Interview: M. Sage
The ambient artist talks about what it's like to play on top of a mountain.
Dear Looper,
Last weekend, I drove up from Denver to Boulder to see a performance by M. Sage — full name Matt Sage — who had just released his newest album, Paradise Crick, on one of my favorite record labels, RVNG Intl.
The show wasn’t in the city proper. Instead, I drove up a twisting mountain road to the Sunrise Circle Amphitheater, a stage made of rock overlooking Boulder and scanning toward the horizon. Though it rained during my entire trip, the clouds parted right before the show was planned to start. (Sage and his opener, Chicago’s Zander Raymond, still had to set up in the pouring rain, unfortunately.)
The relationship between music and the environment is central to Paradise Crick, a gorgeous collection of instrumentals and one of my favorite albums of the year. Sage intermingles field recordings, warm synth tones, gentle drum patter and even harmonica to remind us that humans should be caretakers of the Earth. The world is bold and vibrant — and right in front of you, if you’re willing to slow down and take a look.
Sage’s release show was also the first Colorado event put together by Floating, a series of outdoor performances that preaches the same mission of finding harmony with our surroundings. If it sounds a little hippie, that’s because it is. And maybe because it should be.
I interviewed Sage after his fantastic performance, which brought to mind ambient icons like the KLF’s Chill Out, Oval and Tim Hecker. It was a treat to see him enjoying the moment with his family, friends and his new rescue dog, Windy.
Our short conversation is below.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
Can you tell me your name and what you do?
My name is Matt Sage and I’m an artist, educator and musician. And I live in Berthoud, Colorado, which is … an interesting place. Small, close to a few things. It’s nice.
Where are we today?
We are in the amphitheater, the Sunrise [Circle] Amphitheater, outside of Boulder. We just finished the first Floating event here in Boulder — in Colorado.
Tell me about that. What is Floating?
Floating is a network of outdoor performances that’s environment music-based. So it’s about music being out in the world instead of, you know, boxed up in clubs at night. I am friends with the people who run Floating in California, where it’s based.
When I moved out here, they asked if I’d be interested in doing a series out here at some point. I said “yes” emphatically. And then we kind of just waited and today is the first one.
Awesome. You just played — how do you feel?
It feels great. Playing music outside is like, my absolute favorite way to play music. So, this is a lifetime high. It’s incredible. It’s a beautiful environment, and the clouds broke just in time. I don’t know, it’s pretty incredible.
Do you play outside often?
Uh, not as much as I probably— The last big show that I played was outside, and that was the Floating event that I did in California. As much as I can I try to play outside.
Sweet. And you had your album come out last week?
About a week ago, yeah.
OK, congrats.
Thank you very much. And that’s also been an overwhelming thrill. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.
How do you prepare for something like today, where you have to bring all the gear and make everything sound the way it does?
Well, fortunately, I live on a 2-acre farm out in Berthoud, so I have a chance to set up stuff outside and see how it feels outside. But I grew up playing drums, so I’ve always just like, hauled gear around. It’s been a part of my life since I was a teenager. So shifting to hauling speakers around instead of a kick drum isn’t a huge shift for me. But there was definitely a checklist and I really made sure I had everything before we headed up the mountain.
Where is Paradise Crick?
In your imagination, hopefully. In your heart and in your memory. Anywhere and everywhere. In your pocket on Spotify. [laughs]
What are you hoping for the rest of the summer?
I have a show a month through the summer, but they’re kind of fly-in dates. I’m doing some stuff in California and some stuff in Philly. And then we have a couple of shows around here the first weekend of every month. It will be here and Fort Collins and stuff. I’m not playing all of them.
Through Floating?
Through Floating, yeah. So the Floating series will happen here and then I’m doing some Paradise Crick shows sort of around the country.
When you mean here, you mean back here [at the amphitheater]?
One of them will be here, yeah. We’re kind of doing a couple of other spots, too. In the spirit of Floating, they do shows all over California. Mostly southern [Cal], like L.A. area.
I like to ask people what their favorite loop is. If you have a favorite loop, a sample, song…
Umm…
It doesn’t have to be your favorite favorite, ‘cause I know that’s kind of [hard] on the spot.
Yeah… Umm….. I… My whole practice is built on loops, so it’s kind of hard to [distill it] to one loop.
What do you like about loops?
I like that the world becomes a part of the loop in that, as the loop repeats, the world outside is changing. So it’s this balance between the static and the dynamic. I think that’s the part about the loop that’s so appealing to me. I also really like interacting with loops in that same way — that I get to become this sort of element of chaos as they are steady.
Paradise Crick is out now on RVNG Intl. You can buy it on Bandcamp
Wow i had no idea he was playing there, i totally would have gone!