ARIEL PINK VS. SLOWDIVE Moving Sideways
A conversation between Ariel Pink (full name Ariel Marcus Rosenberg) and Neil Halstead, vocalist/guitarist of Slowdive, is seemingly incongruous at first blush, considering their vastly different methodologies. Ariel Pink has released music at a rapid pace, in a cut-up manner, evolving from his early 4-track days onto newer adventures in hi-fi such as 2014’s terrific Pom pom. Halstead’s work has largely been languid, and epicurean—most renowned with Slowdive, one of the seminal British shoe-gaze bands, who also include members Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass, and Simon Scott on drums. They broke up in 1995 after pioneering the aforementioned early ’90s shoegaze scene alongside the likes of Lush and Ride while signed to the iconic Creation label, but their superb self-titled album was recently released on Dead Oceans, their first in 22 years after a successful reunion tour. In that interim Halstead released albums solo and with Mojave 3, the more pastoral addendum to Slowdive alongside Goswell, more than worthy of just a footnote.
Yet Halstead and Pink’s conversation clicked, perhaps attributable to the fact that they both flat-out love music. The generation gap is evident at times, but their devotion to the craft is their adamantine thread. The conversation does get a bit pedantic at times, but serves to illustrate just how ensconced they are in their respective places in the music scene—Ariel Pink as a near veteran now after well over a decade of releasing critically acclaimed albums, and Halstead nearly deified by the modern indie community, with Slowdive in particular held up as an influence by countless newer artists. Both were amiable throughout this transcontinental conversation, Ariel Pink in Los Angeles where , which is purportedly a direct reference to a real life LA musician, at one time thought to have long since deceased, who resurfaced online after 35 years to pen his autobiography and tragic life story in a series of blogs and YouTube tirades. His book and life resonated with Ariel to such a degree that he felt the need to dedicate his latest record to him.
