English translation of an interview with Tylda on Progressia.net

- Hello Tylda ! First, can you present cashMERE ? How did it start ?

CashMERE as it is was born in December 2002 - or January 2003 - when Mariusz ("Doogie") joined our previous band. Many things happened since then, we've been looking for a way to express ourselves, to find a common musical - and non-musical - denominator, which hasn't always been easy. If we ever become famous in any way, these first years in our biography will probably be described very briefly. Let's say that the first major turning point in our career was the release of "Cash-Romantic Band", the EP that forshadowed "Cash-Romantic Music Machine".

- Do you consider cashMERE as a band or as a duo, because of your leading role with Mariusz ?

CashMERE was a duo at the time our debut LP, "Cash-Romantic Music Machine", was published. We have had problems finding a steady guitarist for a long time and during the recording process we parted ways with our long-time drummer, Wojtek Siatkiewicz. So we decided to go on as a twosome, until we find a steady line-up. After our current drummer, Łukasz Giergiel, joined in, the whole structure of our "creative team" became much more coherent. We're hoping to come up with a solid line-up very soon and emerge as a band in the true meaning of the word. Like... a REAL band.

- How do you transmit happiness in your songs ?

How? No idea, really. It is not a process that any of us follows consciously. Music-making is a source of happiness in itself. Thus, a musical piece is a medium carrying this happiness on to the listener. Even if the song itself is filled with sadness or anger, the sole fact that it is a product of creative work adds a pinch of happiness to the mixture. Uh, did I make myself clear? ;)

- How is your album Cash-Romantic Music Machine perceived since its release ?

We've received some very warm reviews. Of course, we've heard from people who can't stand our music, too. But that is no surprise to any of us - we realise our songs may be tough to listen to for some people. Generally, however, the album is perceived as innovative and intriguing. Which we're glad to hear.

- What are your main musical and extramusical sources of inspiration ?

Musical... it changes all the time. During the recording of CRMM I remember listening to a lot of Mr.Bungle, Einstuerzende Neubauten, Rammstein,Planet X, what else? I guess Joe Jackson, Bjork. These days I'm particularly fond of Nine Inch Nails, Dillinger Escape Plan and Miles Davis. But don't try to put a finger on any of it. I've had so many musical idols throughout the years... the influences always vary.
And non-musical? Books, films. Films and books. Real-life experiences? Not exactly. They're at the basis of everything I write, but there's a lot above this basis. When personal experiences surface throughout my work, they're usually run through the filter of literature, cinematography or... other people's music. Because I relate to these means of creative expression so strongly. I feel that if you don't distance yourself to your emotions, don't run them through a filter of symbols typical for art... You end up writing journals, not music. What I mean to say is... there is an intimate tale even behind a tune as ridiculous as "Horace The Wingless Wasp". But once I start to look for means to turn this tale into a musical piece, layers start to pile up and a totally new quality emerges.

- When you talk about your music, it says : Ť Call it folk or call it prog, pron-groove or lala-rock. Call it pop, we will not mind. Gosh, you can even call it jazz, if you don't know any better ť. Why do you mix so different styles ?

Because we enjoy it. We're not in it to be pinned down. None of us was has a desire to be a jazz musician, a punk musician or a rock musician. We want to be musicians, fullstop. Which means we want to be - and enjoy being - versatile.

- Your music is very diversified, how do you keep your music coherent ?

Even if the songs differ from one another, still the same people write them and play them. Through whatever musical style, the musicians' personalities surface. Plus, if you record all the songs at the same studio, with the same engineer, that helps a lot. Dominik Burzym, who mixed and mastered CRMM, really made sure that the album's overall sound is coherent. Come to think of it, I think diversity has always been something that I found particularly appealing while listening to albums. I have recently been listening to "Ire Works", the new record by the aforementioned Dillinger Escape Plan. Theoretically, they're a metalcore band, but at moments their music sounds like fusion, prog-rock, pop-metal, or Aphex-Twin-style electronic madness. And that's what makes it superb. Not for a single second did it come to my mind that the album sounded incoherent. Because I heard that the people who created it were truthful to their musical tastes throughout each and every song. I could say the same thing about many other of my favourite albums. I listen to a large variety of musical genres. And I absolutely refuse to stick to any particular style. I think we all - as a band - like to surprise ourselves with what we can come up with next.

- Some songs like Ť Jabbercrock ť are composed on a quirky and parodic vein. Do you approach the writing process of all your songs on the same way ? Or do they represent different states of mind ?

Obviously, not all our songs are parodies, but most of them are humorous, anyway. If there are songs on CRMM that are not humourous, that's 'cuz they're damn old. When I was younger, I didn't laugh as much as I do these days. Nowadays I approach writing with a great deal of humour. Of course, different songs represent very different states of mind, but whatever the inspiration may be and whatever emotion accompanies the process, humour always seems to surface somewhere along the way. The new material we're working on is going to be generally darker than CRMM, so there's going to be some sarcasm and black humour. But humour, nonetheless.

- Are you satisfied with this debut album ?

Hmmm. We all like it, we're proud of it. Do we think it's perfect? No. Do we feel we could've done it better? Yes. Do we regret we hadn't done it better? No. CRMM represents the level of creative consciousness we were at when we were recording it. But we've learned a lot ever since and we sure hope to go much further with the next album. So, in this sense we're not satisfied. We want more. More work, more songs, development.

- Do you often play live ? Do you change some sections of the songs for these shows ?

Well, not as often as we would like to, but that's partly due to the unsteady line-up we've had. But we will play much more. Hopefully outside of Poland, too. As far as the performance goes, most of the songs' form is preserved on stage. Other songs change slightly, mostly through the addition of improvised solos. Very often the change is not the form but the overall sound. Certain tunes tend to sound heavier on stage, when more energy is unleashed. So a tune that sounds pretty mellow on the album can end up sounding rather ferocious live.

- How do you see the future of cashMERE ? What are your projects?

Steadying a line-up, playing gigs, then playing gigs and playing more gigs. At the same time, finishing the material for the new album and releasing it. And then more gigs, please. It is our desire to tour as extensively as possible. It is not easy these days to arrange a tour for someone as unknown as we are, but I am optimistic about the future.

- I saw that you write movie scores and theatrical plays. Is the result very different from cashMERE ?

Gee, I would hate for this note in our to be misleading. I'm no big fat film/theatre composer. I wrote music for a short animation called "The Hatter" and for a mute 1913 film "Der Student von Prag", for a singular showing in Cracow. I've also been working on the score for my friend's theatrical play, but the project has been suspended for some time. This work is different from CashMERE, more ilustrative, more cinematic, I guess. "The Hatter" was a bit like a-bunch-of-weird-animals-meets-Steve-Reich. "Der Student..." sounded a little bit like Kronos Quartet, I suppose.

- A last word for the Progressia's readers and CashMERE fans ?

Thank you for taking time to investigate our work. We hope you'll find our music interesting and we hope you'll be looking out for more. We would love to hear from all our French fans. I hope one day we will be able to visit you and play some shows in your country.