Jet Plane are a five piece prog-rock outfit from Bryansk, Russia. They have just put out their third release comprising of 7 experimental instrumental tunes. Tomatrax caught up with Dima Bulavincev, drummer from the band, to ask a few questions.
How did the band form?
Jet Plane was formed in March 2009 after the previous band where I used to play – Rain Tongue – stopped performing. At the end of our existence we played instrumetal post-rock, and I wanted to continue doing the same. Other musicians were found among my friends and acquaintances. And I wouldn’t say they’re all interested in post-rock – but I think it’s the essence of our band – an attempt to unite shoegaze, grunge, folk and classic rock creates our music.
What is the music scene like in Bryansk?
Well, there’re no bands playing post-rock or anything similar. We invite musicians from other cities when we have a concert in Bryansk. As for the rest, I think it’s like in any other city in the world – lots of bands playing in different genres.
Where did the name Jet Plane come from?
When we started thinking about the band name, my eye was caught by the song ‘Leaving on a jet plane’ in the book I was reading, it was the Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. This very name made us think about Jet Plane.
What was the inspiration behind the video for Snow Rock?
‘No matter where you go, nothing ever changes here… and yet, though what you see is never what you get, it makes you feel something has changed’ – though we weren’t thinking about it from the very beginning, these lines from the album teaser which was made later fully reflect what we wanted to show in Snow Rock. It’s about music which can change your mood and about a man who fights his fears again and again in an endless attampt to understand what is illusion and what it real.
What made you pick Loud to sleep as the album’s title track?
By the time we finished the album, only one track had been left unnamed as well as the album itself. That’s why when the track name ‘Loud to Sleep’ occurred to us, we decided to use it for the album too. The fact that later Ricco Label used this very track for the album promotion is just a coincidence.
Given the songs are instrumental, how do you determine the song titles?
We meet them in everyday life. ‘Loud To Sleep’ – is misheard line «lulled me to sleep» from a song by Bjork. ‘Snow Rock’ – is an inscription on a box with some stomatological stuff. ‘Sundog’ – is an atmospheric phenomenon a link to which I came across in a social network. ‘Whale’ – is just a whale reminding us of our song.
All the songs on the album are instrumental, have you thought of using vocals?
We’re often asked about it, but I think it just shows a man’s willingness to change the world around him according to his likes with «no alarms and no surprises» in the reality he’s used to. When I listen to music, I don’t split it into vocal and non-vocal.
The songs are all longer then 5 minutes, when writing songs do you intend for them to be long?
We never think of the song’s length while writing it. A new track is the new mood we want to reveal. It all starts with improvisation, at a certain moment there appears the structure, the intro and the outro. It just happens by itself, and when every band member understands we cannot contribute anything anymore – we stop.
What is on the front cover of the album?
It’s a whale and the sea. All the album art was made by Natalia Orlova, an artist from Moscow, and it looks like a sequel to the previous album in which everything was made of paper.
Do you ever listen to your own music?
Sometimes.
What other music do you listen to?
I try to follow all new releases, which are to any extent connected to post-rock – I just love discovering something new. This year was rich in great albums, and many of them bands’ first ones. But for that I like listening to music I used to listen to as a teenager – Pearl Jam, The Cure, Levellers, Counting Crows, Slowdive, Tool.
What has Jet Plane planned for 2015?
Everything in our music happens by itself, not on purpose. And we don’t really know what is going to happen with Jet Plane, and this uncertainty is one of the reasons we love music for.
Check out Jet Plane’s Facebook page to find out more!
