With The Glimpse Dara Smith follows his partner-in-crime Ian McDonnell, who released Bedouin Trax under his Eomac-moniker on Bedouin Records back in 2016. While their collaborative work and McDonnell’s solo project deal in heavy soundscapes, Arad’s “Fried Salt” is an almost lightweight beauty. Fortunately, Dara Smith took the time to explain his approach in a brief chat with zweikommasieben’s Samuel Savenberg.

Dara Smith This track and video came from an idea that I had whilst listening back to a recording I made of my girlfriend talking about a lucid dream she had. I used fractions of the recording for the track and then tried to illustrate the narrative I omitted from the track through moving images. It is not necessarily a literal depiction of what is described in the dream rather than an attempt to emote what was described and the atmosphere that she felt and spoke of during the dream.

Samuel Savenberg Since you did not try to illustrate the complete narrative of the dream but more the atmosphere that your girlfriend felt, how did you go on about that on a compositional level?

DS I wanted more to create a soundtrack to evoke the atmosphere in which she narrated the story. We’ve all had a hazy Sunday morning, lying in bed trying to piece together a psychedelic mish-mash of a dream into a linear timeline. Dreams are fascinating free movies in our head and they can quickly and seamlessly change visual style or narrative without us realizing it. Also, I love the fact that everything within them can kind of exist in a quantum state, where somebody you’re talking to in a dream can be a close friend and also a total stranger or someone you aspire to be at the same time.

SS What role does the visual part play for The Glimpse?

DS For me personally, both the music and visual elements like the videos are so intertwined that they are indistinguishable from each other. Both narratives develop at the same time for me personally and as I create the music there will already be an accompanying landscape or visual motif that inspires it. For The Glimpse I kept having this vision of two entities having a conversation with each other: one here on earth that said it was human and one somewhere distant that was more artificial or synthetic. As the two minds talk to each other in a new and evolutionary language, the technical question they have for each other starts to become peppered with more philosophical questions and conversations. The landscapes in which the artificial mind is located, and the methods of communication between the two became the main source of inspiration for both the lyrical content and the visual aesthetic of the suite of videos that I have created. This process was then perfectly realized into the cover art for the EP when [Bedouin Record’s] Salem suggested LaTurbo Avedon for the cover art. Here was a mind that could understand more clearly than anybody what this conversation would look like and the end result turned out to be the amazing cover artwork.

SS You mentioned that the track “Fried Salt” is based on some vocal recordings. Furthermore, most of the compositions on your EP include processed vocals in one way or another—even singing. What role do lyrics/words have in your music?

DS This track is the only one of the EP on which I’m not singing or using processed samples of my own voice. It features Eileen Carpio who was not only my vocal coach for this record but also appears briefly on the track “The Glimpse” doing some harmonies. She was also our go-to vocalist for the Lakker-album Tundra. It was a big challenge for me personally to move into the world of vocals, singing, lyric writing and also just recently, into the live vocal performance space. Lyrically I’ve always been inspired by those that manage to ornament interesting narratives with creative wordplay and more abstract word canvases. Artist like At The Drive In and the Deftones were a big early influence and also those who just honestly say it like it is: raw and unfiltered. Like Dizzee Rascal on Boy In Tha Corner or on the first Rage Against The Machine album. Lately I’ve been listening to lots of Frank Ocean, Wife, Holly Herndon and PJ Harvey.

SS Do you think words can guide through music?

DS Yes, while I don’t feel that’s the main purpose of the lyrical content of my music, I feel that there are definitely people who have used the lyrical content of their music to try and comment on society, or be political, for better or for worse. Other times lyrics can beautifully narrate the musician’s surroundings and everyday life in a way that can make us feel like we’re not alone in this world.

SS How does the producing process differ to your work in Lakker?

DS I’d have to say the main difference is speed of production in some ways and also confidence. When there are two people working on something it’s somehow easier to get the space that is necessary to listen back with more clarity and perspective. Also, when you encounter a creative block you have someone else to help traverse that blip. When you’ve worked with someone as long as I have with Ian, there is a fluidity of roles that enables a quicker and easier music making process. Therefore, the inverse is true when you are on your own. When writing my solo music I found it would take me longer to finish and structure pieces because I would need more time to move away from the music in order to have fresh ears with which to listen again and again. On a technical level in the Arad project I tend to use a lot more synthesis and less found sound and obviously more processed vocals and vocal re-sampling.

SS With the videos and the whole aesthetics, The Glimpse seems pretty much self-contained and complete to me. Do you already have plans in what way you want to continue with Arad?

DS Thanks so much, I really appreciate you saying that. I hope The Glimpse has an overall cohesiveness because that is how my brain works. I like to create a whole distinctive mark across media that makes it something that can be instantly recognizable as being part of that world. I am writing new music as Arad at the moment and I think my plans always evolve on a per release/project basis. Like The Glimpse, I will start to be influenced by certain sound and image aesthetics that develop during the writing process and these will permeate everything I do relating to said project. On a practical level, I feel the next stage is to put The Glimpse—and previous releases as well as some new collaborations I’m working on—into a live show with lots of processed vocals performed live.

Get The Glimpse by Arad here.