stoner metal. While the quartet (singer, guitarist and songwriter Dustin Hill, guitarist Ryan McIntire, bassist Adam Pike and drummer Dean Carroll) does its share of getting unremittingly heavy, “metal” somehow isn’t quite accurate. Like the name itself, White Orange’s sonic palette is amorphous and multifaceted, spanning from pummeling, heavy-as-steel riffing to densely layered, narcotic mood pieces. While the vocals are swirled deep inside the raging mix, tangible melodies run through it all.

Perhaps the key reason why White Orange’s music is so tough to define is because Hill doesn’t consciously control the music’s stylistic direction. He sees himself less as a songwriter, and more a messenger “chosen by the universe to do its bidding and transmit its message to the world.” Whatever that message may be, Hill is adamant that he’s been chosen, and music is his medium to deliver it.

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PERFORMER MAGAZINE: Where do you guys come from when you write music, in terms of influences and general philosophy?

DUSTIN HILL: In terms of songwriting it’s very psychedelic-induced. It kind of just beams from the universe in a psychedelic trip. A pure signal would be the best term for the writing. It’s not contrived or anything like that. It’s… summoned. Yeah, I’d say it’s very channeled through me, and I try to keep it as pure as possible. No thoughts – no human thoughts.

PM: I’ve heard that before from other musicians. Sort of sounds like you consider yourself a conduit to the music that’s already there?

DH: Exactly. We’re the vessels. I feel very responsible for, for lack of a better description, spirit contacting. I am responsible for getting it into this dimension as close as possible to [how] they want it. [laughs]

PM: Would that make you the main songwriter, or does the whole band do this collaboratively?

DH: Yeah, I guess I’m the only songwriter.

ADAM PIKE: Dustin definitely comes up with the bulk of everything and we just fill it in. I mean, we’re very open to each other’s ideas, but mainly it’s Dustin coming up with most of the material.

PM: Do you guys purposely attain a psychedelic state of mind in order to write music, or do you just sort of slip into it without warning?

DH: Sometimes purposely, but sometimes you sort of slide into it. I’ve done enough psychedelics over the years that my doors are already open. Sometimes I’ll take even a hit of weed and I’m pushed into that world… immediately. [laughs] So it doesn’t take too much anymore. Even though I’ve experimented a lot, now I’m just kind of open, wide open for sure, which makes me responsible and kind of cursed simultaneously. All this music is coming into my brain.

PM: Do you like the fact that you’re so opened up?

DH: Yeah, yeah. I accept it, yeah. I’ve learned to deal with it. At first it was definitely a difficult challenge in trying to sort through all the music coming through me and understand it. I can’t say I like it or dislike it, it’s just what it is, it’s what I am, and I cherish it.

PM: So at this point would you say you actually consume fewer psychedelic drugs today?

DH: Yeah, way less than it used to be. When I was younger it was more, and as time went on I became this psychedelic being on my own. So now I’m super-ultra-sensitive to actual psychedelic drugs, and I do way less because I’m already there. It’s like I’m constantly existing in that world, so I’m almost afraid of them now. I’ve talked to others [like me] and that sensitivity over time seems to be commonplace.

PM: That does sound like a blessing and a curse.

DH: Yeah! [laughs] I don’t get to party as much as I used to.

PM: What about your lyrics? Is that process sort of “plugging in” too, or do you write lyrics more consciously?

DH: No, lyrics are very much [written] the same. It’s very interesting to me. I’ll write the music, and of course the [vocal] melody exists. The syllables, the vowels – they exist within the melody and the music already. I would say 90 percent of the songs’ lyrics don’t get done until we’re in the studio. We’ll track everything, and then the day or two before I go to lay vocals I just listen to the tracks over and over and I can get into that psychedelic state of mind and the words just start forming. The nice thing is that it’s such a pure way of lyric writing that [the lyrics] get to mean something to everyone on a personal level. I’m not trying to say anything in particular from my human standpoint. It’s more directly from the universe, so it ends up telling me something. I’m not trying to tell anyone else anything.

PM: Would you consider “the universe” your definition of “God” or anything close to it?

DH: Yeah, in a sense it is the God mind or God figure to me. Having a discussion about “God” is a difficult thing, but the universe is definitely a part of us. It’s a living being and it communicates to you if you’re open to it, cause it’s alive. Call it God or whatever; I’m open to the concept that everything is alive.

PM: Do the lyrics ever take on a concrete meaning to you over time?

DH: For me, a lot of it’s ambiguous, but certain lines will have a personal meaning to me, or will conjure a certain memory or emotion. That doesn’t mean that’s what it’s about.

AP: Yeah, I would agree with the emotional thing. Certain lines bring out emotions for me. No real concrete meanings, though.

RYAN MCINTIRE: The way he writes always allows you to find yourself in a part of it. Since Dustin doesn’t have an agenda with the content it allows for so much more freedom for individuals to find their own meaning.

DH: I fully agree with that, I don’t have an agenda. But at the same time I want truth to be exposed, and I don’t know what the hell that really means, but there is a truth in the universe and within all of us. But that’s difficult to explain, so I guess that’s why I make art. You try to bring truth through art, which is very ambiguous. I mean, truth is ambiguous, but concrete simultaneously. Wow. Now I’m getting psychedelic. [band laughs]

PM: Sounds like you guys are often trying to get out of the way of the music.

DH: Being pure in the music or art is the responsibility we have, and that [purity] is how music can become timeless. We never want to get to a point where we have to force a record. Never force art. If it’s not coming, just take time off. Once your mind gets involved is when things start to get screwed up.

PM: But at the same time, do you feel inspiration can be aimed at with time or experience?

RM: I think intention goes a long way. The intention to be open is like an exercise. Sometimes it comes when you’re not looking, but if you allow yourself to be open, it’s more likely to come more often.

DH: Once I’ve learned to stay open, inspiration comes nonstop. The songs come so rapidly now that it’s a challenge to make sure I give them the proper respect.

AP: When Dustin does begin to think about it too much, we’re all really good about talking about it. If there are ever issues that come up, we’re very open to each other’s suggestions.

DH: We’re very good mates in the sense that we have trust with one another, and if I feel confused, I trust what anyone else in the project says. Everyone in the band sees very clear. Our egos don’t get involved. I don’t do what I want to do; I do what the song tells me to do, if that makes sense. It has nothing to do with me except for staying open, letting it come.

PM: Do you have any influences you can name who have shaped the way you write or play music?

DH: My big influences are Syd Barrett from Pink Floyd and all his solo work, and Kyuss and the whole “desert” scene that spawned from it. That scene is very pure to me and has been highly influential to me.

PM: People have described your music as “sludge.” Do you agree?

DH: Yeah, people tend to throw us into that, but then they hear the vocals, which are singable. It’s melodic, it’s musical. That’s really all it’s about. The vocals are a part of the music just like the instruments.

whiteorange.bandcamp.com

photos by Brian Lee